coder · bpmct · May 18, 2023 · May 29, 2023 · May 31, 2023 · May 31, 2023
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+---
+title: An ultra-portable ARM64 dev environment
+date: June 1, 2023
+author: Marc Paquette
+---
+
+# An ARM64 in every pocket
+
+Raspberry Pi rebooted an important segment of computing for educators and hobbyists. It makes exploring digital technology interactive and fun, and at a reasonable cost for anyone who’s curious and creative.
+
+I’d like to start an education-related project based on ARM64 assembly language, and that’s a problem.
+
+## My problem: Raspberry Pi is in short supply
+
+The pandemic and its supply chain problems conspired to raise demand for the already-popular Raspberry Pi while lowering supply. Things are getting better but finding a Raspberry Pi at a reasonable price isn't easy.
+
+A smaller challenge is carrying a Raspberry Pi around. Setting it up at home is easy. But traveling with it is kind of a pain. To set it up and take it down at a cafe or a hotel room means I have to fuss with yet another device with its cables and power adapter.
+
+## Solution: An anywhere ARM64 dev environment
+
+What I’d like is an ultra-portable ARM64 device that I can use for development. By “portable” I mean that’s it’s available anywhere. The “ultra” part means that I don’t have to carry the physical device and its accessories with me. I chose to solve this with Coder and [AWS EC2 Graviton](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/graviton/), which is based on ARM64.
+
+- I already have my own Coder instance running on my homelab, Marvin. So Coder is accessible wherever I have an internet connection.
+- With Coder, I can create a workspace that spins up an EC2 instance for ARM64 Ubuntu, letting me work on my project wherever I want.
+- I’ll run Ubuntu with a desktop environment and access it remotely with VNC.
+- Bonus points for remotely accessing my ultra-portable ARM64 device with just a browser-based VNC client.
+
+This will be an excellent solution while I wait to finally get my hands on a real Raspberry Pi. Let's get started!
+
+## Reuse a wheel instead of reinventing it
+
+A Coder [workspace](https://coder.com/docs/v2/latest/workspaces) provides a development environment. A Coder [template](https://coder.com/docs/v2/latest/templates) describes what’s in the workspace, how to spin it up, and how to take it down.
+
+Coder comes with a growing list of [example templates](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates) and there’s an expanding ecosystem of [community templates](https://github.com/coder/coder/blob/main/examples/templates/community-templates.md). Unfortunately I couldn’t find a template that provisions ARM64, Linux, a desktop environment, and VNC.
+
+But I can adapt an existing template pretty easily. For my ARM64 desktop workspace, I’ll reuse Coder’s template for [Linux on AWS EC2](https://github.com/coder/coder/tree/main/examples/templates/aws-linux). This template creates a workspace for an EC2 instance of Ubuntu on amd64.
+
+I adapted this template with these steps:
+
+0. Start with a starter template.
+1. Set up AWS credentials.
+2. Create the template.
+3. Use ARM64 instead of amd64.
+4. Install a desktop environment and VNC.
+5. Develop on an ultra-portable ARM64!
+
+I'm doing this incrementally to make things easier. Coder helps me along the way by letting me edit templates in the browser and automatically versioning them. If I make a mistake as I figure this out, I can always roll back.
+
+## 0. Start with a starter template
+
+From my browser I log into my Coder instance running on Marvin.  I select **Templates**, **Starter templates**, then **Develop in Linux on AWS EC2**.
+
+![Starting with a starter template](./static/aws-ec2-template-new.png)
+
+A new page shows details about setting up the new template. This includes a sample AWS access policy that lets Coder authenticate its access to AWS EC2.
+
+![Help on creating the template](./static/aws-ec2-template-info.png)
+
+
+## 1. Set up AWS credentials
+
+To start and stop my workspace, [Coder needs my credentials](https://coder.com/docs/v2/latest/templates/authentication). An easy but secure way to do this is to use the sample AWS access policy.
+
+In a new browser tab, I log in to AWS IAM to create this policy.
+
+![Creating the AWS access policy](./static/aws-iam-policy.png)
+
+Then I create a new AWS user, fabienne, a character who likes pie from my favorite movie. I associate the template's policy with this user.
+
+![Creating a new user for the access policy](./static/aws-iam-permissions.png)
+
+With an access key and secret access key from AWS IAM, I'm ready to create the AWS CLI configuration files for the Coder user on marvin, with a profile for fabienne. I ssh into Marvin to do this on the command line:
+
+```bash
+marc@marvin:~$ cd /home/coder && sudo -u coder aws configure --profile fabienne
+```
+
+## 2. Create the template
+
+Next, I log in to Coder from Marvin's command line so I can initialize a template, choose the AWS Linux starter template, and create it:
+
+```bash
+marc@marvin:~$ coder login https://my-coder-instance.coder.app
+> Welcome to Coder, marc! You're authenticated.
+marc@marvin:~$ coder templates init fabienne
+...
+Extracting  aws-linux  to ./fabienne...
