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Learning Salt

Packt Publishing

SaltStack automates the management and configuration of any infrastructure or application at scale. It provides an arsenal of tools to execute commands across thousands of systems with ease.

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SaltStack automates the management and configuration of any infrastructure or application at scale. It provides an arsenal of tools to execute commands across thousands of systems with ease.

Learning Saltstack will start from scratch and build towards a high-level goal of installing, configuring, deploying, and managing a web application to Docker containers across multiple systems behind a HAProxy load balancer. The course will start by explaining how Salt approaches System management and help the viewer get up and running with a working Salt infrastructure. You will learn how to use Salt to target, query, and change systems.

You will learn to define the desired state of your infrastrucrture and how you can use Salt to enforce the state with a single command. The course will dive deeper into YAML and Jinja and show you the best practices for writing reusable and maintainable states. Finally, you will learn about some of the additional tools that salt provides, including salt-cloud, the reactor, and the event system.

By the end of the course, you would be able to build and manage your infrastructure and fully utilize its potential.

About the Author

Seth House has been involved in the Salt community for five years and has worked at SaltStack for four years. He wrote the salt-api and also contributed to many core parts of Salt. He has collaborated with the Salt community and started the Salt Formulas organization. Seth has given over thirty Introductions, Presentations, Training at user groups and conferences and Created tutorials on Salt well for Companies. He has designed and helped fine-tune Salt deployments at companies all across the United States.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • How to install and configure salt.
  • How salt communicates between machines.
  • The difference and distinction between the various salt module types.
  • How and why to use execution modules.
  • Understand salt’s state system.
  • Write and manage complex states.
  • Run complex state trees that span multiple systems.
  • Use and react to real-time events across an infrastructure.
  • Integrate salt with other tools, both internal and external.

Syllabus

Installation and Setup

This video provides an overview of the entire course.

The aim of this video is to learn how Salt approaches system management and why it uses the technology that it does.

Read more

The aim of this video is to learn about how Salt utilizes a technology stack to meet design goals and what that stack is.

The aim of this video is to learn to install Salt from the official SaltStack repository.

The aim of this video is to learn how Salt's encryption layer works.

Execution Modules

We will explore how to granularly target subsets of an infrastructure.

We will talk about execution modules which is a large library of common tasks to query or change a system.

We will talk about execution modules.

We will take a look at Master- or Minion-centric invocation.

The State of an Infrastructure

We will explore the intricacies of Salt's State system.

We will write our first Salt State.

We will dissect each part of a Salt State.

We will trace the flow of a State run from the master, to a minion, and then back to the master.

We will take a look at debugging tips for developing a State tree.

Expanding States with Jinja and Pillar

The aim of this video is to explore Salt states as data structure generators.

The aim of this video is to take a look at what exactly are re-usable states.

The aim of this video is to discuss the best practices for writing states in a clean and maintainable way.

The aim of this video is to know about the pitfalls of Jinja and YAML as well as a couple of tips.

The aim of this video is to use Jinja and YAML to create minion specific data.

The aim of this video is to know more about Salt formulas and how to use them.

The aim of this video is to learn some tips on how to debug Jinja.

Complex State Trees

With this video, explore complex multi-file state trees.

The aim of this video is to discuss ordering strategies to get the state tree to execute in the desired order.

The aim of this video is to learn about the requisites that can change the order of a state run dynamically.

The aim of this video is to lean about debugging strategies for large state trees.

The aim of this video is to explore how to share data between minions.

With this video, get acquainted on how to execute state runs on a master.

Events and the Reactor

The aim of this video is to get to know about salt's event basics.

The aim of this video is to know about the custom events.

The aim of this video is to react to events and trigger actions.

The aim of this video is to know about Signal salt from third- party tools using Salt events.

The aim of this video is to use Beacon modules to automatically create Salt events in response to system events.

The aim of this video is to Debug the Salt Reactor.

The Salt REST API

The aim of this video is to learn how to install and configure Salt's REST API.

The aim of this video is to explore rest_cherrypy endpoints and features.

The aim of this video is to Access salt's event bus and shortcuts for common tasks.

The aim of this video is to integrate Salt with external services and systems by exposing webhooks.

The aim of this video is to wrap up the video series and get familiar on the general resources for further study.

