Salt state examples/tips with Windows...

[Jeff]

Some of the things I want to do include (based on the windows version):

• Registry updates:
• set the "auto login" registry settings
• Disable windows update (specifically to control which IE browser versions are installed)
• Enable RDP (via registry?)
• Map network drives (net use...)
• Update files from a remote SMB share (robocopy/xcopy?)
• selenium grid files/shortcuts
• Extract zip file (sysinternalssuite.zip)
• Configure shortcuts
  
• startup shortcuts
• BGInfo
• Selenium Grid Node startup
• Desktop shortcuts
• install/validate software packages (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE version)

I am currently pointing to the windows repo in github, but I think I need to add to that or create an internal one for additional packages, but I'd really like to see/understand how others may have approached/solved this type of configuration.

Thanks!

--

Jeff Vincent
See my LinkedIn profile at:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rjeffreyvincent

[Loren Gordon]

Hi Jeff,

I've worked a bit using salt to configure Windows systems. I'm using a masterless configuration at the moment, where the salt install and configuration is deployed to every Windows system via a bootstrap script and executed locally.

• Registry updates:
• You can use salt to manage the registry, though it's important to realize that AD or local GPO settings will override anything you place in the registry. I chose to use Microsoft's Apply_LGPO_Delta utility to configure the local GPO or registry, and I use salt to manage a file containing the LGPO settings as well as to execute LGPO.
• registry state: http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/states/all/salt.states.reg.html
• registry module: http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/modules/all/salt.modules.reg.html
• LGPO: http://blogs.technet.com/b/fdcc/archive/2008/05/07/lgpo-utilities.aspx
• Map network drive:
• I haven't had to do this. I'm not seeing a built-in state or module to map a drive, but you could use cmd.run to execute a batch or powershell command
• cmd state: http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/states/all/salt.states.cmd.html
  

• Update files from a remote SMB share

• Salt has it's own file distribution mechanism. Do the files have to be on the existing share, or could you move them to the salt master? If you move them, then you can easily use file.managed. file.managed also supports HTTPS, FTP, AWS S3, and Openstack Swift sources, but I don't see a native option for SMB. Do you have the option of fronting the SMB share with a web server and directory browsing?
• file state: http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/states/all/salt.states.file.html
• file module: http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/modules/all/salt.modules.file.html
• Extract zip file
  
• There's no simple way of extracting a zip file on Windows. I replied to another user asking how to do this and provided a PowerShell function.
• https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/salt-users/rgVPHDkJRYI
  
• Configure shortcuts
• Shortcuts are files, so they could perhaps be managed in the same way as any other file?
• Install/validate software packages
• Are you already using the salt windows package manager?
• http://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/windows/windows-package-manager.html
  

-Loren

[Shem Nguyen]

I'm going to have to second your "Map Network drives" one.
I've used:

'net use P: \\a\network\location':
  cmd.run:
    - creates: 'P:'

It seems to mount a drive, but the drive appears with a "disconnected" icon when I look at it in My Computer. It's still accessible though. I'm probably going to log this as an issue on the repository. If anyone's found a way around this, I'd love to know.

[Jonathan Roy]

The drive appears disconnected possibly because it has been created with a different account.

The salt-minion run with the system user and you are most certainly veryfing the state of the drive with another account.

[Shem Nguyen]

Yep, is there any chance you found a way around this?

[Oliver Bestwalter]

Hi,

On Friday, 13 February 2015 14:14:37 UTC+1, Jonathan Roy wrote:

The drive appears disconnected possibly because it has been created with a different account.

The salt-minion run with the system user and you are most certainly veryfing the state of the drive with another account.

 correct. I am looking into this as well and just found an issue about this: https://github.com/saltstack/salt/issues/20672

Cheers

Oliver