Top Chef Interview Questions and Answers

Last updated on Feb 18 2022
Rahul Sharma

Table of Contents

Top Chef Interview Questions and Answers

What is Chef?

It is a powerful automation platform that provides a way to transforms infrastructure into code. Chef is a tool for which you write scripts that are used to automate processes. What processes? Pretty much anything related to IT.

Now you can explain the architecture of Chef, it consists of:

c1 2

What is a Node in Chef?

A Node represents a server and is typically a virtual machine, container instance, or physical server – basically any compute resource in your infrastructure that is managed by Chef.

What is a Resource in Chef?

A Resource represents a piece of infrastructure and its desired state, such as a package that should be installed, a service that should be running, or a file that should be generated. A block of Resource can be considered as a Recipe.

Now you should explain about the functions of Resource for that include the following points:

  • Describes the desired state for a configuration item.
  • Declares the steps needed to bring that item to the desired state.
  • Specifies a resource type such as package, template, or service.
  • Lists additional details (also known as resource properties), as necessary.
  • Are grouped into recipes, which describe working configurations.

What happens when you don’t specify a Resource’s action in Chef?

When you don’t specify a resource’s action, Chef applies the default action.

Now explain this with an example, the below resource:

 

 

 

file ‘C:UsersAdministratorchef-reposettings.ini’ do

content ‘greeting=hello world’

end

is same as the below resource:

 

 

 

 

file ‘C:UsersAdministratorchef-reposettings.ini’ do

action :create

content ‘greeting=hello world’

end

because: create is the file Resource’s default action.

What is a Recipe in Chef?

A Recipe is a collection of Resources that describes a particular configuration or policy. A Recipe describes everything that is required to configure part of a system.
Now after the definition I will explain the functions of Recipes by including the following points:

  • Install and configure software components.
  • Manage files.
  • Deploy applications.
  • Execute other Recipes.

How does a Cookbook differ from a Recipe in Chef?

A Recipe is a collection of Resources, and primarily configures a software package or some piece of infrastructure. A Cookbook groups together Recipes and other information in a way that is more manageable than having just Recipes alone.

Are these two Chef recipes the same?

 

 

 

 

package ‘httpd’

service ‘httpd’ do

action [:enable, :start]

end

&&

 

 

 

 

service ‘httpd’ do

action [:enable, :start]

end

package ‘httpd’

No, they are not. Remember that Chef applies resources in the order they appear. So the first Recipe ensures that the httpd package is installed and then configures the service. The second Recipe configures the service and then ensures the package is installed.

Write a service Resource that stops and then disables the httpd service from starting when the system boots in Chef.

Use the below Resource to stop and disable the httpd service from starting when system boots.

 

 

 

service ‘httpd’ do

action [:stop, :disable]

end

 

 How does Chef-apply differ from Chef-client?

Chef-apply is an executable program that runs a single Recipe from the command line. It is a part of the Chef development kit and a great way to explore resources.

Syntax for Chef-apply is:

chef-apply name_of_recipe.rb

Chef-client applies a Cookbook. It is used for production purposes where you typically run Chef-client to apply one or more cookbooks.

What is run-list in Chef?

run-list lets you specify which Recipes to run, and the order in which to run them. The run-list is important when you have multiple Cookbooks, and the order in which they run matters.

Depending on the discussion if you think more explanation is required just mention the below points

A run-list is:

  • An ordered list of roles and/or recipes that are run in the exact order defined in the run-list; if a recipe appears more than once in the run-list, the chef-client will not run it twice.
  • Always specific to the node on which it runs; nodes may have a run-list that is identical to the run-list used by other nodes.
  • Stored as part of the node object on the Chef server.
  • Maintained using knife, and then uploaded from the workstation to the Chef server, or is maintained using the Chef management console.

What information do you need in order to bootstrap in Chef?

Just mention the information you need in order to bootstrap:

  • Your node’s host name or public IP address.
  • A user name and password you can log on to your node with.
  • Alternatively, you can use key-based authentication instead of providing a user name and password.

How do you apply an updated Cookbook to your node in Chef?

There are three ways to apply an updated Cookbook to a node you can mention all or any one, I will suggest you to mention all three:

  • Run knife ssh from your workstation.
  • SSH directly into your server and run chef-client.
  • You can also run chef-client as a daemon, or service, to check in with the Chef server on a regular interval, say every or minutes.

What is the role of Starter Kit in Chef?

Starter Kit will create the necessary configuration files like chef directory, knife.rb, the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem, and USER.pem files etc. with the correct information that is required to interact with the Chef server.

Now tell how to use Starter Kit, you can simply download the starter kit and then move it to the desired location on your workstation.

What is the command you use to upload a cookbook to the Chef server?

You can directly mention the command to upload a cookbook to the Chef server “knife cookbook upload”.

