1. Automated RPM based Java Artefact Deployments
With Puppet for Red Hat Based Linux Systems

2. Code that is written and not deployed
is money wasted.”
Jesse Robbins, Opscode

3. My Current Problem
Tomcat Application Deployment where:
• Artefacts are supplied as a drop in WAR/JAR file
built by Maven
• Environment specific configuration items are not
externalized to the WAR/JAR e.g. hardcoded
hostnames and databases in hibernate.xml
• Environment variables are not being used to define
different environments e.g. java –Denv=dev
• Due to Rapid development there are many releases
and files types and their uses are in flux e.g. changing
formats in hibernate.xml

4. Anti-patterns
The way we currently deploy our Java
applications is an anti-pattern
(ConfigurationBirdsNest*)
Example deploy of mytomcatapp application:
$ service tomcat6 stop
$ rm /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp.war
$ rm –rf /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp
$ rm –rf /var/cache/tomcat6/work/Catalina/localhost/mytomcatapp
$ service tomcat6 start
$ wget –O /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp.war
http://path/to/mytomcatapp.war
$ sleep 30
$ service tomcat6 stop
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/META-INF/context.xml
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-
INF/classes/application.properties
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-
INF/classes/hibernate.cfg.xml
$ vi /etc/tomcat6/Catalina/localhost/mytomcatapp.xml
$ service tomcat6 start
*http://code.google.com/p/devops-toolchain/wiki/ConfigurationBirdNest

5. Why are these anti-patterns?
It’s slow
It’s risky (typing errors anyone?)
It requires detailed knowledge of the application
Configuration files and their purpose are in flux
and require constant updating of puppet (or insert
configuration management tool of choice here)
code

6. Design Patterns
Adaptive Deployment*
& Code Data Split**
*http://code.google.com/p/devops-toolchain/wiki/AdaptiveDeployment
** http://code.google.com/p/devops-toolchain/wiki/CodeDataSplit

7. A problem shared is a problem halved…
Communicating to our Developers why this causes us pain
Why we should either:
• Externalize our configuration with overrides
• Or use environment variables to separate them
• Or tokenize them
Why War files don’t fully meet our needs in Ops
• Version querying
• Audibility
• Speed
• Fast rollback

8. Design Pattern
RPM Packaged Artifact*
based delivery for Java
*http://code.google.com/p/devops-toolchain/wiki/PackagedArtifact

9. Proposal
Using RPM-Maven-Plugin*
• Automated Red Hat Package creation of Java applications and
deploy them to your software artefact repository
Leveraging Jenkins** (or insert CI tool of choice here) to
automatically build them as artefacts alongside the war/jar’s
Using Jenkins ssh plugin*** to copy rpm to cobbler repo
and perform a “cobbler reposync”
*http://mojo.codehaus.org/rpm-maven-plugin/
**http://jenkins-ci.org/
*** https://wiki.jenkins-ci.org/display/JENKINS/SSH+plugin &
https://wiki.jenkins-ci.org/display/JENKINS/Publish+Over+SSH+Plugin

10. Why?
Just by adding something like this to your maven
pom.xml build files:
<properties>
<app.home>/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp</app.home>
</properties>
...
<plugin>
<groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
<artifactId>rpm-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.0.1</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<goals>
<goal>rpm</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
<configuration>
<copyright>2011, Uncommon Sense Consulting</copyright>
<group>Development</group>
<description>Maven Recipe: RPM Package.</description>
<mappings>
<mapping>
<directory>${app.home}</directory>
<sources>
<source>
<location>target/mytomcatapp</location>
</source>
</mapping>
</mappings>
</configuration>
</plugin>

11. Why?
We can get a Red Hat Package
mytomcatapp-$version.rpm – contains
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/META-INF
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/META-INF/maven
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-INF
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-INF/classes
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-INF/lib

12. Why?
Need to install a fully functioning mytomcatapp in
Development?
$ yum install mytomcatapp
Dependencies Resolved
================================================================================
Package Arch Version
================================================================================
Installing:
mytomcatapp noarch 1.2.3-1
Installing for dependencies:
oracle-instantclient11.2-jdbc x86_64 11.2.0.2.0-1
oracle-instantclient11.2-basic x86_64 11.2.0.2.0-1
tomcat6 x86_64 6.0.26-1
tomcat6-servlet x86_64 6.0.26-1
tomcat6-jsp-2.1-api x86_64 6.0.26-1
tomcat6-el x86_64 6.0.26-1
tomcat6-lib x86_64 6.0.26-1
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install 8 Package(s)
Upgrade 0 Package(s)
Total download size: 58 M
Is this ok [y/N]:

