IntroductionCourse Outline

Duration

3 days.

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, you should have completed the VMware vRealize® Automation: Install, Configure, Manage [V8.3] course. You should also have the following understanding or knowledge:

  • Good understanding of managing and working with various Linux and Windows operating systems
  • Knowledge and working experience of VMware vSphere® environments

Skills Gained

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Use VMware vRealize® Lifecycle Manager™ to install SaltStack Config
  • Describe the architecture of SaltStack Config
  • Deploy Salt minions from VMware vRealize® Automation™
  • Create simple, human-readable infrastructure-as-code to provision and configure systems and software anywhere in your environment
  • Configure roles and permissions for users and groups to manage and interact with SaltStack Config
  • Manage systems with Jinja and YAML code
  • Automatically enforce desired states across your entire IT footprint
  • Keep critical software up to date
  • Enact change immediately across your entire enterprise with fast, scalable remote execution
  • Use SaltStack Config orchestration
  • Create and manage reactors and beacons that enable self-healing configurations

Who Can Benefit?

  • Experienced system administrators and cloud administrators

Outline for VMware vRealize Automation SaltStack Config: Deploy & Manage [V8.4] Training

Outline

Course Introduction

  • Introductions and course logistics
  • Course objectives

SaltStack Config Overview and Architecture

  • Describe the purpose of SaltStack Config
  • Define vRealize Automation and its services
  • Define SaltStack SecOps
  • SaltStack Config deployment types
  • Components of SaltStack Config and their roles

Installing SaltStack Config

  • SaltStack Config installation from vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager
  • Accessing SaltStack Config console
  • Salt minion types
  • Installing Salt minion manually
  • Installing Salt minion using cloudConfig
  • Accepting minion keys

SaltStack Config Security

  • Overview of vRealize Automation roles
  • Directory service connections
  • Synchronizing with a directory service
  • Editing directory service connections
  • Deleting directory service connections
  • Creation and management of local users
  • Roles and permissions
  • Advanced permissions

Targeting Minions

  • Configuring minion attributes, grains, and custom grains
  • Creating minion target groups based on grains, globs, regular expressions, complex matching, and lists

Remote Execution and Job Management

  • Using modules, functions, and arguments
  • Generating documentation on available modules and functions
  • Creating, running, and scheduling jobs
  • AD HOC jobs

SaltStack Config States

  • Overview of SaltStack Config states
  • State files management
  • State modules
  • Testing and verifying states
  • Package management
  • SLS files
  • Top file
  • Creating initial SLS files

SaltStack Config Pillar Data

  • Pillar concepts
  • Pillar configuration
  • Using the get function
  • Passing inline pillar data
  • Managing users with SLS
  • Using pillars in SaltStack states

SaltStack Config State Requisites and Declarations

  • ID compared to names
  • State execution order
  • Implicit orders
  • Order declaration
  • Requisite declarations
  • Including other SLS files
  • Altering states
  • Using requisites and declarations to install and manage software

Using Jinja and YAML

  • SaltStack renderers
  • YAML SaltStack configuration file format
  • YAML lists, dictionaries, and block structures
  • Jinja basics
  • Using the Jinja renderer
  • Grains with Jinja
  • Jinja conditionals, lists, and loops
  • YAML dictionary
  • Jinja dictionary

Managing Microsoft Windows Systems

  • Software management
  • Windows features and roles
  • Local group policies
  • Patching
  • Windows software management
  • Windows features management

SaltStack Config Orchestration

  • SaltStack Config orchestration
  • SaltStack Config orchestration advantages
  • Executing orchestration
  • Orchestration state files
  • Orchestration calls
  • Requisites in orchestration

Beacons and Reactors

  • Beacons
  • Beacons configuration
  • Beacon state modules
  • SaltStack Config event bus
  • Reactors
  • Reactors configuration
  • Reactors state Files
  • Orchestration with beacons and reactors

Product Alignment

  • VMware vRealize Automation 8.4
  • VMware vRealize SaltStack Config 8.4