The CAS (Crypto Application Server) software must be installed on a dedicated host. Digital Ocean is a recommended third-party provider that provides this service.
What is a VPS?
A VPS is a "Virtual Private Server" - it's not a physical thing. You can't point at it, or take a sledgehammer to it. It exists as one of many "instances" inside an actual humming, beeping, box on a rack somewhere. A bank of 16 "blades" may hold 64 (or many more) virtual machines. This limit is dictated by usage, not size - so a bunch of tiny VM's (virtual machines) may fit in the same space as one massive VM.
Your VPS is one of these virtual machines, dedicated to you, and includes a dedicated IP address and hard drive space. As long as you don't abuse your contract with them - their ToS ("Terms of Service") or AUP ("Acceptable Use Policy") - you're allowed to rule your "world" with an iron fist. They also leave you to your own devices, and to suffer the wrath of your own mistakes. Ahhhh, the high cost of independence.
Most VPS' are about the same price. They offer a dizzying array of options each with it's own cost. They are much cheaper to operate than a dedicated server, though. You will have to become your own "systems administrator", or you might retain someone to handle that load for you. This guide will introduce you to the dark arts involved, and you would be wise to consider the burden carefully.
Your BATM must be able to connect to the CAS to operate. General Bytes offers such hosting, but you may use any hosting provider you prefer - as long as they give you a stable, dedicated IP for you and your BATM to connect to. You must also choose a package that meets the demands of the CAS.
The barest minimum requirements:
1 CPU
8 GB RAM
80 GB HDD
~60GB Data/month + 2GB/BATM/month
In this example, we're using Digital Ocean.
We recommend Digital Ocean.
Low monthly fee.
Receive $10 off when you:
Click on this link: Digital Ocean Referral
or scan this QR:
Digital Ocean VPS setup (as of March 27, 2023):
Create your account using the referral code shown above.
We strongly recommend you enable and setup two-factor authentication!
Navigate to the “Create Droplets” screen.
Choose an image → Distributions → Ubuntu (use the default version listed)
Choose a size → $48/mo (8GB, 4 CPU, 160GB SSD, 5TB transfer) (recommended)
The remaining options were left unchanged.
Click “Create” at the bottom of the page.
The next screen will reveal the IP address of your new web server.
SAVE THIS NUMBER.
You will receive a confirmation email from Digital Ocean. This email will contain:
Your IP again (which you've already saved somewhere, right?)
Your Droplet Name (could be anything and isn't really that important)
Your Username (which will always be “root').
Your TEMPORARY password – you will be forced to change this during your first login!
Next, navigate to “Droplets” and click on your newly created Droplet.
Find “Console” on this page and click on it to a open a new console CLI window.
You will be prompted to login. You'll use the credentials you received in the email from DO.
Your login is: root
Your TEMPORARY password must now be TYPED (no pasting allowed) exactly as it appears in the email.
Nothing will appear to happen at the prompt until you press Enter / Return.
It should then notify you that you must change your password NOW.
Enter the TEMPORARY password one last time (again, by hand)
You will now be asked for the NEW password.
Make it long and STRONG, for example: “ThisIsMy2018RootPW”.
Make it simple enough to remember - you'll need to type it again frequently.
Repeat it once more to confirm, and then you're into the CLI command prompt.
THIS IS NOW YOUR SSH PASSWORD! DON'T FORGET TO SAVE IT SOMEWHERE SECURE!
If you lose the SSH password, you will have to reset it on the Digital Ocean website. It will temporarily shut down your server.
This concludes the Digital Ocean VPS example.
We don’t recommend using the root user for the next common server administration and operation!