How to host 2FAuth on Google Cloud VM Instance - ServerAvatar

2FAuth is a Web application designed to manage your Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) accounts and generate their security codes. It serves as a self-hosted alternative to OTP generators like Google Authenticator, designed for both mobile and desktop. When selecting a hosting provider for 2FAuth, Google Cloud stands out as a leading cloud infrastructure provider known for its simplicity, scalability, and user-friendly approach. ServerAvatar simplifies the deployment of 2FAuth on Google Cloud VPS (Virtual Private Servers) through an intuitive interface, automating complex setup procedures, and allowing users with minimal technical knowledge to efficiently configure and manage their server environments.

Create a VM Instance in Google Cloud

Getting started with Google Cloud:

Google is one of the most famous and reliable cloud providers among all of its competitors in the market. Google Cloud Platform provides a robust and comprehensive set of cloud computing services, catering to diverse business needs from startups to large enterprises. With its focus on scalability, performance, security, and innovation, GCP enables organizations to build, deploy, and scale applications and services efficiently in the cloud. Whether it's computing, storage, data analytics, machine learning, or networking, GCP offers a powerful and flexible platform for modern cloud computing requirements.

Google Cloud Platform’s Compute Engine offers robust virtual machine capabilities designed to meet the needs of modern cloud computing environments. Whether you’re looking for flexibility, scalability, performance, or integration with other Google Cloud services, Compute Engine provides a comprehensive solution for running your applications and workloads in the cloud efficiently and securely. Here’s a detailed introduction to Google Cloud as a virtual machine provider:

• Compute Engine as a primary service: It allows you to quickly scale VMs up or down based on demand, allowing you to handle varying workloads effectively. Users have the flexibility to select VM instance types tailored to their needs for CPU, memory, and disk capacities. Google provides predefined machine types optimized for different tasks, or you can customize machine types to allocate resources according to specific requirements.
• Key Features and Capabilities: It provides preemptible VMs at a greatly reduced price, ideal for fault-tolerant and batch-processing tasks. VM instances can be migrated live between host systems without any downtime, ensuring exceptional availability and reliability. Users have the option to either create custom VM images or utilize Google's pre-built images for quick deployment of popular software configurations.
• Integration with Google Services: It offers Control access and permissions for VM instances by managing IAM roles and policies. Compute Engine seamlessly integrates with Google Cloud's VPC networking, enabling the creation of secure and isolated networks tailored for your VMs. It also supports VPNs, Cloud Interconnect, and Google Cloud Load Balancing to efficiently manage network traffic. Moreover, Google's Deployment Manager can be used to automate the creation and management of VMs and associated resources following Infrastructure-as-Code principles.
• Management and Monitoring: Administer VM instances using the Google Cloud Console, which offers a graphical interface for deploying, monitoring, and managing resources. Engage with Compute Engine programmatically through Google Cloud SDK tools and APIs, enabling automation and seamless integration with other systems.
• Security and Compliance: Compute Engine incorporates security features such as encryption of data at rest and in transit, secure boot, and IAM controls to safeguard VM instances and data. Google Cloud Platform adheres to various compliance standards (e.g., ISO, SOC, GDPR), providing assurances for regulatory requirements across different industries.

Let’s get started with creating a Virtual Machine on the Google Cloud Platform:

Step 1: Creating a VM in Google Cloud Platform

• Click on the below link and log in to your Google account.

  • https://console.cloud.google.com

• Here you can create a New project or you can select the project you want, and then click on Create a VM as shown in the image below.

Step 2: Creating a VM Instance

• For creating a VM instance click on the sidebar, select the Compute Engine, and then click on the VM instances and Create Instance, as depicted in the images below.

Step 3: Configuring a New VM Instance

• Click on New VM Instance, here you can give Name to your virtual machine. Additionally, you can select the Region and Zone of your choice. Moreover, you can select the machine according to your needs from the available types. Refer to the image below.

Step 4: Select the Machine type

• Now you have the option to select a Machine Type with predefined configurations of vCPUs and memory which is suitable for most workloads. In addition to this, you can also add Availability policies according to your needs. (Recommended Standard policy)

• Also, you can customize your machine that is suitable for your workload as shown in the image below.

Step 5: Select the Boot disk

• In this step, you have to select the Operating System for your instance. Click on the Change button to select the boot disk as shown in the image below.

• Ubuntu is easy to configure and manage. Generally, the 2FAuth application requires Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or a later version for compatibility and support. We recommend you to use Ubuntu 20.04 LTS x64 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS x64. If you are using ServerAvatar to manage your instance, these operating systems are required.
• Moreover, you can select the disk type you want; however, we recommend you select a Balanced persistence disk with a minimum 25 GB disk size, then click on the Select button as depicted in the following image.