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Covers SaltStack, which is widely used for automating infrastructure management and configuration at scale, making it highly relevant for professionals in these roles
Teaches how to install, configure, deploy, and manage web applications using Docker containers and HAProxy, which are essential skills for modern infrastructure management
Explores YAML and Jinja templating, which are crucial for writing reusable and maintainable Salt states, enhancing the efficiency and scalability of infrastructure automation
Taught by Seth House, who has extensive experience with SaltStack and has contributed to core parts of Salt, providing valuable insights and practical knowledge
Requires learners to install Salt from the official SaltStack repository, which may require root access or administrative privileges on the systems being managed
Focuses on SaltStack, which, while powerful, may require a significant time investment to learn and master, potentially posing a challenge for those with limited time

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Learning Salt with these activities:
Review YAML Fundamentals
Reinforce your understanding of YAML syntax, which is crucial for writing Salt states and configurations.
Browse courses on YAML
Show steps
  • Read a YAML tutorial or guide.
  • Practice writing YAML files with different data structures.
  • Use a YAML validator to check for syntax errors.
Review YAML Fundamentals
Solidify your understanding of YAML syntax and structure, as Salt heavily relies on YAML for state and configuration management.
Browse courses on YAML
Show steps
  • Read a YAML tutorial.
  • Practice writing YAML files.
  • Validate YAML files using online tools.
Brush up on Jinja Templating
Strengthen your Jinja templating skills, as Jinja is used extensively in Salt states for dynamic configuration.
Show steps
  • Review Jinja syntax and features.
  • Practice writing Jinja templates with variables and control structures.
  • Experiment with Jinja filters and functions.
Six other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all nine activities
Brush up on Jinja Templating
Familiarize yourself with Jinja templating, which is used extensively in Salt states to dynamically generate configurations.
Show steps
  • Study Jinja documentation.
  • Experiment with Jinja filters.
  • Create simple Jinja templates.
SaltStack Essentials
Supplement your learning with a comprehensive guide to SaltStack, covering core concepts and practical applications.
View Salt Essentials on Amazon
Show steps
  • Read the book cover to cover.
  • Try out the examples in the book.
  • Take notes on key concepts.
Automate Application Deployment
Apply your SaltStack knowledge by automating the deployment of a simple application (e.g., a static website) to a virtual machine.
Show steps
  • Set up a virtual machine.
  • Write Salt states to install and configure the application.
  • Apply the states to the VM.
  • Test the deployed application.
Salt State Debugging Exercises
Practice debugging common Salt state issues, such as incorrect syntax, ordering problems, and dependency failures.
Show steps
  • Create a state with a deliberate error.
  • Run the state and analyze the error message.
  • Fix the error and rerun the state.
  • Repeat with different types of errors.
Document Salt Best Practices
Create a document outlining best practices for writing Salt states, organizing state trees, and managing Salt environments.
Show steps
  • Research Salt best practices.
  • Organize the information into a clear structure.
  • Write detailed explanations and examples.
  • Review and refine the document.
Contribute to Salt Formulas
Contribute to an existing Salt formula or create a new one to manage a specific application or service.
Show steps
  • Find a Salt formula project on GitHub.
  • Identify an area for improvement or a missing feature.
  • Implement the changes or create the new feature.
  • Submit a pull request.

