Once you’re managing more than a handful of Linux/UNIX boxes, a tool that lets you run commands on multiple hosts becomes pretty handy. When you’re responsible for dozens or more, such a tool is an indispensable productivity enhancer.

rshall makes it easy to run commands on many Linux or UNIX hosts on a network. The commands run in parallel, so output returns quickly and changes are nearly simultaneous. rshall has been in use for over ten years in a variety of environments, and is regularly used to administer hundreds of machines at a time. It’s great for ad hoc information gathering, and for making changes in the absence of a centralized configuration management system. It can also distribute files over a network, and supports running parallel MySQL queries to multiple database servers.

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Leon has been using and administering UNIX systems since 1990, and been employed as a full-time sysadmin since 1995. While he’s worked extensively with Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, Mac OS X, and too many others to name, lately he’s been spending a lot of time with Linux working for Intelius in Bellevue, WA.

As always, there will be dinner sponsored by Silicon Mechanics. Check them out at http://www.siliconmechanics.com/

There will also be several CACert assurers present.

The meeting will be at the Electrical Engineering building on the
University of Washington Campus, aka EE1. Directions are linked to the
EE Department’s web site above. Parking is $5 after 5pm.