UserGuide

Xojo Cloud Control Panel

From Xojo Documentation

Overview

You can access the Control Panel from your Accounts page on the Xojo web site. The Control Panel displays your servers (including the IP addresses) and can performs these actions:

  • Restart: Restarts the Xojo Cloud server.
  • Rename: Give the server a new name.
  • List Apps: Displays all the Xojo apps that have been deployed to the Xojo cloud server. From here you can Quit or Delete apps.
  • Setup SSL: Walks you through the process of using Let's Encrypt to enable SSL for your server.
  • Delete: Deletes the Xojo Cloud server.
  • SFTP: Enables or disables SFTP access to the server, providing you with a username and password. To reset the password, disable and then re-enable.
  • PostgreSQL: Enables or disables PostgreSQL database server, providing you with a username and password. To reset the password, disable and then re-enable.
  • MySQL: Enables or disables MySQL database server, providing you with a username and password. To reset the password, disable and then re-enable.
  • Tunnel: Enables or disables an SSH tunnel (providing you with a username and password) to allow you to connect to PostgreSQL/MySQL from your own computer. To reset the password, disable and then re-enable.

Setup SSL

Xojo Cloud uses Let's Encrypt to allow you to freely set up SSL for your server. You will need to have a domain name pointing to your server in order for this to work. Enter the domain name in the field and click Submit to enable SSL. If you require manually configuration of an SSL contact support. You can go back to the Setup SSL area to disable SSL if desired or to provide a different domain name.

SFTP

Xojo Cloud uses SFTP (instead of FTP) for its added security. SFTP is a secure variant of FTP which is transmitted over the internet using strong encryption. That way you don't have to worry about anyone intercepting your username and password or your files as they're sent to your server. When choosing a client, keep in mind that SFTP is different than FTPS or FTP w/ SSL. They are not interchangeable with one another.

Once you enable SFTP in the Control Panel, you can access the contents of your server using your favorite SFTP client. If you don't have one, there are a number of options available including:

  • FireFTP: A plugin for the Firefox browser. Free: Mac, Windows & Linux.
  • Filezilla: An FTP/SFTP-only Client. Free: Mac, Windows & Linux.
  • Cyberduck: A donation-ware client which supports multiple protocols including SFTP. Free (donation recommended, $24 Mac-App Store): Mac & Windows.
  • ExpanDrive: A simple drag and drop Finder or Explorer type experience. No support for changing file permissions (although it does work if sending from a Mac). $49: Mac & Windows. (Free 7-Day Trial)
  • Command-Line (Linux and macOS): sftp://username@serverip/
fa-info-circle-32.png
 Xojo does not endorse any 3rd-party SFTP client.

Even with SFTP access, you should still use the Deploy feature in the Xojo IDE to deploy your apps to Xojo Cloud. When you use the Deploy feature you also get access to additional Xojo capabilities such as the XojoCloud.FirewallPort class and the proper locations available to the SpecialFolder function.

PostgreSQL and MySQL Usage

Once you enable PostgreSQL or MySQL database on your Xojo Cloud server, connecting to the database in a deployed app works exactly as if the DB was on your local computer. You do not have to install anything yourself.

Click the "Enable PgSQL" or "Enable MySQL" button to enable either or both databases. Be sure to note the username and password that are displayed to you.

Click the corresponding "Disable PgSQL" or "Disable MySQL" button to turn off the appropriate database.

PostgreSQL

To use PostgreSQL you will need to use the PostgreSQLDatabase class as shown in the examples below. To display the version of PostgreSQL being used by Xojo Cloud, after you have connected using a DB Tool (as shown below), run this query: 

   SELECT version();


As of May 2018, Xojo Cloud uses PostgreSQL 9.2.2.

MySQL

To use MySQL you will need to use the MySQLCommunityServer class as shown in the examples below. To display the version of MySQL being used by Xojo Cloud, after you have connected using a DB Tool (as shown below), run this query: 

   SELECT VERSION();


As of May 2018, Xojo Cloud uses 5.5.56-MariaDB.

Setting up a Tunnel

If you want to access a DB on Xojo Cloud from your computer, you will have to enable the Tunnel and then connect to the tunnel from the computer. An SSH tunnel is a secure connection, between your computer and another (in this case your Xojo Cloud server) which is used for transmitting data on a particular port. In essence, it creates a private connection through the internet which allows you to see into your server on the other end and connect to a particular service there.

To create a tunnel between your computer and your Xojo Cloud server, you first need to turn on the tunnel capability on your server. Go to your control panel and click the "Enable Tunnel" button. You will be presented with a username and a password which you will use later for establishing the connection.

On macOS and Linux, you can use a terminal command to access the tunnel (replace ipaddress as appropriate; you'll be prompted for the password).

Use this command to tunnel to PostgreSQL: 

   ssh -L 5432:localhost:5432 dbadmin@ipaddress -N


Use this command to tunnel to MySQL: 

   ssh -L 3306:localhost:3306 dbadmin@ipaddress -N


If you are using Windows, you will need to use an external app such as PuTTY. There are a number of tutorials available on the internet, just put “putty ssh tunnel” into your favorite search engine.

Using Database Server Management Tools with Xojo Cloud

Most database server management tools have the capability to directly connect using an SSH tunnel. In the dialog used to set up the connection to the DB, look for something that says SSH or SSH Tunnel. In most cases, you will need to fill out four fields:

  • Host Name or IP Address: Enter the IP address for your Xojo Cloud server
  • Port: Enter 22. This is the SSH port number.
  • User Name: Enter the user name that was provided to you in the Xojo Cloud control panel when setting up the tunnel.
  • Password: Enter the password that was provided to you in the Xojo Cloud control panel when setting up the tunnel.

Now, as far as setting up the connection to the database itself, you will have another set of fields to fill out:

  • Host Name or IP Address: Enter "localhost". The reason you enter localhost for the server name (and not the server IP address) is that you want to connect to your side of the tunnel. SSH will do the job of hooking things up on the other end for you.
  • Port: 5432 for PostgreSQL, 3306 for MySQL
  • Database: Enter the user name that was provided to you in the Xojo Cloud control panel when setting up the database server.
  • User Name: Enter the user name that was provided to you in the Xojo Cloud control panel when setting up the database server.
  • Password: Enter the password that was provided to you in the Xojo Cloud control panel when setting up the database server.

Connect to PostgreSQL or MySQL from your Xojo App

To connect to your database from a Xojo app you just do it normally. If you use a tunnel or a web app running on Xojo Cloud the method is the same.

For PostgreSQL:

Dim db As New PostgreSQLDatabase
db.UserName = "username"
db.Password = "password"
db.Host = "localhost"
db.Port = 5432
db.DatabaseBame = "your database name"
If db.Connect Then
// You're connected!
End If

For MySQL:

Dim db As New MySQLCommunityServer
db.UserName = "username"
db.Password = "password"
db.Host = "127.0.0.1"
db.Port = 3306
db.DatabaseBame = "your database name"
If db.Connect Then
// You're connected!
End If

See Also

UserGuide:Xojo Cloud topic

Retrieved from "http://docs.xojo.com/index.php?title=UserGuide:Xojo_Cloud_Control_Panel&oldid=59437"