Remote iPython Notebooks¶
Overview¶
The focus of this talk is on using an iPython Notebook instance hosted on a remote server. As we have seen, using iPython notebook locally is a fairly straight-forward process. Sometimes, however, it may be advantageous to set up an iPython notebook for use remotely, or to be accessed by multiple users. This requires installing iPython notebook on a centralized server and configuring it to accept remote connections.
We will also briefly discuss options for hosting a network-accessable iPython notebook.
Preparing a Notebook for remote access¶
There are several steps to creating and configuring a notebook server instance (adapted from official instructions provided at the Official iPython Website).
1. Create a profile that defines the notebook server instance.
2. Create a self-signed certificate to enable encrypted communications with the server.
3. Create a password hash to restrict access to the server instance.
4. Edit the profile and specify security settings.
1. Creating a profile for the server¶
Creating a profile for the server allows you to manage multiple iPython notebook instances on the server.
On a linux/unix machine, this will create the ~/.ipython/profile_nbserver directory. In this directory, amongst all the files created by ipython, will be the ipython_notebook_config.py file. This is the file we will be working in for the configuration steps of this process.
2. Creating a self-signed certificate file¶
Unless you have an institutional security certificate, you will need to create a self-signed certificate file for use with your server. This will allow secure access.
Caveats regarding the use of a self-signed certificate¶
Note that when using a self-signed certificate, your browser may complain that the sight is not necessarily valid. Because you created the certificate, it is safe to allow an exception for this server/certificate. If it is possible to instead use a valid signed certificate in place of a self-signed certificate, this is preferable.
3. Creating a password hash¶
In order to secure your notebook server, it is *vital* to set a password. This is done by defining a password hash in the notebook configuration file. You will generate the password hash from inside iPython.
from IPython.lib import passwd
# Note: In practice, passwd() will prompt for a
# password. This is preferable, since otherwise
# your password will be saved inside your session
# history.
passwd("Test Password")
'sha1:774d9926079f:e585086e10f2f00718a0d9c4ed1b652052d8d463'
4. Configuring the notebook profile¶
The notebook server is configured by editing the ipython_notebook_config.py file found inside the ~/.ipython/profile_nbserver directory created previously.
Open ipython_notebook_config.py in your favorite editor and add the following:
# Kernel config
c.IPKernelApp.pylab = 'inline' # if you want plotting support always
# Notebook config
c.NotebookApp.certfile = u'/absolute/path/to/your/certificate/mycert.pem'
c.NotebookApp.ip = '*'
c.NotebookApp.open_browser = False
c.NotebookApp.password = u'sha1:bcd259ccf...your hashed password here'
# It's a good idea to put it on a known, fixed port
c.NotebookApp.port = 9999
Accessing the Notebook¶
In order to make the server available, you will start it with the following command:
The Notebook server can now be accessed via browser, at https://your.host.com:9999.
Hosting Options¶
There are multiple options available for hosting an iPython notebook; these options balance convienence vs. cost.
- Local hosting.
- Self-Managed remote hosting.
- Managed remote hosting.
1. Local Hosting¶
Local hosting refers to using a server that is under your direct control. This can be both easier and more frustrating than using a remote hosting service, whether managed or not.
Pros:
- It is possible to use existing equipment.
- It is self-managed, so no intermediary for configuration/adding new notebooks.
Cons:
- Requires a little bit of technical expertise to set up.
- Depending on the computing/network environment, remote access may not be entirely possible.
- For example, the Unidata firewall blocks access to internal notebook servers from the guest wifi.
2. Self-Managed Cloud-based Services¶
- Such as:
- Rackspace
- Amazon EC2
- Pros:
- Easy to set up and configure.
- Affordable options available for smaller-scale distributions.
- Cons:
- Still self-managed.
- Pricing can spike quickly depending on total use, bandwidth consumed, underlying processing power.
- HPC and cluster computing requires manual configuration.
3. Managed Cloud-based Services¶
Pricing typically based on cores, memory, and total number of instances.
Such as:
Wakari: http://www.continuum.io/wakari
PiCloud: http://www.picloud.com
Pros:
- Provides a remote environment, configured for big-data applications.
- Managed by server provider.
- Provides access to large HPC clusters (at a price).
Cons:
- Anything besides basic service level requires a paid account.
- These can become quite expensive:
- Accounts can be shared, but cannot share a notebook between accounts.
- Getting notebooks in to, out of these services can be tricky.
- You may still need to configure custom packages manually.
- Anything besides basic service level requires a paid account.
Summary¶
- Setting up a remotely-accessible iPython notebook is not difficult.
- Select a host.
- Create and Configureate a Notebook Server.
- The choice of host is a trade-off between convienence and cost.