What is AWS OpsWorks?
AWS OpsWorks is a configuration management service that provides managed instances of Chef and Puppet. These are automation platforms that allow you to use code to automate the configuration of your servers.
Key Concepts
1. OpsWorks for Chef Automate / Puppet Enterprise
- Fully managed configuration management servers.
- You bring your existing Chef recipes or Puppet manifests to configure EC2 instances.
2. OpsWorks Stacks
- Model your application as a stack containing different layers (e.g., LB layer, App layer, DB layer).
- Uses Chef recipes to handle tasks like installing software, patching, or deploying code.
Exam Tips
[!IMPORTANT] "Chef", "Puppet", or "Configuration Management": The answer is AWS OpsWorks.
[!NOTE] Distinguish from Systems Manager: Systems Manager is AWS-native (Run Command, Patch Manager). OpsWorks is specifically for Chef/Puppet users.
Common Use Cases
- Legacy Migrations: Moving an application that already relies heavily on Chef recipes to AWS.
- Automated Configuration: Consistent server setup (installing Nginx, PHP, patches) across hundreds of instances.