Precautions:
- This configuration is a sample configuration for your testing purposes to understand the device > server connection with the server on a cloud platform (PaaS). 

- The configuration provided below may not a configuration recommended for your live server (HTTP connection). It is a sample configuration for your reference.

- Technical support team cannot provide additional AWS configuration recommendations beyond this article. Please refer to available online guides in external links. 



Getting Started

1. Create an AWS account.


2. If you need assistance launching your first instance, complete the following tasks to get set up to use Amazon EC2:


Setting Up

  1. Sign Up for AWS

  2. Create an IAM User

  3. Create a Key Pair

  4. Create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

  5. Create a Security Group

Getting Started 

  1. Overview
  2. Prerequisites
  3. Step 1: Launch an Instance
    * Refer to the system requirement to use a OS that would work with BioStar 2 (Windows Server 2012R2 will work for BioStar 2.6) 
  4. Step 2: Connect to Your Instance


Installing BioStar 2 

3. Create a EBS volume (additional hard drive) to attach to the EC2 instance 

4. Access the server instance through remote desktop.  

5. Activate your EBS volume through Disk Management.


6. Download BioStar 2. 

Note: If you're using Windows Server 2012, downloading files from internet explorer is blocked by default because of the security settings. 

Drag and dropping Chrome install file to the remote desktop would be the quickest way to install Chrome and download other files. 


7. Install BioStar 2 in your drive with enough space. 


8. Log in to BioStar 2. 


9. Change the connection mode to HTTP in Setting > Server > Web Server Protocol and apply.

Note: leave the HTTP port as the default 80


Configuring Access 

1. Access your EC2 Menu in AWS with your root account. 


2. Configure an Elastic IP (Public IP) to your instance. 


3. Open Network & Security > Security Groups. 

4. Select your security group that is associated with your BioStar 2 server instance. 


5. On the Inbound tab click Edit. 


6. Create a rule for HTTP protocol if it isn't configured. 

Type: HTTP
Protocol: TCP

Port Range: 80

Source: Anywhere


7. Create another custom TCP rule for your BioStar 2 server port. 

Type: Custom TCP Protocol
Protocol: TCP

Port Range: 51212

Source: Anywhere

8. Click Save. 


9. Open Remote Desktop to access your server instance. 


10. Open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. 


11. In Inbound Rules add port 80 (click link for article). 


Connecting Device to Server

Device to Server mode will be utilized for the device to connect to the public IP. 

Take note of the Elastic IP you configured in the previous steps.

Configuring a device with LCD

1. Enter the Network > Server menu.


2. Set the device connection mode to device > server.


3. Set the server IP to your Elastic IP (public IP).

Note: leave the server port as is if you opened port 51212 in Inbound rules for your security group in AWS. 


4. After a few moments, the device should connect to the server as a waiting device. 


5. Add the device to the server


Configuring a device without LCD

1. Connect your device to a local BioStar 2 server.


2. Enter the Device menu and select your device.


3. Change the device connection to Device > Server Connection and enter the Server Address (your elastic IP).


4. Click Apply. 


5. After a few moments, the device should connect to the server as a waiting device. 


6. Add the device to the server



External Access Options Other than BioStar 2 Cloud

If you do not want to use the BioStar 2 Cloud (tunneling) feature to access your BioStar 2 web client, you can consider the options below: 


Purchase a Domain 

You can easily purchase a domain through Amazon's Route 53 or other external providers.

Connect that domain with your Elastic IP to access BioStar 2 through a URL.

Caution: With the current version of BioStar 2 (2.6.2), if you use a domain name to access your web client, you cannot access the TA and Video modules. 



Using Ngrok 

You can download the latest Ngrok version to easily open your BioStar 2 web client with a URL. 

Instructions are provided at ngrok. 


After a simple command like below:


You will be able to access your BioStar 2 web client with the randomly generated URL. 


Note: Using a ngrok tunnel will be slower than using a purchased domain name. You will have limitations with connections as well when you use the free version of ngrok.



HTTPS Options

If you want to apply HTTPS connection to your server, you can follow the instructions below to create a private certificate to apply: 

https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/aws-certificate-manager-launches-private-certificate-authority/


Regarding Load Balancing Option

TLS offloading is a method to change a http connection to https. 

However, this feature cannot be utilized because BioStar 2.6 no longer uses nginx web server and uses spring js. 


Further AWS Guides

For Further information about Amazon AWS refer to the article below

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/concepts.html