Re: best software for managing multiple freebsd & linux machines ?

On 10/10/21 13:40, tech-lists wrote:
> On Sun, Oct 10, 2021 at 12:20:29PM -0700, David Christensen wrote:
> 
>> I have a SOHO network that I administer using SSH, Vim, CVS, various
>> userland tools, and homebrew scripts (Bourne, Bash, and Perl).  The most
>> important element is a networked version control system.
>>
>> If and when I need to administer many machines, I will learn a
>> configuration management tool (most likely Ansible, because it is
>> recommended by MWL).
> 
> Thanks for this. After looking at puppet for an hr or so, it's looking
> to me like it's a tad too complex for my needs right now. But it might
> be useful in eg having to restart a load of servers without logging into
> each one via ssh.
> 
> I'm looking at sshfs atm - could make a dir for each machine and sshfs
> into each from the host using keys. At least the sshfs way is not having
> to run servers that would not otherwise be run. I can't restart services
> this way though.

After 25+ years of multiple FreeBSD +  Linux boxes, never more than ten,
I use the following maximally stupid configuration management.

I use a single machine to keep host specific files git vc'd, and then
I just write scripts for tasks and rsync them over and execute them
from the config box via ssh.  The basic idea I got from saltstack,
aka sysutils/py-salt.  py-salt I had running like a dream, until I
ran afoul of a 2.7->3 python problem, and then I was uh,
stuck.  No more language dependencies for my configuration control.
I have been expecting to need some simple templating that I would
probably do with awk, but I haven't needed to yet.

It also took me a couple of months off and on to fully grok py-salt.
I suspect that investment in time needs to be paid for just about
any enterprise ready configuration system.   As it happens the
time I put into py-salt wasn't wasted, since I needed to understand
how to organize remote artifacts and actions anyway.

And then I applied those same techniques to building a borg-backup
configuration that backs all of my systems up to a single account,
so I don't want to discourage learning a robust CMS.

Russell