HiveLab: A Lightweight Easy to Deploy Lab Environment 🐝🔬

Table of Contents

1. 📘 Introduction
2. 💻 System Requirements
3. 🚀 Installation
4. 🧩 Components
5. 🔧 Usage
6. 🛡️ Security Considerations
7. 🐞 Troubleshooting
8. 🎨 Customization

1. Introduction 📘

HiveLab is an easy-to-deploy lab system that provides isolated environments for users on a shared host. It uses Docker containers to create separate workspaces for each user, allowing them to work in their own environment without affecting others or the host system.

2. System Requirements 💻

• Ubuntu-based Linux distribution (tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and newer)
• Supported architectures: amd64 or arm64
• Sudo privileges for installation
• SSH server installed and running
• Internet connection for package downloads

3. Installation 🚀

1. Download the installation script to your server.
2. Make the script executable: chmod +x install_hivelab.sh
3. Run the script with sudo privileges: sudo ./install_hivelab.sh
4. The script will automatically:
   • Update and upgrade system packages
   • Install necessary dependencies (jq, docker.io)
   • Set up Docker permissions
   • Create required directories and scripts
   • Modify SSH configuration
   • Restart the SSH service

After installation, you may need to log out and log back in for group changes to take effect.

4. Components 🧩

HiveLab consists of several components:

1. on-login.sh: This script runs when a user logs in via SSH. It starts or ensures the user's container is running and then executes an interactive bash session inside the container.

2. manage_container.sh: This script manages user containers (start, stop, remove).

3. Docker containers: Each user gets their own Docker container based on the Ubuntu image.

4. Modified SSH configuration: Forces the execution of the on-login script for non-root users.

5. Usage 🔧

For Users 👤

• To access HiveLab: ssh user@host
• To bypass HiveLab and get a regular shell: ssh user@host bypass

For Administrators 👨‍💼

• To manage a user's container:

  /opt/hivelab/manage_container.sh username [start|stop|remove]
  

6. Security Considerations 🛡️

• Each user is isolated in their own container.
• Users have sudo access within their containers but not on the host system.
• The Docker socket is mounted in user containers, which could be a potential security risk if users are not trusted.

7. Troubleshooting 🐞

• If a user can't access their container, ensure the Docker service is running: sudo systemctl status docker
• Check container status: docker ps -a
• Review logs: docker logs hivelab-username

8. Customization 🎨

To customize the user environment:

1. Modify the manage_container.sh script to add additional setup steps or install more packages.
2. Change the base image in manage_container.sh from ubuntu:latest to a custom image with pre-installed tools.
3. Adjust resource limits by adding Docker run options in manage_container.sh.

Remember to test thoroughly after making any changes.