What would you set your cookbook’s version to once it is ready to use in production?

According to Semantic Versioning, you should set your cookbook’s version number to .. once it is ready to use in production.

What is the value of local development using Test Kitchen in Chef?

  • Test Kitchen enables you to use a variety of virtualization providers that create virtual machine or container instances locally on your workstation or in the cloud.
  • It enables you to run your cookbooks on servers that resemble those that you use in production.
  • It speeds up the development cycle by automatically provisioning and tearing down temporary instances, resolving cookbook dependencies, and applying your cookbooks to your instances.

Explain the DevOps Life Cycle?

DevOps Life Cycle is made up of stages such as Continuous Development, Integration, Testing, Deployment, and Monitoring. We explain the stages below.

Continuous Development

This phase comprises project planning and development of the application by coding. The system design team is involved in planning. Project planning involves deciding on what technology, IDE, programming language, the framework will be suitable for the application, type of application (desktop, web or mobile), resource availability, pain points, and impediments integrating modules.

Coding involves the design, unit test, deploy, and integration programs to develop features and functionalities as expected in requirement documents. Version control tools such as Git, SVN, JIRA are used that will keep track of various builds and versions and maintain codebase. It uses code building tools such as Ant and Maven for building Java-based projects.

Continuous Integration

Developers commit source codes multiple times in a week or even day. Codebase collected in the version control tools is continuously integrated using Jenkins that integrates the code, tests the build after integration for any mismatch, and deploys the build.

Continuous Testing

The build is then deployed on a testing server for testing the functionality and any defects that occur because of integration or change requests. Regression testing is carried out with Selenium in the case of web-based application and UFT for desktop applications, it reports test status using TestNG. The defects are reported in the JIRA bug tracking tool.

Continuous Deployment

In this stage, the code is deployed on the production server, Jenkins continuously integrates, tests builds, codebase, and deploys on the client’s on-premise or cloud server. During this configuration management tools such as Chef, Ansible, and Puppet help in achieving continuous deployment.

Continuous Monitoring

After deploying the application on the production server, the operation team has to monitor how application deployed runs on the server with available infrastructure (hardware configurations), connection, or network issues if any should be attended and resolved with minimum downtime.

Various user activities, feature usage, improper system behavior during load conditions can be monitored and analyzed using continuous monitoring tools like Nagios.

What are the responsibilities of system administrators in an organization?

System administrator is responsible for effective planning, installation, configuration, and optimizing the IT infrastructure to achieve high availability and performance.

What do you mean by IT infrastructure?

IT infrastructure includes all the physical hardware such as systems, servers, network systems, switch, routers, legacy interfaces and facilities like data centers, data storage, and its retrieval and all the elements that are utilized to manage and use data and information securely to protect business goals of an organization.

What is Configuration management?

Configuration management maintains infrastructure such as servers, storage, networks, and software in the desired state for the systems. It offers automation software responsible for maintaining the desired state of targeted systems and software.

It provides consistency and correctness of configuration management; automates the time-consuming manual configuration processes, improving efficiency and accuracy with fewer resources. Popular automation tools for configuration management are Red Hat Ansible, Chef, and Puppet.

Can you please compare Chef and Puppet?

Both Chef and Puppet are DevOps tools for configuration management of on-premise and cloud-based infrastructure. Both require familiarity in Ruby language. 

The differences between the two are enlisted in the below table:

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List the products offered by Chef for DevOps operations.

Products offered include:

  • Chef Desktop
  • Chef Compliance
  • Chef Infra
  • Chef Habitat
  • Chef Inspec
  • Chef Automate

Explain about Chef Desktop

It helps control IT resources like laptops, desktops, and kiosk workstations remotely from a centralized location. It automates deployment, management, and secures the maintenance of IT resources. It automates tasks such as implementing policy-driven configuration and eliminates manual time-consuming processes.

What are the features of Chef Compliance?

Chef Compliance helps enforce and maintain compliances and prevent security incidents with standard audit and remediation content across heterogeneous estates to provide visibility and control across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

How Chef Infra is used by the DevOps team in Infrastructure management?

Chef Infra automates configuration of infrastructure, ensures consistent, correct, flexible, testable, versionable, and human-readable configuration policy, and any modification in configuration will be applied universally across the entire infrastructure.

Explain Resource in Chef.

Resource in Chef is a document on configuration policy that,

  • Specifies the state desired for a configuration item.
  • Lists steps required to bring this item to the desired state.
  • Outlines a resource type like package, template, or service.
  • Display the necessary resource properties.
  • Resources are working configurations grouped into recipes.

The syntax in Ruby for resources is made of four components, a type, a name, one or more properties, and one or more actions with their corresponding values as shown below:

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Explain the features of Chef Habitat.

