Ferdi: Setup Windows development machine in the cloud

[kytwb]

I propose we setup a Windows development machine in the cloud so both @vantezzen and I can connect to it remotely and debug/test things on Windows before releasing as we both don't have access to Windows afaik.

That would unlock https://github.com/getferdi/ferdi/issues/253 (via https://github.com/getferdi/internal-server/issues/2) as a fix has been submitted but not tested yet. It would also help prevent introducing platform-specific regressions further down the road.

The development machine would incur some costs that could be passed onto the collective. At the moment Ferdi runs almost for free using the free tier of AWS (monthly bill under $1):

We could take a look at the EC2 On-Demand Pricing for Windows and establish which kind of instance we would need; Windows instances comes with EBS only for storage, so we should take that in the cost consideration as well (we can run the EC2 instance on-demand (start it when we're working and stop it when we're done) but the storage will be persistent and paid for).

WDYT?

[kytwb]

Alternatively I wanted to take a look at Visual Studio Online but I'm stuck at login.
Related: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/vsonline/issues/321, Twitter thread.

[vantezzen]

This sounds like a good idea. Do you know how much this would approximately cost?

[rndthoughts]

I use Azure DevOps (VS Online) quite extensively and Azure - can i assist in anyway?

[kytwb]

I have been stuck with VS Online trying to setup my account:

I have already created the free Azure account but the menu above doesn't get updated. I will give it another try or go with AWS.

[rndthoughts]

If you've already created a free Azure account, did you create the subscription in the Azure Portal?

[kytwb]

@rndthoughts yes it is created but the dropdown stays disabled with the invitation to create an Azure account; I tried a couple of times, double checking I'm on the right accounts on both platform (Visual Studio Online/Azure) but in vain. I have followed-up with Azure support on Twitter (with a video of the issue) and they suggested I create a new support ticket.

[rndthoughts]

That's bizarre, I've just tried it myself and got the following. It's nothing to do with any ad-blocker or failed CORS requests is it? I've been noticing that the new Edge is extremely picky about CORS requests.

[kytwb]

The request to go fetch my subscriptions is done, but the returned array is empty. I have tried in Brave, Chrome (making sure there's no script blocker). Safari isn't supported. Installing Edge and giving it another try later today.

[kytwb]

[vantezzen]

What I currently don't understand about VS Online is can it run the ElectronJS app? Looking into the service, it looks like you can only run server applications but we cannot test Ferdi itself - is that right?

[rndthoughts]

Yes it's pretty much a shared development environment - you can access VSCode in a browser rather than an Electron app. If you want to actually run the app, you'd have to spin up a ubuntu/mac/windows vm on Azure anyway but you could automate this process with DevOps.

[kytwb]

Ah my bad for the confusion; @vantezzen I'll just setup a Windows instance we can Remote Desktop connect to in AWS next to the already existing instance that runs the server 🙏 Following this: "Remote Desktop uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and enables you to connect to and use your instance in the same way you use a computer sitting in front of you."

[kytwb]

Experiencing with Amazon WorkSpaces 👀

[kytwb]

@vantezzen added the credentials to the Amazon WorkSpaces account to the secure note. Email with additional details from AWS was sent to [email protected].

[kytwb]

[kytwb]

Details on pricing available at https://aws.amazon.com/workspaces/pricing/
Currently using a Performance (2 vCPU, 7.5 GiB Memory | 80 GB | 100 GB) with Windows 10.
Note sure if the following applies to us:

Work from Home Offer

Beginning April 1st, we are offering Amazon WorkSpaces for up to 50 users at no charge for new WorkSpaces customers, offer available through June 30, 2020. This offer will include our Standard, Value, and Performance bundles.

[kytwb]

@vantezzen Given upcoming monthly billing, I just wanted to bring that back to attention and re-evaluate with you if we should keep the workspace or not? We have new contributors since who are working on Windows, so maybe we could consider including them in the release testing process?

[vantezzen]

Yes, I think that the little use we get out of the workspace can justify the monthly cost. It was good to solve the Windows issues but not really needed anymore.

[kytwb]

Done 👍 Current billing status FYI:

[kytwb]

By the way, Microsoft is sharing a Windows development environment for free via https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/

[kytwb]

I recommend going with Parallels Desktop on macOS if ever needed. VirtualBox was not working.

[kytwb]

If you're a contributor or thinking of contributing to Ferdi and are using macOS, let us know, we have some licences for Parallels Desktop to share with you so you can properly contribute and test your changes on Windows 🥳

Reach out at [email protected] with your GitHub username! 🙏

[kytwb]

I will be adding Parallels logo to the README: