docs: moved old cloud depl. templates to Appendices & edited intros

docs/server/source/appendices/azure-quickstart-template.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# Azure Quickstart Template
+
+This page outlines how to run a single BigchainDB node on the Microsoft Azure public cloud, with RethinkDB as the database backend. It uses an Azure Quickstart Template. That template is dated because we now recommend using MongoDB instead of RethinkDB. That's why we moved this page to the Appendices.
+
+Note: There was an Azure quickstart template in the `blockchain` directory of Microsoft's `Azure/azure-quickstart-templates` repository on GitHub. It's gone now; it was replaced by the one described here.
+
+One can deploy a BigchainDB node on Azure using the template in the `bigchaindb-on-ubuntu` directory of Microsoft's `Azure/azure-quickstart-templates` repository on GitHub. Here's how:
+
+1. Go to [that directory on GitHub](https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/tree/master/bigchaindb-on-ubuntu).
+
+1. Click the button labelled **Deploy to Azure**.
+
+1. If you're not already logged in to Microsoft Azure, then you'll be prompted to login. If you don't have an account, then you'll have to create one.
+
+1. Once you are logged in to the Microsoft Azure Portal, you should be taken to a form titled **BigchainDB**. Some notes to help with filling in that form are available [below](azure-quickstart-template.html#notes-on-the-blockchain-template-form-fields).
+
+1. Deployment takes a few minutes. You can follow the notifications by clicking the bell icon at the top of the screen. At the time of writing, the final deployment operation (running the `init.sh` script) was failing, but a pull request ([#2884](https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/pull/2884)) has been made to fix that and these instructions say what you can do before that pull request gets merged...
+
+1. Find out the public IP address of the virtual machine in the Azure Portal. Example: `40.69.87.250`
+
+1. ssh in to the virtual machine at that IP address, i.e. do `ssh <Admin_username>@<machine-ip>` where `<Admin_username>` is the admin username you entered into the form and `<machine-ip>` is the virtual machine IP address determined in the last step. Example: `ssh bcdbadmin@40.69.87.250`
+
+1. You should be prompted for a password. Give the `<Admin_password>` you entered into the form.
+
+1. Configure BigchainDB Server by doing:
+```text
+bigchaindb configure rethinkdb
+```
+It will ask you several questions. You can press `Enter` (or `Return`) to accept the default for all of them *except for one*. When it asks **API Server bind? (default \`localhost:9984\`):**, you should answer:
+```text
+API Server bind? (default `localhost:9984`): 0.0.0.0:9984
+```
+
+Finally, run BigchainDB Server by doing:
+```text
+bigchaindb start
+```
+
+BigchainDB Server should now be running on the Azure virtual machine.
+
+Remember to shut everything down when you're done (via the Azure Portal), because it generally costs money to run stuff on Azure.
+
+
+## Notes on the Blockchain Template Form Fields
+
+### BASICS
+
+**Resource group** - You can use an existing resource group (if you have one) or create a new one named whatever you like, but avoid using fancy characters in the name because Azure might have problems if you do.
+
+**Location** is the Microsoft Azure data center where you want the BigchainDB node to run. Pick one close to where you are located.
+
+### SETTINGS
+
+You can use whatever **Admin\_username** and **Admin\_password** you like (provided you don't get too fancy). It will complain if your password is too simple. You'll need these later to `ssh` into the virtual machine.
+
+**Dns\_label\_prefix** - Once your virtual machine is deployed, it will have a public IP address and a DNS name (hostname) something like `<DNSprefix>.northeurope.cloudapp.azure.com`. The `<DNSprefix>` will be whatever you enter into this field.
+
+**Virtual\_machine\_size** - This should be one of Azure's standard virtual machine sizes, such as `Standard_D1_v2`. There's a [list of virtual machine sizes in the Azure docs](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/virtual-machines-windows-sizes?toc=%2fazure%2fvirtual-machines%2fwindows%2ftoc.json).
+
+**\_artifacts Location** - Leave this alone.
+
+**\_artifacts Location Sas Token** - Leave this alone (blank).
+
+### TERMS AND CONDITIONS
+
+Read the terms and conditions. If you agree to them, then check the checkbox.
+
+Finally, click the button labelled **Purchase**. (Generally speaking, it costs money to run stuff on Azure.)

