Connect to your first target

The Quick setup wizard is the fastest way to onboard a target to HCP Boundary.

The Quick setup wizard creates a default tcp target with the port 22 (the default SSH port using TCP). The target is created with the address 127.0.0.1. When you execute boundary connect against this target, Boundary establishes a local, authenticated proxy to the address on the target's default port (127.0.0.1:22.)

Connect using the CLI

To connect to the initial EC2 Instances target:

1. Copy the EC2 Instances target ID (such as ttcp_ZnHEU9h8qX).

2. Open a terminal session. Export the Boundary Cluster URL as an environment variable.

   $ export BOUNDARY_ADDR=<boundary-cluster-url>
   

3. Connect to the target.

   $ boundary connect -target-id ttcp_eTcZMueUYv
   

   The output displays the address and port that your SSH client must use. In the next section the ssh connect helper is used to make it easier to connect to the target with a client.

The boundary connect command has a number of notable options, such as -listen-port to choose the port on which the connect command will listen for an incoming connection. This is convenient for allowing Boundary to work with applications that allow you to select the connection address, but not the port. For many applications there are still some extra hurdles that can exist, which is why connect helpers can be useful.

The dev-mode default target allows you to make as many connections as you want within the authorized session. When you are finished making connections, simply Ctrl-C/Command-C the boundary connect process to shut down the session.

Select targets

When using boundary connect you must identify the target used for connecting. Convention in this documentation is to use the target ID because it refers to a single explicit value, however other flags are supported:

• target-name: The name of the target
• target-scope-id: The ID of the scope in which the target lives
• target-scope-name: The name of the scope in which the target lives

Note however that these are not uniquely identifying, as names can be reused across scopes. As a result, when not using the target ID, you must use the target's name in conjunction with the scope name or scope ID so that Boundary can correctly identify the desired target.

Here is an SSH example in dev-mode:

$ boundary connect ssh -target-name "Generated target" -target-scope-name "Generated project scope"

Connect helpers

Boundary includes connect helpers that automatically accept host SSH key prompts for you. These are written as boundary connect <subcommand> and are supported for the following connection types:

• HTTP
• Kubernetes
• PostgreSQL
• RDP
• SSH

Refer to the Connect helpers documentation for more information.

Built-in vs. exec

In addition to the built-in connect helpers, boundary connect can accommodate executing clients even when there is no built-in support for a specific client using -exec. The -exec flag is a very powerful tool, allowing you to wrap Boundary TCP sessions in your preferred client. You can use this flag to create an authenticated proxy to almost anything.

Refer to the Exec flag documentation for more information.

SSH ProxyCommand

SSH ProxyCommand lets you proxy an SSH connection to a target according to a configuration file that you create. It can help simplify common developer and operator workflows. You can configure the file to connect to the target ID or the target domain.

Refer to the SSH ProxyCommand documentation for more information.

Desktop client

While using the desktop client, choose the target and connect to retrieve local proxy details.

Tutorial

Refer to the Connect to your First Target tutorial for steps on how to create a host catalog, host set, and a target in Boundary.

Next steps

Refer to our basic administration workflows tutorial series for in depth discussions on managing scopes, targets, identities, and sessions.