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[[!meta title="cdist - configuration management"]]
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## Introduction
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cdist configures your system and is similar to
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other configuration management systems like
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[cfengine](http://www.cfengine.org/),
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[bcfg2](http://trac.mcs.anl.gov/projects/bcfg2),
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[chef](http://wiki.opscode.com/display/chef/)
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and [puppet](http://www.puppetlabs.com/), but
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it ticks differently:
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* cdist sticks completly to the KISS (keep it simple and stupid) paradigma
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* cdist's core is very small (currently around 400 lines of code)
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* There is only one type to extend cdist called ***type***.
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* cdist is UNIX
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* It reuses existing tools like cat, find, mv, ...
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* cdist's documentation is bundled as manpages
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* cdist is written in POSIX shell
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* No special requirements like high level interpreters needed on server or target
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MAIN AIM: It MUST be incredible easy/dumb to add new types.
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### Architecture
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* Push mode (server pushes configuration)
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* Pull mode (client triggers configuration)
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* User defines configuration in shell scripts (called ***manifests***)
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* Cdist generates internal configuration (cconfig style) and afterwards applies configuration
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### Features
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Stuff that should probably be included in every configuration management,
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but is not. Or: The reason why I began to write cdist.
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* Speed
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* Elegant code
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* Clean design
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* Good documentation (man pages)
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* Meaningful error messages
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* No surprise factor
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* Consistency in behaviour, naming and documentation
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* Easy integration nacked installations
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* Simple and well-known DSL: posix shell
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* It is very easy to
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* extend cdist
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* debug cdist-core and cdist-types
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## Requirements
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### Server
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* A posix like shell
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* SSH-Client (for push architecture)
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* SSH-Server (for pull architecture)
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### Client
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* A posix like shell
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* SSH-Client (for pull architecture)
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* SSH-Server (for push architecture)
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## How to get cdist
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git clone git://git.schottelius.org/cdist
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## How to install cdist
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make install
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## How to use cdist
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man cdist
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## Support
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### IRC
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You can join the development ***IRC channel***
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[#cLinux on irc.freenode.org](irc://irc.freenode.org/#cLinux).
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### Mailing list
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Bug reports, questions, patches, etc. should be send to the
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[cdist mailing list](http://l.schottelius.org/mailman/listinfo/cdist).
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