The document summarizes Alfresco's Software Provisioning Kit (SPK) which helps define, build, and integrate Alfresco stacks. SPK uses Chef to automate Alfresco installation and configuration. It provides reusable templates and stacks that can be run locally using Vagrant or built into immutable images using Packer. SPK aims to simplify Alfresco provisioning across cloud providers and orchestration tools through infrastructure as code.

1. Alfresco Tech Talk Live #95
Alfresco Software Provisioning Kit (Enzo Rivello, Maurizio Pillitu)

2. Aboutus
Maurizio (maoo) Pillitu
• Alfresco DevOps
• Before, 30 months of Alfresco Consultancy
• Lead Developer of
– https://github.com/Alfresco/chef-alfresco

3. Aboutus
Alfresco DevOps
Keep the lights on
• Public services (activiti|my.alfresco.com, Alfresco
Online Trials)
• Internal infrastructure
• Internal projects (QA, Engineering, Sales, Marketing,
...)
Automate all the things
• Automation across the borders
– Technologies
– Departments
• Integration
• Evangelisation

4. Alfresco SPK
Design|Run|Integrate Alfresco stacks

5. Agenda
Agenda
• The Challenges
• Alfresco Installation
• Alfresco SPK
• Wrapping up

6. The Challenges

7. Challenges
The hosting choice
• Myriads of Cloud Providers
– AWS, Google Compute, Rackspace, OpenShift, Tutum, …
• Myriads of Orchestration Tools
– Cloudformation, Beanstalk, Kubernetes, Terraform, Cloudify/Tosca, Mesos,
Brooklyn, …
Provisioning challenges
• Distributed architectures
• Articulated provisioning process
• Alfresco Installer limitations
Provisioning

8. Solutions
• Alfresco Installation
– Customisable/Configurable
– Modular
– Versionable
– Portable
• Alfresco SPK
– Define/reuse a stack
– Test a stack locally
– Create Official Alfresco Images (Marketplace AMIs, Vagrant Boxes, …)
– Create Custom Images
– Integrate CI tools with image building process (release pipeline integration)
– Integrate orchestration tools to bootstrap immutable images (go live)
Provisioning

9. Aboutus
Enzo Rivello
• 3 months of Alfresco Devops
– Activiti Team
• Before, Playstation DevOps
• Lead Developer of
– https://github.com/Alfresco/alfresco-spk
– https://github.com/Alfresco/vagrant-packer-
plugin
• Follow
– https://www.alfresco.com/blogs/devops
– https://github.com/enzor

10. Alfresco Installation

11. Instance Lifecycle
AlfrescoInstallation
StackGenesis
Root
Image
(distro) <provision> <bootstrap>
<full provisioning>
ID
4 IPs
ID
Stack Engine
Alfresco
Image
(tiered) Solr
2
Share
1
Share
2
Solr
1

12. Instance Lifecycle
AlfrescoInstallation
StackGenesis
Root
Image
(distro) <provision> <bootstrap>
<full provisioning>
ID
4 IPs
ID
Stack Engine
Alfresco
Image
(tiered) Solr
2
Share
1
Share
2
Solr
1

13. Chef Alfresco (beyond Alfresco Installer)
• Cool logo
• Component-based: repo, share, solr, aos and more
• Additional components: haproxy, nginx and more
• Supports 3 run modes (full-provisioning, provisioning-
only, bootstrap-only)
• Any Alfresco configuration can be customised
• Can run continuously (install on top of an installation)
• Downloads artifacts (VS Alfresco Installer monolithic
installation)
– Maven compatible (uses artifacts.alfresco.com by default)
– Use Maven repository of your choice
– (optional) Use URL or file-system to resolve artifacts
• Open Source, 68 releases, 11 contributors -
https://github.com/Alfresco/chef-alfresco
AlfrescoInstallation

14. Alfresco SPK
and the Vagrant Packer Plugin

15. Alfresco SPK Operations
AlfrescoSPK
Choose
a stack
Browse stack examples
provided by the SPK
Run/Tweak
Spin up a stack locally
using Virtualbox or
VmWare
Build Images
Define Alfresco
immutable images
Integrate
Run the CI and
orchestration tool
of your choice

16. AlfrescoSPK
• Stacks (Vagrantfile)
– community-allinone
– enterprise-clustered (share + solr)
• Instance templates
– community-allinone.json
– share.json
– solr.json
SPK Provided Stacks
Configuration items
• Instance template(s) (JSON), which contain
– Chef Alfresco Attributes
– Image building configuration (Packer)
– Local run (Vagrant)
• Vagrantfile to define the stack and reference instance template(s)
– Packer Plugin common configuration
– Local Vagrant run common configuration

