82 Chef Interview Questions And Answers For Experienced

Top 82 Chef Interview Questions And Answers For Experienced and Freshers. Here in this blog post coding compiler presenting real-time chef devops interview questions. This list will help you to crack your next chef devops job interview.

Table of Contents

Chef Interview Questions

What is chef in devops?
What is chef in automation?
What is chef DK?
What are chef client nodes?
What is a chef server?
What are work stations in chef?
What are Cookbooks in chef?
What is chef repo?
What is chef-client Run?
What is chef validator?
Why do we use SSL Certificates in chef?
What are Signed Headers in chef?
What is SSL_CERT_FILE in chef?
What are Knife Subcommands in chef?
What is knife ssl check command in chef?
What is knife ssl fetch command in chef?
What are Data Bags?
What are recipes in chef?
What is chef resources file?
What is apt_package resource in chef?

Chef Interview Questions And Answers

1) What is chef in devops?

A) Chef is a configuration management tool for dealing with machine setup on physical servers, virtual machines and in the cloud.
Many companies use Chef software to control and manage their infrastructure including Facebook, Etsy, Cheezburger, and Indiegogo.

2) What is chef in automation?

A) Chef is a powerful automation platform that transforms infrastructure into code.s The Chef server acts as a hub for configuration data.
The Chef server stores cookbooks, the policies that are applied to nodes, and metadata that describes each registered node that is being managed by the chef-client.

3) What is chef DK?

A) The Chef DK workstation is the location where users interact with Chef. On the workstation users author and test cookbooks using tools such as Test Kitchen and interact with the Chef server using the knife and chef command line tools.

4) What are chef client nodes?

A) Chef client nodes are the machines that are managed by Chef. The Chef client is installed on each node and is used to configure the node to its desired state.

5) What is a chef server?

A) The Chef server acts as a hub for configuration data. The Chef server stores cookbooks, the policies that are applied to nodes, and metadata that describes each registered node that is being managed by Chef. Nodes use the Chef client to ask the Chef server for configuration details, such as recipes, templates, and file distributions.

6) What are work stations in chef?

A) A workstation is a computer running the Chef Development Kit (ChefDK) that is used to author cookbooks, interact with the Chef server, and interact with nodes.

The workstation is the location from which most users do most of their work, including:

Developing and testing cookbooks and recipes
Testing Chef code
Keeping the chef-repo synchronized with version source control
Configuring organizational policy, including defining roles and environments, and ensuring that critical data is stored in data bags
Interacting with nodes, as (or when) required, such as performing a bootstrap operation

7) What are Cookbooks in chef?

A) A cookbook is the fundamental unit of configuration and policy distribution. A cookbook defines a scenario and contains everything that is required to support that scenario:

Recipes that specify the resources to use and the order in which they are to be applied
Attribute values
File distributions
Templates
Extensions to Chef, such as custom resources and libraries

8) What is chef repo?

A) The chef-repo is a directory on your workstation that stores:

Cookbooks (including recipes, attributes, custom resources, libraries, and templates)
Roles
Data bags
Environments
The chef-repo directory should be synchronized with a version control system, such as git. All of the data in the chef-repo should be treated like source code.

9) What is chef-client Run?

A) A “chef-client run” is the term used to describe a series of steps that are taken by the chef-client when it is configuring a node.

10) What is chef validator?

A) chef-validator – Every request made by the chef-client to the Chef server must be an authenticated request using the Chef server API and a private key. When the chef-client makes a request to the Chef server, the chef-client authenticates each request using a private key located in /etc/chef/client.pem.

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Chef Interview Questions # 11) Why do we use SSL Certificates in chef?

A) An SSL certificate is used between the chef-client and the Chef server to ensure that each node has access to the right data.

Chef Interview Questions # 12) What are Signed Headers in chef?

A) Signed header authentication is used to validate communications between the Chef server and any node that is being managed by the Chef server.

Chef Interview Questions # 13) What is SSL_CERT_FILE in chef?

A) Use the SSL_CERT_FILE environment variable to specify the location for the SSL certificate authority (CA) bundle that is used by the chef-client.

Chef Interview Questions # 14) What are Knife Subcommands in chef?

A) The chef-client includes two knife commands for managing SSL certificates:

Use knife ssl check to troubleshoot SSL certificate issues
Use knife ssl fetch to pull down a certificate from the Chef server to the /.chef/trusted_certs directory on the workstation.

Chef Interview Questions # 15) What is knife ssl check command in chef?

A) Run the knife ssl check subcommand to verify the state of the SSL certificate, and then use the reponse to help troubleshoot issues that may be present.

Chef Interview Questions # 16) What is knife ssl fetch command in chef?

