Chef is a configuration management tool that transforms infrastructure into code. Chef uses Ruby (programming language) for configuration so users don’t have to write using manual methods and hence can work on coding. Chef has a client-server architecture and has an extra workstation component attached to it.
A configuration management software ensures that all your files are present and configured correctly. Many big companies like Facebook, Etsy, Cheeseburger, etc. use Chef to control their infrastructure. Chef has a lot of uses in software deployment and a Chef certification can be a stepping stone for your career. The tool is easy to navigate and designed in a way that it’s understood by everyone.
Uses of Chef
Chef is a popular configuration management software, and here are a few reasons it is preferred by software developers.
Chef Analytics
The ‘Chef Analytics’ feature in Chef gives a visual overview of the happenings in the chef server, all the changes made, who made the changes, and when they were made. With this feature, you will know immediately if an error occurs and if the problem was noticed by your clients.
Chef Development Kit
The Chef Development Kit (Chef DK) is basically a package required to start using Chef. Using this kit, you can write and manage all your Chef infrastructure from any operating system. The Chef DK has the best combination of the ‘breed tools’ developed by the Chef community using the Chef clients.
Chef server
The Chef server is the central unit of chef management configuration. It stores, manages, and provides data to all the other components of Chef. It’s a hub for configuration data, which stores cookbooks, nodes policy, and metadata for each registered node that is managed by Chef.
Chef Knife
With Chef Knife, users can manage the interface between the Chef repository and the Chef server. This high availability feature enables users to ensure that the chef server will adapt even in case of an error, and will recreate your required infrastructure, without outside help.
Workstation
A workstation is basically a virtual server where the configuration codes are created and tested. There is no restriction on the workstations used by one person, there can be as many workstations as you need. It is used to interact with Chef-nodes and the Chef-server.
Nodes
Nodes are basically servers which are managed by Chef. When a fleet of machines requires automation, they are sent to nodes. Containers, virtual servers, storage, and network devices can all be managed by Chef. For every node that is managed by Chef, a Chef client is installed on that node.
CouchDB
With Chef, your system configurations are stored in database and text, using the document-oriented database, CouchDB. The advantage of this is that the configuration is easily searchable and high performing. Also, using a database ensures that Chef can be accessed with GUI. This UI is great for visualizing infrastructure.
Manages VMWare infrastructure
Chef is used for installing, managing, and configuring ‘VMWare’ infrastructure. Users can automate an entire stack, including provisioning VMs, templates, and networks. It can even be used to automate the migration of platforms to VCloud. And, it’s compatible with on-premise data centers.
Scalability
When you want to manage thousands of servers but with a smaller number of employees, Chef is the most useful tool. It can operate in a distributed standalone mode or in centralized mode with a server. It’s supported by a vast community of system administrators and developers who can offer advice when needed.
Chef grows with you
Chef only uses pure Ruby as its language and not any subsets of Ruby or another custom language. Ruby is a powerful and full-featured language. And, if you have even a little knowledge of Ruby, you can start using Chef. Once you have the basics of Chef cleared, you can go even further with Ruby.
How Chef training can help you
With Chef training, learners will get the following benefits:
- Learn the fundamentals of Chef and how to deploy resources with infrastructure as a code.
- Understanding Chef architecture and the building blocks of Chef.
- Know the process to install Chef Development Kit on Linux.
- Understand what recipes and cookbooks are, and how to effectively them.
- Learn how to index data bags for searching and defining Role Based Access Controls.
Conclusion
Having knowledge of Chef can help you advance your career. Chef is a popular configuration management software used by DevOps teams to automate their deployment processes.