Node Management

In the Node Management user interface (UI), you can:

• Enroll and manage nodes.
• Make nodes visible in a node fleet.
• Manage skills (agents) installed on nodes.
• Group nodes using filters or lists.
• Export the All Nodes table in CSV format.

Settings

Register the Node Management agent

In the Node Management agent registration page, fill in the form to register the Node Management agent. This agent helps to manage node skills.

• Builder URL
• Builder Channel
• Builder Auth Token
• Node CheckIn Interval (Seconds)
• Skill Meta Data Interval (Seconds)
• Log Level

When finished filling in the form, select Register.

Skill definitions

A skill is an agent that allows you to perform actions on a node for a specific outcome. A skill can either be a canister-based skill or a non-canister-based skill. The Skill Definitions page shows the list of existing skill definitions. The table contains the columns Name, Canister Name, Canister Origin, and Actions.

Create a skill definition

Create skills to perform actions on a node. To create a skill definition, follow these steps:

1. Select Create Skill Definition.

2. Enter the skill name, canister name, and canister origin for the new skill. Only lowercase letters (a–z), digits (0–9), underscores (_), and hyphens (-) are allowed in the Origin field.

3. Enable or disable the Service Skill toggle.

4. Select the skill dependencies from the list.

5. Add a Configuration Template. You can add multiple templates for a skill.

6. Select Define Skill.

Update or delete a skill definition

• To update a skill definition, select Update Default Settings in the Actions menu.

• To delete a skill definition, select Delete from the Actions menu.

Skill assemblies

A skill assembly defines a set of skills to be installed or removed from a set of nodes.

To create a skill assembly, follow these steps:

1. Select Create Skill Assembly.

2. Enter a skill name in the Name text box.

3. Select Choose Skill in the Skills to Add or Skills to Remove section and fill in the fields.

4. Select Save Skill Assembly.

Override settings

The Overside Settings page shows the list of existing nodes and skills. The table contains the Name, Skills, and Actions columns.

Create an override setting

To create an override setting, follow these steps:

1. Select Create Override Setting.

2. Enter the Name in the override settings name text box.

3. Select Choose Skills. Select a skill name from the drop-down menu.

4. Select Add Attribute.

5. Enter the attribute’s name and value in the text boxes.

6. Select Save Override Setting.

Delete an override setting

To delete an override setting, follow these steps:

1. Select the delete option from the Actions menu.

2. Select Delete Override Setting.

Node cohorts

A node cohort defines skills and settings installed on every node in the cohort. The Node Cohorts page shows a list of existing node cohorts. The table contains the Name, Description, and Actions columns.

Create a node cohort

To create a node cohort, follow these steps:

1. Select Node Cohorts under Settings in the menu on the left.

2. Select Create Node Cohort.

3. Enter the node cohort Name and Description.

4. Select the override setting ID and skill assembly ID from the drop-down lists. Details about the selected override setting and skill assembly are shown on the right.

5. Select Save Node Cohort.

Update a node cohort

To update a node cohort, follow these steps:

1. Select Node Cohorts under Settings in the menu on the left.

2. Select the node cohort to update.

3. Modify the override setting and/or skill assembly as needed.

4. Select Update Node Cohort.

Delete a node cohort

To delete a node cohort, follow these steps:

1. Select the delete option from the Actions menu.

2. Select Delete Node Cohort.

Enroll nodes

Node enrollment brings nodes under Chef 360 Platform’s management. You can enroll nodes using the Single Node Enrollment or Bulk Node Enrollment method. For further details on single and bulk node enrollment, refer to the following sub-sections.

You can also enroll nodes with a Chef Infra Cookbook. For further details on this, refer to the following section: Enroll nodes with a Chef Infra cookbook

Self-Enrollment Keys

Self-enrollment keys allow you to enroll a node without specifying credentials.

The Self-Enrollment Keys page (under Enrollment in the left menu) displays all existing self-enrollment keys. At the top of the page, you can see the number of Enabled Keys and Disabled Keys. Based on the filter selected, the list includes either Enabled Keys or Disabled Keys.

The Self-Enrollment Keys table displays details about the keys, including:

• Name
• Description
• Status (Enabled or Disabled)
• Expiry Date - The date and time of expired keys show in amber if the key is expired. You can edit an expired key, change the expiry date, and generate a new script if needed.
• Supported Platforms
• Node Cohort
• Actions

Selecting the Enrollment by Credentials and CSV link brings you to the Enrollment of Nodes page where you can:

• Enroll new nodes by providing credentials
• Bulk enroll nodes (providing credentials) by uploading a CSV or text file

Generate a new self-enrollment key

To generate a new self-enrollment key, follow these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select Generate New Key

3. Specify a Name for the key.

4. Specify a Description for the key.

5. Select the relevant cohort from the drop-down list, or select the x icon to make the Choose Cohort drop-down list blank, meaning the cohort can be specified later when enrolling a node.

