What is the best way to test server builds? [closed]

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Closed 9 years ago.

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I've got to build about a half-dozen instances of a very large & complex linux database server.

I can't set up the machines myself - instead I've got to request the config to be built. Additionally, I can't mandate an automation tool such as Chef for the configuration. I've provided the sysadmins with extremely clear spreadsheets that describe the config - but it's very error-prone to build, time-consuming to test and they make a wreck of it each time.

So, I'd like have a tool that will test the following:

• system info: installed software & versions, default configs, security policies, sudo list, etc
• user info: userids, group membership, primary group, umask, ulimits, home directories, home directory privs, etc
• storage info: raid configurations & extent sizes, volumes, file systems, file system types, mount points, ownership & privs, etc
• database info: installed software & versions, installation locations, database config, tablespaces, bufferpools, and database objects

I don't need a single tool to do it all, I'd be happy enough to find a few tools that together could pull this together. And I'll write at least parts of it if I have to - but would be bummed if I spent a week writing something when there was something better already available.

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You can create puppet recipes to configure your own independent servers on VMs.

Then copy those puppet manifests on the actual servers and run puppet in "noop" mode, referencing the local manifest files. That should give you answers as to whats missing.

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Not sure if it is same as what @bash suggested. In VMWare world, you can first create a server, then convert it in to a template. So, you first create a server and make sure you have all the required settings done on it - i.e; validate once to make sure if it 100% as you wanted.

Convert this server to a template. Now you can stamp as man clones out of this template as you wish - and all of them are guaranteed to look identical.