It offers automation in defining, packaging, and delivering applications to any environment, irrespective of deployment platform or operating system. It creates deployable artifacts for virtual machines or containers without refactoring or rewriting. It also helps scale the adoption of agile delivery practices across operations and development.

Explain the importance of Chef Inspec in compliance with automation.

Chef Inspec provides security and compliance rules across security engineers, operations, and software developers. It enforces consistent standards in the managed environment and in each stage of development by running automated tests for compliance, security, and other policy requirements across servers, containers, and cloud APIs.

How Chef Automate is utilized?

Chef Automate offers an analytics dashboard for developers, operations, and security personnel in one place, delivering changes in infrastructure and application. It also offers actionable insights on performance and scaling across multiple data centers and cloud providers.

Explain Chef components.

Chef consists mainly of three components: viz. Chef Workstation, Chef Server, and Chef Node.

  • Chef Workstation: It is installed on a local machine, has features such as ad hoc remote execution, scanning, configuration tasks, and tools for the creation of a cookbook. Workstation, a replacement to ChefDK, contains Chef Infra Client, InSpec, testing tools like Test Kitchen, ChefSpec, and Cookstyle, Chef and Knife command-line tools.
  • Chef Server: It is a storage place where configuration policies defined in cookbooks and searchable managed metadata for each node are saved. Nodes that are managed by Chef check in regularly with Chef Server, in order to keep their local configurations up to date.

Chef Node: It contains run-list and node attributes, described in the JSON file stored on Chef Server. Chef client gets a copy of node object during each Chef client-run, which in turn, replaces an updated copy of Chef Server at the end of the chef-client run.

Explain the use of Recipe in Chef.

Recipe is a collection of resources that decides the policy or configuration of a node. To run a recipe, it must reside on the node’s run list. They are created using Ruby and have all the instructions about everything that is required to run, update, or create on Chef Client’s node.

What does a Node represent in Chef?

Node can be any device, physical, virtual, cloud, or network device managed by Chef Infra.

  • Physical node can be either an on-premise server or a virtual machine connected to a network and can send, receive, and forward the information over the Internet.
  • Virtual node is a physical machine that runs as software implementation.
  • Cloud-based node is an external cloud-based service that is hosted with Amazon web services, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure. Chef Infra client is installed to deploy, maintain, or configure these instances created with plug-in with the help of the knife tool.
  • Network node is a network device such as a switch, a router, connected to physical or logical Ethernet and VLANs, for Chef to automate common network configurations.

What is the role of OHAI in Chef?

OHAI is a tool that Chef Infra runs and collects system configuration data used within Cookbooks. It detects common configuration details with help of built-in plug-in. It also collects attributes from Operating System, Network, Memory, Disk, CPU, Kernel, Hostnames, and Cloud provider metadata.

Explain the use of Knife in Chef.

Knife is a command-line tool that acts as an interface between Chef Workstation and Chef Server where it helps Chef Workstation to communicate the content of its chef-repo directory with a Chef Server. Chef-Workstation contains the chef-repo directory where cookbooks, roles, data bags, and environments are stored.

With Knife commands users can manage (create, delete, edit, list, show) nodes, roles, JSON data storage, environments, cookbooks and recipes, cloud resources using Knife plug-ins.

Explain dpkg_package resource.

To manage packages for dpkg platform, on a node, dpkg program from the Debian package applies to install, remove, and retrieve information about .deb packages. Various actions such as :install, :nothing, :remove of dpkg_package resource are used to manage Debian package.

Explain metadata.rb in Chef.

metadata.rb file has information that guides Chef Infra client and server deploying cookbooks to each node, this file is available at Cookbook’s directory. When Cookbook is uploaded to Chef Infra Server, or command knife cookbook metadata is run, metadata.rb file gets compiled and is stored in the cookbook as JSON data.

List Knife plug-ins sub-commands available for Cloud hosting platforms?

Following table enlists the knife plug-ins sub-commands available for cloud hosting platforms:

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List types of handlers in Chef.

‘Chef_handler’ resource makes sure that all the handlers are enabled and are available for Chef Infra Client run. The Chef handlers are of three types.

These are listed below:

  • Exception Handler
  • Report Handler
  • Start Handler

Explain the Exception handler in Chef.

When Chef Infra client fails while running, this handler can be used at Chef Infra Client run where a recipe containing chef handler resource is added to node’s run-list. Exception handler runs with run_status object, returning its property value for ‘failed?’ as true.

Explain Report handler in Chef.

When Chef Infra Client runs successfully, sending a report on this run, we can use this handler. A recipe containing chef handler resource is used to run a list of the node. Report handler runs with run_status object returning its property value for ‘success?’ as true.

Explain Start handler in Chef.