docs/server/source/appendices/index.rst

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ Appendices
    backend
    commands
    aws-setup
+   template-terraform-aws
+   template-ansible
+   azure-quickstart-template
    generate-key-pair-for-ssh
    firewall-notes
    ntp-notes

docs/server/source/appendices/template-ansible.md

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+# Template: Ansible Playbook to Run a BigchainDB Node on an Ubuntu Machine
+
+This page explains how to use [Ansible](https://www.ansible.com/) to install, configure and run all the software needed to run a one-machine BigchainDB node on a server running Ubuntu 16.04.
+
+**Note: We're not actively maintaining the associated Ansible files (e.g. playbooks). They are RethinkDB-specific, even though we now recommend using MongoDB. You may find the old Ansible stuff useful nevertheless, which is why we moved this page to the Appendices rather than deleting it.**
+
+
+## Install Ansible
+
+The Ansible documentation has [installation instructions](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/intro_installation.html). Note the control machine requirements: at the time of writing, Ansible required Python 2.6 or 2.7. ([Python 3 support is coming](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/python_3_support.html): "Ansible 2.2 features a tech preview of Python 3 support." and the latest version, as of January 31, 2017, was 2.2.1.0. For now, it's probably best to use it with Python 2.)
+
+For example, you could create a special Python 2.x virtualenv named `ansenv` and then install Ansible in it:
+```text
+cd repos/bigchaindb/ntools
+virtualenv -p /usr/local/lib/python2.7.11/bin/python ansenv
+source ansenv/bin/activate
+pip install ansible
+```
+
+## About Our Example Ansible Playbook 
+
+Our example Ansible playbook installs, configures and runs a basic BigchainDB node on an Ubuntu 16.04 machine. That playbook is in `.../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible/one-m-node.yml`.
+
+When you run the playbook (as per the instructions below), it ensures all the necessary software is installed, configured and running. It can be used to get a BigchainDB node set up on a bare Ubuntu 16.04 machine, but it can also be used to ensure that everything is okay on a running BigchainDB node. (If you run the playbook against a host where everything is okay, then it won't change anything on that host.)
+
+
+## Create an Ansible Inventory File
+
+An Ansible "inventory" file is a file which lists all the hosts (machines) you want to manage using Ansible. (Ansible will communicate with them via SSH.) Right now, we only want to manage one host.
+
+First, determine the public IP address of the host (i.e. something like `192.0.2.128`).
+
+Then create a one-line text file named `hosts` by doing this:
+```text
+# cd to the directory .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible
+echo "192.0.2.128" > hosts
+```
+
+but replace `192.0.2.128` with the IP address of the host.
+
+
+## Run the Ansible Playbook(s)
+
+The latest Ubuntu 16.04 AMIs from Canonical don't include Python 2 (which is required by Ansible), so the first step is to run a small Ansible playbook to install Python 2 on the managed node:
+```text
+# cd to the directory .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible
+ansible-playbook -i hosts --private-key ~/.ssh/<key-name> install-python2.yml
+```
+
+where `<key-name>` should be replaced by the name of the SSH private key you created earlier (for SSHing to the host machine at your cloud hosting provider).
+
+The next step is to run the Ansible playbook named `one-m-node.yml`:
+```text
+# cd to the directory .../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible
+ansible-playbook -i hosts --private-key ~/.ssh/<key-name> one-m-node.yml
+```
+
+What did you just do? Running that playbook ensures all the software necessary for a one-machine BigchainDB node is installed, configured, and running properly. You can run that playbook on a regular schedule to ensure that the system stays properly configured. If something is okay, it does nothing; it only takes action when something is not as-desired.
+
+
+## Some Notes on the One-Machine Node You Just Got Running
+
+* It ensures that the installed version of RethinkDB is the latest. You can change that by changing the installation task.
+* It uses a very basic RethinkDB configuration file based on `bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible/roles/rethinkdb/templates/rethinkdb.conf.j2`.
+* If you edit the RethinkDB configuration file, then running the Ansible playbook will **not** restart RethinkDB for you. You must do that manually. (You can stop RethinkDB using `sudo /etc/init.d/rethinkdb stop`; run the playbook to get RethinkDB started again. This assumes you're using init.d, which is what the Ansible playbook assumes. If you want to use systemd, you'll have to edit the playbook accordingly, and stop RethinkDB using `sudo systemctl stop rethinkdb@<name_instance>`.)
+* It generates and uses a default BigchainDB configuration file, which it stores in `~/.bigchaindb` (the default location).
+* If you edit the BigchainDB configuration file, then running the Ansible playbook will **not** restart BigchainDB for you. You must do that manually. (You could stop it using `sudo killall -9 bigchaindb`. Run the playbook to get it started again.)
+
+
+## Optional: Create an Ansible Config File
+
+The above command (`ansible-playbook -i ...`) is fairly long. You can omit the optional arguments if you put their values in an [Ansible configuration file](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/intro_configuration.html) (config file) instead. There are many places where you can put a config file, but to make one specifically for the "one-m" case, you should put it in `.../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/ansible/`. In that directory, create a file named `ansible.cfg` with the following contents:
+```text
+[defaults]
+private_key_file = $HOME/.ssh/<key-name>
+inventory = hosts
+```
+
+where, as before, `<key-name>` must be replaced.
+
+
+## Next Steps
+
+You could make changes to the Ansible playbook (and the resources it uses) to make the node more production-worthy. See [the section on production node assumptions, components and requirements](../production-nodes/index.html).

