Opscode Chef Client

Chef is a system and cloud infrastructure automation framework that makes it easy to deploy servers and applications to any physical, virtual, or cloud location, no matter the size of the infrastructure.

The chef-client relies on abstract definitions (known as cookbooks and recipes) that are written in Ruby and are managed like source code. Each definition describes how a specific part of your infrastructure should be built and managed. The chef-client then applies those definitions to servers and applications, as specified, resulting in a fully automated infrastructure. When a new node is brought online, the only thing the chef-client needs to know is which cookbooks and recipes to apply.