13. Puppet
Current Puppet Module
class mytomcatapp::install {
$packagelist = ["oracle-instantclient11.2-jdbc"]
package{ $packagelist: ensure => installed }
file{"/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp.war":
source => ["puppet:///modules/mytomcatapp/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/${fqdn}.mytomcatapp.war",
"puppet:///modules/mytomcatapp/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/${custom_env}.mytomcatapp.war",
"puppet:///modules/mytomcatapp/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/default.mytomcatapp.war"],
owner => "tomcat",
group => "tomcat",
notify => Class["tomcat6::service"],
mode => 644,
}
}
...100 lines later...
class mytomcatapp::portal {
include mytomcatapp::common
include mytomcatapp::install
include mytomcatapp::config
include mytomcatapp::backup
include mytomcatapp::monitor
}

14. Impact on Puppet
New Puppet Module
class mytomcatapp::install {
$packagelist = [$mytomcatapp::common::package]
package{ $packagelist: ensure => installed }
}
class mytomcatapp::monitor {
#noop
}
class mytomcatapp::portal {
include mytomcatapp::common
include mytomcatapp::common::environment
include mytomcatapp::install
include mytomcatapp::monitor
}

15. Value Proposition
Simplicity in application deployment – lower overhead,
puppet friendly runtime changes
Massive speed improvement in time to deploy and upgrades
• Bare metal deploy estimate is 5 minutes down from 8 minutes
• Application upgrade is 60 seconds down from 60 minutes
Auditability – upgrades are logged and version’s easily and
programmatically checked:
$ rpm –qi mytomcatapp
Rollback is as simple as:
$ rpm –e mytomcatapp
$ yum install mytomcatapp-$previousversion

16. Simplicity
Pop Quiz! What’s easier?
This?
$ service tomcat6 stop
$ rm /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp.war
$ rm –rf /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp
$ rm –rf /var/cache/tomcat6/work/Catalina/localhost/mytomcatapp
$ service tomcat6 start
$ wget –O /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp.war
http://path/to/mytomcatapp.war
$ sleep 30
$ service tomcat6 stop
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/META-INF/context.xml
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-
INF/classes/application.properties
$ vi /var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/mytomcatapp/WEB-
INF/classes/hibernate.cfg.xml
$ vi /etc/tomcat6/Catalina/localhost/mytomcatapp.xml
$ service tomcat6 start
Or this? Bonus points if you
guess what’s faster!
$ yum upgrade mytomcatapp

17. Auditability
Question – What version of mytomcatapp is in
X environment?
[actionjack@rasengan]$ rpm -qi mytomcatapp
Name : mytomcatapp Relocations: (not relocatable)
Version : 1.2.4 Vendor: Uncommon Sense
Release : 1 Build Date: Fri 07 Oct 2011 06:21:10 PM BST
Install Date: Fri 07 Oct 2011 06:31:10 PM Build Host: rasengan.uncommonsense.local
Group : Development Source RPM: mytomcatapp-1.2.4-1.src.rpm
Size : 17922480 License: 2011, Uncommon Sense
Signature : (none)
Packager : Martin Jackson <martin@uncommonsense-uk.com>
Summary : Unnamed - com.uncommonsense-uk:mytomcatapp:war:1.2.4
Description :
My Tomcat App.
Question – Has anybody changed anything?
[actionjack@rasengan]$ rpm --verify mytomcatapp
[actionjack@rasengan]$ echo I guess not...

18. Rolling Back
Rapid recovery needed?
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo yum upgrade mytomcatapp
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo tail /var/log/tomcat6/catalina.out
mytomcatappv1.3.1-alpha starting...
Err something isn’t quite right..
I feel sick...
I’m gonna puke..
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo rpm –e mytomcatapp
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo yum install mytomcatapp-1.2.4
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo /etc/init.d/tomcat6 restart
[actionjack@rasengan]$ sudo tail /var/log/tomcat6/catalina.out
mytomcatappv1.2.4-alpha starting...
Top of the morning to you!
Ready for business.
[actionjack@rasengan]$

19. Using RPM-Maven-Plugin
to build a test
mytomcatapp RPM.

20. Questions and
a Call makeAction
Lets
to things suck
just a little bit less!