Career center

Learners who complete Learning Salt will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Configuration Management Engineer
A Configuration Management Engineer is responsible for managing the configuration of systems and applications to ensure consistency, reliability, and security. This Learning Salt course is directly applicable, since it is centered around the use of SaltStack for configuration management. The course teaches how to define the desired state of systems and enforce that state, which is a key responsibility of a configuration management engineer. A configuration management engineer will find great value in the course's in-depth exploration of Salt's state system, YAML, Jinja, and techniques for building reusable configuration states. The skills gained in this course are directly translatable to tasks these engineers perform daily.
See salaries and explore the career path for Configuration Management Engineer
DevOps Engineer
A DevOps Engineer focuses on bridging the gap between software development and IT operations, with the aim of faster and more reliable software releases. The Learning Salt course is perfectly aligned with the responsibilities of a DevOps Engineer as it helps this role automate infrastructure and application management, a core task within DevOps. The course focuses on building a working Salt infrastructure, allowing a DevOps engineer to quickly scale and manage systems. Moreover, the course's focus on state management, YAML, and Jinja will be very helpful in creating maintainable and repeatable deployment pipelines. A DevOps engineer will greatly benefit from this course's training on Salt's event system, aiding in efficient monitoring and deployment.
See salaries and explore the career path for DevOps Engineer
Automation Engineer
An Automation Engineer is responsible for designing, creating, testing, and improving automated systems, especially in IT and software deployment. This Learning Salt course is incredibly relevant for an automation engineer as it teaches how to automate the management and configuration of infrastructure. The course's practical approach where learners build towards a high level goal of deploying a web application using Docker and SaltStack directly matches the requirements of an automation engineer. The ability to define the desired state of infrastructure and enforce that state with a single command is essential for automation. This course will help an automation engineer learn best practices for writing reusable and maintainable automation scripts.
See salaries and explore the career path for Automation Engineer
Systems Administrator
A Systems Administrator is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems, especially multi-user computers. This Learning Salt course directly prepares individuals for this role by providing the necessary skills to automate system management and configurations across a large number of systems. The course teaches how to use SaltStack to execute commands, define desired states, and enforce configurations. Gaining proficiency in using SaltStack, especially its state system for configuration management, directly transfers to the day-to-day tasks of a systems administrator, helping to ensure smooth operations and efficient deployments. A systems administrator will find the course's deep dive into YAML, Jinja, and best practices for writing reusable and maintainable states very useful.
See salaries and explore the career path for Systems Administrator
Infrastructure Engineer
Infrastructure Engineers design, build, and manage the underlying systems that support an organization's IT services. This Learning Salt course directly provides the tools and knowledge that infrastructure engineers need to effectively manage and automate infrastructure. The course's focus on how to install, configure, and manage a web application across multiple systems using SaltStack is particularly relevant. It emphasizes the ability of Salt to target, query, and change systems, which is vital for managing large-scale infrastructure. The course also covers topics such as state enforcement, reusable states, and debugging strategies, all of which are highly beneficial for an infrastructure engineer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Infrastructure Engineer
Platform Engineer
Platform Engineers build and maintain the underlying platforms that support software development and operations. This Learning Salt course is extremely relevant to a platform engineer as it introduces the skills needed to automate infrastructure management. The course's focus on how to install, configure, and manage applications using Docker and SaltStack directly translates to the tasks of a platform engineer. This course emphasizes key skills such as the use of Salt to target, query and change systems, as well as how to define and enforce the desired state of infrastructure. The platform engineer will also find value in the course's deep dive into YAML, Jinja, and best practices.
See salaries and explore the career path for Platform Engineer
Cloud Engineer
Cloud Engineers are responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining cloud-based infrastructure. This Learning Salt course is an ideal fit as it focuses on automating infrastructure management, a key skill for any cloud engineer. The course teaches how to use SaltStack to install, configure, deploy, and manage applications, skills essential for managing cloud resources at scale. The course's emphasis on using Salt to target, query, and make changes to systems, along with its exploration of Salt's state system, directly addresses the cloud engineer's need for scalable and repeatable deployments. A cloud engineer would gain practical experience in the kind of system orchestration required for cloud environments.
See salaries and explore the career path for Cloud Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
A Site Reliability Engineer, or SRE, focuses on ensuring that systems and services are reliable, scalable, and performant; automation is key to this field. The Learning Salt course helps an SRE by providing the tools to automate infrastructure management, and improve system reliability. The course's deep dive into Salt's event system, states, and execution modules would be useful for maintaining and monitoring systems. An SRE must be able to manage systems at scale, and the course's teaching on how to handle thousands of systems with SaltStack would be very useful. The study of reusable states and debugging in this course would also benefit a site reliability engineer.
See salaries and explore the career path for Site Reliability Engineer
Release Engineer
