@@ -6,52 +6,77 @@ Salt 0.9.8 is a big step forward, with many additions and enhancements, as
well as a number of precursors to advanced future developments.
This version of Salt adds much more power to the command line, making the
old hard timeout issues a thing of the past, and adding keyword argument
support to salt calls . These additions are also available in the salt client
api, making the available api tools much more powerful.
old hard timeout issues a thing of the past and adds keyword argument
support. These additions are also available in the salt client api, making
the available api tools much more powerful.
The new pillar system allows for data to be stored on the master and
assigned to minions in a granular way similar to the state system.
assigned to minions in a granular way similar to the state system. It also
allows flexibility for users who want to keep data out of their state tree
similar to 'external lookup' functionality in other tools.
Additions to requisites making them much more powerful have been added and
improved error checking for sls files in the state system. A new provider
system has been added to allow for redirecting what modules function in
the background for individual states.
system has been added to allow for redirecting what modules run in the
background for individual states.
Support for OpenSUSE has been added and support for Solaris has begun
serious development. Windows support has been signifigantly enhanced as well.
serious development. Windows support has been significantly enhanced as well.
The matcher and target systems have received a great deal of attention. The
default behavior of grain matching has changed slightly to reflect the salt
default behavior and the compound matcher system has been greatly refined.
default behavior of grain matching has changed slightly to reflect the rest
of salt and the compound matcher system has been refined.
A number of impressive features with keyword arguments have been added to both
the cli and to the state system, making states much more powerful and flexible,
but available in a clean and simple way .
the cli and to the state system. This makes states much more powerful and
flexible while maintaining the simple configuration everyone loves .
The new batch size capability allows for executions to be rolled through the
targeted minions in percentage or specific numbers of minions . This was added
to prevent the "thundering herd" problem when targetting large numbers of
minions for things like service restarts or file downloads.
The new batch size capability allows for executions to be rolled through a
group of targeted minions a percentage or specific number at a time . This
was added to prevent the "thundering herd" problem when targeting large
numbers of minions for things like service restarts or file downloads.
Upgrade Considerations
======================
Upgrade Issues
--------------
There was an oversight that has been previously missed which could cause a
newer minion to crash an older master. This oversight has been repaired so
that this version incompatibility issue will not occur again . When upgrading
to 0.9.8 make sure to upgrade the master first, followed by the minions.
There was a previously missed oversight which could cause a newer minion to
crash an older master. That oversight has been resolved so the version
incompatibility issue will no longer occur . When upgrading to 0.9.8 make
sure to upgrade the master first, followed by the minions.
Debian/Ubuntu Packages
----------------------
The original Debian/Ubuntu packages were called salt and included all salt
applications. New packages in the ppa are split. If an old salt package is
installed then it should be manually removed and the new split packages
need to be installed fresh.
applications. New packages in the ppa are split by function. If an old salt
package is installed then it should be manually removed and the new split
packages need to be freshly installed.
On the master:
.. code-block :: sh
# apt-get purge salt
# apt-get install salt-{master,minion}
.. code-block :: sh
# apt-get purge salt
# apt-get install salt-minion
.. code-block :: sh
# apt-get install salt-syndic
https://launchpad.net/~saltstack/+archive/salt
Major Features
@@ -69,39 +94,55 @@ trivial to those already familiar with salt states.
CLI Additions
-------------
The salt command in 0.9.8 has received a serious overhaul and is more powerful
then ever. Data is returned to the terminal as it is received, and the salt
The `` salt``
than ever. Data is returned to the terminal as it is received, and the salt
command will now wait for all running minions to return data before stopping.
This makes adding very large *--timeout* arguments completely unnecessary.
This makes adding very large *--timeout* arguments completely unnecessary and
gets rid of long running operations returning empty ``{}`` when the timeout is
exceeded.
When calling salt via sudo, the user originally running salt is saved to the
log for auditing purposes. This makes it easy to see who ran what by just
looking through the minion logs.
The *salt-key* command gained the *-D* and *--delete-all* arguments for
removing all keys. Be careful with this one!
Keyword Arguments and States
-----------------
----------------------------
A new addition to writing state modules has been made available. State modules
can now accept the ``**kwargs`` argument. The result of this is that all data
State modules now accept the ``**kwargs`` argument. This results in all data
in a sls file assigned to a state will be made available to the state function.
This enables data to be passed in a transparent way back to the modules that
are executing the logic. In particular, this allows us to add arguments to the
pkg.install module that enable more advanced and granular controls with respect
to what the state is capable of.
This passes data in a transparent way back to the modules executing the logic.
In particular, this allows adding arguments to the ``pkg.install`` module that
enable more advanced and granular controls with respect to what the state is
capable of.
An example of this along with the new debconf module for installing ldap
client packages on Debian:
.. code-block :: yaml
ldap-client-packages :
pkg :
- debconf : salt://debconf/ldap-client.ans
- installed
- names :
- nslcd
- libpam-ldapd
- libnss-ldapd
------------------
-----------------------------
In the past it was required that all arguments be passed in order to modules
from the *salt* and *salt-call* commands. As of 0.9.8, keyword arguments can
be passed in the form of ``kwarg=argument`` .
In the past it was required that all arguments be passed in the proper order to
the *salt* and *salt-call* commands. As of 0.9.8, keyword arguments can be
passed in the form of ``kwarg=argument`` .
Matcher Refinements and Changes
-------------------------------
Support has been added for matching minions with Yahoo's range library. This
is handled by passing range syntax with *-R* or *--range* arguments to salt.