6. If desired (for example, to restrict the key to a certain operating system, IP range, or MAC addresses), select Advance Mode and fill out the following fields:

   1. Select the relevant Supported Platforms.

   2. Specify the IP Ranges.

      • These values should be IP ranges mentioned in the node cohort or their subsets.
      • You can specify:
        • A single IP address
        • A range of valid IP addresses using a hyphen
        • Multiple IP addresses or ranges separated by a comma, for example 10.10.10.10-10.10.10.100,11.11.11.11-11.11.11.100.

   3. Specify the IP CIDR Blocks.

      • You can separate multiple IP CIDR blocks with a comma.

   4. Specify the MAC addresses.

      • You can separate multiple MAC addresses with a comma.

   5. Specify the Expiry date & time. When the expiry date passes, you won’t be able to enroll new nodes using the expired key. These keys are used for enrollment only - any existing nodes previously enrolled won’t be affected by expired keys.

   6. Select Generate Key at the top of the page.

   7. If the self-enrollment key generates successfully, the self-enrollment scripts are displayed and you can copy them. Different keys are provided for:

      • Tenant setup with HTTP or valid public SSL certificate
      • Tenant setup with system generated or self-signed certificates (Not applicable for SaaS users)

You can then run the script on the relevant node.

If the approvalNeeded option was set to true when creating the relevant cohort using the Command Line Interface (CLI), the Enrollment Level of the node becomes waiting-approval in the All Nodes View. For instructions on how to approve it, refer to the following section: Approve a node for enrollment.

Update a self-enrollment key

You can update an existing self-enrollment key by following these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select the relevant key.

3. Update the fields as required.

4. Select Update Key.

Regenerate and copy script

After generating a key, you can later regenerate new scripts from the key and copy them. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column and select Regenerate and Copy Script.

3. Select the relevant operating system tab (if relevant).

4. Select Copy to copy the self-enrollment script.

When a new script is generated - previously generated scripts become invalid. These keys and scripts are used for enrollment only - any existing nodes previously enrolled won’t be affected if the script is regenerated.

Disable a self-enrollment key

You can disable an existing self-enrollment key by following these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column and select Disable.

The Status of the key will update to Disabled and this key can no longer be used to enroll nodes.

Enable a self-enrollment key

You can enable a disabled self-enrollment key by following these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column and select Enable.

Delete a self-enrollment key

You can delete an existing self-enrollment key by following these steps:

1. Select Self-Enrollment Keys from the menu on the left (under Enrollment).

2. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column and select Delete.

Single-node enrollment

With single-node enrollment, you define each node’s credentials and enrollment settings, and then Chef 360 Platform uses those settings to connect to and enroll the node. Single-node enrollment is performed from the server side and supports complete enrollment.

For single node enrollment, follow these steps:

1. Enter the Node ID, IP Address/FQDN, and the Node Cohort.

2. Select WinRM or SSH.

3. Enter the Username and Password in the text boxes.

   If you select SSH, select the Credential Type, enter the Username, Password, and Port in the text boxes.

4. Select Enroll Nodes.

Bulk node enrollment

With bulk enrollment, you define the nodes, credentials, and enrollment settings in a CSV file that you upload to Chef 360 Platform. Once uploaded, Chef 360 Platform connects to and enrolls each node defined in the file.

For bulk node enrollment, follow these steps:

1. Either select Select File and browse to and select the relevant file, or drop it into the user interface (UI).

2. Select Enroll Node.

Cookbook-based node enrollment

With cookbook-based node enrollment, you upload cookbooks with enrollment settings to Chef Infra Server and Chef Infra Client enrolls the node with Chef 360 Platform.

For more information, see the cookbook-based node enrollment documentation.

Node Enrollment Attempts

The Enrollment of Nodes page shows all enrollment attempts. To update the list, select the Refresh icon.

The Node Enrollment Attempts table shows:

• Enrollment ID: The enrollment ID of the nodes.
• No. of Nodes: The number of nodes in the enrollment attempt.
• Status: The status of the enrollment attempt.
• Date and Time: The date and time when the enrollment was attempted.

The icons in the Status column indicate the status of the enrollment attempt. The possible statuses are Success, Failed, or In-Progress.

To view the node enrollment details, select an enrollment from the table. It lists all the nodes in the enrollment attempt. To view the Enrollment Status Details of a failed attempt, select the ! icon in the Status column.

