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How to Download Chef Workstation and Other Developer Tools

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05th Sep, 2023
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    How to Download Chef Workstation and Other Developer Tools

    Developer tools are essential for programmers and other software developers. Chef Workstation is one such powerful DevOps software tool used by developers and system administrators for creating, testing, and managing Chef recipes. It allows you to manage your infrastructure as code, making it easier to replicate and deploy.   

    In this article, we'll show you how to download and install Chef Workstation as well as several other development tools. We'll also provide links to additional resources that can help you get started with Chef. After following these instructions, you'll be able to start coding like a pro. So whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, we have something for everyone. 

    How to Download Chef Workstation? 

    Welcome to our step-by-step guide on downloading one of the best tools for DevOps Chef Workstation. These steps will take you through downloading the Chef Workstation on your computer. 

    • Once the file has finished downloading, open it and follow the prompts to install Chef Workstation on your system.  

    After you have got a successful download, Chef is not as easy as it seems. So, seek out assistance with the best Chef online course available and make your learning curve go higher and higher. 

    Chef Workstation: Supported Platforms

    Chef Workstation is designed to support a wide range of operating systems and hardware architectures. Currently, they are compatible with the following platforms: 

    Supported PlatformOS Version
    Amazon Linux2
    Windows10, 11, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022
    Apple macOS10.15, 11, 12
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux / CentOS7.x, 8.x
    Debian9, 10, 11
    Ubuntu16.04, 18.04, 20.04

    System Requirements

    Considering Chef Workstation as one the best tools for DevOps, your computer just needs to meet a few normal system requirements. These include:  

    • 4GB of RAM 
    • 8GB of disk space 

    You may also need extra memory and space for certain features, namely Test Kitchen that creates and manages the virtual test environments.  

    For Linux systems, you need a graphical windows manager running that supports the tray icons. Depending on your distribution, you may have to install additional libraries as well.  

    How to Install Chef Workstations? 

    Installing Chef Workstation gives you everything you need to start with one of the top tools for DevOps - Chef. It includes all the tools necessary to develop, test and run your Chef cookbooks. But before you can start using Chef Workstation, you need to install it on your system. The process is simple and only requires a few steps to get started. Here are the steps below for different supported OS. 

    Installation on Windows OS

    • Go through the prompts on the screen and accept the license agreement to install the Chef Workstation. Your default file location is C:\opscode\Chef-workstation\ directory but one can make changes during the installation process. 

    • You can even select the default shell. For Windows OS, it is advisable to make use of Windows PowerShell rather than cmd.exe. 

    Further, you can also install the Chef Workstation on Windows via the Chocolatey package manager. 

    choco install Chef-workstation 

    Chef Workstation: Installation on Mac OS

    • Go through the on-screen instructions and install the Chef Workstation.  

    Moreover, you can also install Chef Workstation via the Homebrew package manager: 

    brew install --cask Chef-workstation 

    Chef Workstation For Linux

    Go to the Chef Workstation downloads and choose the appropriate download package as per your OS. 

    1. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux  

    Follow wget https://packages.Chef.io/files/stable/Chef-workstation/21.10.640/el/8/Chef-workstation-21.10.640-1.el8.x86_64.rpm 

    1. Debian/Ubuntu 

    Follow wget https://packages.Chef.io/files/stable/Chef-workstation/21.10.640/ubuntu/20.04/Chef-workstation_21.10.640-1_amd64.deb 

    You can install Chef Workstation through your distribution's package manager. Here is how -

    1. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 

    Follow yum localinstall Chef-workstation-21.10.640-1.el8.x86_64.rpm 

    1. Debian/Ubuntu 

    Follow dpkg -i Chef-workstation_21.10.640-1_amd64.deb 

    Verify the Installation

    To verify the Chef Workstation installation, you need to run the Chef-v command: 

    This will return the given versions of the installed Chef tool: 

    Chef Workstation version: 21.10.640
    Chef InSpec version: 4.46.13
    Test Kitchen version: 3.1.0
    Chef Habitat version: 1.6.351
    Chef Infra Client version: 17.6.18
    Cookstyle version: 7.25.6
    Chef CLI version: 5.4.2

    Upgrading

    To upgrade your Chef workstation version, first ensure that you have the latest version of the ChefDK. You can check this by running Chef -v. If you do not have the latest version, you can download it from the Chef website as mentioned above. Once you have the latest ChefDK, you can upgrade your existing cookbooks by running the following Chef execute commandChef update. This will update all of the dependencies in your cookbooks to the latest version.  

    If you have any cookbooks incompatible with the new version of Chef, they will be outputted to a file called UpdateFailures.log. You can then either fix these cookbooks or delete them. Finally, run Chef-client to update your local copy of the Chef server. Following these steps, you can ensure that your Chef workstation is always up-to-date and ready to use. 

    Uninstalling Chef Workstation

    Different operating systems have different ways of uninstalling Chef Workstation. Here are the instructions for uninstalling some of the most popular operating systems. 