17. AlfrescoSPK
Instance template – Chef Alfresco components
{
"name": ”...",
"alfresco" : {
"components" : <alfresco_components>
}
}
["haproxy","nginx","tomcat","transform","repo","share","solr","mysql"]
Allinone components
["haproxy","nginx","tomcat","transform","repo","share"]
Share components
["haproxy","tomcat”,"repo","transform","solr"]
Solr components

18. AlfrescoSPK
Vagrantfile – community-allinone
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
# Source Image configuration
config.vm.box = "<vagrant_box_name>"
config.vm.box_url = "<vagrant_box_url>”
# Vagrant up configuration
instance_template = JSON.parse("<instance_template_json_path>")
config.vm.provision "chef_solo" do |chef|
chef.json = instance_template
chef.recipe_url = "<chef_alfresco_tar_url>"
instance_template['run_list'].each do |recipe|
chef.add_recipe recipe
end
end
End
https://artifacts.alfresco.com/.../releases/.../chef-alfresco-0.6.25.tar.gz

19. AlfrescoSPK
Vagrantfile – enterprise-clustered
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
# Source Image configuration
config.vm.box = "<vagrant_box_name>"
config.vm.box_url = "<vagrant_box_url>”
# Vagrant up multi-machine configuration
['share','solr'].each do |role|
config.vm.define role do |instance|
instance_template = JSON.parse("<#{role}.json >")
config.vm.provision "chef_solo" do |chef|
chef.json = instance_template
chef.recipe_url = "<chef_alfresco_tar_url>"
instance_template['run_list'].each do |recipe|
chef.add_recipe recipe
end
end
end
end

20. AlfrescoSPK
Vagrantfile –Packer Plugin configuration
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
# Mandatory Vagrant Packer Plugin configuration
config.packer_build.instance_templates = [”share.json”,”solr.json”]
# Optional Chef provisioning configuration
config.packer_build.cookbooks_url = “<chef-alfresco_tar_gz_url>”
config.packer_build.cookbooks_username = “<chef-alfresco_tar_gz_username>”
config.packer_build.cookbooks_password = “<chef-alfresco_tar_gz_password>”
# Chef Databags configuration
config.packer_build.databags_url = “<databags_tar_gz_url>”
config.packer_build.databags_username = “<databags_username>”
config.packer_build.databags_password = “<databags_password>”
# Alternative for Chef cookbooks configuration (using Berkshelf)
# config.packer_build.berksfile = “Berksfile”

21. AlfrescoSPK
Try it yourself!
# Clone SPK repo
git clone https://github.com/Alfresco/alfresco-spk
# Install Vagrant Packer Plugin
vagrant plugin install vagrant-packer-plugin
cd alfresco-spk/stacks/community-allinone
# Or build your own Vagrantfile and instance template(s)
# Run the stack locally
vagrant up
# Build immutable images (default to Vagrantbox)
vagrant packer-build

22. Wrapping up

23. Wrappingup
[Go Live]
Configure
orchestration
tools & CI
[Image Build]
Vagrant packer-
build
[Tweak and Local run]
Vagrant up
[Configuration]
Choose an SPK stack and play with Vagrantfile
and instance templates
Go Live – Zero to Hero

24. Wrappingup
Infrastructure as Code delivered
• Revamped installation experience
– Component-based installation
– Controls provisioning and bootstrap phases
https://github.com/Alfresco/chef-alfresco
• Reusable instance templates
• Reusable images
• Integration with cloud providers and orchestration tools
https://github.com/Alfresco/alfresco-spk
SPK

25. Wrappingup
SPK in Alfresco
• AWS Marketplace AMIs
– Alfresco 5.1 Enterprise Allinone
– Alfresco 5.1 Enterprise Allinone + Records Management
– Alfresco Activiti Enterprise
• Online Trials
• Offline Trials / Sales Demos
• Alfresco Benchmark
• Alfresco Infrastructure
• Alfresco Cloud

26. Wrappingup
Roadmap
• Support additional Linux/Unix OSes
• Publish Alfresco Vagrant boxes for existing instance templates
– allinone, share, solr, …
• Add (seamless) integration with orchestration tools
– Terraform, Cloudformation, Kubernetes, …
• Integrate with Alfresco SDK
• Improved docs for advanced Chef users
• Publish chef-alfresco into Chef Supermarket
Product capabilities, timeframes and features are subject to change and should not be viewed
as Alfresco commitments.

27. Links
Links
Code
• https://github.com/Alfresco/chef-alfresco
• https://github.com/Alfresco/alfresco-spk
• https://github.com/Alfresco/vagrant-packer-plugin
Icons in the presentation
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/three-books_74982
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/puzzle_69154
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/man-sprinting_67001
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/closed-cardboard-box-with-packing-tape_65843
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/recycle-reuse_25274
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/light-bulb_34386
• http://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/robot-with-server_77744

28. Thanks!
@Alfresco
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