Chef Workstation: Remote Access - configuration

I am currently working to setup Chef for configuration management. I have setup a Chef Workstation and have a Hosted Chef Server.
Is it possible to remotely access the workstation, eliminating the need to create multiple workstations throughout the office for those who need access to the workstation (or sharing a single physical machine configured as a workstation across the office)?
Ideally, I would like to have a single chef workstation running and configured which users can remotely access. Does anybody have any experience with this? I am not able to find any resources online as far as remote workstation access goes.
Thank you all in advance for any input!

Generally the workstation should be each person's actual workstation, i.e. the laptop or desktop they actually work on. If you want to make a shared workstation set up on a server that's up to you but I highly recommend not doing that. Remote access would be up to SSH or VNC or RDP or whatever else you prefer.

I would suggest you consider setting up a Jenkins server to act as your chef server's workstation. The advantage is that your chef configuration is shared amongst colleagues in a Git repo (as it should be), but only a single machine has the credentials to access your production chef server.
Check out the following cookbook for an example in how to setup such a server:
https://supermarket.chef.io/cookbooks/pipeline

Related

What MySql server configuration settings should I choose?

I'm a student and I'm taking a database class. We are installing MySQL on our computers to gain familiarity with the product. As I'm installing this on my personal computer, I remember the professor saying something about disabling the TCP/IP connectivity for security purposes, but I can't remember the specifics and when I setup my first local instance I chose to disable this option and selected the shared memory option (Windows installation). However, I was not able to connect to the server from my host.
Can anyone make some recommendations as to the appropriate connection options for me to choose when starting a server?
Thank you very much.

MySql how to collaborate remotely ona project

Me and my friend have to do a project in Mysql and i am trying to find how me and my friend can work on mysql together from our own workstations. Is there a way where we both can work on the same database together without being physically present.
I am fairly new to mysql.
Just take cheap shared hosting that has MySQL databases and preferably also PHPmyAdmin and cPanel or any other panel to easily manage your databases. In that way, you have minimum hassle to create and manage databases that you can both access.
Google "compare cheap shared hosting" and that's it. Or take this quick Google result I got: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-cheap-web-hosting-services
If you're not happy to pay $1-$2 per month for hosting then you can install WAMPP or XAMPP on Windows machine but then you'll have to also Google how to forward ports from your router.
Edited 3aug2020: For a free MySQL hosting for up to 5MB free storage please, check https://www.freemysqlhosting.net
You can use a program like XAMPP to host mysql and port-forward phpmyadmin so your friend can visit your db
https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html
If you have MYSQL running on a server or your local computer you can both access phpmyadmin (http://server-ip/phpmyadmin) you can also use programs like Navicat (paid) or HeidiSQL (Free).
You can make the database remotely accessible, in which case your friend can connect and work on it as well.
Without knowing more about your network setup it is difficult to say how you should proceed, but generally it is enough to spin up a mysql-server instance on the host machine, then forward a WAN port to the LAN address and port of the host machine.

Database services on new vps

There are services like ServerPilot and many others that install on a vps that handle the lamp stack env. I'm wondering if there is a service that does this for databases. I install the service on a fresh vps and that the service would do all the heavy lifting like security, replication, separate read writes, back-ups and monitoring a long with easily setting up private network access for a set fee to use that service on my server.
Looking for a simple service to install on my own fresh vps, not RDS or Google Cloud.
Thank you!
What Does ServerPilot Really Do?
First, ServerPilot deploys complete LAMP stack on your server and that’s including world’s most used web server Apache, PHP5, and MYSQL. To make it even super, ServerPilot also installs and configures Nginx in front of Apache to achieve unbeatable speed and scalability.
Secondly, ServerPilot will secure your server with a firewall. To make it even secure, it will also update your server’s packages and make sure they stay updated all the time to avoid even single bug caused by outdated package.
Thirdly, ServerPilot also offers a premium feature to monitor real-time stats of your server’s performance including CPU, memory, disk space, and more.
What Does ServerPilot Not Do?
Meanwhile Serverpilot does not provide features related to installing, configuring and managing email and DNS. In this case you may need third-party DNS server to be able to point your domain to your VPS. Need recommendations? Try CloudFlare, PointHQ, NameCheap, etc.
Also, ServerPilot does not manage your server running other than Ubuntu.
Get more details at : http://www.servermom.org/install-manage-apache-nginx-php-mysql-easiest-serverpilot/1011/
I'm not sure about services, but assuming that your VPS is Ubuntu or some other Debian-based distro, you could perform sudo apt-get install lamp-server^ phpmyadmin on the command line to get your LAMP stack setup. This will setup Apache web server, PHP, and MySQL on your Linux server. Apache and PHP will come working out-of-the-box, and when you install MySQL, by default it asks for a root password to manage the database.
phpMyAdmin would be the key here because instead of doing all your database tasks via the command line, it provides a GUI interface in your web browser to manage databases and tables. To backup your database with phpMyAdmin, see this article.
With regards to customizations, for the firewall you can simply write a few iptables rules and for the database, you can run scheduled backups of a MySQL database by creating a cron job that runs the following command:/usr/bin/mysqldump -u dbusername -p'dbpassword' dbname > /path/backup.sql
Again, this isn't a service, but at least you wouldn't have to pay for any of the tools.
Unfortunately, there is no ultimate service than can perform all this stuff. However, you can set up this manually:
Database replication:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-master-slave-replication-in-mysql
Database backup:
http://www.ducea.com/2006/05/27/backup-your-mysql-databases-automatically-with-automysqlbackup/
or
https://www.backuphowto.info/how-backup-mysql-database-automatically-linux-users
Database optimization:
https://www.tecmint.com/mysql-mariadb-performance-tuning-and-optimization/
and
http://www.monitis.com/blog/101-tips-to-mysql-tuning-and-optimization/
And for the networking, this tutorial may be helpful
http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/LinuxTutorialNetworking.html

Create a domain for windows server 2008

i'm trying to install vmware view connection server but is ask me that the computer does not belong to a domain.
what do i do now? this is a home server and i do have a static ip address with my isp. the aim would be to connect from outside my home network remotely.
do i need to add a dns server in windows server 2008?
Have you tried LogMeIn? The free edition works beautifully for this sort of thing, without the headaches of firewalls, DNS, and IP addresses.
Yes, you need a AD domain to install vmware view connection server.
Please refer to pre-req of view:vmware view install guide
Preparing Active Directory
View uses your existing Microsoft Active Directory infrastructure for user authentication and management. You must perform certain tasks to prepare Active Directory for use with View.

How do I connect VS2010 to a MySQL database (locallay on another computer)?

I have a MySQL database on another windows computer (a server) that is setup locally using remote desktop connection for testing.
How can I connect to that local database to Visual Studio 2010 on "my computer"?
Server Computer(MySQL database setup local) --> My Computer(Visual Studio for test code..)
I am new to MySQL and any suggestions will help.
Thanks
PS: I have found this, but the "Server Name" for the database is 127.0.0.1 which I can't use because it is local on whatever computer you are on.
http://geekswithblogs.net/mbridge/archive/2010/12/13/visual-studio-2010-hosting--connect-to-mysql-database-from.aspx
You'll have to use the address of the computer that it is hosted on. It should be the same as the address you use to connect to the remote desktop session.
You might need to configure the firewall to accept the connection. You also might need to setup MySQL to allow remote connections with the user that you authenticate with.
I would recommend downloading MySQL workbench and install it on your local computer. Once you get the connection working with that, you should be able to use the connection with VS2010.
If you're not sure how to do the things listed above, you'll need to start out with a basic tutorial on setting up MySQL for remote connectivity.