Service Orchestration with Rundeck

Managing and controlling a service's provision is tricky, but tools for service orchestration, like Rundeck, can make our lives easier. Rundeck bridges the gap between software building and system configuration by allowing us to define tasks to deploy the software or configure its operation. After installing Rundeck, administrators typically define the characteristics of the computing nodes (hosts) where jobs will run, as well as the jobs themselves. Defining a job involves specifying its options and its workflow. Administrators define workflows in terms of node steps, which run on each node, or steps that execute once for the entire workflow. When a job is run, administrators have to enter its options and can control the nodes where it will execute. All job activity reports are stored in a queryable database. Sophisticated access control allows administrators to define groups and access control policies by project, group, or job. Rundeck's shiny graphical interface can make it appeal to a wide user base. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/oNJ8ejmfGyg is an audio podcast of the Tools of the Trade column in which author Diomidis Spinellis discusses how managing and controlling a service's provision is tricky, but tools for service orchestration, like Rundeck, can make our lives easier.