IMPORTANT UPDATE: By popular demand, we have just open sourced Commando.io on GitHub under the Apache license.

While the initial concept of Commando.io has morphed slightly, we are still going to offer a premium hosted solution as well. Pledges on Kickstarter are still the only way to reserve a spot in the premium hosted private-beta. Additionally, there will be exclusive features available in the premium hosted solution that arent implemented into the open source version. Please support Commando.io and our decision to open source, and back us!

There are only 21 hours left to meet our goal, and raise the funds necessary to continue development. Thanks for the support.

Watch the video in HD on YouTube.

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Overview

Commando.io is a web-based interface for streamlining the use of SSH for deployments and system administration tasks across groups of remote servers.

GitHub fundamentally changed the way developers use revision control by creating a beautiful user interface and social platform. Commando.io does the same for managing servers & dev-op tasks.

The goal of Commando.io is to make it super simple to execute commands on groups of servers, and visualize the results. Additionally Commando.io provides IT compliance and accountability, as every command executed is logged with who executed what, when, and why. Finally all commands are versioned and centrally stored.

The Problem

While configuration management and IT automation software packages such as Puppet, Chef, CFEngine, Fabric and Capistrano are extremely powerful and flexible, let's be honest, they are time consuming to setup, require expertise, and have a high barrier to entry.

Technology

The current alpha build of Commando.io is build with PHP 5.3, MySQL 5.X, MongoDB 2.X and Memcached. We use the Twitter Bootstrap library for the entire user interface which provides an amazing experience and aesthetic appeal. The current alpha build uses the libssh2 library and PHP module ssh2 to connect and execute commands. Before the first round of beta though we are going to replace execution of SSH commands with node.js and dedicated node.js SSH workers. Node.js will allow us to do some ninja things such as parallel command executions, streaming results via websockets, and perhaps interactive "live" terminal sessions.

Security

One of the most important, and quite honestly, difficult aspects of Commando.io  is security and preventing unauthorized access to servers. We take security very seriously.

First, we never ask for server passwords, in fact Commando.io only connects to servers secured via industry standard secure shell RSA and DSA keys. Second, sensitive values such as server address, ssh usernames, and ssh ports are AES encrypted before being stored in the database. Third all communication is secured, this includes client to server, and server to server. Finally, the actual node.js processes that connect and execute commands will be on separate servers and sandboxed.

The Future

• Parallel command execution
• Dedicated node.js SSH workers
• Streaming results via websockets in real-time
• Interactive "live" terminal sessions
• Create key/value pairs set as environmental variables on servers and use them as placeholders in recipes
• A community of user generated recipes other users can use
• Full RESTful API
• SCP file transfers to servers with support for parallel and even distributed torrent based transfers
• Whatever else backers tells us they want

Why Do We Need Money?

In addition to gaining private beta access, pledges are the only way Commando.io will become a reality. Pledges go directly to costs associated with building Commando.io such as developers, servers, design, office space, and marketing efforts.

Who Is Behind Commando.io

Commando.io is being coded, run, and managed currently by myself (Justin), but I am actively searching to bring others onto the project. I need all the help I can get with Commando.io, and Kickstarter pledges will allow me to bring on additional developers and designers. I have a proven track record of building software and running startup companies. I previously lived in San Diego where I got my degree in computer science and while there was director of IT at a GPS fleet management company. Then I founded NodeSocket a platform as a service for hosting node.js applications and moved up to the bay area. I have been programming professionally for 8 years and been building scalable software and infrastructure throughout that time.

Timeline

Once we hit our funding goal, we will send out pre-beta invites to the backers that have given $500 or greater in or around October. Then starting in December we will begin our private beta rounds.

• 1st Round (Estimated December) [Pledge of $125 or greater]
• 2nd Round (Estimated January) [Pledge of $50 or greater]
• 3rd Round (Estimated February) [Pledge less than $50]

Private beta will continue after February (undetermined at this point exactly how long) before we launch publicly. No need to worry though, once Commando.io launches and if you are a backer, we will give plenty of notice, as well as provide generous discounts on pricing.

What Is An Invite & How Does It Work

A private beta invitation will be e-mailed to each backer. That user will then create an account. Accounts may add as many additional users into their account as they wish. During private beta, a limit of either 10 or 20 total servers added to each account will be enforced depending on the pledge amount.

Links

Website
Follow Us On Twitter