chef-server.rb Settings

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The /etc/opscode/chef-server.rb file contains all of the non-default configuration settings used by the Chef server. The default settings are built into the Chef server configuration and should only be added to the chef-server.rb file to apply non-default values. These configuration settings are processed when the chef-server-ctl reconfigure command is run. The chef-server.rb file is a Ruby file, which means that conditional statements can be used within it.

Note

This file was named private-chef.rb in previous versions of Enterprise Chef. After an upgrade to Chef server 12 from Enterprise Chef, the private-chef.rb file is symlinked to chef-server.rb. The private-chef.rb file is deprecated, starting with Chef server 12.

Use Conditions

Use a case statement to apply different values based on whether the setting exists on the front-end or back-end servers. Add code to the server configuration file similar to the following:

role_name = ChefServer["servers"][node['fqdn']]["role"]
case role_name
when "backend"
  # backend-specific configuration here
when "frontend"
  # frontend-specific configuration here
end

Optional Settings

The following settings are often used for performance tuning of the Chef server in larger installations.

Note

When changes are made to the chef-server.rb file the Chef server must be reconfigured by running the following command:

$ chef-server-ctl reconfigure

Note

Review the full list of optional settings that can be added to the chef-server.rb file. Many of these optional settings should not be added without first consulting with Chef support.

bookshelf

The following setting is often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the bookshelf service:

bookshelf['vip']
The virtual IP address. Default value: node['fqdn'].

Warning

To configure the server for external cookbook storage, updates are made to settings for both the bookshelf and opscode-erchef services.

opscode-account

The following setting is often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the opscode-account service:

opscode_account['worker_processes']
The number of allowed worker processes. This value should be increased if requests made to the opscode-account service are timing out, but only if the front-end machines have available CPU and RAM. Default value: 4.

opscode-erchef

The following settings are often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the opscode-erchef service:

opscode_erchef['db_pool_size']
The number of open connections to PostgreSQL that are maintained by the service. If failures indicate that the opscode-erchef service ran out of connections, try increasing the postgresql['max_connections'] setting. If failures persist, then increase this value (in small increments) and also increase the value for postgresql['max_connections']. Default value: 20.
opscode_erchef['s3_url_ttl']
The amount of time (in seconds) before connections to the server expire. If chef-client runs are timing out, increase this setting to 3600, and then adjust again if necessary. Default value: 900.
opscode_erchef['strict_search_result_acls']

Use to specify that search results only return objects to which an actor (user, client, etc.) has read access, as determined by ACL settings. This affects all searches. When true, the performance of the Chef management console may increase because it enables the Chef management console to skip redundant ACL checks. To ensure the Chef management console is configured properly, after this setting has been applied with a chef-server-ctl reconfigure run chef-manage-ctl reconfigure to ensure the Chef management console also picks up the setting. Default value: false.

Warning

When true, opscode_erchef['strict_search_result_acls'] affects all search results and any actor (user, client, etc.) that does not have read access to a search result will not be able to view it. For example, this could affect search results returned during chef-client runs if a chef-client does not have permission to read the information.

Data Collector

The following settings are often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the data_collector opscode-erchef application:

data_collector['http_max_count']
The maximum worker count for the HTTP connection pool that is used by the data collector. If failures indicate that opscode-erchef application has run out of HTTP connections for the data_collector then increase this value. Default value: 100.

opscode-expander

The following setting is often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the opscode-expander service:

opscode_expander['nodes']
The number of allowed worker processes. The opscode-expander service runs on the back-end and feeds data to the opscode-solr service, which creates and maintains search data used by the Chef server. Additional memory may be required by these worker processes depending on the frequency and volume of chef-client runs across the organization, but only if the back-end machines have available CPU and RAM. Default value: 2.

opscode-solr4

The following sections describe ways of tuning the opscode-solr4 service to improve performance around large node sizes, available memory, and update frequencies.

Available Memory

Use the following configuration setting to help ensure that Apache Solr does not run out of memory:

opscode_solr4['heap_size']
The amount of memory (in MBs) available to Apache Solr. If there is not enough memory available, search queries made by nodes to Apache Solr may fail. The amount of memory that must be available also depends on the number of nodes in the organization, the frequency of search queries, and other characteristics that are unique to each organization. In general, as the number of nodes increases, so does the amount of memory.

