SSH-Remote-Machines-Manager

This script streamlines the process of connecting to multiple remote machines via SSH using an easily configurable config.yaml file. It automates SSH key management, supports ProxyJumps, and includes options for both Ubuntu (Bash) and Windows (WSL) environments.

• Quick Setup: Easily configure multiple remote machines in config.yaml, specifying details like IP, user and machine characteristics (e.g., VRAM, CPU).
• SSH Key Management: Automatically generate, configure, and copy SSH keys to remote servers for passwordless access.
• ProxyJump Support: Seamlessly connect to remote machines via intermediate (proxy) servers.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works on Ubuntu with Bash and Windows via WSL, enabling SSH keys to function directly with Windows applications (e.g., VSCode).
• Remote Command Export: Exports a function with pre-configured, frequently-used commands for efficient remote machine management.

Interface	CMD Screenshot
Select a machine: ----------------------- 1) Amazon_machine_2 - VRAM: 24GB - CPU: 12 cores - RAM: 128GB 2) Machine_dummy 3) My_House_Raspberry - VRAM: 64GB - OS: Debian - ProxyJump: 192.168.1.67 ----------------------- #?

Requirements

Before using this script, you need to install the following dependencies:

• For Ubuntu users:

  • PyYAML: Required for parsing the YAML configuration file.
  • jq: Used to handle JSON data processing.

  To install these dependencies, run the following commands:

  pip install pyyaml
  sudo apt-get install jq

• For Windows users:

  • WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux): Required for running the script.
  • Once WSL is installed, make sure to install PyYAML and jq within the WSL environment.

  To install WSL, open a PowerShell terminal as administrator and execute:

  wsl --install

  For more details on WSL installation, please refer to the official documentation: Install WSL

How to Use the Script

1. Clone or download the project files to your local machine.

2. Open the config.yaml file and add your remote machines, their IP addresses, usernames, and any other specific characteristics you want to track (such as VRAM, CPU, etc).

3. Run the script to select a machine and establish a connection:

   • For Ubuntu users, run:

     ./connect_to_machines.sh

   • For Windows users, execute the following file:

     script_windows_wsl_users/connect_to_machines.bat

Recommendation for Easier Access

If you want to run the script from any location in your operating system, you can add a shortcut to simplify access:

• On Ubuntu: Add an alias in your .bashrc file by including the following line at the end. This will allow you to run the script using connect_to_machines from any terminal:

  alias connect_to_machines='~/<Path_to_file>/connect_to_machines.sh'

  Replace <Path_to_file> with the actual path to the script. For example, if the script is in your home directory under scripts, the alias would look like:

  alias connect_to_machines='~/scripts/connect_to_machines.sh'

• On Windows: Add the folder script_windows_wsl_users to your Windows PATH. This will enable you to run the script by typing connect_to_machines directly into the Command Prompt or PowerShell. Make sure you execute the .bat file for Windows compatibility.

  To add a folder to the Windows PATH, you can follow this tutorial: How to Edit Your System PATH for Easy Command Line Access

Default Configuration Example - config.yaml

Here’s the default configuration file. You will need to modify this file to match your machines and their details:

machines:
  Machine_dummy:
    ip: 192.168.1.20
    user: user2
  My_House_Raspberry:
    ip: 192.168.1.18
    user: alvaro_cride
    VRAM: 64GB
    OS: Debian
    ProxyJump:
      ip: 192.168.1.67
      user: m.lorial
  Amazon_machine_2:
    ip: 192.168.1.19
    user: maria_garcia
    VRAM: 24GB
    CPU: 12 cores
    RAM: 128GB

options:
  export_commands_to_machine: True  # Export commands function to remote machine
  connect_timeout: 8  # Maximum connection timeout
  use_ssh_key: True  # Use SSH key instead of password

Customizing the Configuration

1. Add your machines: Under the machines section, add your remote machines by specifying their ip, user, and any other custom fields such as VRAM, CPU, RAM, etc. These additional fields are optional, but you can use them to document specific characteristics of your machines.

2. Set up ProxyJump: If you need to connect to a remote machine via an intermediate jump server, configure ProxyJump within the machine entry in config.yaml. Add ProxyJump with the user and ip fields for the intermediary machine. This allows seamless SSH connections through the intermediate server, improving access in network-restricted environments.

3. Adjust options: You can change the following options under the options section:

   • export_commands_to_machine: If set to True, this will export a function to show a set of useful commands to the remote machine, allowing you to run common used actions like file transfers or process management fastly.
   • connect_timeout: This controls the maximum time (in seconds) for the SSH connection attempt.
   • use_ssh_key: If set to True, the script will try to connect using an SSH key. If no SSH key exists on your local machine, you will be prompted to create one. If set to False, the script will ask for a password to connect to the remote machine.

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