CloudShell Colony provides two options for connecting to an application’s instance - Bastion and Direct Access.

There are two methods for creating connections: Bastion and Direct Access.

• Bastion is a component that:
  
  • Is deployed in the sandbox environment. It secures your cloud infrastructure by keeping it closed to incoming traffic while allowing the connection to your compute instances using automatically generated certificates.
  • Incurs a cost as it is deployed on a dedicated virtual machine.
  • When a sandbox is launched, the compute instances are created and a certificate is generated. The Bastion feature uses the certificate to allow you to connect to your infrastructure instances without opening them to unauthorized 3rd party traffic.
• In Direct Access, the application’s virtual machine receives a public IP if the environment is internet facing, and a private IP if the environment is internal.

To connect to a compute instance using Bastion:

1. In the sandbox, click the Troubleshooting tab.
2. Click the application’s appropriate Bastion connection method - SSH or RDP.
   
   A new interactive browser tab opens, with a remote SSH/RDP session to the remote machine.

To connect to a compute instance using Direct Access:

1. In the sandbox, click the Troubleshooting tab.
2. Click the application appropriate Direct Access connection method - SSH or RDP.
   
   ​​​​​​​A window pops up with the connection details.
   
3. Open your preferred SSH/RDP client and specify the details.

Advanced Interaction Options

The Bastion includes advanced interactive options such as sharing clipboard, transferring files and more. 

To open the advanced interaction pane, press Ctrl+ Alt+Shift on your keyboard. A side pane opens on top of your interactive window. 

Sending text to/from the SSH session

The Clipboard text area functions as an interface between the remote clipboard and the local clipboard. The text you type there is automatically synchronized with the remote machine’s clipboard.

To send text to the SSH session:

1. Enter the text in the Clipboard text area.
2. Close the advanced interactive side pane by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Shift.
3. Right-click the shell command line. This will copy the text from the local clipboard (which is now filled with your text) into the shell command line.

To copy text from the SSH session:

1. In the shell command line, mark the text to copy.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift to open the advanced interactive side pane.
3. The selected text appears in the Clipboard text area.

Transferring Files

You can transfer files between your local computer and the remote VM, provided that your infrastructure is open for file transfer. 

To upload/download files:

1.  Open the advanced interactive side bar. Click the Devices button  to open the file system of the remote machine. 
2. Navigate to the required file location by double-clicking a folder to open. This can either be the location to which you wish to upload a file or the location of the file you wish to download. 
   Optionally, use the breadcrumbs to navigate between open folders. 
3. To upload a file to the selected location, click the Upload Files button and browse to the file(s) you wish to upload. You may select multiple files from the same folder to upload. 

   NOTE: you can upload files simply by dragging and dropping them into your browser window.

4. To download, double-click the required file.