A) Run the knife ssl fetch to download the self-signed certificate from the Chef server to the /.chef/trusted_certs directory on a workstation.

Chef Interview Questions # 17) What are Data Bags?

A) A data bag is a global variable that is stored as JSON data and is accessible from a Chef server. A data bag is indexed for searching and can be loaded by a recipe or accessed during a search.

Chef Interview Questions # 18) What are recipes in chef?

A) A recipe is the most fundamental configuration element within the organization. A recipe:

Is authored using Ruby, which is a programming language designed to read and behave in a predictable manner
Is mostly a collection of resources, defined using patterns (resource names, attribute-value pairs, and actions); helper code is added around this using Ruby, when needed
Must define everything that is required to configure part of a system
Must be stored in a cookbook
May be included in a recipe
May use the results of a search query and read the contents of a data bag (including an encrypted data bag)
May have a dependency on one (or more) recipes
May tag a node to facilitate the creation of arbitrary groupings
Must be added to a run-list before it can be used by the chef-client
Is always executed in the same order as listed in a run-list

Chef Interview Questions # 19) What is chef resources file?

A) A file resource is used to manage files directly on a node.

A file resource block manages files that exist on nodes. For example, to write the home page for an Apache website:

file ‘/var/www/customers/public_html/index.php’ do
content ‘<html>This is a placeholder for the home page.</html>’
mode ‘0755’
owner ‘web_admin’
group ‘web_admin’
end

Chef Interview Questions # 20) What is apt_package resource in chef?

Answer) Use the apt_package resource to manage packages on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.

apt_package Syntax:

A apt_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the apt_package resource is:

apt_package ‘package_name’

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Chef Interview Questions # 21) What is apt_preference resource in chef?

A) The apt_preference resource allows for the creation of APT preference files. Preference files are used to control which package versions and sources are prioritized during installation. New in Chef Client 13.3

Syntax:

apt_preference ‘package_name’ do
action :add
end

Chef Interview Questions # 22) What is apt_repository resource?

A) Use the apt_repository resource to specify additional APT repositories. Adding a new repository will update APT package cache immediately.

apt_repository ‘nginx’ do
uri ‘https://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/’
components [‘nginx’]
end

Chef Interview Questions # 23) What is apt_update resource in chef?

A) Use the apt_update resource to manage APT repository updates on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.

Chef Interview Questions # 24) what is bff_package resource in chef?

A) Use the bff_package resource to manage packages for the AIX platform using the installp utility. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

Chef Interview Questions # 25) What is cab_package resource in chef?

A) Use the cab_package resource to install or remove Microsoft Windows cabinet (.cab) packages.

Chef Interview Questions # 26) What is chef_gem?

A) Use the chef_gem resource to install a gem only for the instance of Ruby that is dedicated to the chef-client. When a gem is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

Chef Interview Questions # 27) What is chef_acl resource in chef?

A) Use the chef_acl resource to interact with access control lists (ACLs) that exist on the Chef server.

Syntax: The syntax for using the chef_acl resource in a recipe is as follows:

chef_acl ‘name’ do
attribute ‘value’ # see properties section below
…
action :action # see actions section below
end

Chef Interview Questions # 28) What is chef_client resource?

A) A chef-client is an agent that runs locally on every node that is under management by Chef. When a chef-client is run, it will perform all of the steps that are required to bring the node into the expected state, including:

Registering and authenticating the node with the Chef server
Building the node object
Synchronizing cookbooks
Compiling the resource collection by loading each of the required cookbooks, including recipes, attributes, and all other dependencies
Taking the appropriate and required actions to configure the node
Looking for exceptions and notifications, handling each as required

Chef Interview Questions # 29) What is chef_container resource?

A) chef_container resource is used to interact with container objects that exist on the Chef server.

Chef Interview Questions # 30) What is chef_data_bag_item?

A) A data bag is a container of related data bag items, where each individual data bag item is a JSON file. knife can load a data bag item by specifying the name of the data bag to which the item belongs and then the filename of the data bag item.

Use the chef_data_bag_item resource to manage data bag items.

Syntax – The syntax for using the chef_data_bag_item resource in a recipe is as follows:

chef_data_bag_item ‘name’ do
attribute ‘value’
…
action :action
end

Chef Tool Interview Questions

Chef Interview Questions # 31) What is chef_data_bag resource?

A) A data bag is a global variable that is stored as JSON data and is accessible from a Chef server. A data bag is indexed for searching and can be loaded by a recipe or accessed during a search.

Use the chef_data_bag resource to manage data bags.

Chef Interview Questions # 32) What is chef_environment resource?

