DevOps Classroom Series – 27/Aug/2020

Setting up Chef infra

• Chef Server:

  • We will be using hosted chef server at here
  • Lets download the starter kit to the workstation
  • Extract starter kit zip to some new folder

• Chef Workstation:

  • In the workstation, we need to install chef dk software
  • Now install the software.
  • Chef Workstation Components & Tools
    • Development Kit: Helps in developing the chef cookbooks & necessary tools
    • Chef dk includes the following command line tools
      • chef
      • knife
  • Chef workstation needs to know the chef-server details and these details are included in chef-starter kit which we have downloaded.
  • Starter kit is a chef-repo with credentials & url of the chef server
  • The .pem file is a private key that helps you connecting to chef-server

• Chef Clients (Nodes):

  • For this exercise, i will be creating an ec2 ubuntu instance Refer Here

• Bootstrapping:

  • To bootstrap we will be using chefdk (workstation), we will build a command from a tool called as knife
  • Launch powershell and navigate to chef repo
  • Refer Here for knife bootstrap command line options
  • The bootstrap is done from workstation to the node (chef client)
  • Now build a knife bootstrap command line and execute the command with your pwd in the chef-repo (starter kit)
  • Node is added, lets verify that from command line

  knife node list
  

  

  • Lets verify the node in the chef server management ui
  • Lets create a Redhat node on aws ec2 (username: ec2-user)
  • Now lets bootstrap this node
  • Verify nodes in the command line and chef server management ui
  • Whenever we download starter kit server changes identity files, so previous bootstrapped nodes might be impacted, So download starter kit once and preserve the kit with you.

• Exercise for today:

  • Execute two simple commands in your terminal of workstation after installing chefdk

  knife --help
  chef --help