Clik here to view.
Delta Reporting and CFEngine are NOT centralized applications
Delta Reporting and CFEngine are not centralized applications. Yes, I do describe DR as centralized reporting for CFEngine, but that is a simplistic view for easy consumption. Both CFEngine and Delta...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testing CFEngine policy
After 2 productive days at Devopsdays Toronto I’ve been thinking more about how to test CFEngine policy. Not just prototype, but production tests too. The ideal situation is that a machine tests your...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testing CFEngine policy by counting classes
I’ve added a new bundle to the 3.5 branch of EFL. This bundle efl_test_count allows you to count the classes matching a regular expression and test if that count matches your expected count. Consider...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shellshock free with CFEngine and Delta Reporting
Hosts reported free of shell shock Above is a screenshot from Evolve’s production Delta Reporting service. These hosts are safe from Shell shock. Thanks to Delta Reporting, EFL, and CFEngine our...
View ArticleEFL tech preview for JSON parameters
It’s very likely that EFL for CFEngine 3.6 will be able to read both CSV and JSON parameter files. Some EFL users are looking forward to this because some CSV files have very long lines and are hard to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Changes in virt-install and Kickstart in RHEL7
If you are planning to move to RHEL7 you may have to change your kickstart and virt-install scripts. The virt-install changes will also apply to Debian based hosts. Below is a working example of a...
View ArticleMustache template in CFEngine
Here’s a quick example of how to use mustache templates in CFEngine. The policy body common control { bundlesequence => { "main", }; } bundle agent main { vars: solar_system:: "home_star" string...
View ArticleSetting default variables in CFEngine
Do you want to set a default value for variables in CFEngine? Here are two methods. The first uses defaults promises. Defaults promises can be bit confusing and I’ve seen bugs in them in the past, so...
View ArticlePurging old systems from Red Hat Satellite
I’ve been involved in a Red Hat Satellite (version 5) project recently. The nature of the client’s work meant that most the systems registered with Satellite were reinstalled regularly. This can lead...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cfbot answers your questions on IRC
Courtesy clipartlord.com I’ve built cfbot an open source IRC helper bot for the #cfengine channel at Freenode. The bot returns definitions of submitted keywords. I invite you to contribute to this...
View ArticleServerspec, the good, the bad, and the ugly
I’ve been using a talking about Serverspec lately. Let me tell you about the surprises I found. A Quick Introduction Severspec is a Ruby powered tool the tests server configuration. You write a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New packages promises in EFL
Good news everyone. CFEngine 3.7 has revamped packages promises making them simpler and more reliable. These new promises are now used in EFL with the bundle efl_packages_new. The bundle’s parameter...
View ArticleClik here to view.
EFL is tested for your confidence
Take confidence that EFL is tested with each change and against each new CFEngine release. We have more than 170 tests. Have confidence in using EFL in your production environment.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Testing CFEngine policy using EFL, TAP, and Perl
It’s a dirty secret that few test their CFEngine policies, and fewer still test them well. Now EFL has two bundles for testing that produce TAP output. What is TAP? The Test Anything Protocol was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Build better regular expressions in CFEngine
Regular expressions can vary from simple to WTF. Usually they tend toward the latter. What most don’t realized, or are too lazy to use, is that regular expressions can be made to include friendly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Auditing hosts using CFEngine, EFL, and Delta Reporting
Sometimes you want to audit a host without changing it. This can be hard with CFEngine, but with EFL and Delta Reporting it’s possible. Consider these arbitrary tests: Is vm.swappiness 60? Is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Essential audit reports with Delta Reporting
Delta Reporting dashboard Delta Reporting has simple yet powerful reports. See a gallery of essential ones here.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Simple CFEngine setup with EFL
CFEngine can be confusing and frustrating for new users. I’ll try to offer you a condensed and easy to follow procedure, including the EFL addon. Concepts CFEngine is client server application. The...
View Article