#configuration-management

Fixed: Puppet package "ensure => latest" doesn't always work #solution #answer #dev

Puppet package "ensure => latest" doesn’t always work

I have a unique situation where the Puppet package ensure => latest directive only worked on some of my systems. Out of 30 servers, the packages updated properly on all but 4. I’m trying to get major versions of the software suite from < 9.40 to 9.50. I could specify a hard level, but I’d run into the multiple architecture wildcard issue.

Man…

Fixed: Is there any strong, well tested and general purpose puppet recipes-base to be used as starting point for customization? #solution #computers #answer

Is there any strong, well tested and general purpose puppet recipes-base to be used as starting point for customization?

I have configured a working cobbler system that successfully handles my bare metal server deployment and I’m going to start the configuration management issues using puppet (integrating it as much as possible with cobbler of course).

As it seems that on the net there are a…

Solution: What are the right questions to ask when deciding whether to use Chef or Puppet? #answer #computers #development

What are the right questions to ask when deciding whether to use Chef or Puppet?

I am about to start a new project which will, in part, require deploying many identical nodes of approximately three different classes:

Data nodes, which will run sharded instances of MongoDB.

Application nodes, which will run instances of a Ruby on Rails application and an older ASP.NET MVC application.

Processing…

Fixed: How can a Linux Administrator improve their shell scripting and automation skills? #solution #it #computers

How can a Linux Administrator improve their shell scripting and automation skills?

In my organization, I work with a group of NOC staff, budding junior engineers and a handful of senior engineers; all with a focus on Linux. One interesting step in the way the company grows talent is that there’s a path from the NOC to the senior engineering ranks. Viewing the talent pool as a relative newcomer, I…

Resolved: How do you keep up with Nagios/Capistrano configs when using EC2? #development #programming #it

How do you keep up with Nagios/Capistrano configs when using EC2?

I use Amazon EC2 for my mobile app. Depending on load of the application at a given time, I might spawn new instances and then take them down when load is lower to save costs.

How does one keep up with Nagios configurations for such a dynamic environment? When one deals with managed hardware, configuration files are predictable.…

Answer: Configuration management: push versus pull based topology #it #dev #fix

Configuration management: push versus pull based topology

The more established configuration management (CM) systems like Puppet and Chef use a pull-based approach: clients poll a centralized master periodically for updates. Some of them offer a masterlessapproach as well (so, push-based), but state that it is ‘not for production’ (Saltstack) or ‘less scalable’ (Puppet). The only system that I…

How-to: HP ProLiant system preparation/deployment techniques (Array, BIOS, firmware, etc.) #it #development #programming

HP ProLiant system preparation/deployment techniques (Array, BIOS, firmware, etc.)

I spend a lot of my time with HP ProLiant systems and Linux installations. Due to the nature of the business I work in, I don’t have the luxury of being able to deploy large numbers of identical systems at the same time. In addition, my systems are spread across multiple locations. Many of my servers are similar,…

Resolved: How to handle SSH port changes with Ansible? #dev #computers #development

How to handle SSH port changes with Ansible?

I’m trying to use Ansible for automating the setup process of new server instances. One of the setup tasks changes the default SSH port, therefore requiring me to update the hosts list.

Is it possible to automate this by having Ansible fallback to a specified port if the connection could not be established to the default SSH port?

Answer [by Richard…