2020-November: Remote Observing v2.0

Created by Josh Walawender
Last updated: Nov 25, 2020
2 min read

On November 24, Keck released a significant upgrade to the remote observing software which observers use to connect to the instrument VNCs from home. If observers have already configured their software to connect from home, they do not need to upgrade if they don’t want to. The current (v1.x) connection will still work. There are benefits of upgrading to version 2.0 however:

Benefits of v2.0 of the Remote Observing software for observers

  • Observers can upload and manage their own SSH keys via their observer login page. Observers no longer have to contact Keck Staff in order to load their SSH key in to the system.

  • Once an observer’s SSH key is uploaded, they no longer need to obtain secure information (such as the firewall password) from Keck Staff before connecting.

    • Once their key is uploaded, they will be given an “API key” which they will put in the local configuration file of the Remote Observing software. This key will enable a secure connection to Keck without the need to have the firewall password.

    • This means that observers will not need to obtain the firewall password from Keck Staff as the password changes over time.

We believe that this represents a significant benefit to the users and it also lessens the support burden on Keck Staff, so we encourage all observers to upgrade when it is convenient for them.

As part of this upgrade we have enhanced the security features of our systems here at Keck. As a result, only observers who are listed on the telescope schedule will be able to connect to Keck. This restriction will be in effect regardless of which version of the Remote Observing software you are using, so it will be important to make sure that the telescope schedule reflects the makeup of your observing team. If you need to update your observer list (i.e. modify an existing remote observing request), please submit a ticket on our help desk page.

How to Upgrade

Observers must do three things to upgrade:

  1. Upload their SSH key via their observer login page and note the “API key” that is assigned to it.

  2. Update the Remote Observing software to version 2 by typing git pull in the directory where the software is installed.

  3. Add the API key to the local_config.yaml as described in the README for the Remote Observing software.