All nodes view

The Node View screen displays all existing nodes. Selecting the Enroll Nodes button brings you to the Self-Enrollment Keys page.

• To save the node list, select one or more nodes from the table and select Save Node List.

• After you save the node list, you can select Create Courier Job to create a new courier job.

• You can select the Refresh button to update the view.

The Nodes table contains the following columns:

• FQDN

• Hostname

• Operating System

• Skill Installed

• Enrollment Level

  • To the right of the Enrollment Level admitted state, there is an icon indicating the status. A red circle with an x () indicates that the enrollment failed. A warning icon (amber triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle ()) indicates that the enrollment workflow is in progress. You can select the icon to view the detailed enrollment status workflow.

• Node Cohort Name

• Actions: You can perform the following actions for the selected node using the Actions menu.

  • Tag Nodes
  • Create Courier Job

Use the drop-down menu to add filters to view the required nodes.

To export the All Nodes table in CSV format, select Export at the top-right of the table. Exported data is limited to a maximum of 100 records.

Apply tags

You can associate tags to nodes so that you can easily distinguish nodes that belong to common categories or groups. For example, if you have a set of nodes in development, staging, and production environments and you want to roll out a change to all nodes - you can first roll out the change to all nodes tagged as Dev and Staging before rolling it out to nodes tagged as Production.

You can tag nodes using the actions menu in the Actions column. You can only tag one node at a time. To tag a node, follow these steps:

1. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column.
2. Select Tag Nodes.
3. Enter the Key and Value in the fields.
4. Select Add More to add more tags to the node.
5. Select Apply Tags. Select the node to view the applied tag (or tags).

To update or remove a tag, follow these steps:

1. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column.
2. Select Tag Nodes. The existing tags are displayed.
3. Select Remove All to remove all the tags.
4. Select Add More to add more tags to the node.
5. Select Apply Tags to apply the changes.

Change the node cohort associated with a node

To change the node cohort associated with a node, follow these steps:

1. Select All Node View in the menu on the left.

2. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column.

3. Select Change Node Cohort.

4. Select the relevant Node Cohort from the drop-down list.

5. Select Change Node Cohort.

On the Change Node Cohort screen, you can select the Node Cohort Details link to view details about the node cohort, including:

• Name
• Description
• Override Setting
• Skill Assembly
• Override Setting Details
• Skill Assembly Details

You can also copy the Cohort ID by selecting the Copy icon next to it.

Approve a node for enrollment

If the approvalNeeded option was set to true when creating the relevant cohort using the CLI, the Enrollment Level of the node becomes waiting-approval in the All Nodes View after the self-enrollment key script is run on the node.

In this case, you can approve a node for enrollment by following these steps:

1. Select All Node View in the menu on the left.

2. On the relevant node, select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column and select Approve Node for Enrollment.

3. The Enrollment Level updates to enrolled if the node enrolls successfully.

Node collection

A node is a resource-either physical or virtual-that’s accessible over a network. The Node Collection page shows the existing Node Filters and the Node Lists.

Enrollment

Node enrollment brings nodes under the Chef 360 Platform’s management. The Enrollment of Nodes page shows the status of all node enrollments (single or bulk) initiated in the Chef 360 Platform.

Create a node filter

A node filter is a search expression used to identify a set of nodes using SQL-like expressions on any namespace and attribute. You can create filters that include or exclude nodes based on specific pattern sets. To create node filters, follow these steps:

1. Select Create Node Filter.

2. In the first drop-down list, select the filter type to add. Depending on what option you select, the remaining fields differ:

   • Node Attribute: Enter the Namespace, and Name, select an Operator from the drop-down, and enter the Value.
   • Skill: Enter the Skill Name, and Skill Type, select an Operator from the drop-down, and enter the Version.
   • Enrollment Level: Select an Operator and Enrollment Level from the drop-down.
   • Node Health Status: Select an Operator and a Node Health Status from the drop-down.

3. Select +Add More to add more filters.

4. Select Apply Filter.

Update a node filter

To update a node filter, follow these steps:

1. Select the three dots more_horiz in the Actions column for the relevant node and select Update.
2. Modify the fields as needed. More filters can be added or all filters can be removed.
3. Select Apply Filter.
4. Select Update Node Filter.
5. You can Save or Save as to save a new node filter.

Node list

A node list is a list of nodes you can create and save separately. To create a node list, follow these steps:

1. Select the nodes using the tick boxes of the nodes.

2. Select Save Node List at the top-right corner of the All Nodes table.

3. Enter a name for the node list in the Node List name text box.

4. Select Confirm.