As the name suggests, these handlers are applied in the client.rb setting while starting Chef Infra Client, to run events, or by applying gem resources that are available in chef-client cookbook recipe.

Explain Handler DSL in Chef.

Events like sending email when Chef Infra Client run fails, or updation of aggregating statistics about resources during Chef Infra Client runs to StatsD, Handler DSL is used to attach a callback to such events.

What if you forget to specify a Resource’s action in Chef?

In case action property (attribute) and its value are not included in Chef’s resource, Chef will apply the default action. Resource’s default action is Create.

For example,

Are these two Chef recipes the same?

package ‘httpd’
service ‘httpd’ do
action [:enable, :start]
end

&&

service ‘httpd’ do
action [:enable, :start]
end
package ‘httpd’

No, the recipe file gets to run in the order in which it is written. In the first recipe, httpd package gets installed and then configures the service. Whereas in the second recipe, configures the service and then httpd package is installed.

Explain the difference between Chef-apply and Chef-client.

The differences are enlisted below:

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Explain Run-list in Chef.

Run-list contains information required by Chef to configure a node in the desired state. Run-list has a list of roles, recipes, or both, which is run in the exact order they are listed in it. They are stored on Chef Server as a part of a node object, maintained using a knife uploaded from the Chef workstation. Run-list formats are fully qualified, cookbook, or default.

Example: “role[role_name]”, or “recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME]”

What details are required to bootstrap a node in Chef.

Following are a mandatory requirement:

  • Username and password as login credentials into a specific node.
  • Public IP address or Hostname of the node.
  • Key-based authentication, in place of username and password credentials.

Explain ways to apply an updated Cookbook in Chef to a node.

There are three possible ways of applying an updated Cookbook to a node in a Chef.

These are:

  • Running knife ssh subcommand to invoke SSH commands from the workstation.
  • Running Chef-client command to direct ssh connection into the server.
  • Running Chef-client as a daemon or a service in order to regularly review Chef Server.

What is Test Kitchen?

Test kitchen is a built-in tool that tests the recipe – (code to configure an infrastructure), in an isolated environment, for any potential defects, that may change the production environment. It allows testing code to configure infrastructure over any platform or operating system using Chef Inspec.

With Test Kitchen, cookbook data can be verified across any combination of platforms and test suites, kitchen.yml file gets created. Multiple kitchen instances can be created with this yml file.

How organizations benefit by installing Chef for configuration management?

Organizations benefit in the following way:

  • Management of newly installed systems and servers by automatic configuration with the help of Chef.
  • Eliminates downtime and improves the availability of failed systems by automatic resetting configuration back to their default running state.
  • Automatic installation and configuration of hardware and network infrastructure using chef improves software delivery, and quick recovery from a failed state.
  • Improves risk management by fixing quickly discovered malfunctioning or vulnerable systems.

How important is it to install SSL certificates in Chef?

SSL certificate is a digital signature or authentication for a website, and provides an encrypted connection, which will secure our website from the hacker’s attack with the intension to access sensitive data. It helps to create private keys and ensures secured data transmission between Chef Server and Chef Client.

List the companies that have installed Chef in their configuration management system.

Following is the list of some companies that have Chef an automated tool installed that runs the code to reset infrastructure’s configuration settings.

  • IBM
  • Alaska
  • Facebook
  • Nordstorm
  • SAP
  • Cerner
  • Walmart IRL
  • Carfax
  • Haventec
  • Rakuten
  • CapitalOne
  • Danske Bank

 

What is chef in devops?

  1. A) Chef is a configuration management tool for dealing with machine setup on physical servers, virtual machines and in the cloud.
    Many companies use Chef software to control and manage their infrastructure including Facebook, Etsy, Cheeseburger, and Indiegogo.

What is chef in automation?

  1. A) Chef is a powerful automation platform that transforms infrastructure into code. The Chef server acts as a hub for configuration data.
    The Chef server stores cookbooks, the policies that are applied to nodes, and metadata that describes each registered node that is being managed by the chef-client.

What is chef DK?

  1. A) The Chef DK workstation is the location where users interact with Chef. On the workstation users’ author and test cookbooks using tools such as Test Kitchen and interact with the Chef server using the knife and chef command line tools.

What are chef client nodes?

  1. A) Chef client nodes are the machines that are managed by Chef. The Chef client is installed on each node and is used to configure the node to its desired state.

What is a chef server?

  1. A) The Chef server acts as a hub for configuration data. The Chef server stores cookbooks, the policies that are applied to nodes, and metadata that describes each registered node that is being managed by Chef. Nodes use the Chef client to ask the Chef server for configuration details, such as recipes, templates, and file distributions.

What are work stations in chef?

  1. A) A workstation is a computer running the Chef Development Kit (ChefDK) that is used to author cookbooks, interact with the Chef server, and interact with nodes.

