In Detail

This book begins with an introduction to the functionality and benefi ts of using Chef to manage Windows systems. From there, you are shown an overview of the Chef architecture and how to prepare a Windows host so that it can be managed by Chef, followed by an example of writing code to install a popular .NET application with Chef.

This book looks at how Windows system administrators can effectively leverage Chef as an automated system management tool to simplify their lives through managed infrastructure. Included are practical examples that will help you to understand how to take advantage of Chef when managing your infrastructure.

By the end of the book, you will be able to deploy software, provision hosts (including cloud servers), develop and test recipes for multiple platforms, and manage Windows hosts using the powerful tools that Chef provides.

Approach

This is a guide to automating Windows infrastructures using Chef, from the big picture through to hands-on examples.

Who this book is for

This book is designed for systems administrators who have had some exposure to Chef and are interested using it to manage their Windows-based systems. Some exposure to programming or scripting languages is expected for portions of this book.

About the Author

John Ewart

John Ewart is a system architect, software developer, and lecturer. He has designed and taught courses at a variety of institutions including the University of California, California State University, and local community colleges covering a wide range of computer science topics including Java, data structures and algorithms, operating systems fundamentals, Unix and Linux systems administration, and web application development. In addition to working and teaching, he maintains and contributes to a number of open source projects. He currently resides in Redmond, Washington, with his wife, Mary, and their two children.