Browser Container
Topic: Assets
Related: Disk Size Reporting, GitLab Runner, Backup Strategies, Container Images, Instance Types

What is a Browser Container?

A Browser Container is a newly-developed container asset that turns the VNC button into a Chrome or Firefox web browser.

If your group is using or developing a browser-based application, but you aren’t allowed to host this app on the open internet, then a browser container is the way to go!

With a browser container, you can use Arcus as your authentication method, and you can host your app on the Arcus user-net. Instead of deploying a system and manually downloading a browser, this asset will take you directly to a URL of your choice on Chrome or Firefox.

How to build a Browser Container

To set up your browser container:

  1. Clone this system, or if you’re familiar with constructing your own systems, use this Asset and this Asset and add them to an Ubuntu 20 Based system in that order Cloning Asset via the top-right button on a System

    Note: If you’re not sure how to clone a system, please see this KB article for assistance.

  2. Enter the System Builder to customize your cloned system

  3. Start by giving your new system a name and click Next System customization screen

  4. Edit system settings as desired, then click Next

  5. Finish your system!

  6. You can either launch your run from the completed system as a quickbuild, or go through the full process and create a scenario, then a deployment before launching.

Available Environment Variables

  • HOMEPAGE

    • The webpage that is launched by the container
    • example: HOMEPAGE=https://spaceforce.mil

  • SCREEN_WIDTH

    • The width of the browser
    • default: 1920
    • example: SCREEN_WIDTH=1920

  • SCREEN_HEIGHT

    • The height of the browser
    • default: 1080
    • example: SCREEN_HEIGHT=1080

  • RABROWSER

    • The browser to use
    • options: firefox or chrome
    • example: RABROWSER=chrome

  • HOSTIP

    • IP Address of the HOMEPAGE (if an internal webpage)
    • example: HOSTIP=172.16.14.50

Exposed Ports

  • 5900/tcp
  • 22/tcp

Using the Browser Container

Once your launched run is available, simply connect to your deployment run through VNC and you will be directed to the browser and URL defined above.

If you download something from the browser and would like to transfer it over to your home machine:

  1. Open the onscreen clipboard via Ctrl+Alt+Shift
  2. Select the drive under the text box
  3. Find downloads in the browser folder in the home directory
  4. Double click the file

This should download it to the browser on your local machine.

More Help

If this KB doesn’t answer your question, please feel free to submit a support ticket to support@arcus-cloud.io.

To see the concepts discussed in this article in action, consider watching our YouTube tutorial: