What is SaltStack?
SaltStack (often referred to as Salt) is a Python-based open-source configuration management and orchestration engine designed for high-speed, scalable automation.
In the context of Cloudera on cloudCloudera on cloud, it serves as the foundational automation layer for Cloudbreak, Cloudera’s tool for provisioning and managing big data clusters on various cloud providers (AWS, Azure, and GCP).
SaltStack is built on a high-speed communication bus (ZeroMQ) and operates using a master/minion architecture.
- Salt Master
- The central server that sends commands and configuration states to the target nodes.
- Salt Minions
- Agents running on the managed nodes that execute instructions and report results back to the master.
- Infrastructure-as-Data
- Configurations are written in simple YAML files (called states), allowing you to describe the desired end-state of a system rather than writing complex scripts to achieve it.
