--- tags: - devops - l1 - flashcard-deck - ansible --- [Portal](../../../../library/portal/index.md) | **Level:** [L1: Foundations](../../../../library/portal/levels.md) | **Topics:** [Ansible](../../../../library/portal/topics.md) | **Domain:** DevOps & Tooling id category difficulty tags question answer source_path saltstack/0390471f5bfd saltstack hard saltstack,beacons,reactor,monitoring Discuss the role of SaltStack beacons in real-time monitoring. Beacons monitor minion system events (file changes, load, service status) in real-time and emit events to the Salt Master. Combined with reactors, they enable automated responses. Example: an inotify beacon watches file changes and triggers a reactor to enforce state.\n\nRemember: "Salt = fast remote execution + config management." The master-minion architecture uses ZeroMQ for speed.\n\nFun fact: Salt can manage 10,000+ minions from a single master due to its async message bus. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/046-discuss-the-role-of-saltstack-beacons-in-real-time.txt saltstack/097e58491e3e saltstack hard saltstack,security,encryption How can you secure communication between Salt Master and Minions? Salt uses AES-256 encryption for all master-minion communication over ZeroMQ. Key management: minions send public keys to master, admin accepts via salt-key. Enable require_auth and rotate keys periodically. Use salt-call --local for testing without master trust.\n\nExample: salt '*' test.ping — pings all minions. salt 'web*' cmd.run 'uptime' — runs uptime on web servers.\n\nRemember: "salt 'target' module.function 'args' — that's the basic pattern." projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/019-how-can-you-secure-communication-between-salt-mast.txt saltstack/09da93229763 saltstack medium saltstack,states,service-management How does SaltStack handle service management and system restarts? Salt manages services via the service state module: service.running ensures a service is up, service.dead stops it, service.enabled controls boot behavior. Use watch to restart services when config files change.\n\nRemember: "SLS = SaLt State file." Written in YAML, defines desired state. Like Puppet manifests or Ansible playbooks. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/025-how-does-saltstack-handle-service-management-and-s.txt saltstack/0df149731f7c saltstack hard saltstack,authentication,security Describe SaltStack's external authentication mechanisms. Salt supports external auth (salt-api, LDAP, PAM) via the external_auth config. Map external users/groups to Salt functions. Also supports token-based auth for salt-api and eauth for CLI.\n\nRemember: "Grains = static facts (like Facter), Pillars = dynamic secrets (like Hiera)."\n\nExample: salt '*' grains.item os shows each minion's OS. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/034-describe-saltstacks-external-authentication-mechan.txt saltstack/1516615f2920 saltstack medium saltstack,execution,states Describe SaltStack's support for remote execution and state enforcement. Remote execution runs ad-hoc commands across minions (salt '*' cmd.run 'uptime'). State enforcement applies declarative configs from SLS files (salt '*' state.apply). Execution is imperative and one-off; states are idempotent and converge to desired state.\n\nExample: top.sls maps states to minions by target. base: 'web*': - webserver; 'db*': - database.\n\nRemember: "top.sls = Salt's entry point. It says who gets what." projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/021-describe-saltstacks-support-for-remote-execution-a.txt saltstack/1b64317c5524 saltstack easy saltstack,execution,modules What is SaltStack's execution module? Execution modules are Python modules that define functions callable on minions via salt commands. They run ad-hoc tasks like pkg.install, service.restart, cmd.run. List available modules with salt '*' sys.list_modules. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/009-what-is-saltstacks-execution-module.txt saltstack/227adeacaad4 saltstack hard saltstack,performance,troubleshooting Discuss the impact of SaltStack changes on system performance during a run. Salt runs can impact performance through: CPU spikes during state compilation (especially with Jinja rendering), I/O from package installs or file operations, and network load from pillar/file transfers. Mitigate with batch mode (--batch-size), async execution, and avoiding unnecessary Jinja complexity. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/044-discuss-the-impact-of-saltstack-changes-on-system-.txt saltstack/24be4b9d896a saltstack hard saltstack,migration,troubleshooting What are the considerations for migrating from SaltStack 2019 to later versions? Key migration considerations: check deprecated modules/states, test states in dev first, review changelog for breaking changes, update formulas and custom modules, verify ZeroMQ compatibility, test pillar/grain behavior, and run salt-call state.show_sls to preview changes before applying. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/051-what-are-the-considerations-for-migrating-from-sal.txt saltstack/24cf1190789d saltstack easy saltstack,installation,setup How do you install SaltStack on a system? Install Salt master: pip install salt or use repo packages (apt/yum). Configure /etc/salt/master (interface, file_roots, pillar_roots). Install minion: set master address in /etc/salt/minion. Start services, accept minion keys with salt-key -A. Verify with salt '*' test.ping. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/010-how-do-you-install-saltstack-on-a-system.txt saltstack/2a1e13d8e24c saltstack easy saltstack,grains,targeting Explain the concept of grains in SaltStack. Grains are static data about a minion collected at startup: OS, CPU, memory, network, kernel. Used for targeting (salt -G 'os:Ubuntu' test.ping) and in state/pillar conditionals. Custom grains can be defined in /etc/salt/grains or grain modules. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/008-explain-the-concept-of-grains-in-saltstack.txt saltstack/2ae3144d7856 saltstack medium saltstack,masterless,architecture How can you implement SaltStack in a masterless (standalone) mode? Masterless mode runs salt-call --local on each minion without a central master. States and pillars are stored locally. Useful for: isolated systems, bootstrapping, CI/CD pipelines, or environments where a central master is impractical. Configure file_client: local in minion config. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/033-how-can-you-implement-saltstack-in-a-masterless-st.txt saltstack/2b118b48ebe9 saltstack medium saltstack,wheel,runners What is SaltStack's wheel system, and how is it used? The wheel system provides master-side management functions: key management (wheel.key.accept), config management, and file server operations. Called via salt-run or salt-api. Unlike execution modules (run on minions), wheel modules run on the master itself. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/038-what-is-saltstacks-wheel-system-and-how-is-it-used.txt saltstack/2db0fa27eecc saltstack hard saltstack,testing,development How can you implement SaltStack code testing and linting in a development workflow? Test Salt code with: salt-call --local state.show_sls for syntax checks, kitchen-salt for integration testing, pytest-salt for unit tests, salt-lint for style checking. CI pipeline: lint -> render -> test.apply (dry-run) -> full apply in disposable environment. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/053-how-can-you-implement-saltstack-code-testing-and-l.txt saltstack/34714a5a8c6b saltstack easy saltstack,states,packages How can you use SaltStack to manage package installations across multiple systems? Use the pkg state module to manage packages: pkg.installed ensures presence, pkg.latest ensures newest version, pkg.removed uninstalls. Works across OS families (apt, yum, zypper). Supports single packages or pkgs list for multiples. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/022-how-can-you-use-saltstack-to-manage-package-instal.txt saltstack/47aa5794c6f5 saltstack easy saltstack,beacons,monitoring Explain the purpose of SaltStack beacons. Beacons are minion-side monitors that watch system events (file changes, disk usage, service status, load) and emit events to the Salt event bus. They enable real-time monitoring without polling from the master. Configure in minion config or via beacon states. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/012-explain-the-purpose-of-saltstack-beacons.txt saltstack/482ca68978cf saltstack medium saltstack,mine,data-sharing What is the SaltStack Mine system, and how is it used? The mine system lets minions publish data to the master that other minions can query. \nExample: publish network IPs so a load balancer minion can auto-configure backends. Set mine_functions in minion config, query with mine.get. Updates on mine_interval. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/016-what-is-the-saltstack-mine-system-and-how-is-it-us.txt saltstack/4b7186d749ab saltstack medium saltstack,states,requisites How does Salt handle dependencies between states? Salt handles state dependencies with requisites: require (run after dependency succeeds), watch (run after dependency changes, triggers restart), onchanges (only run if dependency made changes), onfail (run if dependency fails). States without requisites run in file order.\n\nRemember: "Salt reactor = event-driven automation." When events match patterns, reactor runs states or commands.\n\nExample: A minion coming online triggers a reactor that applies its highstate. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/014-how-does-salt-handle-dependencies-between-states.txt saltstack/4c881aecb9f5 saltstack medium saltstack,states,file-management How does SaltStack handle system-level configuration files? Salt manages config files via file.managed (deploy from master), file.append, file.replace, and file.serialize. Use Jinja templates for dynamic content with pillar/grain data. Templates referenced as salt://path/to/file.jinja with template: jinja. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/037-how-does-saltstack-handle-system-level-configurati.txt saltstack/5a949f59afc1 saltstack easy saltstack,overview,architecture What is SaltStack and how does it manage infrastructure at scale? SaltStack is a Python-based infrastructure automation tool using a master-minion architecture over ZeroMQ. It provides remote execution, configuration management (states), and event-driven automation. Key components: master, minions, grains, pillars, states, and the event bus. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/001-what-is-saltstack.txt saltstack/5d5813206d3b saltstack medium saltstack,jinja,templating Discuss the use of SaltStack with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. Jinja is Salt's default templating engine for SLS files. Use {{ grains.os }} or {{ pillar.get('key', 'default') }} for dynamic values. Supports conditionals, loops, and filters. Avoid heavy Jinja logic; prefer pillar data and simple conditionals. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/049-discuss-the-use-of-saltstack-with-continuous-integ.txt saltstack/630c040f0969 saltstack easy saltstack,targeting,matching Describe the architecture of a large-scale SaltStack deployment. Target minions using: glob (salt '*web*'), regex (-E), grain (-G 'os:CentOS'), pillar (-I 'role:web'), compound (-C 'G@os:Ubuntu and web*'), nodegroups, or IP ranges (-S '192.168.1.0/24'). Compound targeting combines multiple match types. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/041-describe-the-architecture-of-a-large-scale-saltsta.txt saltstack/69ab7c4cba0a saltstack medium saltstack,orchestration,runners What are SaltStack formulas, and how do they promote reusability? The orchestrate runner (state.orchestrate) coordinates multi-minion workflows from the master. Unlike regular states, it runs sequentially across multiple minions with ordering control. \nExample: upgrade DB servers first, then app servers, then LBs. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/013-what-are-saltstack-formulas-and-how-do-they-promot.txt saltstack/6b77cd6be4ad saltstack easy saltstack,states,sls What is the purpose of the Salt Pillar? Salt states are YAML+Jinja SLS files declaring desired system state. They're organized in the file_roots directory (default /srv/salt/). Apply with salt '*' state.apply or state.highstate. States use modules like pkg, file, service, user, and are idempotent by design. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/006-what-is-the-purpose-of-the-salt-pillar.txt saltstack/6d6d802c5ed4 saltstack hard saltstack,reactor,events How does SaltStack handle custom states for unique system configurations? The reactor system responds to events on the Salt event bus by triggering actions. Configure in master config with event tag patterns mapped to reactor SLS files. Use cases: auto-accept keys, remediate alerts, trigger deploys on git push. Reactor SLS files use local/runner/wheel calls. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/055-how-does-saltstack-handle-custom-states-for-unique.txt saltstack/6e9d495a5ab5 saltstack easy saltstack,pillars,data Explain the use of SaltStack states for managing users and groups. Pillars are secure, minion-specific data stored on the master (/srv/pillar/). Unlike grains (minion-generated), pillars are master-defined and only sent to targeted minions. Use for passwords, API keys, per-environment configs. Access via {{ pillar['key'] }} in states. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/039-explain-the-use-of-saltstack-states-for-managing-u.txt saltstack/717b37489d33 saltstack medium saltstack,runners,master Explain the SaltStack Salt API and its role in remote execution. Runners execute on the salt master (not minions) via salt-run. Built-in runners: manage.status (check minion connectivity), jobs.active (list running jobs), state.orchestrate (multi-minion workflows). Custom runners go in /srv/salt/_runners/.\n\nRemember: "salt-ssh = agentless Salt." No minion needed — uses SSH like Ansible. Useful for bootstrapping or locked-down environments.\n\nExample: salt-ssh '*' state.apply runs states over SSH. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/054-explain-the-saltstack-salt-api-and-its-role-in-rem.txt saltstack/72e41491b6ef saltstack medium saltstack,states,environments Describe SaltStack's integration with version control systems like Git. Salt environments map to different file_roots paths. Minions are assigned via environment config or targeting. Use for separating dev/staging/prod state trees and pillar data. Each environment has its own top.sls. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/029-describe-saltstacks-integration-with-version-contr.txt saltstack/72fe1c301cb4 saltstack easy saltstack,grains,system-info Explain the SaltStack state requisites system. Grains are auto-detected minion metadata: OS, kernel, CPU, memory, IPs, virtualization type. View all grains with salt '*' grains.items. Set custom grains in /etc/salt/grains file or via grains.setval. Refreshed on minion restart or saltutil.sync_grains. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/036-explain-the-saltstack-state-requisites-system.txt saltstack/75c5d0dab8f3 saltstack hard saltstack,troubleshooting,debugging Explain the use of SaltStack runners for managing complex tasks. Debug Salt issues with: salt-call --local -l debug state.apply for verbose output, salt-run manage.status for connectivity, salt '*' test.ping for reachability. Check /var/log/salt/ logs. Common issues: key mismatches, ZeroMQ timeouts, pillar render errors, minion cache staleness. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/031-explain-the-use-of-saltstack-runners-for-managing-.txt saltstack/77f81e18c572 saltstack medium saltstack,pillars,targeting Explain the concept of SaltStack's file server backends. Pillar data is assigned to minions via top.sls in /srv/pillar/. Access in states with pillar.get('key', 'default'). Refresh with saltutil.refresh_pillar. Pillar data is encrypted in transit and only sent to matching minions. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/018-explain-the-concept-of-saltstacks-file-server-back.txt saltstack/7a1aec2e6d3a saltstack hard saltstack,salt-cloud,provisioning How does SaltStack handle file content updates without replacing the entire file? Salt Cloud provisions VMs across cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure, DigitalOcean). Configure profiles and providers in /etc/salt/cloud.*. Provision with salt-cloud -p profile_name vm_name. Auto-installs minion and connects to master. Supports maps for multi-VM deploys. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/040-how-does-saltstack-handle-file-content-updates-wit.txt saltstack/7b4552d487d6 saltstack easy saltstack,architecture,master-minion What is SaltStack's role in managing cloud infrastructure? Salt master manages the infrastructure, stores states/pillars, and issues commands. Minions are agents on managed nodes that execute commands and report back. Communication uses ZeroMQ (pub/sub + req/rep). Master publishes, minions with matching targets execute and return results. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/026-what-is-saltstacks-role-in-managing-cloud-infrastr.txt saltstack/8e68ad91be5f saltstack medium saltstack,salt-ssh,agentless What is a Salt state file? Salt SSH provides agentless execution over SSH without requiring minion installation. Configure targets in /etc/salt/roster. Supports states and execution modules but is slower than ZeroMQ transport. Useful for bootstrapping, network devices, or restricted environments. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/003-what-is-a-salt-state-file.txt saltstack/8f8ed42dfab6 saltstack hard saltstack,events,bus Discuss the role of SaltStack states in creating high-level abstractions. Salt's event bus (ZeroMQ) carries all system events: job returns, minion start/stop, auth events, beacon emissions. Monitor with salt-run state.event pretty=True. Custom events via event.send. The reactor system subscribes to event tags for automated responses. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/032-discuss-the-role-of-saltstack-states-in-creating-h.txt saltstack/949c704ed87a saltstack easy saltstack,formulas,reuse Explain the difference between SaltStack and other configuration management tools. Salt formulas are pre-written, reusable state collections for common software (Apache, MySQL, Docker). Available on GitHub (saltstack-formulas). Install by cloning into file_roots. Configure via pillar data. Follow conventions: init.sls, map.jinja, pillar.example. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/002-explain-the-difference-between-saltstack-and-other.txt saltstack/95546fdbd662 saltstack medium saltstack,file-server,distribution How does SaltStack handle orchestration and job management? Salt's built-in file server distributes files from master to minions. Supports multiple backends: roots (local filesystem), git (gitfs), S3, and svn. Files referenced in states as salt://path/to/file. Use gitfs for version-controlled state/pillar management. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/017-how-does-saltstack-handle-orchestration-and-job-ma.txt saltstack/969b6ce16ada saltstack hard saltstack,scaling,architecture Explain the SaltStack External File Server (EFS) and its use cases. Scale Salt with: syndic masters (hierarchical topology), multiple file/pillar roots, salt-api for REST access, async/batch execution, gitfs for distributed state management, and tuning worker_threads and ZeroMQ settings. For 10k+ minions, consider syndic or salt-proxy architecture. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/045-explain-the-saltstack-external-file-server-efs-and.txt saltstack/97d1c0d47e48 saltstack medium saltstack,returners,data Explain SaltStack's grains filtering and targeting mechanisms. Returners send minion job results to external systems instead of (or in addition to) the master. Built-in returners: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, syslog, Slack. Useful for centralized logging, monitoring integration, and audit trails. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/048-explain-saltstacks-grains-filtering-and-targeting-.txt saltstack/9dd0a0b63861 saltstack easy saltstack,jobs,execution How can you extend SaltStack functionality using custom grains and modules? Salt jobs are remote execution tasks tracked by a JID (Job ID). View active jobs: salt-run jobs.active. View results: salt-run jobs.lookup_jid . List recent: salt-run jobs.list_jobs. Jobs run async by default. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/028-how-can-you-extend-saltstack-functionality-using-c.txt saltstack/a11481a387f9 saltstack medium saltstack,proxy-minions,network How does Salt handle target specification for remote execution? Proxy minions manage devices that can't run a regular minion (network switches, IoT, APIs). The proxy process runs on a separate host and translates Salt commands to device-specific protocols (NETCONF, REST, SSH). Configure with proxytype in pillar data. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/007-how-does-salt-handle-target-specification-for-remo.txt saltstack/aaa9658508dc saltstack easy saltstack,nodegroups,targeting What is the SaltStack Reactor system? Nodegroups are named sets of minions defined in master config for convenient targeting. Target with salt -N webservers state.apply. Supports compound matching syntax combining grains, globs, and lists.\n\nRemember: "Orchestrate = multi-minion coordination." salt-run state.orchestrate runs states across minions in order.\n\nExample: Rolling restart: update web1, verify health, then web2, verify health. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/011-what-is-the-saltstack-reactor-system.txt saltstack/aabe9246062f saltstack hard saltstack,troubleshooting,performance What is SaltStack's top file, and how is it used? Debug slow Salt runs: enable -l debug logging, check state.show_highstate for state count, profile Jinja rendering, check pillar size (large pillars slow compilation). Network: test ZeroMQ connectivity, check firewall (ports 4505/4506), verify DNS. Use salt-run manage.status for unresponsive minions. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/023-what-is-saltstacks-top-file-and-how-is-it-used.txt saltstack/ae627c1ed36b saltstack medium saltstack,jinja,macros How does Salt ensure idempotence in configurations? Jinja macros create reusable template functions in Salt SLS files. Also use map.jinja pattern for OS-specific package/config mappings. Import with {% from 'map.jinja' import config %}. Keeps state files DRY and maintainable. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/004-how-does-salt-ensure-idempotence-in-configurations.txt saltstack/af4a16489dfc saltstack hard saltstack,highstate,orchestration How does SaltStack support multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments? Highstate applies all states from top.sls to matching minions (salt '*' state.highstate). Orchestration (state.orchestrate) coordinates across multiple minions with ordering. \nKey difference: highstate is per-minion convergence; orchestration is master-controlled multi-minion workflow. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/047-how-does-saltstack-support-multi-cloud-or-hybrid-c.txt saltstack/bea5496256e8 saltstack medium saltstack,top-file,targeting Explain how SaltStack supports event-driven automation. top.sls maps minions to states using targeting (glob, grain, pillar, compound). Multiple environments can have separate top files. Applied via state.highstate. Defines which states apply to which minions. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/027-explain-how-saltstack-supports-event-driven-automa.txt saltstack/c0792c9e9a4a saltstack easy saltstack,modules,types Explain the SaltStack reactor system and its role in event-driven automation. Salt module types: Execution (run on minions: pkg, service, cmd), State (declarative desired state), Runner (run on master), Wheel (master management), Returner (send results externally), Grain (custom minion data), Renderer (template engines). projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/043-explain-the-saltstack-reactor-system-and-its-role-.txt saltstack/c62f12678bee saltstack medium saltstack,gitfs,version-control Describe the Salt Master and Salt Minion components. GitFS serves Salt states directly from git repos. Branches/tags map to Salt environments. Configure gitfs_remotes in master config. Enables GitOps workflow: push to repo, Salt picks up changes automatically. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/005-describe-the-salt-master-and-salt-minion-component.txt saltstack/cd74b53d0be3 saltstack hard saltstack,custom-modules,development How can you implement SaltStack in a high availability (HA) configuration? Write custom execution modules in Python, place in /srv/salt/_modules/. Sync to minions with saltutil.sync_modules. Test with salt-call --local my_module.my_function arg. Same pattern for custom states, grains, returners, and runners. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/042-how-can-you-implement-saltstack-in-a-high-availabi.txt saltstack/cdff9271e2aa saltstack easy saltstack,salt-key,authentication Explain the role of SaltStack's external pillars. salt-key manages minion authentication keys: -L (list all), -A (accept all pending), -a (accept specific), -d (delete), -r (reject). Keys stored in /etc/salt/pki/. Minions must be accepted before they can receive commands. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/024-explain-the-role-of-saltstacks-external-pillars.txt saltstack/df079f1481ce saltstack medium saltstack,scheduling,automation What is SaltStack's Minion configuration file, and what parameters can be configured? Salt's schedule system runs states or functions at defined intervals on minions or master. Configured in minion/master config or via pillar. Enables periodic enforcement without external cron. \nExample: run highstate every 24 hours. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/035-what-is-saltstacks-minion-configuration-file-and-w.txt saltstack/e85155a893e2 saltstack hard saltstack,multi-master,ha Explain how SaltStack integrates with other DevOps tools in the toolchain. Multi-master setup provides HA: minions connect to multiple masters. All masters share the same keys, file_roots, and pillar data (use gitfs or shared storage). Failover is automatic. Not active-active for jobs; use syndic for hierarchical scaling. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/050-explain-how-saltstack-integrates-with-other-devops.txt saltstack/eb0c423cef06 saltstack medium saltstack,output,formatting How does SaltStack handle orchestration across multiple environments? Salt supports multiple output formats: nested (default), json, yaml, txt, table, pprint. Specify with --out flag. Useful for scripting and integration. Custom outputters can be written as Python modules. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/030-how-does-saltstack-handle-orchestration-across-mul.txt saltstack/f7811756b681 saltstack easy saltstack,test-mode,dry-run Describe SaltStack's support for conditional execution of states. Test mode (dry-run) shows what Salt would change without applying: salt '*' state.apply test=True. Reports each state as would-be-changed or already-correct. Essential for validating changes before production runs. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/015-describe-saltstacks-support-for-conditional-execut.txt saltstack/fea3ad415c4b saltstack medium saltstack,windows,cross-platform What is SaltStack's runner system, and how does it differ from execution modules? Salt supports Windows minions with Windows-specific modules: win_pkg, win_service, win_firewall, win_iis. Install via MSI or bootstrap script. States work cross-platform; Salt auto-selects correct module. Use grains for OS-specific conditionals. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/020-what-is-saltstacks-runner-system-and-how-does-it-d.txt saltstack/ff9fc0c2b1ed saltstack hard saltstack,salt-api,rest Discuss SaltStack's approach to handling secrets and sensitive data securely. salt-api exposes Salt functionality via REST API (CherryPy or Tornado). Enable in master config, configure authentication (eauth/tokens). Endpoints: /login, /minions, / (run commands), /events (SSE stream). Useful for web UIs, CI/CD integration, and external tool automation. projects/knowledge/interview/saltstack/052-discuss-saltstacks-approach-to-handling-secrets-an.txt --- ## Wiki Navigation ### Related Content - [Ansible Automation](../../../../library/topics/ansible/index.md) (Topic Pack, L1) — Ansible - Ansible Core Flashcards *(CLI)* (flashcard_deck, L1) — Ansible - [Ansible Deep Dive](../../../../library/topics/ansible-deep-dive/index.md) (Topic Pack, L2) — Ansible - [Ansible Drills](../../../../library/drills/ansible_drills.md) (Drill, L1) — Ansible - Ansible Exercises (Quest Ladder) *(CLI)* (Exercise Set, L1) — Ansible - Ansible Lab: Conditionals and Loops *(CLI)* (Lab, L1) — Ansible - Ansible Lab: Facts and Variables *(CLI)* (Lab, L0) — Ansible - Ansible Lab: Install Nginx (Idempotency) *(CLI)* (Lab, L1) — Ansible - Ansible Lab: Ping and Debug *(CLI)* (Lab, L0) — Ansible - Ansible Lab: Roles *(CLI)* (Lab, L1) — Ansible