Automatic desktop configuration using Ansible and Perl
Science, Not Fiction
The superluminal speed of the provisioning tool Ansible is suitable for configuration and release management of medium-sized server farms, as well as for use at home for restoring adjustments on your Linux desktop.
About every five years it is time to install a new Linux distribution in the Perlmeister labs. Only every five years because, in my experience, after running do-release-upgrade, getting all the small cronjobs that inevitably require special treatment – because of new versions of Perl, Apache, and various libraries – up and running again involves a huge amount of effort.
Many open source developers – both in the distribution scene (Hello, Ubuntu!) and in the tool area (Hello, OpenSSL! – don't give two hoots about backward compatibility and expect me to take a few days vacation each time, sitting and cussing in front of my Linux desktop while changing configurations or customizing scripts.
I then often only vaguely remember all the little manually inserted patches that were needed to finally get one tool or another running to my satisfaction. Even weeks after completing the upgrade, it is not unusual to find something that still isn't working properly; and each time, I rack my brains, trying to remember how I solved it years ago.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Nitrux 6.0 Now Ready to Rock Your World
The latest iteration of the Debian-based distribution includes all kinds of newness.
-
Linux Foundation Reports that Open Source Delivers Better ROI
In a report that may surprise no one in the Linux community, the Linux Foundation found that businesses are finding a 5X return on investment with open source software.
-
Keep Android Open
Google has announced that, soon, anyone looking to develop Android apps will have to first register centrally with Google.
-
Kernel 7.0 Now in Testing
Linus Torvalds has announced the first Release Candidate (RC) for the 7.x kernel is available for those who want to test it.
-
Introducing matrixOS, an Immutable Gentoo-Based Linux Distro
It was only a matter of time before a developer decided one of the most challenging Linux distributions needed to be immutable.
-
Chaos Comes to KDE in KaOS
KaOS devs are making a major change to the distribution, and it all comes down to one system.
-
New Linux Botnet Discovered
The SSHStalker botnet uses IRC C2 to control systems via legacy Linux kernel exploits.
-
The Next Linux Kernel Turns 7.0
Linus Torvalds has announced that after Linux kernel 6.19, we'll finally reach the 7.0 iteration stage.
-
Linux From Scratch Drops SysVinit Support
LFS will no longer support SysVinit.
-
LibreOffice 26.2 Now Available
With new features, improvements, and bug fixes, LibreOffice 26.2 delivers a modern, polished office suite without compromise.