It is easy to feel that way when you start out with automation. But to be fair, if all you are doing is the base/hardening stuff using CM you will likely save time.
For me, it gets back to that point of documentation. I now have code that explains how it got to be the way it is that is checked into version control. And, when I want to play with something, I can grab that, spin up a new VM with that config and play. To the bigger point you are making… If you are like most of the shops I have worked in, basically, the box gets the base config, and then apache or mysql with a few minor config tweaks. So if your apache config is standardized you basically only write the CM code to setup the docroot and the one apache config file. And even then, I always abstracted that out to match my world. — cwebber > On Nov 12, 2014, at 4:34 PM, Edward Ned Harvey (lopser) > <lop...@nedharvey.com> wrote: > > How many nearly-identical systems does it take to be worthwhile? > > Please direct your attention here: http://xkcd.com/1319/ > and here: http://www.xkcd.com/1445/ > > I am going to point out, that the very first video on the getting started > with puppet page suggests: First know the thing you want to automate. > Refine it. And then automate it. But if you've already figured it out and > refined it, then the old-school thing I've always done up till now is to just > write a txt file with copy & paste commands to run. Automating seems to only > be worth while if you're going to repeat it identically many times over, and > I can barely understand why/when somebody would need to do that, unless > they're managing a compute farm or a whole bunch of users' workstations or > something. > > My usual situation is like this: Some business requires something like a > drupal or whatever site published to the interwebs. So I start with the base > process to harden the base system, and then customize essentially my apaache > & mysql templates - but there's always customization necessary. Of course > this company isn't creating an *identical* copy of what was done at some > other company. It's just a process I want to generally follow. > > The obstacle that has always held me back from automating is the lack of > demand for identical systems, *and* the requirement to have essentially > written a copy & pastable procedure as prerequisite before you could > automate. So far what I'm seeing today doesn't suggest otherwise... > _______________________________________________ > Tech mailing list > Tech@lists.lopsa.org > https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech > This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators > http://lopsa.org/ _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lists.lopsa.org https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