Step 6: Firewall rules

• The next step is to allow firewall rules that are available at the time of creating an instance in Google. Select the checkbox next to the HTTP and HTTPS to allow incoming traffic. Click on the Create button to create a VM instance in Google as shown in the image below.

Step 7: Creating New Firewall Rule

• Now, you have to go to the VPC network by clicking on the sidebar and then clicking on the Firewall section. After that click on Create Firewall Rule as shown in the images below.

• Here you have to enter the details such as the Name of the rule and its description. You can also turn on firewall logs. In addition to this leave the network and priority sections as default. The direction of traffic should be Ingress and Allow the action. In the Targets section, you have three options: All instances in the network, Specified target tags, and Specified service accounts, select from them according to your needs. Furthermore, set the Source filter to IPv4 ranges you can specify the ranges as per your requirement in the Source IPv4 ranges input field. To understand it better refer to the image below.

• Lastly, you need to specify the Protocols and ports. ServerAvatar requires 43210 port to be open and the protocol is TCP so add the port number in that field and click on Create as shown in the image below.

• Congratulations! You have successfully created your instance in Google Cloud which is now ready to connect with ServerAvatar.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup 2FAuth on Cloud using ServerAvatar

Self-Hosting 2FAuth Application: Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction:

In an age where cybersecurity is paramount, adding an extra layer of security through Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a must. The 2FAuth library allows you to implement this security measure with ease. This guide will walk you through the steps to self-host 2FAuth on your own web server, whether on a local machine or a hosted environment, using Apache2 or NGINX as your HTTP server.

Requirements:

1. HTTP Server: You need a web server such as Apache or NGINX. These are the most popular web servers, and you likely have one of them installed if you are using a web hosting service.
2. PHP: Ensure you have PHP 8.1 or higher installed with the following extensions:
   • BCMath
   • Ctype
   • Fileinfo
   • JSON
   • Mbstring
   • OpenSSL
   • PDO
   • Tokenizer
   • XML
3. Database: 2FAuth supports various databases such as:
   • MariaDB 10.2+
   • MySQL 5.7+
   • PostgreSQL 9.6+
   • SQLite 3.8.8+
   • SQL Server 2017+
4. Composer: Composer is required to manage PHP dependencies for 2FAuth. Follow the Composer installation guide.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide:

Step 1: Create a GitHub application

Start by creating a GitHub application using ServerAvatar. This will allow you to easily manage and deploy your 2FAuth instance. Follow these steps:

1. Open ServerAvatar: Log in to your ServerAvatar account.
2. Navigate to the Application Dashboard: In the dashboard, find the option to create a new application.
3. Create the GitHub Application:
   • HTTP URL: Enter https://github.com/Bubka/2FAuth.git
   • Branch Name: Set this to master
   • Deployment Script: Use the script composer install --prefer-dist --no-scripts --no-dev

This configuration will clone the 2FAuth repository and install the necessary dependencies.

Step 2: Set Custom Webroot

Set the custom webroot as public for your application. This can be done from the application dashboard in the application settings. The webroot directory is where your web server searches for the application files to serve.

Step 3: Create a Database

From the server dashboard, navigate to the databases section and create a new database. This database will store your application's data.

Step 4: Enable SSH Credentials

To securely access your server, enable SSH credentials. SSH (Secure Shell) provides a secure way to log in to your server remotely, ensuring that your data and commands are encrypted. This step is crucial for managing your server and deploying your 2FAuth application.

Step 5: Login Using SSH Credentials

• Once you have your SSH credentials enabled, you can log in to your server. Open a terminal and use the following command: sudo ssh {username}@{ip}
• Replace {username} with your actual username and {ip} with your server's IP address. You will be prompted to enter your password. After successful authentication, you will have remote access to your server.

Step 6: Navigate to the Application Path

With SSH access established, navigate to your application's directory on the server. This is where you will set up your 2FAuth project. Use the cd command to change directories to your application's root path.

Step 7: Execution

Run the following command and answer the wizard questions. php artisan 2fauth:install

At the conclusion of the wizard, the 2FAuth setup process will be complete.

Step 8: Verify Installation

To confirm that your 2FAuth installation is successful, visit your application domain in a web browser. You should see the 2FAuth page, indicating that your setup is complete and your application is ready for development.

Conclusion:

By following this guide, you have successfully set up and deployed your 2FAuth application. This process included creating a GitHub application, setting a custom webroot, creating a database, enabling SSH credentials, logging into your server, navigating to the application path, executing the installation script, and verifying your installation. Your 2FAuth application is now up and running, providing an extra layer of security for your users through Two-Factor Authentication. With 2FAuth, you can enhance the security of your web applications, protect sensitive data, and offer your users a more secure login experience. This setup ensures a robust environment for managing your application's security features effectively. Start leveraging the power of 2FAuth to safeguard your application and provide peace of mind to your users.