The workstation is the location from which most users do most of their work, including:

Developing and testing cookbooks and recipes
Testing Chef code
Keeping the chef-repo synchronized with version source control
Configuring organizational policy, including defining roles and environments, and ensuring that critical data is stored in data bags
Interacting with nodes, as (or when) required, such as performing a bootstrap operation

What are Cookbooks in chef?

  1. A) A cookbook is the fundamental unit of configuration and policy distribution. A cookbook defines a scenario and contains everything that is required to support that scenario:

Recipes that specify the resources to use and the order in which they are to be applied
Attribute values
File distributions
Templates
Extensions to Chef, such as custom resources and libraries

What is chef repo?

  1. A) The chef-repo is a directory on your workstation that stores:

Cookbooks (including recipes, attributes, custom resources, libraries, and templates)
Roles
Data bags
Environments
The chef-repo directory should be synchronized with a version control system, such as git. All of the data in the chef-repo should be treated like source code.

What is chef-client Run?

  1. A) A “chef-client run” is the term used to describe a series of steps that are taken by the chef-client when it is configuring a node.

What is chef validator?

  1. A) chef-validator – Every request made by the chef-client to the Chef server must be an authenticated request using the Chef server API and a private key. When the chef-client makes a request to the Chef server, the chef-client authenticates each request using a private key located in /etc/chef/client.pem.

What is apt_preference resource in chef?

  1. A) The apt_preference resource allows for the creation of APT preference files. Preference files are used to control which package versions and sources are prioritized during installation. New in Chef Client .

Syntax:

apt_preference ‘package_name’ do
action :add
end

What is apt_repository resource?

  1. A) Use the apt_repository resource to specify additional APT repositories. Adding a new epository will update APT package cache immediately.

apt_repository ‘nginx’ do
uri ‘http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/’
components [‘nginx’]
end

What is apt_update resource in chef?

  1. A) Use the apt_update resource to manage APT repository updates on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.

What is cab_package resource in chef?

  1. A) Use the cab_package resource to install or remove Microsoft Windows cabinet (.cab) packages.

What is chef_gem?

  1. A) Use the chef_gem resource to install a gem only for the instance of Ruby that is dedicated to the chef-client. When a gem is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.
  2. A) Use the chef_acl resource to interact with access control lists (ACLs) that exist on the Chef server.

Syntax: The syntax for using the chef_acl resource in a recipe is as follows:

chef_acl ‘name’ do
attribute ‘value’ # see properties section below

action :action # see actions section below
end

What is chef_client resource?

  1. A) A chef-client is an agent that runs locally on every node that is under management by Chef. When a chef-client is run, it will perform all of the steps that are required to bring the node into the expected state, including:

Registering and authenticating the node with the Chef server
Building the node object
Synchronizing cookbooks
Compiling the resource collection by loading each of the required cookbooks, including recipes, attributes, and all other dependencies
Taking the appropriate and required actions to configure the node
Looking for exceptions and notifications, handling each as required

What is chef_container resource?

  1. A) chef_container resource is used to interact with container objects that exist on the Chef server.

What is chef_data_bag_item?

  1. A) A data bag is a container of related data bag items, where each individual data bag item is a JSON file. knife can load a data bag item by specifying the name of the data bag to which the item belongs and then the filename of the data bag item.

Use the chef_data_bag_item resource to manage data bag items.

Syntax – The syntax for using the chef_data_bag_item resource in a recipe is as follows:

chef_data_bag_item ‘name’ do
attribute ‘value’

action :action
end

What is chef_data_bag resource?

  1. A) A data bag is a global variable that is stored as JSON data and is accessible from a Chef server. A data bag is indexed for searching and can be loaded by a recipe or accessed during a search.

Use the chef_data_bag resource to manage data bags.

What is chef_environment resource?

  1. A) chef_environment resource to manage environments. An environment is a way to map an organization’s real-life workflow to what can be configured and managed when using Chef server. Every organization begins with a single environment called the _default environment, which cannot be modified (or deleted). Additional environments can be created to reflect each organization’s patterns and workflow.

What is chef_group resource?

  1. A) chef_group resource is used to interact with group objects that exist on the Chef server.

What is chef_handler resource?

  1. A) The chef_handler resource is used to enable handlers during a chef-client run. The resource allows arguments to be passed to the chef-client, which then applies the conditions defined by the custom handler to the node attribute data collected during the chef-client run, and then processes the handler based on that data.

What is the chef_mirror resource?

  1. A) The chef_mirror resource to mirror objects in the chef-repo to a specified location.

What is chef_node resource?

  1. A) A node is any machine—physical, virtual, cloud, network device, etc.—that is under management by Chef. chef_node resource is used to manage nodes.