docs/server/source/appendices/template-terraform-aws.md

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+# Template: Using Terraform to Provision an Ubuntu Machine on AWS
+
+This page explains a way to use [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/) to provision an Ubuntu machine (i.e. an EC2 instance with Ubuntu 16.04) and other resources on [AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/). That machine can then be used to host a one-machine BigchainDB node, for example.
+
+**Note: We're not actively maintaining the associated Terraform files. You may find them useful nevertheless, which is why we moved this page to the Appendices rather than deleting it.**
+
+
+## Install Terraform
+
+The [Terraform documentation has installation instructions](https://www.terraform.io/intro/getting-started/install.html) for all common operating systems.
+
+If you don't want to run Terraform on your local machine, you can install it on a cloud machine under your control (e.g. on AWS).
+
+Note: Hashicorp has an enterprise version of Terraform called "Terraform Enterprise." You can license it by itself or get it as part of Atlas. If you decide to license Terraform Enterprise or Atlas, be sure to install it on your own hosting (i.e. "on premise"), not on the hosting provided by Hashicorp. The reason is that BigchainDB clusters are supposed to be decentralized. If everyone used Hashicorp's hosted Atlas, then that would be a point of centralization.
+
+**Ubuntu Installation Tips**
+
+If you want to install Terraform on Ubuntu, first [download the .zip file](https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html). Then install it in `/opt`:
+```text
+sudo mkdir -p /opt/terraform
+sudo unzip path/to/zip-file.zip -d /opt/terraform
+```
+
+Why install it in `/opt`? See [the answers at Ask Ubuntu](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1148/what-is-the-best-place-to-install-user-apps).
+
+Next, add `/opt/terraform` to your path. If you use bash for your shell, then you could add this line to `~/.bashrc`:
+```text
+export PATH="/opt/terraform:$PATH"
+```
+
+After doing that, relaunch your shell or force it to read `~/.bashrc` again, e.g. by doing `source ~/.bashrc`. You can verify that terraform is installed and in your path by doing:
+```text
+terraform --version
+```
+
+It should say the current version of Terraform.
+
+
+## Get Set Up to Use Terraform
+
+First, do the [basic AWS setup steps outlined in the Appendices](../appendices/aws-setup.html).
+
+Then go to the `.../bigchaindb/ntools/one-m/aws/` directory and open the file `variables.tf`. Most of the variables have sensible default values, but you can change them if you like. In particular, you may want to change `aws_region`. (Terraform looks in `~/.aws/credentials` to get your AWS credentials, so you don't have to enter those anywhere.)
+
+The `ssh_key_name` has no default value, so Terraform will prompt you every time it needs it.
+
+To see what Terraform will do, run:
+```text
+terraform plan
+```
+
+It should ask you the value of `ssh_key_name`. 
+
+It figured out the plan by reading all the `.tf` Terraform files in the directory.
+
+If you don't want to be asked for the `ssh_key_name`, you can change the default value of `ssh_key_name` (in the file `variables.tf`) or [you can set an environmen variable](https://www.terraform.io/docs/configuration/variables.html) named `TF_VAR_ssh_key_name`.
+
+
+## Use Terraform to Provision Resources
+
+To provision all the resources specified in the plan, do the following. **Note: This will provision actual resources on AWS, and those cost money. Be sure to shut down the resources you don't want to keep running later, otherwise the cost will keep growing.**
+```text
+terraform apply
+```
+
+Terraform will report its progress as it provisions all the resources. Once it's done, you can go to the Amazon EC2 web console and see the instance, its security group, its elastic IP, and its attached storage volumes (one for the root directory and one for RethinkDB storage).
+
+At this point, there is no software installed on the instance except for Ubuntu 16.04 and whatever else came with the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) specified in the Terraform configuration (files).
+
+The next step is to install, configure and run all the necessary software for a BigchainDB node. You could use [our example Ansible playbook](template-ansible.html) to do that.
+
+
+## Optional: "Destroy" the Resources
+
+If you want to shut down all the resources just provisioned, you must first disable termination protection on the instance:
+
+1. Go to the EC2 console and select the instance you just launched. It should be named `BigchainDB_node`.
+2. Click **Actions** > **Instance Settings** > **Change Termination Protection** > **Yes, Disable**
+3. Back in your terminal, do `terraform destroy`
+
+Terraform should "destroy" (i.e. terminate or delete) all the AWS resources you provisioned above.
+
+If it fails (e.g. because of an attached and mounted EBS volume), then you can terminate the instance using the EC2 console: **Actions** > **Instance State** > **Terminate** > **Yes, Terminate**. Once the instance is terminated, you should still do `terraform destroy` to make sure that all the other resources are destroyed.
+