SSH setup (tunnel, autossh)

SSH tunnel

This section describes how to set up and use an SSH tunnel in the following scenario:

flowchart LR

PC[PC] --ssh--> S[Server] <--ssh tunnel--> R[RPi4]

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Here we want to connect to the RPi4 from a PC. In order to access the RPi4, we need to:

1. create an SSH tunnel from the RPi4 to the server:

   ssh -R 10000:localhost:22 user@server_address

   (user must exist on the server, and you need to know the password.)
2. From your PC, connect to the server normally:

   ssh user@server_address

   (user must exist on the server, and you need to know the password. It can be a different user.)
3. From the server, connect to the RPi4:

   ssh user@localhost -p 10000

Automate SSH tunnel creation with autossh

In order to automatically set up the tunnel when the RPi4 boots:

1. Install autossh

   sudo apt install autossh

2. Generate an SSH key:

   ssh-keygen -t rsa

3. Copy it to the server:

   ssh-copy-id user@server_address

   (user must exist on the server, and you need to know the password.)

4. Create the following systemd service:

   sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/autossh-tunnel.service

   [Unit]
   Description=AutoSSH Tunnel Service
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   User=pi
   Environment="AUTOSSH_GATETIME=0"
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/autossh -M 0 -o "ServerAliveInterval 60" -o "ServerAliveCountMax 3" -N -R 10000:localhost:22 user@server_address
   Restart=always
   RestartSec=10
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

   (Remember to update the user and server_address.)

5. Enable, start, and check the status of the service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable autossh-tunnel
   sudo systemctl start autossh-tunnel     
   sudo systemctl status autossh-tunnel

6. Reboot and hope that it works:

   sudo reboot

7. If everything worked you will be able to connect to the RPi4 from the server using:

   ssh user@localhost -p 10000

   as described in the previous section.