(Newswire.net — July 23, 2019) — Chef is a configuration management software that transforms infrastructure into code. No matter what the size of your infrastructure is, Chef looks after how your infrastructure is configured, deployed, and managed. And, it works on the cloud, on-premises, or in a hybrid environment.
Chef has three aspects for testing and deploying the Chef code:
Chef Workstation
This is where the users interact with Chef. Here, users can write their cookbooks and test them using tools like TestKitchen. You can also interact with the Chef server using Chef command line tools.
Chef Server
The Chef server is the central point for data configuration. The server stores all your cookbooks, the policies applied to nodes, and metadata for each node that is registered.
Chef Nodes
Chef nodes are machines managed by Chef. To configure a node to its desired state, a Chef Client needs to be installed on each node. Nodes ask the Chef server for information regarding cookbooks, files, templates, etc., using the Chef Client.
Chef Components
All the components of Chef work together to give the Chef client the information it needs for configuring the infrastructure. These are all covered in a Chef course too. So, by taking the course you will get a better understanding of how the platform works.
Cookbook
Cookbooks are primarily available in the Chef community and the Chef Supermarket. Cookbooks can even be customized for a business.
Workstation
Users can configure as many workstations as they want for writing and testing your cookbooks. The cookbooks are then uploaded to the Chef server from the workstation.
Ruby
Ruby is the authoring language used by the Chef framework for authoring cookbooks. While working with Chef, only an initial understanding of Ruby is required, but users can explore its full potential after mastering the basics of Chef.
Chef client
A Chef client is required for every node that is managed by Chef. All the run-list tasks are specified by the Chef client, and it pulls down any required information from the Chef server when needed.
Nodes
A physical, virtual, or cloud machine that is managed by Chef is called a node.
Chef Supermarket
Chef Supermarket is where all the community cookbooks in Chef are shared and managed. If a cookbook is a part of the Chef Supermarket, it can be used by any user.
Chef Server
All the Chef cookbooks and policies are uploaded on the Chef server, which is the hub for any Chef-related information. It is used to manage data bags, roles, and the environment.
How Chef works
The primary tool needed for operating Chef is the Chef Development Kit or ChefDK. This kit includes:
Testing applications: TestKitchen, Chefspec, Cookstyle, etc.
- Client agents used by Chef to communicate with nodes.
- Ohai tool for detecting system mistakes.
- Inspec for audit framework.
- Command line tools like Chef and Knife.
The code package tools in Chef called recipes are compiled into cookbooks that define how to configure nodes. The recipe describes the state a resource should be in at any given time. The recipes are compiled in the cookbooks with dependencies and all the necessary files, like libraries and metadata, which support a certain configuration.
Chef is primarily an agent-based tool, which means that the client pulls the information from the Chef server for configuration. The client is installed on all the nodes that are to be configured. This model enables faster delivery by overcoming network connectivity issues and provides flexible rollouts for updates. The chef server runs on any large distribution of Linux.
There are two ways for users to share cookbooks, using GitHub or the Chef Supermarket. Both these platforms enable users to share and manage their versions of cookbooks.
In such an instance, what truly matters is the result of the employee’s words and their effect on the person (or persons) who heard them. Even if the employee had the best of intentions, was unaware of how the words might be perceived, and was genuinely surprised that anyone got offended, the key lesson is that words have power and can harm someone even when that is not the intention.
Chef has a policy feature where the operational process is defined. The process is defined by the administrator who can then identify environment stages, map data types, and perform more such actions.
A final word
Chef is a domain-specific tool built on Ruby. It contains a taxonomy of all the resources one might need to configure a system. This system can be further defined with the full power of the Ruby language. All these reasons make Chef a powerful tool favoured by most IT corporations, and you can start your career in Chef with a Chef certification.