Puppet & Chef Online Test

The Puppet & Chef Test makes use of scenario-based questions to test for on-the-job skills as opposed to theoretical knowledge, ensuring that candidates who do well on this screening test have the relavant skills. The questions are designed to covered following on-the-job aspects:

• Creating and managing Node Objects
• Writing and maintaining Recipes
• Configuring Nodes for efficient deployment
• Handling Recipe and attribute interactions
• Configuring Chef Client-Server communication
• Implementing Authentication and Security features
• Working with Knife plugins
• Setting up and managing Chef server
• Defining and managing Run lists
• Understanding Relationships and ordering of resources

Once the test is sent to a candidate, the candidate receives a link in email to take the test. For each candidate, you will receive a detailed report with skills breakdown and benchmarks to shortlist the top candidates from your pool.

• Node Objects

  Node Objects refer to the configuration nodes that are used in Puppet and Chef to define the desired state of a system. These objects contain information on how a specific node should be configured, including package installations, files to be managed, and service configurations.

• Recipe

  A recipe is a script or set of instructions written in a domain-specific language (DSL) used in Puppet and Chef. It defines the steps and resources required to achieve a desired configuration state on a node. In this test, measuring knowledge of recipes ensures that candidates understand the fundamental building blocks of Puppet and Chef configurations.

• Configuring Nodes

  Configuring nodes involves setting up and managing the desired state of individual systems using Puppet and Chef. It includes tasks such as configuring network settings, managing packages and services, and applying security policies. Assessing this skill helps determine a candidate's ability to effectively leverage Puppet and Chef for system configuration.

• Recipe and Attributes

  Recipes and attributes are closely related concepts in Puppet and Chef. A recipe defines what needs to be done, while attributes provide the necessary data or parameters for the recipe to execute correctly. Testing knowledge of recipe and attribute usage ensures candidates can properly define and utilize these core components of Puppet and Chef.

• Chef Client-Server Configuration

  Chef Client-Server configuration involves setting up the communication and interaction between the Chef server and the clients (nodes) it manages. It includes tasks such as configuring client authentication, defining the Chef server URL, and establishing secure communication channels. Evaluating this skill helps assess a candidate's ability to configure and maintain the Chef Client-Server architecture.

• Authentication and Security

  Authentication and security in Puppet and Chef are crucial aspects to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of configuration management. This skill measures a candidate's knowledge of securely accessing and authenticating with Puppet and Chef servers, as well as implementing security measures such as SSL certificates, encryption, and access controls.

• Knife Plugins

  Knife is a command-line tool in Chef that provides various functionalities for managing and interacting with Chef servers and nodes. Knife plugins extend the functionality of Knife by adding custom commands and features. Evaluating knowledge of Knife plugins ensures candidates are proficient in leveraging this powerful tool for Chef management and automation tasks.

• Chef Server

  Chef Server is a central component in the Chef ecosystem that stores and manages cookbooks, environments, roles, and other configuration data. Assessing knowledge of Chef Server measures a candidate's understanding of how to set up and administer a Chef Server, including managing users, permissions, and data synchronization.

• Run Lists

  Run lists play a critical role in Puppet and Chef by defining the order in which recipes should be applied to nodes during configuration. They determine the sequence of steps and ensure proper dependency resolution. Measuring knowledge of run lists helps assess a candidate's ability to effectively organize and manage the execution of recipes.

• Relationships and Ordering

  In Puppet and Chef, relationships and ordering refer to the dependencies between resources and ensuring they are applied in the correct sequence. Resources can depend on other resources, and specifying the correct order is crucial for proper system configuration. Assessing this skill helps evaluate a candidate's understanding of resource relationships and the ability to define and manage ordering in Puppet and Chef configurations.

• Full list of covered topics

  The actual topics of the questions in the final test will depend on your job description and requirements. However, here's a list of topics you can expect the questions for Puppet & Chef Test to be based on.

  Node Objects

  Recipe

  Configuring Nodes

  Recipe and attributes

  Chef Client-Server configuration

  Authentication and Security

  Knife plugins

  Chef server

  Run lists

  Relationships and ordering

  Environment Variables

  Data Bags

  Chef Resources

  Chef Cookbooks

  Chef Solo

  Chef Workstation

  Chef Supermarket

  Chef Roles

  Chef Attributes

  Test Kitchen

  Ohai

  Different types of Nodes

  Linux and Windows Nodes

  Chef-solo vs Chef-client

  Node Attributes

  Using Chef data bags

  Bootstrap a Node

  Using Chef environments

  Installing Chef Client

  Chef Automate

  Managing Dependencies in Chef

  Chef Test Suites

  Chef-apply

  Managing Secrets in Chef

  Using Chef LWRPs

  Chef Handlers

  Cookbook Versioning

  Managing Chef Run Lists

  Using Chef Supermarket

  Chef for Windows

  Managing Chef Roles

  Custom Knife Plugins

  Creating and Applying Chef Templates

  Chef Audit Mode

  Troubleshooting Chef

  Using Chef Zero

  Using Chef Vault

  Berksfile and Berkshelf

  Chef Infra Client

  Chef Infra Server

  Encrypted Data Bags

  Using Chef Analytics

  Chef Policyfile

  Managing Chef Nodes

  Using Chef Habitat

  Chef Development Kit (CDK)

  Using Chef Community Resources

  Managing Cookbooks Versions

  Chef Compliance

  Executing Chef Recipes Remotely

  Using ChefSpec for Testing

  Chef Search

  Using Chef Automate Compliance

  Chef Infra Repeater

  Using Chef with AWS

  ChefDK Extensions

  Managing Chef Environments

  Cookbook Uploading

  Using Chef with Azure

  Chef Push Jobs

  Extending Chef Workstation

  Using Chef with Docker

  Chef Configuration Management

• DevOps Engineer
• Automation Engineer (Puppet/ Chef)
• Principal DevOps Engineer - Puppet/ Chef
• Senior DevOps Engineer - Chef/Puppet
• DevOps Engineer - Ansible/Puppet/Chef

For intermediate/ experienced candidates, we customize the assessment questions to include advanced topics and increase the difficulty level of the questions. This might include adding questions on topics like

• Designing and implementing Role-based access control
• Performing Continuous Integration and Delivery with Chef
• Creating and managing Highly available Chef infrastructures
• Troubleshooting Chef deployments and configurations
• Implementing Continuous Monitoring and Alerting
• Managing Configuration drift and Compliance
• Automating Disaster Recovery procedures
• Optimizing Chef Infrastructure for scalability
• Implementing Chef Analytics for performance analysis
• Implementing Chef Audit for compliance tracking