Chef Fundamentals Training Series Module 3: Setting up Nodes and Cookbook Authoring

Set Up a Node &
Write a Cookbook
Chef Fundamentals Webinar Series
training@opscode.com

Nathen Harvey
• Technical Community Manager at Opscode
• Co-host of the Food Fight Show Podcast
• @nathenharvey
• nharvey@opscode.com

Node Setup
Setup a Node to manage

Lesson Objectives
• After completing the lesson, you will be able to
• Install Chef nodes using “knife bootstrap”
• Explain how knife bootstrap configures a node to
use the Organization created in the previous
section
• Explain the basic configuration needed to run chefclient

Nodes
• Nodes represent the servers in your infrastructure
these may be
• Physical or virtual servers
• Hardware that you own
• Compute instances in a public or private cloud

Training Node
• The labs require a node to be managed
• We allow for four different options
• Bring your own Node
• Use Vagrant from the Starter Kit
• Launch an instance of a public AMI on EC2
• Use the Chef Fundamentals training lab

BETA Chef Training Lab
• Login to the Lab
• https://use.cloudshare.com/
• Make sure your environment is ready
• Runtime: 24 Hours
• Auto-suspend after: 1 Hour
• Storage time: 7 Days

Your Node
• Hostname or IP Address
• SSH Username
• SSH Password
• SSH Port (default is 22)
• SSH credentials for the Training Lab & the EC2 AMI
•username: opscode
•password: opscode

Checkpoint
• At this point you should have
• One virtual machine (VM) or server that you’ll use
for the lab exercises
• The IP address or public hostname
• An application for establishing an ssh connection
• sudo or root permissions on the VM

Checkpoint
NODES

Bootstrap a Node

Bootstrap the Target Instance
$ knife bootstrap --help

knife bootstrap FQDN (options)
--sudo
-x, --ssh-user USERNAME
-P, --ssh-password PASSWORD
-p, --ssh-port PORT
-N, --node-name NAME
-r, --run-list RUN_LIST

Execute the bootstrap via sudo
The ssh username
The ssh password
The ssh port
The Chef node name for your new node
Comma separated list of roles/recipes to apply

knife bootstrap
• HOSTNAME or IP Address of your machine
•--sudo
•-x YOUR_SSH_USERNAME
•-P YOUR_SSH_PASSWORD
•-p YOUR_SSH_PORT (defaults to 22)
•-N "target1"

knife bootstrap - Lab or AMI
• HOSTNAME or IP Address of your machine
•--sudo
•-x opscode
•-P opscode
•-N "target1"
• No need for -p, uses the default ssh port

Bootstrap the Target Instance
$ knife bootstrap IPADDRESS --sudo -x opscode -P opscode -N “target1”

Bootstrapping Chef on ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com
ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com knife sudo password:
Enter your password:
...
...
ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com Converging 0 resources
ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com
ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com Chef Client finished, 0
resources updated
ec2-54-211-119-145.compute-1.amazonaws.com

local workstation

managed node
(VM)

$ knife bootstrap IPADDRESS --sudo -x USERNAME -P PASSWORD -N target1

local workstation

managed node
(VM)


SSH!
local workstation

managed node
(VM)


SSH!
managed node
(VM)

local workstation

chef_server_url
validation_client_name
validation_key


SSH!
managed node
(VM)

local workstation

Hosted Enterprise Chef


SSH!
managed node
(VM)

local workstation


bash -c '
install chef
conﬁgure client
run chef'


SSH!
managed node
(VM)

local workstation

chef-client

What just happened?
• Chef and all of its dependencies installed via an
operating system-specific package ("omnibus installer")
• Installation includes
• The Ruby language - used by Chef
• knife - Command line tool for administrators
• chef-client - Client application
• ohai - System profiler
• ...and more

View Node on Chef Server
• Login to your Hosted Enterprise Chef

Node
• The node is registered with Chef Server
• The Chef Server displays information about the node
• This information comes from Ohai

Ohai
"languages": {
"ruby": {
},
"perl": {
"version": "5.14.2",
"archname": "x86_64linux-gnu-thread-multi"
},
"python": {
"version": "2.7.3",
"builddate": "Aug 1
2012, 05:14:39"
},
"php": {
"version":
"5.3.10-1ubuntu3.6",
"builddate": "(cli)
(built: Mar"
}
},

"kernel": {
"name": "Linux", "release":
"3.2.0-32-virtual",
"version": "#51-Ubuntu SMP Wed
Sep 26 21:53:42 UTC 2012",
"machine": "x86_64",
"modules": {
"isofs": {
"size": "40257",
"refcount": "0"
},
"acpiphp": {
"size": "24231",
"refcount": "0"
}
},
"os": "GNU/Linux"
},
"os": "linux",
"os_version": "3.2.0-32-virtual",
"ohai_time": 1369328621.3456137,

"network": {
"interfaces": {
"lo": {
"mtu": "16436",
"flags": [
"LOOPBACK", “UP","LOWER_UP"
],
"encapsulation": "Loopback",
"addresses": {
"127.0.0.1": {
"family": "inet",
"netmask": "255.0.0.0",
"scope": "Node"
},
"::1": {
"family": "inet6",
"scope": "Node"
}
},
},
"eth0": {
"type": "eth",
"number": "0",

Write a Cookbook
Packages, Cookbook Files, and Services

Lesson Objectives
• After completing the lesson, you will be able to
• Describe what a cookbook is
• Create a new cookbook
• Explain what a recipe is
• Describe how to use the package, service, and
cookbook_file resources
• Upload a cookbook to the Chef Server
• Explain what a run list is, and how to set it for a
node

What is a cookbook?
• A cookbook is like a “package” for Chef recipes.
• It contains all the recipes, files, templates, libraries,
etc. required to configure a portion of your
infrastructure
• Typically they map 1:1 to a piece of software or
functionality.

The Problem and the Success Criteria
• The Problem: We need a web server configured to
serve up our home page.
• Success Criteria: We can see the homepage in a
web browser.

Required steps
• Install Apache
• Start the service, and make sure it will start when the
machine boots
• Write out the home page

Exercise: Create a new Cookbook
$ knife cookbook create apache

**
**
**
**

Creating
Creating
Creating
Creating

cookbook apache
README for cookbook: apache
CHANGELOG for cookbook: apache
metadata for cookbook: apache

Edit the default recipe
OPEN IN EDITOR: cookbooks/apache/recipes/default.rb

#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Cookbook Name:: apache
Recipe:: default
Copyright 2013, YOUR_COMPANY_NAME
All rights reserved - Do Not Redistribute

Exercise: Add a package resource to install Apache to the default
recipe
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Recipe:: default

package "apache2" do
action :install
end
SAVE FILE!

Chef Resources
package "haproxy" do
action :install
end
template "/etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg" do
source "haproxy.cfg.erb"
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
notifies :restart, "service[haproxy]"
end
service "haproxy" do
supports :restart => :true
action [:enable, :start]
end

Chef Resources
• Have a type

action :install
end
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
end
end

Chef Resources
• Have a type
• Have a name

action :install
end
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
end
end

Chef Resources
• Have a type
• Have a name
• Have parameters

action :install
end
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
end
end

Chef Resources
• Have a type
• Have a name
• Have parameters
• Take action to put the
resource into the
desired state

action :install
end
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
end
end

Chef Resources
• Have a type
• Have a name
• Have parameters
• Take action to put the
resource into the
desired state
• Can send notifications
to other resources

action :install
end
owner "root"
group "root"
mode "0644"
end
end

So the resource we just wrote...
action :install
end

• Is a package resource

action :install
end

• Whose name is
apache2

action :install
end

• Whose name is
apache2
• With an install action

action :install
end

Notice we didn’t say how to install the package
• Resources are declarative - that means we say
what we want to have happen, rather than how
• Chef uses the platform the node is running to
determine the correct provider for a resource

Exercise: Add a service resource to ensure the service is started
and enabled at boot

...
# All rights reserved - Do Not Redistribute
#
action :install
end
service "apache2" do
action [ :enable, :start ]
end
SAVE FILE!

end

• Is a service resource
end

• Whose name is
apache2

end

• Whose name is
apache2
• With two actions:
start and enable

end

Order Matters
• Resources are
executed in order

1st

2nd

• Body Level One
• Body Level Two
• Body Level Three
owner "root"
•"root" Level Four
Body
group
mode "0644"
• :restart, "service[haproxy]"
notifies Body Level Five
action :install
end

end
3rd

end

Exercise: Add a cookbook_file resource to copy the home page in
place

...
end
cookbook_file "/var/www/index.html" do
source "index.html"
mode "0644"
end

SAVE FILE!

source "index.html"
mode "0644"
end

• Is a cookbook_file
resource

source "index.html"
mode "0644"
end

resource
• Whose name is
/var/www/index.html

source "index.html"
mode "0644"
end

cookbook_file "/var/www/index.html"
resource
source "index.html"
mode "0644"
• Whose name is
end
/var/www/index.html
• With two parameters:
• source of index.html
• mode of “0644”

do

Full contents of the apache recipe
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

Recipe:: default

action :install
end
end
source "index.html"
mode "0644"
end

Exercise: Add index.html to your cookbook’s files/default directory
OPEN IN EDITOR: cookbooks/apache/files/default/index.html

<html>
<body>
<h1>Hello, world!</h1>
</body>
</html>

SAVE FILE!

Exercise: Upload the cookbook
$ knife cookbook upload apache

Uploading apache
Uploaded 1 cookbook.

[0.1.0]

Run List
Enterprise
Chef

What policy sho
uld

I follow?
chef-client

Node

“recipe[apache]”

Update the Run List
• Login to Enterprise
Hosted Chef
• Select the "Nodes" tab
• Select your Node
• Edit the Run List

Update the Run List
• Drag
• Drop
• Save

Exercise: Run the chef-client on your test node
opscode@target1:~$ sudo chef-client
Starting Chef Client, version 11.4.4
[2013-06-25T04:20:22+00:00] INFO: *** Chef 11.4.4 ***
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: [inet6] no default interface, picking the first ipaddress
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: Run List is [recipe[apache]]
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: Run List expands to [apache]
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: Starting Chef Run for target1
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: Running start handlers
[2013-06-25T04:20:23+00:00] INFO: Start handlers complete.
resolving cookbooks for run list: ["apache"]
[2013-06-25T04:20:24+00:00] INFO: Loading cookbooks [apache]
Synchronizing Cookbooks:
[2013-06-25T04:20:24+00:00] INFO: Storing updated cookbooks/apache/recipes/default.rb in the cache.
[2013-06-25T04:20:24+00:00] INFO: Storing updated cookbooks/apache/recipes/tmp.rb in the cache.
[2013-06-25T04:20:24+00:00] INFO: Storing updated cookbooks/apache/CHANGELOG.md in the cache.
[2013-06-25T04:20:25+00:00] INFO: Storing updated cookbooks/apache/metadata.rb in the cache.
[2013-06-25T04:20:25+00:00] INFO: Storing updated cookbooks/apache/README.md in the cache.
- apache
Compiling Cookbooks...
Converging 3 resources
Recipe: apache::default
* package[apache2] action install[2013-06-25T04:20:25+00:00] INFO: Processing package[apache2] action install (apache::default line 9)
- install version 2.2.22-1ubuntu1 of package apache2

Exercise: Verify that the home page works
• Open a web browser
• Type in the the URL for your test node

Congratulate yourself!
• You have just written your first Chef cookbook!
• (clap!)

Next Week
• List the steps taken
by a chef-client
during a run
• Explain the basic
security model of
Chef

Thank You
• Nathen Harvey
• Technical Community Manager at Opscode
• @nathenharvey
• nharvey@opscode.com

Chef Fundamentals Training Series Module 3: Setting up Nodes and Cookbook Authoring

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