REX / PSI Software Documentation

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====== Setting up REX3D ======
====== Setting up REX3D with OpenFOAM ======

REX3D, in combination with our OpenFOAM solver, uses an encapsulated Linux environment. Once access has been configured, no further configuration is required. The required containers are automatically provided and set up by REX after you have download and installed //REX3D Dependencies//, see [[en:rex3d:rex3dkonfiguration]] .

Two options are available for using the OpenFOAM solver:

  * local operation of a Linux container in a WSL environment
  * remote access to a Linux system

The setup of both options is described in the following sections.

===== Using a local PC with WSL =====

If you want to use REX3D with OpenFOAM locally, you must install WSL and use a local virtual machine.

==== Installing WSL on the client PC ====

Open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges and enter the following command:

<code powershell>
wsl --install
</code>

The system must then be restarted.

==== Adjusting the REX3D options ====

Then open Options > REX3D from the main menu in PSI / REX.

Select 'Use local machine' and enter 'podman-machine-default' as the connection name.
Clicking the 'Apply and test' button sets up and prepares the WSL VM. In the next steps, you must specify the RAM, CPU cores, and disk capacity of the VM.

{{ :rex3d:rex19_openfoam_lokal_de.png?nolink |}}

===== Using a remote server =====

The Podman remote client allows a Windows PC to access a Podman backend on a Linux server. The Podman backend provides the OpenFOAM environment required by REX3D or PSI.

For REX3D or PSI, the remote Podman installation behaves largely like a local Podman installation.

==== Requirements ====

The connection is based on a client-server model.

The following components are required:

  * Linux server or Linux VM
  * running SSH service on the server
  * Podman on the server
  * Windows PC with a REX or PSI version
  * OpenSSH client on the Windows PC
  * Podman client on the Windows PC

This guide is based on Ubuntu 24.04 or a comparable Ubuntu version with ''systemd''. Podman is available from the official Ubuntu package repositories.

The following commands use placeholders. Replace them with the values from your environment:

  * %%<SERVER>%%: hostname or IP address of the server
  * %%<ADMIN>%%: administrative user on the server
  * %%<e3d_usr>%%: unprivileged user for Podman and OpenFOAM
  * %%<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>%%: filename of the SSH key
  * %%<UID>%%: numerical user ID of the user %%<e3d_usr>%%

==== 1. Installing Podman on the server ====

=== 1.1 Logging in to the server ===

Open PowerShell on the Windows PC and establish an SSH connection to the server:

<code powershell>
ssh.exe <ADMIN>@<SERVER>
</code>

=== 1.2 Installing the required packages ===

First update the package information:

<code bash>
sudo apt-get update
</code>

Then install the required packages:

<code bash>
sudo apt-get install podman
</code>

Verify the installation:

<code bash>
podman --version
</code>

==== 2. Setting up the Podman user ====

=== 2.1 Creating a user without local password login ===

As an administrator, create a separate user for Podman and OpenFOAM:

<code bash>
sudo adduser \
  --disabled-password \
  --comment "" \
  <e3d_usr>
</code>

The user does not receive a local password. Login will later be performed exclusively using an SSH key.

=== 2.2 Checking the file system of the home directory ===

Check which file system contains the user's home directory:

<code bash>
findmnt -T /home/<e3d_usr>
</code>

Local file systems such as ''ext4'', ''xfs'', or ''btrfs'' are suitable for container storage.

If the home directory is located on an NFS file system, configure a local storage path for Podman storage. NFS is generally not suitable for rootless container storage.

=== 2.3 Permanently enabling user-specific systemd services ===

To allow user-specific systemd services to run even without an active SSH session, enable the linger function for the user:

<code bash>
sudo loginctl enable-linger <e3d_usr>
</code>

Then check the status:

<code bash>
loginctl show-user <e3d_usr> -p Linger
</code>

Expected output:

<code text>
Linger=yes
</code>

==== 3. Setting up the SSH key on the Windows PC ====

The OpenSSH client must be installed on the Windows PC.

=== 3.1 Checking the OpenSSH installation ===

Open PowerShell and check whether the required programs are available:

<code powershell>
Get-Command ssh.exe
Get-Command ssh-keygen.exe
Get-Command scp.exe

ssh.exe -V
</code>

OpenSSH for Windows provides, among others, the programs ''ssh'', ''scp'', and ''ssh-keygen''.

=== 3.2 Generating an SSH key ===

First define the path for the new SSH key:

<code powershell>
$KeyPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>"
</code>

Create the ''.ssh'' directory if it does not already exist:

<code powershell>
New-Item `
    -ItemType Directory `
    -Force `
    -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh" |
    Out-Null
</code>

Check whether key files already exist under the selected name:

<code powershell>
Test-Path $KeyPath
Test-Path "$KeyPath.pub"
</code>

Both commands should return the following output:

<code text>
False
</code>

**Note:** If files already exist at the specified path, check whether these keys are still required before proceeding to the next step. Existing keys must not be overwritten unintentionally.