More information at:
https://github.com/grierj/range/wiki/Introduction-to-Range-with-YAML-files
A number of fixes and changes have been applied to the Matcher system. The
most noteworthy is the change in the grain matcher. The grain matcher used
a regular expression to match the passed data to a grain, but now defaults
@@ -121,20 +162,28 @@ And the associated compound matcher suitable for ``top.sls`` is *P*:
P@os:(Arch| Fed).*
**NOTE** : The default grains matcher has changed from pcre to glob. This is a
backwards incompatible change.
**NOTE** : Changing the grains matcher from pcre to glob is backwards
incompatible.
Support has been added for matching minions with Yahoo's range library. This
is handled by passing range syntax with *-R* or *--range* arguments to salt.
More information at:
https://github.com/grierj/range/wiki/Introduction-to-Range-with-YAML-files
Providers
---------
Salt predetermines what modules should be mapped to what uses based on the
properties of a system. These determinations are generally made for modules
that provide things like package and service management.
that provide things like package and service management. The apt module
maps to pkg on Debian and the yum module maps to pkg on Fedora for instance.
Sometimes in states, it may be necessary for an alternative module to be used
to provide the desired functionality. For instance, an Arch Linux system may
have been set up with systemd support, so instead of using the default service
module detected for Arch Linux, the systemd module can be used:
Sometimes in states, it may be necessary for a non-default module to be used
for the desired functionality. For instance, an Arch Linux system may have
been set up with systemd support. Instead of using the default service module
detected for Arch Linux, the systemd module can be used:
.. code-block :: yaml
@@ -148,8 +197,9 @@ Requisite Glob Matching
-----------------------
Requisites can now be defined with glob expansion. This means that if there are
many requisites, they can be defined on a single line. For instance, to watch
all files in a directory, it can be defined like so:
many requisites, they can be defined on a single line.
To watch all files in a directory:
.. code-block :: yaml
@@ -172,19 +222,20 @@ take a percentage or a finite number:
.. code-block :: bash
salt \* -b 10% test.ping
salt -G ' os:RedHat'
salt \* -b 10 test.ping
through them all until the task is complete. This makes tasks like rolling web
server restarts behind a load balancer much easier with salt.
salt -G ' os:RedHat'
restart apache on 25% of the minions matching ``os:RedHat`` at a time and work
through them all until the task is complete. This makes jobs like rolling web
server restarts behind a load balancer or doing maintenance on BSD firewalls
using carp much easier with salt.
Module Updates
---------------
This is a list of notable, but not complete updates with new and existing
This is a list of notable, but non-exhaustive updates with new and existing
modules.
For our ruby users, new :doc :`rvm </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.rvm> ` and
@@ -195,16 +246,35 @@ with the :doc:`associated </ref/states/all/salt.states.rvm>`
The :doc :`virt </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.virt> ` module gained basic Xen support.
The :doc :`pkg </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.yumpkg> ` module gained Scientific Linux support.
The :doc :`yum </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.yumpkg5> `
:doc :`pkg </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.yumpkg> ` modules gained Scientific
Linux support.
The :doc :`pkg </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.apt> ` module on Debian, Ubuntu,
and derivatives force apt to run in a non-interactive mode. This prevents
issues when package installation waits for confirmation.
A :doc :`pkg </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.zypper> ` module for OpenSUSE's
zypper was added.
The :doc :`service </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.upstart> ` module on ubuntu
natively supports upstart.
The :doc :`pkg </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.apt >on Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives
forces apt to run in a non-interactive mode preventing previous issues with installation. Also,
Ubuntu users gained a new upstart : doc :` service </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.upstart> ` module .
A new :doc :`debconf </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.debconfmod >was
contributed by our community for more advanced control over deb package
deployments on Debian based distributions .
The :doc :`mysql.user </ref/states/all/salt.states.mysql_user> ` state and :doc :`mysql </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.mysql> ` module gained a *password_hash* argument.
The :doc :`mysql.user </ref/states/all/salt.states.mysql_user> ` state and
:doc :`mysql </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.mysql> ` module gained a
*password_hash* argument.
The :doc :`cmd </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.cmdmod> ` module and state gained a *shell* keyword argument for specifying
a shell other than ``/bin/sh`` on Linux / Unix systems.
The :doc :`cmd </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.cmdmod> ` module and state gained
a *shell* keyword argument for specifying a shell other than ``/bin/sh`` on
Linux / Unix systems.
New :doc :`git </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.git> ` and
:doc :`mercurial </ref/modules/all/salt.modules.hg> ` modules have been added
for fans of distributed version control.
In Progress Development
@@ -214,19 +284,31 @@ Master Side State Compiling
---------------------------
While we feel strongly that the advantages gained with minion side state
compiling is very critical, it does prevent certain features what may be
compiling are very critical, it does prevent certain features what may be
desired. 0.9.8 has support for initial master side state compiling, but many
more components still need to be developed, it is hoped that these can be
finished for 0.9.9.
The goal is that states can be compiled on both the master and the minion
allowing for compilation to be split between master and minion.
allowing for compilation to be split between master and minion. Why will
this be great? It will allow storing sensitive data on the master and sending
it to some minions without all minions having access to it. This will be
good for handling ssl certificates on front-end web servers.
New File Client
---------------
The file client code has been re-factored to allow local ``salt://`` uris.
This will eventually allow for running salt's configuration management via
``salt-call state.highstate`` to run without a salt-minion daemon running.
Solaris Support
--------------------
Salt 0.9.8 sees the introduction of basic Solaris support.
Salt 0.9.8 sees the introduction of basic Solaris support. The daemon runs
well, but grains and more of the modules need updating and testing.
Windows Support