# Starting out with the opscode platform

**URL:** <https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860>\
**Category:** Chef Infra (archive)\
**Created:** [May 30, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860 "2011-05-30T02:08:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim\_Uckun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/tim_uckun/32/751_2.png) [@Tim\_Uckun](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Tim_Uckun)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/1 "2011-05-30T02:08:50Z")

</div>

Hey all.

I want through the starting tutorial on the opscode web site using the  
opscode platform. Everything worked as expected but I do have one  
question.

Apparently the configuration for my node is kept only on the chef  
server (not on my workstation). Is this right? I can see the run list  
on the server, I can get the run list when I with knife but I don’t  
see a file anywhere on my machine which lists the node, lists the  
variables or the params for the node etc.

Does this mean I need to create a recipe for each node so I can  
configure it? What is the best practice for setting up your nodes?

Cheers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![coderanger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/coderanger/32/5_2.png) [@coderanger](https://discourse.chef.io/u/coderanger)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/2 "2011-05-30T02:21:06Z")

</div>

Normally node's are configured either via the API (knife is a frontend  
for the API, look at `knife node run_list add` in this case, and  
`knife node edit` in general) or the web interface, unlike roles which  
are managed as files. If you would like to manage nodes in files you  
can do it in the same was as with roles though, just use `knife node show --format json` to dump the current data, and use `knife node from file` to upload changes. Hope that helps!

--Noah

On May 29, 2011, at 7:08 PM, Tim Uckun wrote:

> Hey all.
> 
> I want through the starting tutorial on the opscode web site using the  
> opscode platform. Everything worked as expected but I do have one  
> question.
> 
> Apparently the configuration for my node is kept only on the chef  
> server (not on my workstation). Is this right? I can see the run list  
> on the server, I can get the run list when I with knife but I don't  
> see a file anywhere on my machine which lists the node, lists the  
> variables or the params for the node etc.
> 
> Does this mean I need to create a recipe for each node so I can  
> configure it? What is the best practice for setting up your nodes?
> 
> Cheers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Edward\_Sargisson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/edward_sargisson/32/570_2.png) [@Edward\_Sargisson](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Edward_Sargisson)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/3 "2011-05-30T02:24:20Z")

</div>

> Does this mean I need to create a recipe for each node so I can  
> configure it? What is the best practice for setting up your nodes?  
> Ah no.  
> You define a Role for each kind of server you have in your  
> architecture. If you have a database server and two application  
> servers (Tomcat or PHP or something) then you would setup two roles,  
> db-server and app-server.  
> Then, in the run list for the node you specify the role.  
> When the chef-client reads the run list it finds the role, reads the  
> role and follows the recipes in the role.

If you have some custom setup (most people do) then you would create a  
new recipe to do that and include it in the relevant role.

The run list can be set at the time of the first run (by including it  
in the bootstrap file) or you can edit it through the web interface or  
with knife.

Cheers,  
Edward

On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 7:08 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> Hey all.
> 
> I want through the starting tutorial on the opscode web site using the  
> opscode platform. Everything worked as expected but I do have one  
> question.
> 
> Apparently the configuration for my node is kept only on the chef  
> server (not on my workstation). Is this right? I can see the run list  
> on the server, I can get the run list when I with knife but I don't  
> see a file anywhere on my machine which lists the node, lists the  
> variables or the params for the node etc.
> 
> Does this mean I need to create a recipe for each node so I can  
> configure it? What is the best practice for setting up your nodes?
> 
> Cheers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim\_Uckun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/tim_uckun/32/751_2.png) [@Tim\_Uckun](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Tim_Uckun)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/4 "2011-05-30T02:30:21Z")

</div>

> If you have some custom setup (most people do) then you would create a  
> new recipe to do that and include it in the relevant role.

How about highly specific parameters like IP address etc.

I am sorry if this is a dumb question but I am coming from puppet and  
I guess I still have that the puppet way of doing things in my head.

Normally I set up my node and set some variables like

$ip\_address = 'blah'  
$host\_name = 'blah'

Then I might have individual resources for this node alone like

file :some\_file { ...}

This along with the inheritance of other common roles defines the  
state of the node.

I am wondering where that configuration takes place in the chef node.  
From what you guys are saying it sounds like I need to create a role  
for the server right?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![coderanger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/coderanger/32/5_2.png) [@coderanger](https://discourse.chef.io/u/coderanger)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/5 "2011-05-30T02:41:19Z")

</div>

On May 29, 2011, at 7:30 PM, Tim Uckun wrote:

> > If you have some custom setup (most people do) then you would  
> > create a  
> > new recipe to do that and include it in the relevant role.
> 
> How about highly specific parameters like IP address etc.
> 
> I am sorry if this is a dumb question but I am coming from puppet and  
> I guess I still have that the puppet way of doing things in my head.
> 
> Normally I set up my node and set some variables like
> 
> $ip\_address = 'blah'  
> $host\_name = 'blah'
> 
> Then I might have individual resources for this node alone like
> 
> file :some\_file { ...}
> 
> This along with the inheritance of other common roles defines the  
> state of the node.
> 
> I am wondering where that configuration takes place in the chef node.  
> From what you guys are saying it sounds like I need to create a role  
> for the server right?

Generally in these kinds of things are already provided via DHCP, but  
you could build recipes to set them more explicitly.

--Noah

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Edward\_Sargisson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/edward_sargisson/32/570_2.png) [@Edward\_Sargisson](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Edward_Sargisson)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/6 "2011-05-30T02:47:52Z")

</div>

No dumb questions - only unasked ones. Genuinely - chef is a different  
model so ask questions.

I would ask why you need to set the ip address and host name and where  
else could you put it?

If you've only got a couple of actual nodes then, by all means, set  
the details in a recipe. But the point of chef is that you can manage  
hundreds or thousands of nodes.

So I don't think your roles and recipes should care about the actual  
IP address - just that there is one. However, presumably some other  
server needs to know what the ip address is (the load balancer needs  
to know about the app servers, say). This means you need to write  
something to find it. You could have your nodes register with the DNS  
server or you could call an API on your load balancer. Lastly, your  
load balancer could query chef to find out what IP addresses it needs.  
I've not used it but Chef has a search function so you could write  
something that looks for all nodes with the app-server role. In the  
load balancer chef recipe you iterate that list and write a config  
file with it.

On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 7:30 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> > If you have some custom setup (most people do) then you would create a  
> > new recipe to do that and include it in the relevant role.
> 
> How about highly specific parameters like IP address etc.
> 
> I am sorry if this is a dumb question but I am coming from puppet and  
> I guess I still have that the puppet way of doing things in my head.
> 
> Normally I set up my node and set some variables like
> 
> $ip\_address = 'blah'  
> $host\_name = 'blah'
> 
> Then I might have individual resources for this node alone like
> 
> file :some\_file { ...}
> 
> This along with the inheritance of other common roles defines the  
> state of the node.
> 
> I am wondering where that configuration takes place in the chef node.  
> From what you guys are saying it sounds like I need to create a role  
> for the server right?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim\_Uckun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/tim_uckun/32/751_2.png) [@Tim\_Uckun](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Tim_Uckun)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/7 "2011-05-30T03:08:12Z")

</div>

> I would ask why you need to set the ip address and host name and where  
> else could you put it?

I am just using that as an example. It could be any variable like to  
location of the backup file, the name of the user that the  
applications are deployed under, etc.

Basically every host has some unique requirements and settings.

> If you've only got a couple of actual nodes then, by all means, set  
> the details in a recipe. But the point of chef is that you can manage  
> hundreds or thousands of nodes.
> 
> to know about the app servers, say). This means you need to write  
> something to find it. You could have your nodes register with the DNS  
> server or you could call an API on your load balancer. Lastly, your  
> load balancer could query chef to find out what IP addresses it needs.  
> I've not used it but Chef has a search function so you could write  
> something that looks for all nodes with the app-server role. In the  
> load balancer chef recipe you iterate that list and write a config  
> file with it.

I'll have to think about this a while and see how I can make it fit.

Like I said right now I am able to specify global configurations like  
load\_balancer\_ip and load\_balancer\_traffic\_subnet and then I can  
reference those in the various templates that nodes use to manage  
their resources.

I also have overrides for those variables and additional variables on  
a per host basis.

For example in my case the load balancer is managed by rackspace.  
Rackspace tells me what subnets to expect the traffic from and the IP  
of the load balancer. Every host that is being that load balancer has  
to have an IPtables rule to accept traffic from the subnets for that  
load balancer.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Edward\_Sargisson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/edward_sargisson/32/570_2.png) [@Edward\_Sargisson](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Edward_Sargisson)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/8 "2011-05-30T03:26:58Z")

</div>

> I am just using that as an example. It could be any variable like to  
> location of the backup file, the name of the user that the  
> applications are deployed under, etc.

Those sound like things that should be set per-Role or per-Recipe not per -Node.  
i.e. they don't sound like that have to be unique for two nodes of the  
same Role.

On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> > I would ask why you need to set the ip address and host name and where  
> > else could you put it?
> 
> I am just using that as an example. It could be any variable like to  
> location of the backup file, the name of the user that the  
> applications are deployed under, etc.
> 
> Basically every host has some unique requirements and settings.
> 
> > If you've only got a couple of actual nodes then, by all means, set  
> > the details in a recipe. But the point of chef is that you can manage  
> > hundreds or thousands of nodes.
> > 
> > to know about the app servers, say). This means you need to write  
> > something to find it. You could have your nodes register with the DNS  
> > server or you could call an API on your load balancer. Lastly, your  
> > load balancer could query chef to find out what IP addresses it needs.  
> > I've not used it but Chef has a search function so you could write  
> > something that looks for all nodes with the app-server role. In the  
> > load balancer chef recipe you iterate that list and write a config  
> > file with it.
> 
> I'll have to think about this a while and see how I can make it fit.
> 
> Like I said right now I am able to specify global configurations like  
> load\_balancer\_ip and load\_balancer\_traffic\_subnet and then I can  
> reference those in the various templates that nodes use to manage  
> their resources.
> 
> I also have overrides for those variables and additional variables on  
> a per host basis.
> 
> For example in my case the load balancer is managed by rackspace.  
> Rackspace tells me what subnets to expect the traffic from and the IP  
> of the load balancer. Every host that is being that load balancer has  
> to have an IPtables rule to accept traffic from the subnets for that  
> load balancer.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![coderanger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/coderanger/32/5_2.png) [@coderanger](https://discourse.chef.io/u/coderanger)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/9 "2011-05-30T07:31:24Z")

</div>

On May 29, 2011, at 8:08 PM, Tim Uckun wrote:

> > I would ask why you need to set the ip address and host name and  
> > where  
> > else could you put it?
> 
> I am just using that as an example. It could be any variable like to  
> location of the backup file, the name of the user that the  
> applications are deployed under, etc.
> 
> Basically every host has some unique requirements and settings.

We try to encourage the workflow such that these values should be in  
roles (or in data bags referred to from roles somehow). You can store  
this information on a per-node basis, but this runs counter to the  
philosophy that a network should have no special snowflake machines,  
they might just be the only machine running a given role. That said,  
Chef itself is fairly unopinionated on the matter, using `knife node edit` and `knife node from file` will address this use case.

--Noah

---

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**Author:** ![Tim\_Uckun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/tim_uckun/32/751_2.png) [@Tim\_Uckun](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Tim_Uckun)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 10:42am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/10 "2011-05-30T10:42:49Z")

</div>

> We try to encourage the workflow such that these values should be in roles  
> (or in data bags referred to from roles somehow). You can store this  
> information on a per-node basis, but this runs counter to the philosophy  
> that a network should have no special snowflake machines, they might just be  
> the only machine running a given role. That said, Chef itself is fairly  
> unopinionated on the matter, using `knife node edit` and `knife node from file` will address this use case.