What is chef_organization resource?

  1. A) The chef_organization resource to interact with organization objects that exist on the Chef server.

What is chef_role resource?

  1. A) The chef_role resource to manage roles. A role is a way to define certain patterns and processes that exist across nodes in an organization as belonging to a single job function. Each role consists of zero (or more) attributes and a run-list. Each node can have zero (or more) roles assigned to it.

What is chef_user resource?

  1. A) The chef_user resource is used to manage users.

What is chocolatey_package resource?

  1. A) A chocolatey_package resource manages packages using Chocolatey on the Microsoft Windows platform. The simplest use of the chocolatey_package resource is:

chocolatey_package ‘package_name’

What is cookbook_file resource?

  1. A) The cookbook_file resource to transfer files from a sub-directory of COOKBOOK_NAME/files/ to a specified path located on a host that is running the chef-client.

Syntax – A cookbook_file resource block manages files by using files that exist within a cookbook’s /files directory. For example, to write the home page for an Apache website:

cookbook_file ‘/var/www/customers/public_html/index.php’ do
source ‘index.php’
owner ‘web_admin’
group ‘web_admin’
mode ‘’
action :create
end

What is cron resource?

  1. A) The cron resource is used to manage cron entries for time-based job scheduling.

What is dnf_package resource?

  1. A) the dnf_package resource to install, upgrade, and remove packages with DNF for Fedora platforms. The dnf_package resource is able to resolve provides data for packages much like DNF can do when it is run from the command line. This allows a variety of options for installing packages, like minimum versions, virtual provides, and library names.

What is dpkg_package resource?

  1. A) The dpkg_package resource to manage packages for the dpkg platform. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

What is metadata.rb in chef?

  1. A) Every cookbook requires a small amount of metadata. A file named metadata.rb is located at the top of every cookbook directory structure. The contents of the metadata.rb file provides hints to the Chef server to help ensure that cookbooks are deployed to each node correctly.

What information stored in metadata.rb file?

  1. A) A metadata.rb file is:

Located at the top level of a cookbook’s directory structure.
Compiled whenever a cookbook is uploaded to the Chef server or when the knife cookbook metadata subcommand is run, and then stored as JSON data.
Created automatically by knife whenever the knife cookbook create subcommand is run.
Edited using a text editor, and then re-uploaded to the Chef server as part of a cookbook upload.

What is Berkshelf in chef?

  1. A) Berkshelf is a dependency manager for Chef cookbooks. With it, you can easily depend on community cookbooks and have them safely included in your workflow.

What is Berksfile in chef?

  1. A) A Berksfile describes the set of sources and dependencies needed to use a cookbook. It is used in conjunction with the berk’s command.

What is Cookbook Keyword in chef?

  1. A) The cookbook keyword allows the user to define where a cookbook is installed from, or to set additional version constraints. It can also be used to install additional cookbooks, for example to use during testing.

What is kitchen (executable) in chef?

  1. A) kitchen is the command-line tool for Kitchen, an integration testing tool used by the chef-client. Kitchen runs tests against any combination of platforms using any combination of test suites.

What is kitchen converge in chef?

  1. A) Use the converge subcommand to converge one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms in the .kitchen.yml file. This process will install the chef-client on an instance using the omnibus installer, upload cookbook files and minimal configuration to the instance, and then start a chef-client run using the run-list and attributes specified in the .kitchen.yml file.

Syntax – $ kitchen converge PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen create in chef?

  1. A) Use the create subcommand to create one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen create PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen destroy in chef?

  1. A) Use the destroy subcommand to delete one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen destroy PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen diagnose in chef?

  1. A) Use the diagnose subcommand to show a computed diagnostic configuration for one (or more) instances. This subcommand will make all implicit configuration settings explicit because it echoes back all of the configuration data as YAML.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen diagnose PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen driver create in chef?

  1. A) Use the driver create subcommand to create a new Kitchen driver in the RubyGems project.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen driver create NAME

What is kitchen driver discover?

  1. A) Use the driver discover subcommand to discover Kitchen driver that have been published to RubyGems. This subcommand will return all RubyGems that are match kitchen-*.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen driver discover

What kitchen exec in chef?

  1. A) Use the exec subcommand to execute a command on a remote instance.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen exec PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen init command in chef?

  1. A) Use the init subcommand to create an initial Kitchen environment, including:

Creating a .kitchen.yml file
Appending Kitchen to the RubyGems file, .gitignore, and .thor
Creating the test/integration/default directory

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen init

What is kitchen list in chef?

  1. A) Use the list subcommand to view the list of instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms in the .kitchen.yml file. Kitchen will auto-name instances by combining a suite name with a platform name. For example, if a suite is named default and a platform is named ubuntu-., then the instance would be default-ubuntu-.. This ensures that Kitchen instances have safe DNS and hostname records.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen list PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen login command in chef?

