Chef: Powerful Infrastructure Automation by Earl Waud

Key FeaturesLeverage the power of Chef to transform your infrastructure into code to deploy new features in minutesGet step-by-step instructions to configure, deploy, and scale your applicationsMaster specific Chef techniques to run an entire fleet of machines without breaking a sweat.Book DescriptionChef is a configuration management tool that turns IT infrastructure into code. Chef provides tools to manage systems at scale. This learning path takes you on a comprehensive tour of Chefs functionality, ranging from its core features to advanced development. You will be brought up to speed with whats new in Chef and how to set up your own Chef infrastructure for individuals, or small or large teams. You will learn to use the basic Chef command-line tools. We will also take you through the core concepts of managing users, applications, and your entire cloud infrastructure. You will learn the techniques of the pros by walking you through a host of step-by-step guides to solve real-world infrastructure automation challenges.You will learn to automate and document every aspect of your network, from the hardware to software, middleware, and all your containers. You will become familiar with the ChefsProvisioning tool. By the end of this course, you will be confident in how to manage your infrastructure, scale using the cloud, and extend the built-in functionality of Chef itself.The books used in this Learning Path are:1) Chef Essentials2) Chef Infrastructure Automation Cookbook – Second Edition3) Mastering Chef ProvisioningWhat you will learnInstall Chef server on your own hostsIntegrate Chef with cloud servicesDebug your cookbooks and Chef runs using the numerous inspection and logging facilities of ChefExtend Chef to meet your advanced needs by creating custom plugins for Knife and OhaiCreate a perfect model systemUse the best test-driven development methodologiesAbout the AuthorJohn has been a consultant, system administrator, university lecturer, and software engineer over the course of the past fifteen years; currently he is working at Chef to make Chef even more awesome than it already is. He has experience developing software for organizations ranging from small start-ups and government entities to Fortune 500s. He has previously authored two other books on managing systems using Chef.Matthias is a software engineer Made in Germany and the author of the Chef Infrastructure Automation Cookbook by Packt Publishing. His four children make sure that he feels comfortable in lively environments, and stays in control of chaotic situations. A lean and agile engineering lead, hes passionate about continuous delivery, infrastructure automation, and all things DevOps. In recent years, Matthias has helped build several web-based businesses, first with Java and then with Ruby on Rails. He quickly grew into system administration, writing his own configuration management tool before moving his whole infrastructure to Chef in its early days. In 2008, he started a blog (http://www.agileweboperations.com) together with Dan Ackerson. There they shared their ideas about DevOps since the early days of the continually emerging movement. You can find him on Twitter as @mmarschallEarl is a virtualization development professional with more than 10 years of focused industry experience, creating innovative solutions for hypervisor provisioning, management, and automation. He is an expert in aligning engineering strategy with organizational vision and goals, and delivering highly scalable and user friendly virtualization environments.With more than 20 years of experience developing customer-facing and corporate IT software solutions, he has a proven track record of delivering high-calibre and on-time technology solutions that significantly impact business results.Earl lives in San Diego, California. He is blessed with a beautiful wife, Patti, and three amazing daughters, Alexis, Daniella, and Madison.Currently, Earl is a senior software engineer with Intuit Inc., a company that creates business and financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers, and accounting professionals.Earl can be found online at http://sandiegoearl.com.Table of ContentsInstalling ChefModeling Your InfrastructureIntegrating with the CloudWorking with CookbooksTesting Your RecipesFrom Development to DeploymentBeyond Basic Recipes and CookbooksExtras You Need to KnowChef InfrastructureEvaluating and Troubleshooting Cookbooks and Chef RunsChef Language and StyleWriting Better CookbooksWorking with Files and PackagesUsers and ApplicationsServers and Cloud InfrastructureSetting Up a Development Environment on Your WorkstationKnife Tooling and PluginsLeveraging Roles, Environments, and PoliciesCustom ResourcesProvisioning in the Traditional Data CenterProvisioning in the CloudTest-Driven DevelopmentUsing Chef Provisioning