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Desired State Configuration and Windows

Explore the evolution of PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) and its crucial role in managing Windows and Unix systems efficiently. Learn the history, challenges, and benefits of using DSC, and discover how it ensures configuration consistency and automates deployment. Uncover insights from a Microsoft Distinguished Engineer and delve into the world of standards-based configuration management for seamless operations across diverse platforms.

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Desired State Configuration and Windows

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  1. Desired State Configuration and Windows Jeffrey Snover @jsnover Microsoft Distinguished Engineer

  2. Desired State Configuration and Windows the Cloud Jeffrey Snover @jsnover Microsoft Distinguished Engineer

  3. Agenda • Acknowledgements • Why PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)? • What is DSC? • Why DSC on Unix?

  4. Why DCS? • What they are really asking is: • Why not: • Salt? • Chef? • Ansible? • Puppet? • CFEngine? • GuardRail? • BrewMaster? • Lots of great tools for Unix, why not just use them?

  5. “Why PowerShell DSC?” is the wrong question

  6. Right Question • Why PowerShell? • Why not just use *sh and the Unix utils?

  7. History • My team and I have deep Unix backgrounds • Joined MSFT in 1999 and immediately pushed for CLI and Unix tools on Windows • Encountered some cultural pushback • “Exactly which part of ‘Windows’ is confusing you?” • I finally prevailed • “Which 10?” • Eventually got Services for Unix (*sh & Unix utils) as a free download

  8. Problem Solved? • WRONG! • SFU didn’t help • Document vs API oriented OS

  9. Unix is a document-oriented OS • If you can edit files and restart processes, you can manage Unix • awk, grep, sed are management tools

  10. Windows is an API-oriented OS • awk didn’t work against WMI • grep didn’t work against Active Directory • sed didn’t work against Registry

  11. Next Step • I spent $4,080,000 on CLIs • $4,000,000 got me 60 commands – a tiny fraction • $60,000 got me WMIC – metadata driven CLI to drive the WMI api • My Christmas vacation got me 72 WMIC commands • $20,000 got me enhancements to the WMI engine • And a fantastic insight about how to manage an API oriented OS

  12. Lessons • Unix-style document manipulation tools don’t work managing Windows • IIS provides false hope to newcomers • We needed to invent PowerShell • Bruce Payette’s book “PowerShell In Action” provides lots of details • Monad Manifesto • Deconstructed Unix reinterpreted for an API oriented world • Pipelines of text are replace with pipelines of objects • And prayer-based parsing is eliminated 

  13. Why DSC? • Unix CM tools “hit a brick wall” managing Windows • Need a tool which works against an API-oriented OS

  14. What is DSC?

  15. Make It So (@#$%@$&)Yes Sir!

  16. Make It So Make It So Make It So (@#$%@$&)Yes Sir! (@#$%@$&)Yes Sir! (@#$%@$&)Yes Sir!

  17. What is DSC? • DSC is a • tool-agnostic • standards-based • distributed configuration-management platform

  18. PowerShell Desired State Configuration Enables you to ensurethat the components of your data center have the correct configuration Supports continuous deployment Preventsconfiguration drift Enable declarative, autonomous and idempotent (repeatable) deployment, configuration and conformance of standards-based managed elements

  19. Model Push Model Tools Documents “Make it So” Agent Local Configuration Store PS V1, V2, V3 Configuration MOF PS V4* Parser and Dispatcher 3rd party languages and tools Imperative Providers • * PSV4 adds: • Declarative syntax extensions • Schema-driven Intellisense • Schema validation (early-binding) • Providers implement changes: • Monotonic • Idempotent

  20. Pull Model Tools Documents “Make it So” Agent Configuration MOF

  21. Role of Standards • DSC uses the DMTF management standards • MOF is a Managed Object Format for describing instances • WMI – Windows Management Interface (DMTF CIMOM) • Protocol is WSMAN • REST (OData) for Pull scenarios • OMI • Small, fast, open source implementation of WMI using the same APIs as WMI • Running > 40 variants of Unix & Cisco/Arista/Huawei network devices • Any platform can manage DSC using a standards-based stack • Without additional agents

  22. Why DSC on Unix? • CloudOS • Heterogeneous fabric management • Heterogeneous clients • Datacenter Plug-and-Play • Unix CM world seems to be a battle between proprietary products • Not cooperating on a platform to enable an ecosystem

  23. Agenda Revisited • Why PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC)? • Because Windows is an API oriented OS • What is DSC? • Tool-agnostic, standards-based, distributed configuration-management platform • Why DSC on Unix? • Provide a single common management stack to manage every element in the datacenter

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