    Windows OS

    1. Start the Control Panel. 
    2. Click on Programs and Features. 
    3. Locate Chef Workstation in the list of installed programs and click on it. 
    4. Click on the Uninstall button. 
    5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the uninstallation process. 
    6. Restart your computer when prompted. 
    7. Chef Workstation should now be uninstalled from your system. 

    MacOS

    To uninstall Chef Workstation on MacOS, first open a terminal window and enter the following command: uninstall_Chef_workstation 

    Linux OS  

    Follow the steps below to uninstall Chef Workstation in Linux OS. 

    • For Ubuntu and Debian: 

    Open the terminal window and type up the following command: sudo dpkg -P Chef-workstation 

    • For Red Hat and CentOS: 

    Open the terminal window and type up the following command: sudo yum remove Chef-workstation 

    Available Versions of Chef Workstation 

    The Chef Workstation latest stable version 22.7.1006 is available for different versions of Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, macOS, Ubuntu Linux and Windows. Here is the list of all the different OS versions for a successful Chef Workstation Download.   

    For Windows OS

    WINDOWS OSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD NOW
    Windows 202222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 1122.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 201922.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 201622.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 1022.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 2012r222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 201222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Windows 822.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  

    Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Windows and then start the download afterwards. 

    For Ubuntu Linux  

    LINUX OSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD
    Ubuntu Linux 20.0422.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Ubuntu Linux 18.0422.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD
    Ubuntu Linux 16.0422.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD

    Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Ubuntu Linux and then start the download afterwards. 

    For MacOS

    MacOSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD
    macOS 1222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    macOS 1222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD
    macOS 1122.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD
    macOS 10.1522.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD

    Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of macOS and then start the download afterwards.

    For Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 8  22.7.1006  EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 722.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD

    Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS and then start the download afterwards. 

    For Debian GNU/Linux OS

    Debian GNU/Linux OSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD
    Debian GNU/Linux 1122.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  
    Debian GNU/Linux 1022.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD
    Debian GNU/Linux 922.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD

    Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Debian GNU/Linux OS and then start the download afterwards. 

    For Amazon Linux

    Amazon Linux OSLATEST VERSIONDOWNLOAD
    Amazon Linux 222.7.1006EASY DOWNLOAD  

    As you have figured out everything from installation to download of one of the best tools for DevOps- Chef, it is time to get your hands on online DevOps courses and take a step ahead in your DevOps goals.  

    Other Chef Downloads 

    Considering Chef as one of the best tools for DevOpsyou may need to download some extra Chef agents. We have provided a detailed overview along with the download links below. 

    Run-time Agents  

    Run-time agents are components installed on a server along with Chef Infra Client. They perform tasks on behalf of the Chef Infra Client, such as gathering node data, executing recipes, and reporting to the Chef Infra Server. The run-time Chef agent is written in Ruby and packaged as a Gem. It is open source and available on GitHub. In addition to the run-time agent, there are several other projects that extend the functionality of Chef Infra. These include:  

    Chef Infra Client: The Chef Infra Client is a Ruby-based application that performs all of the actual work of configuring and maintaining your nodes.  

    To download the Chef Infra Client, go to the link: https://www.Chef.io/downloads/tools/infra-client and look out for your supported OS platforms. Falling under version 17.10.3, you can make a suitable download for AIX, Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, FreeBSD, macOS, SUSE Linux, Enterprise Server, Solaris, Ubuntu Linux and Windows.

    Chef Inspec Client: A testing and auditing tool that helps verify compliance with security and policy requirements.  

    Download the Chef Inspec Client

    and make your download as per your supported OS. Falling under version 5.18.14, you can download this run-time agent for Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise, Linux/CentOS, macOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu Linux and Windows. 

    Chef Habitat:  A Chef automation platform that enables developers to build, deploy, and manage applications across any infrastructure.  

    Download this run-time agent, and choose the download option among Linux, MacOS and Windows. 

    Each of these tools provides additional functionality that can be used to further automate your infrastructure. 

    Servers and Management Tools 

    In addition to the core Chef downloads, there are several additional CM tools that can be used to manage Chef environments.  

    • Chef Automate: It provides a web-based interface for managing Chef Infra Server and all of its associated data. This tool is only compatible with Linux and for an easy download, you need to just follow this link. 
    • Chef Infra Server: This is a standalone server that provides all of the core functionality of Chef Automate, including recipe management, node management, and integration with external systems. This tool falls under the version 15.0.9. To download Chef infra server, tap on this link. Moreover, you need to choose from different OS including Amazon Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Ubuntu Linux. 
    • Chef Habitat Builder: It is one of the best configuration management tools for building and managing containers using the Habitat package manager. It includes a web-based user interface and Command line interface (CLI) for managing containers, and integrates with popular container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes and Mesosphere. To get a successful download of this tool, follow this link. Further, you need to choose the download option from Linux, macOS and Windows OS.  

