> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/ai-workbench/llms.txt.
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> Technical specifications for remote locations including connection

# Remote Locations

**This page documents the technical specifications for remote locations in AI Workbench.**

- For conceptual background and SSH authentication overview, see [AI Workbench Locations](/ai-workbench/concepts/location-concept).
- For step-by-step procedures, see [How to Add Remote Locations](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/overview).
- For SSH and platform-specific FAQs, see [Locations and SSH](/ai-workbench/reference/faq#locations-and-ssh).

## Connection Methods

**AI Workbench supports three methods to add a remote location.**

Each method handles SSH configuration differently.
All three result in the same remote location experience once connected.

| **Method** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **Manual** | You provide your own SSH key and connection details for an existing machine with AI Workbench installed. See [Manually Add an Existing Remote Location](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/add-existing-location). |
| **NVIDIA Sync** | A system tray utility that installs AI Workbench on the remote and manages the SSH key (`nvsync.key`) for you. Requires password-based SSH access to the remote. See [Use NVIDIA Sync with AI Workbench](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/use-nvidia-sync). |
| **NVIDIA Brev** | A cloud GPU broker that provisions instances and manages SSH through the Brev CLI. Requires an NVIDIA account and credit card. See [Add a Brev Instance](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/add-brev). |

## System Requirements

### Manual Requirements

| **Requirement** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **Remote System Dependencies** | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, or Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with AI Workbench installed. See [Manually Install on Ubuntu (Remote)](/ai-workbench/install/remote-install). |
| **Local Dependencies** | AI Workbench. |
| **Remote User Account** | A non-root user on the remote with sudo privileges. |
| **Network** | SSH access from your local machine to the remote system. |
| **SSH Authentication** | Public/private key based access. Password-based SSH authentication is not supported. See [Locations and SSH](/ai-workbench/reference/faq#locations-and-ssh) for supported key types and platform details. |

### NVIDIA Sync Requirements

| **Requirement** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **Remote System Dependencies** | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. |
| **Local Dependencies** | AI Workbench and NVIDIA Sync installed |
| **Remote User Account** | A non-root user on the remote with sudo privileges. |
| **Network** | SSH access from your local machine to the remote system. |
| **SSH Authentication** | Password-based SSH authentication. |

### NVIDIA Brev Requirements

| **Requirement** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **NVIDIA Account** | Required for Brev authentication. Created during the integration flow if you don't yet have one. |
| **Credit Card** | Required for billing. For pricing details, see the [Brev documentation](https://docs.nvidia.com/brev/latest). |
| **Local Dependencies** | AI Workbench Desktop App installed in full local mode with Brev integration configured. |

## Connection Fields

**Manually adding a remote location requires you to enter information in the Desktop App or CLI.**

NVIDIA Sync and Brev populate these fields automatically.

| **Field** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **Location Name** | A unique name for the remote location. Appears in the Locations Manager. Must be unique across all your locations (local and remote). |
| **Description** | A short description of the remote location (e.g., "AWS g4dn.xlarge with T4 GPU for training"). |
| **Hostname or IP Address** | The remote machine's IP address or hostname. Must be accessible from your local network or the internet. |
| **SSH Port** | The SSH port on the remote system. Default is `22`. |
| **SSH Username** | The non-root user with sudo privileges on the remote system. |
| **SSH Private Key File** | The absolute path to the private key file on your local machine. If using a password-protected key with SSH Agent, enter the path to the `.pub` file instead. See [Locations and SSH](/ai-workbench/reference/faq#locations-and-ssh) for details on password-protected keys. |
| **SSH Public Key File** | Required only when using a password-protected SSH key managed by SSH Agent. The absolute path to the public key file on your local machine. |
| **Workbench Directory** | The absolute path to the `.nvwb` directory on the remote system. Default is `$HOME/.nvwb`. |

## SSH Tunneling

**When you open a remote location, AI Workbench creates two SSH port-forwarding tunnels.**

| **Tunnel** | **Description** |
|---|---|
| **Service Tunnel** | Maps the remote AI Workbench service to localhost. Enables the Desktop App or CLI to communicate with the remote service using the same GraphQL API as local locations. Default port: `10001`. |
| **Proxy Tunnel** | Maps the remote reverse proxy to localhost. Routes web application traffic (JupyterLab, TensorBoard, etc.) to your local browser. Default port: `10000`. |

**The SSH connection remains active as long as the remote location is open.**

Closing all Desktop App windows connected to the location or running `nvwb deactivate` in the CLI terminates the SSH tunnels.

### Port Assignment

**AI Workbench assigns port pairs dynamically when you add multiple remote locations.**

| **Location** | **Ports** |
|---|---|
| First remote location | `10000` (proxy), `10001` (service) |
| Second remote location | `10002` (proxy), `10003` (service) |
| Third remote location | `10004` (proxy), `10005` (service) |

**Port assignments are stored in** `~/.nvwb/contexts.json` **and persist across sessions.**

If you delete and re-add a location, it may receive different port numbers.

## NVIDIA Brev Specifications

**AI Workbench manages Brev instance lifecycle automatically.**

When you open a Brev location, AI Workbench starts the instance.
When you close all windows connected to that location, AI Workbench stops the instance.

<Note title="Verify instances are stopped after use to avoid unexpected charges.">

Connection issues or app crashes may prevent automatic shutdown.
Verify instance status in the Brev console at [NVIDIA Brev](https://developer.nvidia.com/) after closing locations.

</Note>

## Related Topics

- [AI Workbench Locations](/ai-workbench/concepts/location-concept) - Conceptual overview of locations
- [How to Add Remote Locations](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/overview) - How to add remote locations (all three methods)
- [Manually Add an Existing Remote Location](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/add-existing-location) - Add a remote location manually
- [Use NVIDIA Sync with AI Workbench](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/use-nvidia-sync) - Add a remote location with NVIDIA Sync
- [Use Tailscale with AI Workbench](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/use-tailscale) - Use Tailscale with NVIDIA Sync
- [Add a Brev Instance](/ai-workbench/how-to/locations/add-brev) - Add a Brev instance as a remote location
- [Locations and SSH](/ai-workbench/reference/faq#locations-and-ssh) - SSH key management, platform-specific details, and other location FAQs
- [Manually Install on Ubuntu (Remote)](/ai-workbench/install/remote-install) - Install AI Workbench on a remote Ubuntu system
- [Brev documentation](https://docs.nvidia.com/brev/latest) - Brev platform documentation