2.4.4. Remote Debugging

The remote debugging feature enables Admin Console to access Connext discovery-related telemetry data (builtin topics) without participating directly in the Connext application domains. Remote mode enables Admin Console to visualize telemetry data from applications running on remote systems. The data exchanged can be secured using HTTPS and BASIC authentication to make sure its confidentiality and integrity are preserved.

All Admin Console modes of operation are mutually exclusive. When working in remote mode, online and offline modes are unavailable.

Remote mode works in tandem with RTI Observability Framework using Collector Service. Observability Framework and Admin Console in remote mode can be run simultaneously to provide a robust approach for analyzing remote distributed systems. However, Observability Framework is not required to use remote debugging in Admin Console.

Note

For information about Observability Framework, Monitoring Library 2.0, and Collector Service, see the Observability User’s Manual.

2.4.4.1. Before You Begin

Remote debugging in Admin Console uses the Collector Service and Monitoring Library 2.0 components of the Observability Framework. Both components are included in the Connext Professional installation. For x64 Linux hosts, Collector Service is also available as a standalone installation using a container image hosted on Docker Hub.

Using remote mode requires a valid RTI license file. For instructions on how to install a license file, see Installing the License File in the RTI Connext Installation Guide.

2.4.4.2. Configure Remote Debugging

To use remote mode in Admin Console, complete the following steps:

• Enable Monitoring Library 2.0 to forward remote debugging data to a Collector Service instance from a Connext application. It is enabled by default if your application links to dynamic Connext libraries, and Monitoring Library 2.0 is available in your library path.

• Run Collector Service to distribute remote debugging data forwarded by Monitoring Library 2.0.

2.4.4.2.1. Enabling Monitoring Library 2.0

Monitoring Library 2.0 allows you to instrument a Connext application to forward telemetry data. It must be enabled to use remote mode in Admin Console.

For detailed information and examples, see Monitoring Library 2.0 in the RTI Connext Observability Framework User’s Manual.

2.4.4.2.2. Running Collector Service

Collector Service collects telemetry data forwarded by Monitoring Library 2.0. The Collector Service instance collecting remote debugging data must use a WebSocket exporter endpoint. For more information, see Collector Service in the RTI Connext Observability Framework User’s Manual.

Collector Service can run in two security configurations:

• Secure. Data is secured using BASIC-Auth over HTTPS.

• Non-secure. Data is not secured; anyone with the server URL can connect to the remote system.

2.4.4.2.2.1. Secure

Collector Service uses a WebSocket server to communicate with Admin Console. The WebSocket server is secured using HTTPS and Basic authentication. You must provide the security artifacts required to configure the WebSocket server running in Collector Service.

There are two built-in configurations in Collector Service for secure remote debugging:

• SecureRemoteDebuggingWAN: Connect to remote systems over WAN using HTTPS and BASIC authentication.

• SecureRemoteDebuggingLAN: Connect to remote systems over LAN using HTTPS and BASIC authentication.

To run Collector Service to connect over a WAN securely, follow these steps:

1. Generate the server.pem and htdigest security files. For details, see Generating HTTPS Security Artifacts in the RTI Connext Observability Framework User’s Manual.

2. Run one of the following commands to start Collector Service.

To run Collector Service to connect over a WAN with security:

Collector Service ExecutableCollector Service Docker image

rticollectorservice -cfgName SecureRemoteDebuggingWAN \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_SERVER_PEM=/rti/security/https/serverControl.pem \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_BASIC_AUTH_FILE=/rti/security/https/htdigest_control \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PUBLIC_HOSTNAME="<public hostname>" \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_HOSTNAME="<hostname>" \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PORT=19098s \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PUBLIC_PORT=19098s

To run Collector Service to connect over a LAN with security:

Collector Service ExecutableCollector Service Docker image

rticollectorservice -cfgName SecureRemoteDebuggingLAN \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_SERVER_PEM=/rti/security/https/serverControl.pem \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_BASIC_AUTH_FILE=/rti/security/https/htdigest_control \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_HOSTNAME="<hostname>" \
        -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PORT=19098s

2.4.4.2.2.2. Non-secure

There are two built-in configurations in Collector Service for non-secure remote debugging:

• NonSecureRemoteDebuggingWAN: Connect to remote systems without security over WAN.

• NonSecureRemoteDebuggingLAN: Connect to remote systems without security over LAN.

To run Collector Service to connect over a WAN without security:

Collector Service ExecutableCollector Service Docker image

rticollectorservice -cfgName NonSecureRemoteDebuggingWAN \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PUBLIC_HOSTNAME="<public hostname>" \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_HOSTNAME="<hostname>" \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PORT=19098 \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PUBLIC_PORT=19098

To run Collector Service to connect over a LAN without security:

Collector Service ExecutableCollector Service Docker image

rticollectorservice -cfgName NonSecureRemoteDebuggingLAN \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_HOSTNAME="<hostname>" \
          -DOBSERVABILITY_CONTROL_PORT=19098

2.4.4.3. Enable Remote Debugging in Admin Console

To enable remote mode, go to View > Preferences > Administration, then select the Remote tab.

• Server URL: Enter the protocol, address, port, and the Collector Service path for the remote system. The default port and Collector Service path are included; change the default url as needed.

  • When using a non-secure WebSockets connection, use the format ws://<ip>:<port>/rti/collector_service/v1/observables.

  • When using a secure WebSockets connection, use the format wss://<ip>:<port>/rti/collector_service/v1/observables.

• Basic auth: If using a secure connection, select Basic auth and enter your credentials.

To establish the connection, select Connect. If the connection is successful, the Current status area displays the connection information. If the connection fails, the following error message displays.

To end the active remote session, select Disconnect.

Remote mode provides the ability to use all of the existing Admin Console features that rely solely on discovery information. These features include:

• DDS Logical View: A hierarchical view of the remote system’s domains and Topics.

• Physical View: A hierarchical view of the hosts and processes running in the system.

• Processes View: A tabular view of all system processes.

• Health View: A tabular view displaying the health of a selected system Entity.

• Match Analyses View: A hierarchical view of one or more match analyses for a selected Entity.

• DDS Data Type View: A hierarchical or IDL text view of the data types used by a selected DataWriter or DataReader.

• DDS QoS View: A hierarchical view of QoS settings for a selected Entity.

• System View: A graphical representation of the remote system.

• Host View: A tabular view summarizing general information about the remote hosts.

• Process View: Multiple panels that provide details about each process’s DDS Entities.

• Topic View: Multiple tabs that provide details about a selected Topic.

2.4.4.3.1. Limitations

The Admin Console features that require subscribing to or publishing Topics are not available in remote mode. As a result, the following Topic View tabs are inaccessible when monitoring remote systems:

• Publication tab

• Topic Data tab

• Sample Inspector tab

• Sample Log tab

• Time Chart tab

Additionally, RTI Connext Infrastructure Services and RTI Distributed Logger are not supported in remote mode.

Note

Remote Debugging is available only in Connext 7.5.0 and higher. For backward compatibility information for remote debugging, Monitoring Library 2.0, and Collector Service, see the Migration Guide on the RTI Community Portal.