4

There are a lot of tools (chef, puppet, juju) out there to automate server deployments and set ups.

How can these be used for automating my laptop set up? I want to be able to do nothing but run a command and sit back while everything is installed and configured.

Also if there are any tools specific to laptops then please mention them too.

Please mention GUI or text based software.

Thanks.

-- EDIT -- An explanation to "I want to be able to do nothing but run a command and sit back while everything is installed and configured."

What I want is to be able to script out the Installation of all software on my PC with a minimum manual effort.

This script should also be compatible across installations (like 13.04 or 12.04).

If I want to run both versions of Ubuntu, then I should be able to install something(including adding additional PPAs) in one version(say 13.04), modify the auto installer and when I switch to the other version(say 12.04), I just run this auto installer and the software is installed, relevant PPAs added and the configuration files get picked up from my previous saved state. (The config files will depend on whether supported by the software, but it would be a great bonus)

Another use case would be an OS re install. Getting everything up and running with all the software that I regularly use would be a breeze.

Seth
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kapad
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2 Answers2

4

You might want to look at the Juju 'local provider', which lets you create a mini-cloud in-memory and deploy things into it with Juju. It's useful for developers who want to mock up a cloud environment on the go, with many services connected to each other, so they can test their code inside a complex system of many moving parts.

Mark Shuttleworth
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3

Take a look at Ubuntu Customization Kit.

Ubuntu Customization Kit is a tool that helps you customizing official Ubuntu Live CDs (including Kubuntu/Xubuntu and Edubuntu) to your needs. You can add any package to the live system, for example language packs, or applications.

Source:Sourceforge

Mitch
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