Frequently Asked Questions ========================== .. contents:: FAQ Is Salt open-core? ------------------ No. Salt is 100% committed to being open-source, including all of our APIs and the new `'Halite' web interface`_ which was introduced in version 0.17.0. It is developed under the `Apache 2.0 license`_, allowing it to be used in both open and proprietary projects. .. _`'Halite' web interface`: https://github.com/saltstack/halite .. _`Apache 2.0 license`: http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html What ports should I open on my firewall? ---------------------------------------- Minions need to be able to connect to the Master on TCP ports 4505 and 4506. Minions do not need any inbound ports open. More detailed information on firewall settings can be found :doc:`here `. I'm seeing weird behavior (including but not limited to packages not installing their users properly) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is often caused by SELinux. Try disabling SELinux or putting it in permissive mode and see if the weird behavior goes away. My script runs every time I run a *state.highstate*. Why? --------------------------------------------------------- You are probably using :mod:`cmd.run ` rather than :mod:`cmd.wait `. A :mod:`cmd.wait ` state will only run when there has been a change in a state that it is watching. A :mod:`cmd.run ` state will run the corresponding command *every time* (unless it is prevented from running by the ``unless`` or ``onlyif`` arguments). More details can be found in the docmentation for the :mod:`cmd ` states. When I run *test.ping*, why don't the Minions that aren't responding return anything? Returning ``False`` would be helpful. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you run *test.ping* the Master tells Minions to run commands/functions, and listens for the return data, printing it to the screen when it is received. If it doesn't receive anything back, it doesn't have anything to display for that Minion. There are a couple options for getting information on Minions that are not responding. One is to use the verbose (``-v``) option when you run salt commands, as it will display "Minion did not return" for any Minions which time out. .. code-block:: bash salt -v '*' pkg.install zsh Another option is to use the :mod:`manage.down ` runner: .. code-block:: bash salt-run manage.down Also, if the Master is under heavy load, it is possible that the CLI will exit without displaying return data for all targeted Minions. However, this doesn't mean that the Minions did not return; this only means that the Salt CLI timed out waiting for a response. Minions will still send their return data back to the Master once the job completes. If any expected Minions are missing from the CLI output, the :mod:`jobs.list_jobs ` runner can be used to show the job IDs of the jobs that have been run, and the :mod:`jobs.lookup_jid ` runner can be used to get the return data for that job. .. code-block:: bash salt-run jobs.list_jobs salt-run jobs.lookup_jid 20130916125524463507 If you find that you are often missing Minion return data on the CLI, only to find it with the jobs runners, then this may be a sign that the :conf_master:`worker_threads` value may need to be increased in the master config file. Additionally, running your Salt CLI commands with the ``-t`` option will make Salt wait longer for the return data before the CLI command exits. For instance, the below command will wait up to 60 seconds for the Minions to return: .. code-block:: bash salt -t 60 '*' test.ping How does Salt determine the Minion's id? ---------------------------------------- If the Minion id is not configured explicitly (using the :conf_minion:`id` parameter), Salt will determine the id based on the hostname. Exactly how this is determined varies a little between operating systems and is described in detail :ref:`here `. I'm trying to manage packages/services but I get an error saying that the state is not available. Why? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Salt detects the Minion's operating system and assigns the correct package or service management module based on what is detected. However, for certain custom spins and OS derivatives this detection fails. In cases like this, an issue should be opened on our tracker_, with the following information: 1. The output of the following command: .. code-block:: bash salt grains.items | grep os 2. The contents of ``/etc/lsb-release``, if present on the Minion. .. _tracker: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues I'm using gitfs and my custom modules/states/etc are not syncing. Why? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In versions of Salt 0.16.3 or older, there is a bug in :doc:`gitfs ` which can affect the syncing of custom types. Upgrading to 0.16.4 or newer will fix this. Why aren't my custom modules/states/etc. available on my Minions? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Custom modules are only synced to Minions when :mod:`state.highstate `, :mod:`saltutil.sync_modules `, or :mod:`saltutil.sync_all ` is run. Similarly, custom states are only synced to Minions when :mod:`state.highstate `, :mod:`saltutil.sync_states `, or :mod:`saltutil.sync_all ` is run. Other custom types (renderers, outputters, etc.) have similar behavior, see the documentation for the :mod:`saltutil ` module for more information. Module ``X`` isn't available, even though the shell command it uses is installed. Why? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is most likely a PATH issue. Did you custom-compile the software which the module requires? RHEL/CentOS/etc. in particular override the root user's path in ``/etc/init.d/functions``, setting it to ``/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin``, making software installed into ``/usr/local/bin`` unavailable to Salt when the Minion is started using the initscript. In version 0.18.0, Salt will have a better solution for these sort of PATH-related issues, but recompiling the software to install it into a location within the PATH should resolve the issue in the meantime. Alternatively, you can create a symbolic link within the PATH using a :mod:`file.symlink ` state. .. code-block:: yaml /usr/bin/foo: file.symlink: - target: /usr/local/bin/foo Can I run different versions of Salt on my Master and Minion? ------------------------------------------------------------- As of release 0.17.1 backwards compatibility was broken (specifically for 0.17.1 trying to interface with older releases) due to a protocol change for security purposes. The Salt team continues to emphasize backwards compatibility as an important feature and plans to support it to the best of our ability to do so. Does Salt support backing up managed files? ------------------------------------------- Yes. Salt provides an easy to use addition to your file.managed states that allow you to back up files via :doc:`backup_mode `, backup_mode can be configured on a per state basis, or in the minion config (note that if set in the minion config this would simply be the default method to use, you still need to specify that the file should be backed up!).