Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?

openit

Hello all,

I have seen so many recommendations about Salt Stack and Ansible from different posts.

I only realized there is such software exists for free after joining ML.

I really wish to give a try in Windows Workgroup environment. Is there any easy setup guide (not boring official docs :)), articles or VM to download and spin to check how it works ?

I think I have tried on CentOS long ago but was not successful. Also, are their agents to be installed on client computers ?

Thanks !

Alex Sage

Here is the official docs for Salt:

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/installation/windows.html

scottalanmiller

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

scottalanmiller

Here is the simple agent install guide for Windows.

https://mangolassi.it/topic/11891/deploying-saltstack-on-windows

scottalanmiller

The SaltStack tag is loaded with resources.

openit

@aaronstuder said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Here is the official docs for Salt:

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/installation/windows.html

Thanks.
So, Salt Master = Salt Stack Server
Salt Minion = Salt Stack Client

Right ?

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

Great. I like agent based one than agentless.

Reid Cooper

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@aaronstuder said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Here is the official docs for Salt:

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/installation/windows.html

Thanks.
So, Salt Master = Salt Stack Server
Salt Minion = Salt Stack Client

Right ?

The terms Salt and SaltStack are generally interchangeable everywhere that I've seen.

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Here is the simple agent install guide for Windows.

https://mangolassi.it/topic/11891/deploying-saltstack-on-windows

I understand this is to setup the Client (ask Salt Stack Minion).

How about setting up Salt Stack server or master ?

I believe it's only available for Linux ?

How to setup the Salt Stack Master easily ? any demo VM will great

scottalanmiller

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

Great. I like agent based one than agentless.

Me too, agentless is so prone to error and relies on LAN-centric thinking in most cases.

scottalanmiller

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

How about setting up Salt Stack server or master ?

I believe it's only available for Linux ?

Same code that the Minion uses, so you just saw it downloaded for Windows. Of course, running it on Windows is pretty silly. But it will work just fine.

scottalanmiller

Deploying a Salt Master.

https://mangolassi.it/topic/11812/installing-salt-master

scottalanmiller

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

any demo VM will great

Salt is SO easy, a demo VM would actually make it harder.

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

Great. I like agent based one than agentless.

Me too, agentless is so prone to error and relies on LAN-centric thinking in most cases.

Yeah, I feel agent based are more reliable.

Also, I have seen somewhere in ML that in comparison to AD with SS, someone mentioned SS is good even Lanless. Not sure what is Lanless ?

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

Great. I like agent based one than agentless.

Me too, agentless is so prone to error and relies on LAN-centric thinking in most cases.

Could you elaborate LAN-centric ?

scottalanmiller

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Also, I have seen somewhere in ML that in comparison to AD with SS, someone mentioned SS is good even Lanless. Not sure what is Lanless ?

LANless, meaning "without a LAN." Or "not depending on a LAN." Could be written "sans LAN."

Youtube Video

scottalanmiller

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Salt is all agent based, you can get around it, but the design of the system is for agents.

Great. I like agent based one than agentless.

Me too, agentless is so prone to error and relies on LAN-centric thinking in most cases.

Could you elaborate LAN-centric ?

Requiring, depending on or "assuming" a LAN. An agentless system would require that the systems to be managed be exposed in ways you would not want to do on the public Internet - therefore depending on a LAN for security. Something you cannot do with modern hosted systems.

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

Also, I have seen somewhere in ML that in comparison to AD with SS, someone mentioned SS is good even Lanless. Not sure what is Lanless ?

LANless, meaning "without a LAN." Or "not depending on a LAN." Could be written "sans LAN."

Youtube Video

Wow, that's you @scottalanmiller , will take some dedicated time later to watch it.

openit

@scottalanmiller said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

@openit said in Easier guide to setup Salt Stack/Ansible for Windows environment ?:

any demo VM will great

Salt is SO easy, a demo VM would actually make it harder.

Oh okay, I will give a try with above article if that's the case.

scottalanmiller

@openit lol, yet that is me.