Then generate a new SSH key:

<code powershell>
ssh-keygen.exe `
    -t ed25519 `
    -a 100 `
    -f $KeyPath `
    -C "<e3d_usr>@<SERVER>"
</code>

This creates two files:

<code text>
<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>       Private key
<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>.pub   Public key
</code>

**Important:** The private key must not leave the Windows PC on which REX3D or PSI is installed.

=== 3.3 Transferring the public key to the server ===

First copy the public key to the server's temporary directory:

<code powershell>
scp.exe `
    "$KeyPath.pub" `
    "<ADMIN>@<SERVER>:/tmp/<e3d_usr>.pub"
</code>

Then log in to the server as an administrator:

<code powershell>
ssh.exe <ADMIN>@<SERVER>
</code>

=== 3.4 Installing the public key for the Podman user ===

First create the SSH directory for the Podman user:

<code bash>
sudo install \
  -d \
  -m 700 \
  -o <e3d_usr> \
  -g <e3d_usr> \
  /home/<e3d_usr>/.ssh
</code>

Then install the public key as ''authorized_keys'':

<code bash>
sudo install \
  -m 600 \
  -o <e3d_usr> \
  -g <e3d_usr> \
  /tmp/<e3d_usr>.pub \
  /home/<e3d_usr>/.ssh/authorized_keys
</code>

Then delete the temporary file:

<code bash>
sudo rm -f /tmp/<e3d_usr>.pub
</code>

Finally, check the permissions:

<code bash>
sudo ls -ld /home/<e3d_usr>/.ssh
sudo ls -l /home/<e3d_usr>/.ssh/authorized_keys
</code>

=== 3.5 Testing SSH login as the Podman user ===

On the Windows PC, establish an SSH connection using the newly generated key:

<code powershell>
ssh.exe `
    -i "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>" `
    <e3d_usr>@<SERVER>
</code>

After logging in, check the user, groups, and working directory:

<code bash>
whoami
id
pwd
</code>

Among others, the following values are expected:

<code text>
<e3d_usr>
/home/<e3d_usr>
</code>

The output of ''id'' must show the user and group information for the user %%<e3d_usr>%%.

Optionally, you can test the SSH connection directly from the Windows PC:

<code powershell>
ssh.exe `
    -i "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>" `
    <e3d_usr>@<SERVER> `
    "whoami; podman --version"
</code>

==== 4. Enabling the Podman socket on the server ====

=== 4.1 Testing Podman as an unprivileged user ===

Log in to the server as %%<e3d_usr>%% and run the following command:

<code bash>
podman info
</code>

**Important:** The command must be executed without ''sudo''.

=== 4.2 Enabling the Podman socket ===

As the user %%<e3d_usr>%%, enable the Podman socket:

<code bash>
systemctl --user enable --now podman.socket
</code>

Then check the status:

<code bash>
systemctl --user status podman.socket --no-pager
</code>

=== 4.3 Determining the socket path ===

Check the path of the Podman socket:

<code bash>
echo "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock"
ls -l "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock"
</code>

By default, the rootless Podman socket is located at:

<code text>
/run/user/<UID>/podman/podman.sock
</code>

Determine the numerical UID of the user with the following command:

<code bash>
id -u
</code>

Make a note of the UID that is returned. It will be required later when setting up the Podman remote connection.

Podman uses systemd socket activation for the API socket. In combination with ''loginctl enable-linger'', the socket remains available even without an active SSH session.

==== 5. Setting up the Podman remote connection on the Windows PC ====

A Podman client must be installed on the Windows PC.

=== 5.1 Adding the Podman connection ===

Open PowerShell and create a new Podman connection:

<code powershell>
podman.exe system connection add `
    remote-vm-ktp `
    --identity "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\<ssh_podman_e3d_usr>" `
    "ssh://<e3d_usr>@<SERVER>/run/user/<UID>/podman/podman.sock"
</code>

=== 5.2 Displaying the Podman connection ===

Display the configured connections:

<code powershell>
podman.exe system connection list
</code>

The connection ''remote-vm-ktp'' should appear in the list.

=== 5.3 Testing the Podman connection ===

Test the connection:

<code powershell>
podman.exe `
    --connection remote-vm-ktp `
    info
</code>

The command should display information about the Podman installation on the Linux server.

The container is executed on the Linux server. Only the Podman remote client is used on the Windows PC.

==== 6. Configuring the Podman connection in REX3D ====

Open the REX3D options and enter the name of the previously created Podman connection.

When using the commands from this guide, the connection name is:

<code text>
remote-vm-ktp
</code>

**Clear** the 'Use local machine' checkbox.

{{ :rex3d:rex19_openfoam_remote_de.png?nolink |}}

The available Podman connections can be displayed at any time using the following command in PowerShell:

<code powershell>
podman.exe system connection list
</code>

After successful configuration, REX3D can use the OpenFOAM containers on the Linux server via the configured Podman remote connection.

==== Security notes ====

The Podman API socket provides full management access to all containers, images, volumes, and pods belonging to the user %%<e3d_usr>%%.

**Important:** Do not expose the Podman socket via an unprotected TCP port. Instead, use SSH access to the user's Unix socket as described in this guide.

The following recommendations apply to the user %%<e3d_usr>%%:

  * The user should **not** have ''sudo'' privileges.
  * The user should **not** be a member of privileged groups.
  * The user should have access **only** to the required files and directories.
  * The user should be used **exclusively** for REX3D, PSI, and the associated OpenFOAM containers.
  * A dedicated SSH key should be used for the user.
  * The user must **not** be given access to private keys belonging to other users.



===Further Topics===
  * [[en:rex3d:rex3dpreprocessing|]]
  * [[en:Rex3d:Rex3dPostProcessing]]
 
  * [[en:Rex3d:Rex3dKonfiguration]]
  * [[en:Rex3d:openfoamremote]]