A Release Engineer plans, coordinates and controls the movement of software through the engineering process and ensures that software goes through the delivery lifecycle. The Learning Salt course may be useful to someone in this role, who has an interest in learning about configuration management and automation, which are vital to continuous integration and delivery pipelines. The course presents the Salt state system and demonstrates how to enforce configurations across systems. The knowledge of YAML and jinja provided in the course may be helpful in writing system deployment configurations. Also, the course's instructions on how to debug complex state trees may help this role in solving deployment issues.
See salaries and explore the career path for Release Engineer
Security Engineer
A Security Engineer is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining systems to protect an organization's data and infrastructure. The Learning Salt course may be useful to a security engineer because SaltStack can be used to enforce security policies across systems, automate vulnerability patching, and ensure consistent security configurations. The course's focus on state management, reusable states, and event management can be applied to maintaining secure and compliant environments. A security engineer interested in automating security tasks may find this course beneficial to create repeatable and secure deployments.
See salaries and explore the career path for Security Engineer
Network Engineer
Network Engineers design, implement, and maintain computer networks within an organization. While this role is focused on networking equipment, the Learning Salt course may be useful in allowing the automation of network configurations if the infrastructure is compatible with SaltStack. This course can be helpful in automating repetitive tasks, like pushing configuration changes to multiple devices. The ability to use Salt to target and change systems, coupled with insights into the state infrastructure offered by this course, can be leveraged to maintain network infrastructure efficiently. A network engineer interested in infrastructure as code might find this course beneficial.
See salaries and explore the career path for Network Engineer
Technical Architect
A Technical Architect designs and oversees the implementation of technology solutions, aligning technology with business goals. While this role may not directly use SaltStack daily, the Learning Salt course may be useful for understanding technologies used in deployment, automation, and management of IT infrastructure. This course can help an architect grasp the capabilities of configuration management tools, which informs strategic decisions about infrastructure and system deployment. This course also helps an architect understand the role of YAML and Jinja in system configuration, which may be valuable in determining the right technical stack. The knowledge gleaned from this course can inform choices about reusable and maintainable infrastructure.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Architect
IT Manager
An IT Manager is responsible for the overall planning, direction, and coordination of an organization's IT activities. This Learning Salt course may be useful as exposure to modern IT infrastructure automation and configuration management concepts, which are relevant to IT management strategy. While an IT manager will likely not be using Salt daily, understanding how it can be used to manage systems can help in budget planning and resource allocation. Learning about SaltStack's ability to automate infrastructure tasks can help an IT manager improve efficiency within the team. The course may be useful for enhancing an IT manager's strategic understanding of modern IT infrastructure.
See salaries and explore the career path for IT Manager
Software Developer
A Software Developer writes code for applications and systems. While the Learning Salt does not focus on the day-to-day tasks of a software developer, it may be useful in understanding how software is deployed and managed in production, as well as how to contribute to DevOps workflows. The course's focus on automation and configuration management may help a software developer appreciate the importance of infrastructure as code and deployment automation. Although, a software developer may not use SaltStack directly, understanding how systems are deployed and how infrastructure is managed in production can be useful in writing software that is more easily deployed or managed. The course may be useful and help bridge a knowledge gap.
See salaries and explore the career path for Software Developer
Technical Project Manager
A Technical Project Manager leads technology-based projects, working with engineering teams to deliver a final product or service. While the Learning Salt course is technical in nature, it may be useful as exposure to infrastructure automation and configuration management. A technical project manager may find the course's emphasis on how to install and configure Salt, as well as how to use the tool to manage systems helpful for resource planning. Understanding how SaltStack works and what it can do may also help a project manager in assigning the correct tasks to the correct individuals. This course may provide a technical project manager with insights into the challenges faced by DevOps teams.
See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Project Manager

Reading list

We've selected one books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Learning Salt.
Cover image
Salt Essentials
Save
Provides a comprehensive overview of SaltStack, covering installation, configuration, state management, and more. It's a useful reference for understanding the core concepts and features of Salt. It can be used as a textbook or as a reference for industry professionals. It adds depth to the course by providing real-world examples and use cases.
Salt Essentials
Paperback
Check
Salt Essentials
Kindle Edition
Check

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Effort
6 total hours
Via
Udemy
Instructor
Packt Publishing
Language
English
Good to know
Covers SaltStack, which is widely used for automating infrastructure management and configuration at scale, making it highly relevant for professionals in these roles
Teaches how to install, configure, deploy, and manage web applications using Docker containers and HAProxy, which are essential skills for modern infrastructure management
Explores YAML and Jinja templating, which are crucial for writing reusable and maintainable Salt states, enhancing the efficiency and scalability of infrastructure automation
Taught by Seth House, who has extensive experience with SaltStack and has contributed to core parts of Salt, providing valuable insights and practical knowledge
Requires learners to install Salt from the official SaltStack repository, which may require root access or administrative privileges on the systems being managed
Focuses on SaltStack, which, while powerful, may require a significant time investment to learn and master, potentially posing a challenge for those with limited time
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