[chef] RE: Backing Up Open Source Chef Server

["Kadel-Garcia, Nico" < >]

It’s like any modest open source backup tool: it requires thought. For example, your data bags, internal cookbooks, roles, and environments may have passwords or details of machine configurations that should *not* be left lying around in a tarball that anyone in your company can download and read. Moreover, because much of the data is stored in JSON format, it may not match the format of your original configuration files. That makes comparing your backup to your source code particularly awkward.

 

I’m afraid to say that it is also underdocumented, and there were some odd behavioral changes between running it on older versions of chef and the current chef-11.12.4. It apparently changed how it makes assumptions about ‘chef-repo-path’ based on your current working directory, which caused me issues. That *kind* of change is what a more mature or enterprise grade backup tool would have tested and documented.

 

As an open source tool, I find it adequate with thoughtful usage and security practices.

 

 

--
Nico Kadel-Garcia
Senior Systems Consultant
Email:
Cell Phone: +1.339.368.2428

 

 

 

From: Stewart, Curtis [mailto:
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 11:10 AM
To:
Subject: [chef] Backing Up Open Source Chef Server

 

Is it sufficient enough to use the knife-backup plugin (https://github.com/mdxp/knife-backup) for backing up an Open Source Chef server?

 

The Chef docs have a page on backing up Enterprise Chef data (http://docs.opscode.com/server_backup_restore.html), but I’m not sure that’s required for Open Source Chef server (as Enterprise contains Groups, ACLs, etc.).

 

Curtis Stewart

Consultant

m 217.390.5067

Skype cstewart8710

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www.momentumsi.com

 

 

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