    Compliance and Security Tools

    As any system administrator knows, compliance and security are essential considerations when managing any network. There are a variety of tools available to help meet these objectives, and Chef offers a comprehensive suite of products to help meet the challenges of compliance and security.   

    • Chef Cloud Security: It is designed to help organizations secure their cloud environments and meet compliance standards. It provides various features, including the ability to automatically assess and remediate compliance issues, deploy security controls, and monitor activity in the cloud. To download this security tool, follow this link and start your download.  
    • Chef Automate: This provides a central platform for managing compliance and security across your entire infrastructure. For an easy download, you just need to follow this link. 
    • Chef Infra Server: This provides a central repository for all of your compliance and security configurations. To download Chef infra server, tap on this link. 
    • Chef InSpec Client: It helps you to verify and enforce compliance policies across your network. To download the Chef Inspec Client, follow this link. 

    Deprecated Tools

    While Chef is no longer releasing new versions of its Backend and Manage tools, they are still available for download.  

    • Chef Backend: It is a server provisioning tool that allows you to manage your infrastructure automation using code. It is compatible with a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. Download this tool under version 3.1.1and choose your version of OS.  
    • Chef Manage: it is a web-based interface that provides a turnkey solution for managing your Chef infrastructure. It includes a recipe builder, node management, and role-based access control. While these tools are no longer supported by Chef, they can still be useful for managing your infrastructure. Download this tool under version 3.3.66 and choose your version of OS.  

    We have got ourselves sorted out and got Chef in your systems but becoming an expert in Chef isn't easy. We need an easy road map with comprehensive details on Chef, and the KnowledgeHut Chef Online course is the perfect solution for all such needs. Get Started today! 

    Conclusion

    Chef Workstation is a powerful tool for developers that allows you to manage your code, configure tools, files, and applications. In this post, we’ve shown you how easy it is to download and install Chef Workstation on your computer. We’ve also highlighted some of the key features of the software so you can start using it right away. If you have any questions about Chef Workstation or other developer tools, please let us know. Our team is happy to help! 

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    1Is Chef free to use?

    Chef is one of the most powerful DevOps automation tools that can help to streamline the process of provisioning and managing infrastructure. One of the key benefits of Chef is that it is free to use, making it an affordable option for businesses of all sizes. Chef is also open source, meaning that it can be customized to meet the specific needs of an organization.  

    While Chef does have a learning curve, its comprehensive documentation and growing community of users means that it is easy to get started with this tool. As a result, Chef is an excellent choice for those looking for a free and customizable solution for automating their infrastructure. 

    2How do I download Chef client?

    In order to download the Chef client, you will need to visit the Chef website and create an account. Once you have created an account, you will be able to log in and access the client software. Download the appropriate version of the software for your operating system, and then follow the instructions to install it on your computer. After the installation is complete, you will be able to use Chef to manage your infrastructure. 

    3How do I find my Chef version in Windows?

    There are a few ways to find your Chef version in Windows. One way is to open the Command Prompt and type "Chef-v". This will return the version number of your Chef installation. Another way is to open the Chef Management Console and select "About Chef". This will display the installed version of Chef as well as your server's hostname and IP address.  

    If you need more detailed information about your installation, you can also view the "Chef-client" log file. This file is located in the "log" directory of your Chef installation. The log file will contain information about every time the Chef-client runs, including the version number. 

    4Is Chef a DevOps tool?

    Chef is a configuration management tool that is commonly used in DevOps pipelines. It helps to automate the provisioning and configuration of infrastructure, as well as the deployment and orchestration of applications. Chef can be used to manage both on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure.  

    One of the key benefits of Chef is its flexibility; it can be used to manage almost any type of infrastructure, from physical servers to virtual machines and containers. Additionally, Chef has a wide range of plugins and integrations that make it easy to use in a variety of DevOps toolchains. For these reasons, Chef is often considered to be a key DevOps tool. 

    5Which one is better: Chef or Puppet?

    Both Chef and Puppet are popular options that can help you automate the process of provisioning, configuring, and managing servers. Chef is a Ruby-based tool that uses declarative language to describe infrastructure. This makes it extremely flexible, but it can also be complex to learn and use. In contrast, Puppet is a PHP-based tool that uses a procedural language. This makes it simpler to use than Chef, but it can be less flexible as a result. 

    When choosing between these two options, it's important to consider your own needs and preferences. If you're looking for a tool that is relatively easy to use and doesn't require a lot of learning, Puppet may be the better choice. However, if you're willing to put in the time to learn a more complex tool and you need more flexibility in your configurations, Chef may be the better option. 

    Profile

    Abhresh Sugandhi

    Author

    Abhresh is specialized as a corporate trainer, He has a decade of experience in technical training blended with virtual webinars and instructor-led session created courses, tutorials, and articles for organizations. He is also the founder of Nikasio.com, which offers multiple services in technical training, project consulting, content development, etc.

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