Chef Client Beta (v13 Infinity)

Description

The "Chef Client" ServerTemplate is designed to launch a server in a supported public/private cloud that connects to an existing Chef Server.

Why should you use this ServerTemplate?

If you are an experienced Chef user with a library of Chef cookbooks that you're using to launch and configure servers in a Chef Client-Server environment where each Chef client connects to a Chef Server that you're either managing yourself or using a Hosted Chef (by Opscode) service, you can use this "Client Server" ServeTemplate to launch servers via the RightScale Cloud Management platform. The client servers will automatically connect to the Chef server at boot time (assuming that the appropriate firewall permissions exist to allow the client to connect to the existing Chef Server). No refactoring of existing Chef cookbooks is required. Data bags and roles are also supported.

When you launch a Chef client server using this ServerTemplate from the RightScale Cloud Management platform, you can easily launch a new client server into any of the supported public/private cloud infrastructures as well as take advantage of the free real-time monitoring, alert automation system, and versioning features.  

Technical Overview

Architecture Diagram

The Chef Client server connects to the Chef Server using the values that are provided for the following input parameters:

• Chef Server URL - The URL that points to the existing Chef Server.
  • Hosted Chef Server - e.g. https://api.opscode.com/organizations/<ORG_NAME>
  • (User-managed) Private Chef Server - e.g. http://example.com:4000/chef
• Chef Client Validation Name - The name of the Chef Client server. (Note: The client name and private SSH key are used to authenticate a connection with the Chef Server.)
• Private Key to Register the Chef Client with the Chef Server - The private SSH key. (Note: The client name and private SSH key are used to authenticate a connection with the Chef Server.)

See also