RhoAias

RhoAias(/ˈroʊ/ - /ˈaɪ.əs/) is a library for reverse proxy and intranet penetration, that can be deployed directly as a standalone application or embedded as a dependency library in your dotnet application.

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Features

• Support HTTP reverse proxy, which can forward requests based on the location level.
• The client can be started without configuration, and the configuration can be delivered from the server dashboard
• Support TCP/UDP port forwarding, which can be SSH connected to the private network
• Support k8s-ingress. The client can be deployed as a k8s-ingress so that ingress traffic can be forwarded to the intranet k8s cluster.
• Support ACME-based HTTPS certificate and certificate renewal
• Support Metrics monitoring, which can be connected to OpenTelemetry-based monitoring tools, such as Prometheus
• Support data stream compression (compression algorithm supports gzip, snappy, etc.)
• Support WAF(web application firewall), which can defend against script and bot attacks

Usage Scenario

RhoAias can be used in many scenarios, and the following is a set of use case diagrams to quickly understand the use cases of RhoAias.

1.HTTP request forwarding

Forward all HTTP requests from the public network to the intranet by the paths.

2.Multiple ENV forwarding

RhoAias can forward requests to different ENV servers by the paths.

3.Load Balancing

RhoAias supports load balancing across clients.

NOTE: Load balancing for a single client doesn't make sense.

4.K8S-Ingress

RhoAias client can be deployed as a k8s-ingress.

5.Port forwarding

RhoAias can expose internal network ports to the public.

Get Started

Server Deployment

You need to prepare a machine with a public IP address and make sure that the machine has the Docker environment installed.

services:
  rhoaias-server:
    container_name: rhoaias-server
    image: chaldea/rhoaias-server
    restart: always
    network_mode: host
    environment:
      RhoAias__Server__Bridge: 8024 # Client connection port
      RhoAias__Server__Http: 80 # HTTP request forwarding port
      RhoAias__Server__Https: 443 # HTTPS request forwarding port
    volumes:
      - rhoaias_server_data:/app/data # Data store directory
      - rhoaias_server_certs:/app/certs # HTTPS cert store directory

volumes:
  rhoaias_server_data:
  rhoaias_server_certs:

Due to port forwarding requires listening on any port, so you need to enable the host network mode like network_mode: host.

Save that configuration to docker-compose.yml,then exec

docker compose up -d

Determine that the ports on the docker container are reachable, If the port is unreachable, check your firewall configuration.

Server Environment Variables

Variable Name	Default Value	Description
RhoAias__Server__Bridge	8024	The client connection port, and the Dashboard access port.
RhoAias__Server__Http	80	HTTP request port.
RhoAias__Server__Https	443	HTTPS request port.
RhoAias__Dashboard__UserName	admin	Dashboard default username.
RhoAias__Dashboard__Password	123456Aa	Dashboard default password.
RhoAias__Dashboard__CreateDefaultUser	true	Whether to create a default user.
RhoAias__Dashboard__CreateDefaultClient	true	Whether to generate a default client key.

Generate Client Token Key

After the server starts, enter the Dashboard(http://{public-ip}:8024) with the default username and password. The dashboard will auto generate a default client key, which you can also manually create in the client list page.

Client Deployment

RhoAias provides a variety of client deployment methods, such as docker, service, k8s-ingress etc.

1.Docker Mode

Create a docker configuration file docker-compose.yml on your intranet machine.

services:
  rhoaias-client:
    container_name: rhoaias-client
    image: chaldea/rhoaias-client
    restart: always
    environment:
      # your public server url address
      RhoAias__Client__ServerUrl: http://{server-ip}:8024
      # The token key that you created on the Dashboard
      RhoAias__Client__Token: PCv11vMiZkigHfnzcMLTFg

Then execute the command and ensure the client's status on the server dashboard page is online.

docker compose up -d

Client Environment Variables

Variable Name	Description
RhoAias__Client__ServerUrl	Server url address.
RhoAias__Client__Token	Client TokenKey

2.Console/Service Mode

You can download the client binary program on the Release page.

Runs as console:

rhoaias-client -s http://{server-ip}:8024 -t PCv11vMiZkigHfnzcMLTFg

Startup Parameters	Description
-s, --server	Server url address.
-t, --token	Client TokenKey

If you want to run the client as a system service:

• On the windows, you can use nssm
• On the linux, you can use systemd

3.K8S-Ingress Mode

In your K8s cluster, create a namespace:

kubectl create namespace rho-aias

Apply the deployment configuration file.

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/chaldea/rho-aias/blob/main/kubernetes/ingress-controller.yaml -n rho-aias

Check if the Deployment was created.

kubectl get deployments

RhoAias can be installed via the helm tool, and the chart is located in the ./kubernetes/ingress-rho-aias directory.

Generate forwarding rule

In the forwarding list of the Dashboard, you can create different types of forwarding rules for a specified client, and all requests that meet the rules will be forwarded to the intranet where the client is located.

Generate HTTPS certificate

Normally, a website requires an HTTPS certificate to keep the site secure. RhoAias has a built-in https certificate manager, you can apply for a free https certificate based on the ACME protocol. The certificate will be automatically renewed upon expiration.

Let'sEncrypt supports both single-domain(eg: a.sample.com) and wildcard domain(eg: *.sample.com) certificates. A wildcard domain certificate must be supported by DNS provider. When you apply for a wildcard domain certificate, you need to provide the configuration of the DNS provider.

NOTE: Wildcard domain certificate include single-domain certificate, and if you have a DNS provider API, we recommend that you use wildcard domain certificate.

Development

RhoAias can be added directly to the current project as a nuget package.

dotnet add package Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias

For details, please refer to the development documentation.

Nuget packages

Package Name	Build Version	Description
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias		Core package for reverse proxy and intranet penetration.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Acme.LetsEncrypt		ACME provider package for HTTPS certificate.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Authentication.JwtBearer		JWT authentication package for client connections
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Compression.Snappy		Snappy compression algorithm package for data stream.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Dashboard		Dashboard api and static web assets package.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Dns.Aliyun		DNS service provider for Aliyun.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.IngressController		k8s-ingress controller package.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Metrics.Prometheus		Metric API package for prometheus.
Chaldea.Fate.RhoAias.Repository.Sqlite		Repository package for sqlite.

Contributing

If you would like to contribute, feel free to create a Pull Request, or give us Bug Report.