> -----Original Message----- > From: puppet-users@googlegroups.com [mailto:puppet- > us...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of thierry.thelliez.t...@gmail.com > Sent: 13 April 2009 19:23 > To: Puppet Users > Subject: [Puppet Users] Can I use Puppet to run system updates? > > 1- VMWare tools that want to be sometimes recompiled on Linux. There > is a trick to avoid the recompilation: > http://vmetc.com/2008/08/31/automating-vmware-tools-installs-and- > upgrades-in-linux-guests/ > but maybe this could be taken care of with Puppet? > > 2- VMWare server on the host sometimes does not restart after a kernel > update. It also need to be recompiled. Of course the VM Guests are > down. > > 3- The host kernel updates might require reboot, shutting down guests. > > > Can Puppet help for these tasks? Examples?
Yes puppet can probably help with all the above but maybe not in the way you expect :) Puppet is good at managing your system configurations and although it can, via the exec statement, do a lot more it's not always the best tool for the job. A few, hopefully relevant examples: 1) System updates - yes you could have puppet run you're update command directly but instead you're maybe better off using puppet to control the configuration of your updating system, a few examples that I use: Use puppet to control the cron jobs required for system updates (puppet creates and manages the cron jobs, it _doesn't_ run the commands directly). Use puppet to install, setup & control the yum-versionlock plugin, this plugin allows you to prevent updates of certain components. Use puppet to install, setup & control yum-updatesd (the update notification daemon). 2) VM kernel modules Use puppet to automatically install the open-vm-tools yum repository on any box that is a VM (easily deducible from facter), this repo has VMware kernel modules precompiled for rhel5. Use puppet to control the aformentation yum-versionlock plugin to ensure that the kernel doesn't get updated when there isn't an appropriate vmware kernel module for the new version. Alternatively, use puppet to ensure that all VM's have the necessary packages required to compile kernel modules. I guess my main point is, make sure you use the right tool for the job - it may not be puppet but puppet can probably control the right tool quite nicely :) hth. -ross Sophos Plc, The Pentagon, Abingdon Science Park, Abingdon, OX14 3YP, United Kingdom. Company Reg No 2096520. VAT Reg No GB 348 3873 20. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Puppet Users" group. To post to this group, send email to puppet-users@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to puppet-users+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/puppet-users?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
