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100 lines
3.9 KiB
ReStructuredText
====================
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Introduction to Salt
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====================
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.. rubric:: We’re not just talking about NaCl.
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The 30 second summary
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=====================
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Salt is:
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* a configuration management system, capable of maintaining remote nodes
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in defined states (for example, ensuring that specific packages are installed and
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specific services are running)
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* a distributed remote execution system used to execute commands and
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query data on remote nodes, either individually or by arbitrary
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selection criteria
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It was developed in order to bring the best solutions found in the
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world of remote execution together and make them better, faster, and more
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malleable. Salt accomplishes this through its ability to handle large loads of
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information, and not just dozens but hundreds and even thousands of individual
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servers quickly through a simple and manageable interface.
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Simplicity
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==========
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Providing versatility between massive scale deployments and smaller systems may seem
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daunting, but Salt is very simple to set up and maintain, regardless of the
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size of the project. The architecture of Salt is designed to work with any
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number of servers, from a handful of local network systems to international
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deployments across different datacenters. The topology is a simple
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server/client model with the needed functionality built into a single set of
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daemons. While the default configuration will work with little to no
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modification, Salt can be fine tuned to meet specific needs.
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Parallel execution
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==================
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The core functions of Salt:
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* enable commands to remote systems to be called in parallel rather than serially
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* use a secure and encrypted protocol
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* use the smallest and fastest network payloads possible
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* provide a simple programming interface
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Salt also introduces more granular controls to the realm of remote
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execution, allowing systems to be targeted not just by hostname, but
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also by system properties.
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Building on proven technology
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=============================
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Salt takes advantage of a number of technologies and techniques. The
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networking layer is built with the excellent `ZeroMQ`_ networking
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library, so the Salt daemon includes a viable and transparent AMQ
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broker. Salt uses public keys for authentication with the master
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daemon, then uses faster `AES`_ encryption for payload communication;
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authentication and encryption are integral to Salt. Salt takes
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advantage of communication via `msgpack`_, enabling fast and light
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network traffic.
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.. _`ZeroMQ`: http://www.zeromq.org/
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.. _`msgpack`: http://msgpack.org/
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.. _`AES`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard
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Python client interface
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=======================
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In order to allow for simple expansion, Salt execution routines can be written
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as plain Python modules. The data collected from Salt executions can be sent
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back to the master server, or to any arbitrary program. Salt can be called from
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a simple Python API, or from the command line, so that Salt can be used to
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execute one-off commands as well as operate as an integral part of a larger
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application.
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Fast, flexible, scalable
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========================
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The result is a system that can execute commands at high speed on
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target server groups ranging from one to very many servers. Salt is
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very fast, easy to set up, amazingly malleable and provides a single
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remote execution architecture that can manage the diverse
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requirements of any number of servers. The Salt infrastructure
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brings together the best of the remote execution world, amplifies its
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capabilities and expands its range, resulting in a system that is as
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versatile as it is practical, suitable for any network.
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Open
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====
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Salt is developed under the `Apache 2.0 licence`_, and can be used for
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open and proprietary projects. Please submit your expansions back to
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the Salt project so that we can all benefit together as Salt grows.
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Please feel free to sprinkle Salt around your systems and let the
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deliciousness come forth.
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.. _`Apache 2.0 licence`: http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html
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