  1. A) Use the login subcommand to log in to a single instance. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file. After logging in successfully, the instance can be interacted with just like any other virtual machine, including adding or removing packages, starting or stopping services, and so on. It’s a sandbox. Make any change necessary to help improve the coverage for cookbook testing.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen login PLATFORM (options)

What is kitchen setup cmmand in chef?

  1. A) Use the setup subcommand to set up one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms in the .kitchen.yml file.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen setup PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen test command in chef?

  1. A) Use the test subcommand to test one (or more) verified instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file. This subcommand will create a new instance (cleaning up a previous instance, if necessary), converge that instance, set up the test harness, verify the instance using that test harness, and then destroy the instance.

In general, use the test subcommand to verify the end-to-end quality of a cookbook. Use the converge and verify subcommands during the normal the day-to-day development of a cookbook.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen test PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen verify command in chef?

  1. A) Use the verify subcommand to verify one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file.

In general, use the test subcommand to verify the end-to-end quality of a cookbook. Use the converge and verify subcommands during the normal the day-to-day development of a cookbook.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen verify PLATFORMS (options)

What is kitchen version command in chef?

  1. A) Use the version subcommand to print the version of Kitchen.

Syntax – This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ kitchen version

What are handlers in chef?

  1. A) Handlers are used to identify situations that arise during a chef-client run, and then tell the chef-client how to handle these situations when they occur.

How many types of handlers are there in chef? What are they?

  1. A) In chef there are three types of handlers are there they are:
    Exception Handler
    Report Handler
    Start Handler

What is exception handler in chef?

  1. A) An exception handler is used to identify situations that have caused a chef-client run to fail. An exception handler can be loaded at the start of a chef-client run by adding a recipe that contains the chef_handler resource to a node’s run-list. An exception handler runs when the failed? property for the run_status object returns true.

What is a report handler in chef?

  1. A) A report handler is used when a chef-client run succeeds and reports back on certain details about that chef-client run. A report handler can be loaded at the start of a chef-client run by adding a recipe that contains the chef_handler resource to a node’s run-list. A report handler runs when the success? property for the run_status object returns true.

What is start handler in chef?

  1. A) A start handler is used to run events at the beginning of the chef-client run. A start handler can be loaded at the start of a chef-client run by adding the start handler to the start_handlers setting in the client.rb file or by installing the gem that contains the start handler by using the chef_gem resource in a recipe in the chef-client cookbook.

What is Handler DSL in chef?

  1. A) Use the Handler DSL to attach a callback to an event. If the event occurs during the chef-client run, the associated callback is executed. For example:

Sending email if a chef-client run fails
Sending a notification to chat application if an audit run fails
Aggregating statistics about resources updated during a chef-client runs to StatsD

What is Knife and what is the purpose of using Knife in chef?

  1. A) Knife is a command-line tool that provides an interface between a local chef-repo and the Chef server. knife helps users to manage:

Nodes
Cookbooks and recipes
Roles, Environments, and Data Bags
Resources within various cloud environments
The installation of the chef-client onto nodes
Searching of indexed data on the Chef server

What are the different Knife plugins for cloud hosting platforms?

  1. A) There are different knife plugins available for cloud hosting platforms:
    knife azure, knife bluebox, knife ec, knife eucalyptus, knife google, knife linode, knife openstack, and knife rackspace

What is Ohai in chef?

  1. A) Ohai is a tool that is used to collect system configuration data, which is provided to the chef-client for use within cookbooks. Ohai is run by the chef-client at the beginning of every Chef run to determine system state. Ohai includes many built-in plugins to detect common configuration details as well as a plugin model for writing custom plugins.

Why do we use chef-jenkins plugin in chef?

  1. A) chef-jenkins adds the ability to use Jenkins to drive continuous deployment and synchronization of environments from a git repository.

Why do we use jclouds-chef plugin in chef?

  1. A) jclouds-chef plugin adds Java and Clojure components to the Chef server API REST API.

Why do we use chef-hatch-repo in chef?

  1. A) chef-hatch-repo plugin adds a knife plugin and a Vagrant provisioner that can launch a self-managed Chef server in a virtual machine or Amazon EC.

Why do we use chef-trac-hacks in chef?

  1. A) chef-trac-hacks adds the ability to fill a coordination gap between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the chef-client.

What is chef-deploy plugin in chef and what is the purpose of using it?

  1. A) chef-deploy adds a gem that contains resources and providers for deploying Ruby web applications from recipes.

What is kitchenplan in chef?

  1. A) Kitchenplan is a utility for automating the installation and configuration of a workstation on macOS.

What is stove in chef?

  1. A) Stove is a utility for releasing and managing cookbooks.

What is chef resources file?