+Create your template by running:
+
+   cd ./fabienne && coder templates create
+
+Examples provide a starting point and are expected to be edited!
+
+marc@marvin:~$ cd ./fabienne && coder templates create
+
+> Upload "~/fabienne"? (yes/no) yes
+> Confirm create? (yes/no) yes
+The fabienne template has been created at May 29 14:28:39! Developers can
+provision a workspace with this template using:
+
+   coder create --template="fabienne" [workspace name]
+
+marc@marvin:~/fabienne$
+```
+
+I know my credentials and access policy work fine because Coder didn't report any errors.
+
+With a valid template, I can go back to my browser to do the last steps.
+
+
+## 3. Use ARM64 instead of amd64
+
+This template specifies a vanilla AWS EC2 instance running Ubuntu on amd64.
+
+Because a Coder template is just a Terraform file, I can edit the template to meet my needs. To convert it to run an ARM64 instance of AWS EC2, I can edit the template's Terraform file in my browser. I can see that the fabienne template is ready to use.
+
+![Fabienne ready to use](./static/aws-ec2-template-use.png)
+
+I select **fabienne** then choose **Edit files** from the dropdown menu.
+
+![Editing Fabienne's files](./static/aws-ec2-template-edit.png)
+
+The edits I make to this file:
+
+* Replace all occurrences of `amd64` with `arm64`.
+* Replace the EC2 instance types with, in my case, `m6g`, which is the [type for AWS Graviton](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/m6g/) that I'll use.
+* In `data "coder_parameter" "instance_type"`, I shorten the list of options because there are fewer choices for ARM64 instances.
+* In `provider "aws"`, I point to the AWS configuration files in Marvin's `/home/coder` directory that I created earlier.
+
+To save my changes and see if I broke anything, I select **Build template**. I can keep an eye on the progress in **Build log**.
+
+![Build template for ARM64](./static/aws-ec2-template-build.png)
+
+With a successful switch to ARM64, I make this version of the template available to workspaces. Selecting **Publish version** prompts me to give this version a name. If something goes wrong, I can always revert to a working template version.
+
+![Publish new version of template](./static/aws-ec2-template-publish-version.png)
+
+
+## 4. Install a desktop environment and VNC
+
+All right, this is the home stretch. With a valid template, I could create a workspace from this template right now and get an excellent ARM64 development experience. For example, with a running workspace and a single click, I can open a browser-based terminal, log in with ssh, or connect to the VM from VS Code Desktop. I can even run [VS Code in the browser](https://coder.com/docs/code-server/latest).
+
+But I want the bonus: a desktop environment and VNC in the ARM64 VM itself.
+
+I do this by editing the template's Terraform file again, so I can stay in the same browser tab.
+
+I make these edits to `startup_script` in `resource "coder_agent" "main"`:
+
+* Install [LXDE](https://www.lxde.org/), which Pixel in Raspberry Pi OS is based on.
+* Install [KasmVNC](https://www.kasmweb.com/kasmvnc), which includes a web-based client.
+* Add a bit of logic to detect if these packages are already installed.
+* Configure certificates, authentication, and forwarding VNC traffic to port 8444.
+
+And to make it easier to connect to VNC from the workspace, I add a new [`coder_app`](https://coder.com/docs/v2/latest/ides/web-ides) resource to provide a custom button in the workspace page to connect to the VNC client.
+
+Then I re-build the template and publish a new version, like I did in the previous step.
+
+## 5. Develop on an ultra-portable ARM64!
+
+Now I'm ready to create a workspace with my new ARM64, VNC-enabled template: I select **Use template**. Then I enter a name for my new workspace and select **Create workspace** at the bottom of the page.
+
+![New workspace](./static/aws-ec2-workspace-new.png)
+
+This is the first time I create this workspace, so it'll take a minute or two for Coder to provision the ARM64 instance, install LXDE, KasmVNC, and all their dependencies. After that, starting and stopping the workspace will be pretty quick.
+
+My new workspace is running.
+
+![Workspace running, VNC button](./static/aws-ec2-workspace-running-vnc.png)
+
+Out of curiosity, I open a new browser tab to confirm that the instance running in AWS.
+
+![Instance running, VNC button](./static/aws-ec2-instance-running.png)
+
+And if I wanted to make it even more convenient, I could change geographical location with just another edit to the template's Terraform file. This would reduce lag in the UI if I'm too far from the AWS data center.
+
+Launching the VNC browser client is simple. In the running workspace, I select **Port forward**, enter the VNC server's port (8444), and select **Open URL**.
+
+![Port forward to VNC](./static/aws-ec2-workspace-port-fwd.png)
+
+
+## Conclusion: Ultra-portable ARM64 is ready when I am!
+
+Now I can develop my ARM64 project, in its desktop environment, and from any browser. With Coder, my ultra-portable ARM64 environment is wherever I am.
+
+![Using my ultra-portable ARM64](./static/ultra-portable-arm64-vnc.png)
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