A) chef_environment resource to manage environments. An environment is a way to map an organization’s real-life workflow to what can be configured and managed when using Chef server. Every organization begins with a single environment called the _default environment, which cannot be modified (or deleted). Additional environments can be created to reflect each organization’s patterns and workflow.

Chef Interview Questions # 33) What is chef_group resource?

A) chef_group resource is used to interact with group objects that exist on the Chef server.

Chef Interview Questions # 34) What is chef_handler resource?

A) The chef_handler resource is used to enable handlers during a chef-client run. The resource allows arguments to be passed to the chef-client, which then applies the conditions defined by the custom handler to the node attribute data collected during the chef-client run, and then processes the handler based on that data.

Chef Interview Questions # 35) What is the chef_mirror resource?

A) The chef_mirror resource to mirror objects in the chef-repo to a specified location.

Chef Interview Questions # 36) What is chef_node resource?

A) A node is any machine—physical, virtual, cloud, network device, etc.—that is under management by Chef. chef_node resource is used to manage nodes.

Chef Interview Questions # 37) What is chef_organization resource?

A) The chef_organization resource to interact with organization objects that exist on the Chef server.

Chef Interview Questions # 38) What is chef_role resource?

A) The chef_role resource to manage roles. A role is a way to define certain patterns and processes that exist across nodes in an organization as belonging to a single job function. Each role consists of zero (or more) attributes and a run-list. Each node can have zero (or more) roles assigned to it.

Chef Interview Questions # 39) What is chef_user resource?

A) The chef_user resource is used to manage users.

Chef Interview Questions # 40) What is chocolatey_package resource?

A) A chocolatey_package resource manages packages using Chocolatey on the Microsoft Windows platform. The simplest use of the chocolatey_package resource is:

chocolatey_package ‘package_name’

Chef Tool Interview Questions And Answers

41) What is cookbook_file resource?

A) The cookbook_file resource to transfer files from a sub-directory of COOKBOOK_NAME/files/ to a specified path located on a host that is running the chef-client.

Syntax – A cookbook_file resource block manages files by using files that exist within a cookbook’s /files directory. For example, to write the home page for an Apache website:

cookbook_file ‘/var/www/customers/public_html/index.php’ do
source ‘index.php’
owner ‘web_admin’
group ‘web_admin’
mode ‘0755’
action :create
end

42) What is cron resource?

A) The cron resource is used to manage cron entries for time-based job scheduling.

43) What is dnf_package resource?

A) the dnf_package resource to install, upgrade, and remove packages with DNF for Fedora platforms. The dnf_package resource is able to resolve provides data for packages much like DNF can do when it is run from the command line. This allows a variety of options for installing packages, like minimum versions, virtual provides, and library names.

44) What is dpkg_package resource?

A) The dpkg_package resource to manage packages for the dpkg platform. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

45) What is metadata.rb in chef?

A) Every cookbook requires a small amount of metadata. A file named metadata.rb is located at the top of every cookbook directory structure. The contents of the metadata.rb file provides hints to the Chef server to help ensure that cookbooks are deployed to each node correctly.

46) What information stored in metadata.rb file?

A) A metadata.rb file is:

Located at the top level of a cookbook’s directory structure.
Compiled whenever a cookbook is uploaded to the Chef server or when the knife cookbook metadata subcommand is run, and then stored as JSON data.
Created automatically by knife whenever the knife cookbook create subcommand is run.
Edited using a text editor, and then re-uploaded to the Chef server as part of a cookbook upload.

47) What is Berkshelf in chef?

A) Berkshelf is a dependency manager for Chef cookbooks. With it, you can easily depend on community cookbooks and have them safely included in your workflow.

48) What is Berksfile in chef?

A) A Berksfile describes the set of sources and dependencies needed to use a cookbook. It is used in conjunction with the berks command.

49) What is Cookbook Keyword in chef?

A) The cookbook keyword allows the user to define where a cookbook is installed from, or to set additional version constraints. It can also be used to install additional cookbooks, for example to use during testing.

50) What is kitchen (executable) in chef?

A) kitchen is the command-line tool for Kitchen, an integration testing tool used by the chef-client. Kitchen runs tests against any combination of platforms using any combination of test suites.

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51) What is kitchen converge in chef?

A) Use the converge subcommand to converge one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms in the .kitchen.yml file. This process will install the chef-client on an instance using the omnibus installer, upload cookbook files and minimal configuration to the instance, and then start a chef-client run using the run-list and attributes specified in the .kitchen.yml file.

Syntax – $ kitchen converge PLATFORMS (options)

52) What is kitchen create in chef?

A) Use the create subcommand to create one (or more) instances. Instances are based on the list of platforms and suites in the .kitchen.yml file.