  1. A) A file resource is used to manage files directly on a node.

A file resource block manages files that exist on nodes. For example, to write the home page for an Apache website:

file ‘/var/www/customers/public_html/index.php’ do
content ‘<html>This is a placeholder for the home page.</html>’
mode ‘’
owner ‘web_admin’
group ‘web_admin’
end

What is apt_package resource in chef?

Answer) Use the apt_package resource to manage packages on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.

apt_package Syntax:

A apt_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the apt_package resource is:

apt_package ‘package_name’

What is bff_package resource in chef?

  1. A) Use the bff_package resource to manage packages for the AIX platform using the installp utility. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

What are the benefits of Devops?

  1. A) There are many benefits of using devops, explain about your devops experience.

Technical benefits:

Continuous software delivery
Less complex problems to fix
Faster resolution of problems
Business benefits:

Faster delivery of features
More stable operating environments
More time available to add value (rather than fix/maintain)

What is Vagrant in chef?

  1. A) Vagrant helps Test Kitchen communicate with VirtualBox and configures things like available memory and network settings.

What are Signed Headers in chef?

  1. A) Signed header authentication is used to validate communications between the Chef server and any node that is being managed by the Chef server.

What is SSL_CERT_FILE in chef?

  1. A) Use the SSL_CERT_FILE environment variable to specify the location for the SSL certificate authority (CA) bundle that is used by the chef-client.

What are Knife Subcommands in chef?

  1. A) The chef-client includes two knife commands for managing SSL certificates:

Use knife ssl check to troubleshoot SSL certificate issues
Use knife ssl fetch to pull down a certificate from the Chef server to the /.chef/trusted_certs directory on the workstation.

What is knife ssl check command in chef?

  1. A) Run the knife ssl check subcommand to verify the state of the SSL certificate, and then use the reponse to help troubleshoot issues that may be present.

What is knife ssl fetch command in chef?

  1. A) Run the knife ssl fetch to download the self-signed certificate from the Chef server to the /.chef/trusted_certs directory on a workstation.

What are Data Bags?

  1. A) A data bag is a global variable that is stored as JSON data and is accessible from a Chef server. A data bag is indexed for searching and can be loaded by a recipe or accessed during a search.

What are recipes in chef?

  1. A) A recipe is the most fundamental configuration element within the organization. A recipe:

Is authored using Ruby, which is a programming language designed to read and behave in a predictable manner
Is mostly a collection of resources, defined using patterns (resource names, attribute-value pairs, and actions); helper code is added around this using Ruby, when needed
Must define everything that is required to configure part of a system
Must be stored in a cookbook
May be included in a recipe
May use the results of a search query and read the contents of a data bag (including an encrypted data bag)
May have a dependency on one (or more) recipes
May tag a node to facilitate the creation of arbitrary groupings
Must be added to a run-list before it can be used by the chef-client
Is always executed in the same order as listed in a run-list

So, this brings us to the end of the Chef Interview Questions blog.This Tecklearn ‘Top Chef Interview Questions and Answers’ helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in Chef or DevOps Domain. If you wish to learn Chef and build a career in DevOps domain, then check out our interactive Continuous Delivery using Chef Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period.

https://www.tecklearn.com/course/continuous-delivery-using-chef/

Continuous Delivery using Chef Training

About the Course

Tecklearn has specially designed this Continuous Delivery using Chef Training Course to advance your skills for a successful career in this domain. The course will cover different components of Chef and how they are used in software development operations. The course consists of important concepts like Continuous Delivery (CD) using Chef, Chef Framework, How Chef Works, Chef Advantages and Chef Installation. You will get an in-depth knowledge of these concepts and will be able to work on related demos. Upon completion of this online training, you will hold a solid understanding and hands-on experience with Chef.

Why Should you take Continuous Delivery using Chef Training?

  • The average salary for a Senior Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer with Chef skills is $118, 435. – PayScale.com
  • Airbnb, Facebook, Slack, Shopify, Digital Ocean & many other MNC’s worldwide use Chef across industries.
  • According to Grand View Research, the DevOps market size is estimated to be worth $12.85 billion by 2025. DevOps professionals are highly paid and in-demand throughout industries including retail, eCommerce, finance, and technology.

What you will Learn in this Course?

Introduction to DevOps

  • What is Software Development
  • Software Development Life Cycle
  • Why DevOps?
  • What is DevOps?
  • DevOps Lifecycle
  • DevOps Tools
  • Benefits of DevOps
  • How DevOps is related to Agile Delivery
  • DevOps Implementation

Continuous Delivery using Chef

  • Continuous Delivery
  • What is Chef
  • Chef Framework
  • How Chef Works
  • Chef Advantages
  • Chef Installation
  • Hands on

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