SSH issues and inconsistencies with VirtualBox LAMP releases

mysticalcoder 2021-02-05 11:18:47 UTC #1

Keywords: LAMP/MAMP/WAMP - Virtual Machines - Technical issue - Connectivity (SSH/FTP)
Description:
Hello,

I'm not asking for a technical answer for this ticket/topic as I have found a solution. I'd just like to provide feedback on a prevalent problem with releases, documentation and confusing solutions from this forum. Please be aware that I'm not a network/hosting engineer.

The newer releases of your LAMP stack for VirtualBox (MAC) have SSH problems. Or probably the instructions from this page that I used back in November 2020 needs to be updated: https://docs.bitnami.com/virtual-machine/faq/get-started/enable-ssh/. This is what I'm getting:

The authenticity of host '192.168.0.195 (192.168.0.195)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:***********************.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added '192.168.0.195' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
bitnami@192.168.0.195: Permission denied (publickey).

IMPORTANT: Background: Back in November last year, I wrote structured notes whilst I set up a LAMP Virtualbox instance. It was my goal to establish repeatable documented procedures – a checklist if you will. It wasn't an easy exercise because of inconsistencies with the documentation on your site. I tested my checklist twice creating two more test virtual boxes – just to make sure that I have covered all bases for my notes.

I used my "supposedly trusted notes" again after two months but I got stuck with the SSH. Take note fo the following especially item number three below:

The LAMP Stack with PHP version 7.14.15 with January 2021 datestamps on most files - had SSH issues.
The LAMP Stack with PHP version 8 with January 2021 datestamps on most files -- had SSH issues
The LAMP Stack with PHP version 7.14 which I downloaded from November 2020 had NO SSH Issues. (Please be aware I used the same notes I wrote.)

So you'd know - I've done the above in the last 24 hours - so as not to confuse with datestamps. But as you can see from the above, any change that you guys implement have an impact on the time that your customers spend figuring out what was once working previous doesn't now.

I appreciate that free/open-source platforms are available. As much as possible I'd do my own research and test the system for myself before asking anyone on any forum. I'm pretty sure that you guys would like that. However, as free as it may seem, it's time-consuming to work out issues takes a lot of time. Time equates to dollars and cents.

But I'm just wondering if you guys have Quality Assurance (QA) procedures to ensure that everything works as per your documentation? Is there any documentation solely for VirtualBox platform? Can you open the documentation for VirtualBox platform to the community?

I am particularly concerned with your change management and/or QA procedures. This is because I recently launched a Bitnami Lamp instance on AWS. I'm worried about what sort of issues that may come up when I launch newer LAMP versions.

Reading the comments from other forum users here, I think they share the same sentiment about this.

I hope you guys will take this feedback onboard.

Cheers,
MC

jcarmona 2021-02-08 12:46:54 UTC #2

Hi @mysticalcoder

Thanks for using Bitnami LAMP and providing feedback on it, we appreciate it and find it extremely valuable.

The newer releases of your LAMP stack for VirtualBox (MAC) have SSH problems. Or probably the instructions from this page that I used back in November 2020 needs to be updated: https://docs.bitnami.com/virtual-machine/faq/get-started/enable-ssh/. This is what I'm getting:

The LAMP Stack with PHP version 8 with January 2021 datestamps on most files -- had SSH issues

In order to assert this, I have tried to reproduce your issue by downloading the latest version of the Bitnami LAMP Stack VM version 8.0.2-0:

$ md5sum bitnami-lampstack-8.0.2-0-linux-debian-10-x86_64-nami.ova
30125bd777b199786e3882a9677076f4

As you mentioned VirtualBox, I will also be using this hypervisor (Version 6.1.6 r137129 (Qt5.6.3)).

Having said that, I have followed the aforementioned tutorial and could enable the SSH service without any issues on the VM. In order to connect to the instance, I have generated a key in my local machine and added it to the LAMP Stack VM as documented in here:
https://docs.bitnami.com/virtual-machine/faq/get-started/enable-ssh-keys/

At this point, I can access through SSH with no problems:

$ ssh -i temporalKey bitnami@192.168.100.101
Last login: Mon Feb  8 12:12:51 2021 from 192.168.100.108
bitnami@debian:~$ ls
bitnami_credentials  htdocs  stack

I am sorry, but I could not reproduce your issue on our side.

The LAMP Stack with PHP version 7.14.15 with January 2021 datestamps on most files - had SSH issues.
The LAMP Stack with PHP version 8 with January 2021 datestamps on most files -- had SSH issues
The LAMP Stack with PHP version 7.14 which I downloaded from November 2020 had NO SSH Issues. (Please be aware I used the same notes I wrote.)

Regarding the list here, there is no PHP version 7.14.15 (I guess you are referring to 7.4.14, am I right?)

any change that you guys implement have an impact on the time that your customers spend figuring out what was once working previous doesn't now.

We deeply value the feedback users give us and, with that in mind, create and maintain a documentation for all of our stacks, so that any change or procedure is there to help. We try to keep that up to date, with any recent modification, and fix any problem when users report a mismatch .

But I'm just wondering if you guys have Quality Assurance (QA) procedures to ensure that everything works as per your documentation? Is there any documentation solely for VirtualBox platform? Can you open the documentation for VirtualBox platform to the community?

We do have a QA procedure for each of our assets, implementing a range of checklists that must be met in order for an asset to be released. Regarding documentation specifically targeted to VirtualBox, I am afraid we only offer some generic guides on how to deploy our stacks using VirtualBox and VMware, but not ones specially tailored for specific assets.

I hope you guys will take this feedback onboard.

Once again, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us!

Best regards,
Jose Antonio Carmona

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system 2021-02-22 12:46:54 UTC #3

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