Thank you. I guess I have to adapt my way of thinking but I am  
willing to give it a go and see what chef is all about.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan\_McLellan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/bryan_mclellan/32/81_2.png) [@Bryan\_McLellan](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Bryan_McLellan)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/11 "2011-05-31T17:42:11Z")

</div>

On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> Basically every host has some unique requirements and settings.

These instances are fantastic opportunities to ask yourself why. Can  
you use another service to automate these, like using DHCP for IP  
addresses? Could Chef calculate the correct figure, such as Java VM  
size from the available physical memory?

One of the goals of automation is removing these manual steps so not  
only can you deploy systems faster, but it is easier for someone  
lacking the tribal knowledge to do it as well.

Bryan

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Grig\_Gheorghiu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/grig_gheorghiu/32/813_2.png) [@Grig\_Gheorghiu](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Grig_Gheorghiu)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/12 "2011-05-31T22:09:36Z")

</div>

On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> > I would ask why you need to set the ip address and host name and where  
> > else could you put it?
> 
> I am just using that as an example. It could be any variable like to  
> location of the backup file, the name of the user that the  
> applications are deployed under, etc.
> 
> Basically every host has some unique requirements and settings.

For host-specific configuration settings I tend to use attributes. See  
this blog post for more info:

> **[Working with Chef attributes](http://agiletesting.blogspot.com/2010/11/working-with-chef-attributes.html)**
>
> It took me a while to really get how to use Chef attributes . It's fairly easy to understand what they are and where they are referenced in ...

HTH

Grig

---

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**Author:** ![Tim\_Uckun](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/tim_uckun/32/751_2.png) [@Tim\_Uckun](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Tim_Uckun)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/13 "2011-05-31T23:07:50Z")

</div>

> For host-specific configuration settings I tend to use attributes. See  
> this blog post for more info:

So it sounds like you have a cookbook that holds global attributes  
that you override in your JSON file.

Why not create a cookbok for that individual host and override the values there?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan\_McLellan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/bryan_mclellan/32/81_2.png) [@Bryan\_McLellan](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Bryan_McLellan)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/starting-out-with-the-opscode-platform/1860/14 "2011-05-31T23:39:26Z")

</div>

On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 4:07 PM, Tim Uckun [timuckun@gmail.com](mailto:timuckun@gmail.com) wrote:

> Why not create a cookbok for that individual host and override the values there?

Systems get treated as resources that can be thrown out and replaced.  
Your database server isn't "romulus" and it may not even be "db01".  
For example, at Opscode all of our systems have a unique id such as  
EC2 instance ID or a partial GUID as their hostname (we also have a  
more descriptive alias that is autogenerated based on roles) because  
they're simply resources upon which to run services.

Imagine you have a bread company and ten bread trucks with the same  
options and paint job. You can use any of them to make your delivery.  
One of them gets a flat tire and can't run its route but you have  
another that you could use. Do you delay the delivery so you can still  
use that truck, or do you use another and fix the truck? You don't  
want your trucks to be unique because you're not in the business of  
driving trucks, but rather of baking and delivering bread.

We're not in the business of running servers, but whatever business we  
are in requires that we run servers so we aim to turn it into a  
commodity where reasonable. Chef is designed around this model.

If you have a host-specific cookbook, you're focusing on running that  
specific host. Whenever you make another host, you have to create and  
upload another cookbook. We want to reduce the number of manual  
configuration steps with Chef, not increase them. Whenever possible,  
it should only take a couple commands to build another server of the  
same type (or role) as one you already have.

Most of us are trying to run a particular service on our servers, so  
we make service and application specific cookbooks, and then tie them  
together into a package with roles. Then when we register the servers  
as nodes, we can apply one or more roles to that server based on what  
services we want it to provide.

Depending on what these settings are, I'd personally set them on the  
node after it is registered as an attribute.

In summary, you don't want any host specific settings. When you have  
to have them, you should avoid changing the model so that it is built  
around these settings.

Bryan