If Apache Solr is running out of memory, the /var/log/opscode/opscode-solr4/current log file will contain a message similar to:

SEVERE: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

The default value for opscode_solr4['heap_size'] should work for many organizations, especially those with fewer than 25 nodes. For organizations with more than 25 nodes, set this value to 25% of system memory or 1024, whichever is smaller. For very large configurations, increase this value to 25% of system memory or 4096, whichever is smaller. This value should not exceed 8192.

Large Node Sizes

The maximum field length setting for Apache Solr should be greater than any expected node object file sizes in order for them to be successfully added to the search index. If a node object file is greater than the maximum field length, the node object will be indexed up to the maximum, but the part of the file past that limit will not be indexed. If this occurs, it will seem as if nodes disappear from the search index. To ensure that large node file sizes are indexed properly, verify the following configuration settings:

nginx['client_max_body_size']
The maximum accepted body size for a client request, as indicated by the Content-Length request header. When the maximum accepted body size is greater than this value, a 413 Request Entity Too Large error is returned. Default value: 250m.

and

opscode_erchef['max_request_size']
When the request body size is greater than this value, a 413 Request Entity Too Large error is returned. Default value: 1000000.

to ensure that those settings are not part of the reasons for incomplete indexing, and then update the following setting so that its value is greater than the expected node file sizes:

opscode_solr4['max_field_length']
The maximum field length (in number of tokens/terms). If a field length exceeds this value, Apache Solr may not be able to complete building the index. Default value: 100000 (increased from the Apache Solr default value of 10000).

Use the wc command to get the byte count of a large node object file. For example:

$ wc -c NODE_NAME.json

and then ensure there is a buffer beyond that value. For example, verify the size of the largest node object file:

$ wc -c nodebsp2016.json

which returns 154516. Update the opscode_solr4['max_field_length'] setting to have a value greater than the returned value. For example: 180000.

If you don’t have a node object file available then you can get an approximate size of the node data by running the following command on a node.

$ ohai | wc -c

Update Frequency

At the end of every chef-client run, the node object is saved to the Chef server. From the Chef server, each node object is then added to the SOLR search index. This process is asynchronous. By default, node objects are committed to the search index every 60 seconds or per 1000 node objects, whichever occurs first.

When data is committed to the Apache Solr index, all incoming updates are blocked. If the duration between updates is too short, it is possible for the rate at which updates are asked to occur to be faster than the rate at which objects can be actually committed.

Use the following configuration setting to improve the indexing performance of node objects:

opscode_solr4['commit_interval']
The frequency (in seconds) at which node objects are added to the Apache Solr search index. Default value: 60000 (every 60 seconds).
opscode_solr4['max_commit_docs']
The frequency (in documents) at which node objects are added to the Apache Solr search index. Default value: 1000 (every 1000 documents).

postgresql

The following setting is often modified from the default as part of the tuning effort for the postgresql service:

postgresql['max_connections']

The maximum number of allowed concurrent connections. This value should only be tuned when the opscode_erchef['db_pool_size'] value used by the opscode-erchef service is modified. Default value: 350.

If there are more than two front end machines in a cluster, the postgresql['max_connections'] setting should be increased. The increased value depends on the number of machines in the front end, but also the number of services that are running on each of these machines.

  • Each front end machine always runs the oc_bifrost and opscode-erchef services.
  • The Reporting add-on adds the reporting service.
  • The Chef push jobs service adds the push_jobs service.

Each of these services requires 25 connections, above the default value.

Use the following formula to help determine what the increased value should be:

new_value = current_value + [
            (# of front end machines - 2) * (25 * # of services)
                     ]

For example, if the current value is 350, there are four front end machines, and all add-ons are installed, then the formula looks like:

550 = 350 + [(4 - 2) * (25 * 4)]

rabbitmq

Note

Chef Analytics has been replaced by Chef Automate.

The following settings must be modified when the Chef Analytics server is configured as a standalone server:

rabbitmq['node_ip_address']

The bind IP address for RabbitMQ. Default value: "127.0.0.1".

Chef Analytics uses the same RabbitMQ service that is configured on the Chef server. When the Chef Analytics server is configured as a standalone server, the default settings for rabbitmq['node_ip_address'] and rabbitmq['vip'] must be updated. When the Chef Analytics server is configured as a standalone server, change this value to 0.0.0.0.

rabbitmq['vip']

The virtual IP address. Default value: "127.0.0.1".

Chef Analytics uses the same RabbitMQ service that is configured on the Chef server. When the Chef Analytics server is configured as a standalone server, the default settings for rabbitmq['node_ip_address'] and rabbitmq['vip'] must be updated. When the Chef Analytics server is configured as a standalone server, change this value to the backend VIP address for the Chef server.