A mismash of files related to Jupyter/Binderhub

Trying Jupterhub and Binderhub

1. JupyterHub
2. BinderHUb

Installing JupyterHub:

with Minikube (local)

1. Follow these instructions
   • Run Docker Quickstart Terminal as administrator
   • IMPORTANT make sure to start the virtual machine with adequate memory and processing:
     • minikube start --memory=<xxxmb> --cpus=<x> --vm-driver=virtualbox
     • memory = 4096
     • cpus = 4
2. Get Helm version < 3
   • Version 3+ no longer has tiller which is part of the instructions for JupyterHub
3. Add HELM to the PATH
   • Might need to restart Docker Quickstart Terminal afterward
4. Follow these instructions to set up HELM
5. Setup JupyterHub
   • Running this locally means there is no LoadBalancer so there will not be an external IP address. To access the JupyterHub:
     • the command kubemini tunnel will create an external IP address that can be used to access the service. The minikube might need to be restarted after this before the IP will work.
     • use kubectl get service --namespace jhub to list the running services. proxy-public should have an "EXTERNAL-IP" address

Setting up existing Docker Image for Jupyter

There are a number of Docker images ready to be deployed with JupyterHub. Some are very basic and some provide support for multiple languages with different packages. To make one of them default:

• To config.yaml add

singleuser:
  image:
    name: <image-name>
    tag: <image-tag>

instructions

Multiple Profiles

There is support to setup multiple profiles which would allow users to select from different docker images and even hardware or interface (default, JupyterLab, RStudio)

Providing Files to All Users

If there are files that all users should have access to,

1. Add files to user storage:
   • this involves copying files from one directory to another
   • the draw back for this is that it will run everytime the server starts
2. nbgitpuller
   • is used to synchornize a folder in a user's filesystem with a git repository
   • this also happens whenever the user starts their server
   • recommended method

Database

Default is a sqlite database stored on "a persistant volume attached to the hub." It is also possible to use an external RDBMS database.

Errors & Debugging

500 error or event log keeps saying "Server requested," check hub log if it says,

TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'NoneType' and 'datetime.datetime'

• deploy patch here

timeout error when upgrading through helm:

• Check events: kubectl get events -n jhub

If after restarting minikube the hub won't load, try removing the tunnel and recreating it, or if there are any conflicting routes when using minikube tunnel:

• minikube tunnel -c true
• minikube tunnel

Useful commands:

• Check logs:
  • kubectl --namespace=<namespace> get pod -> find the pod's nane
  • kubectl --namespace=<namespace> logs <pod_name>
• kubectl --namespace=<namespace> describe pod <pod_name> -> details about the state of a pod, lists "events" at the bottom. This is the most likely place to find an error
• kubectl describe nodes
• helm list -> will give namespace, should be 'jhub' following the above instructions
• kubectl get events

Installing BinderHub:

with Minikube (local)

1. Follow these instructions
   • Run Docker Quickstart Terminal as administrator
   • IMPORTANT make sure to start the virtual machine with adequate memory and processing:
     • minikube start --memory=<xxxmb> --cpus=<x> --vm-driver=virtualbox
     • memory = 4096
     • cpus = 4
2. Get Helm version < 3
   • Version 3+ no longer has tiller which is part of the instructions for JupyterHub
3. Add HELM to the PATH
   • Might need to restart Docker Quickstart Terminal afterward
4. Follow these instructions to set up HELM
5. Create a Docker registry server
   • it is possible to use a custom registry, but it requires more work
6. Follow instructions to install BinderHub
   • when installing the helm check that you are using the most recent version
   • if there's a "internal server error" when trying to launch, might need to enable CORS:
     • to secret.yaml add:

     cors: &cors
       allowOrigin: '*'
     

Debugging

• Error: could not find tiller - Make sure Helm was setup (step 4 above)
• Use minikube tunnel to create an externally accessible IP (see JupyterHub instructions for details)
• Not showing build progress (Networking issue?)
  • Messages appear right before the notebook is launched
  • The eventstream is being held up until everything is finished?
  • buffering issue somewhere in the internal network?
  • jupyterhub/binderhub#487
  • have not found a solution
• Turn it off an on again:
  • minikube stop
  • minikube start