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Frequently asked questions

Here are the key details about Infra Sync Tracker:

About Infra Sync Tracker​

What is Infra Sync Tracker?​

Infra Sync Tracker is an open-source platform that enables infrastructure as code by providing a unified system to model, store, version, validate, and generate infrastructure data and configurations. It acts as a centralized source of truth for all infrastructure resources across an organization.

What are the main features and capabilities?​

  • User-Defined Schema: Build and update data models to support business requirements for infrastructure resources.
  • Unified Storage: Version control for data and files
  • Versioning: Track current state and future intended state of the infrastructure with built-in peer review and a CI pipeline for validation.
  • Immutable Database: Go back in time to view the state of infrastructure at any point.
  • Artifact Generation: Transform infrastructure data into any format (text configurations, XML, JSON, etc.) using generators and templates.
  • Data Lineage: View the source and owner for each piece of infrastructure data.
  • Multiple interfaces for each team and need:
    • Web UI: View and manage all infrastructure data, configurations, and CI/CD pipelines through a user interface.
    • Query Engine: Powerful API and support for GraphQL and REST to query and retrieve infrastructure data.
  • Git Integration: File storage for code and templates
  • Integrations: Integrations with tools like NetBox, Nautobot, Ansible, and Nornir. Ability to build custom integrations.
  • Python SDK: Programmatically interact with Infra Sync Tracker using a Python SDK.

For more information, see our Infra Sync Tracker overview.

I’m just getting started with infrastructure automation. Do I need Infra Sync Tracker?​

If you're new to infrastructure automation, Infra Sync Tracker can be a valuable tool to help you manage and automate your infrastructure resources without having to learn and assemble multiple automation tools into a workable system.

It provides a centralized platform to define, version, and generate your infrastructure configurations, making it easier to achieve the goals of automation without the significant up-front effort.

Please see our Getting Started tutorial to learn how to use Infra Sync Tracker.

How can I spin up a instance of Infra Sync Tracker to see it in action?​

You can test out Infra Sync Tracker via:

Always-On Sandbox - Instantly login to the UI of a demo environment of Infra Sync Tracker with sample data pre-loaded.

For longer term tests, you can deploy a local instance of Infra Sync Tracker by referring to our guide: Installing Infra Sync Tracker

Where can I deploy Infra Sync Tracker?​

Infra Sync Tracker is a platform-agnostic solution that can be deployed in various environments, including:

  • Cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
  • On-premises data centers
  • Kubernetes clusters (via Helm charts)
  • Docker containers (using Docker Compose)

The specific system requirements may vary depending on the deployment environment and the scale of your infrastructure.

In the future, we plan to offer a managed Cloud SaaS offering of Infra Sync Tracker. Please subscribe to our mailing list to stay updated.

Installation and deployment​

To install and set up Infra Sync Tracker:

  1. Download the latest version of Infra Sync Tracker from the GitHub repository
  2. Deploy: Deploy Infra Sync Tracker using the appropriate method for your environment such as Docker Compose, Helm charts, or building locally.

Detailed installation guides and tutorials are available in Installing Infra Sync Tracker guide.

I deployed Infra Sync Tracker, now what?​

After deploying Infra Sync Tracker, you can start using it to manage your infrastructure resources. Here are some common initial steps:

  • Load Schema: Define your infrastructure data model by loading a schema into Infra Sync Tracker. This schema will define the structure and relationships of your infrastructure resources.
  • Load Data: Populate Infra Sync Tracker with your existing infrastructure data, either manually or by importing from other sources.
  • Inventory: Use Infra Sync Tracker's inventory capabilities to view and manage your infrastructure resources based on the loaded data.

How do I load my own schema into Infra Sync Tracker?​

Infra Sync Tracker allows you to load custom schemas to define your infrastructure data model. Currently, you can load schemas using the following methods:

  • CLI and SDK: Use the Infra Sync Tracker command-line interface (CLI) or the Python SDK to load and manage schemas programmatically.
  • Frontend (Coming Soon): A user-friendly web interface for managing schemas is planned for future releases.

What is the status of the project?​

Infra Sync Tracker is production-ready and has been deployed in a number of organizations as a central component of their automation workflows.

How much data can Infra Sync Tracker handle right now?​

The current data handling capabilities of Infra Sync Tracker are still being actively developed and tested. If you have specific requirements or want to assess Infra Sync Tracker's performance and scalability in your environment, please reach out to the team at [email protected] or through the Discord server.

Can I deploy Infra Sync Tracker in production?​

Yes, Infra Sync Tracker can be deployed in production.

If you are planning to deploy Infra Sync Tracker in a critical environment we recommend reaching out to our customer success team via Discord or [email protected].

How can I get involved?​

We develop Infra Sync Tracker for customers and with the community. There are a few different ways to get involved with Infra Sync Tracker:

  • As you use Infra Sync Tracker, please submit bugs and feature requests.
  • Reach out to OpsMill on Discord and set up a user feedback session to share your thoughts with us.
  • If you are a developer, we are open to pull requests. Please first discuss your intentions via GitHub Discussions and send a pull request our way to fix it.

Please see our development docs for a guide to getting started developing for Infra Sync Tracker.

We maintain a list of issues that are appropriate to newcomers to the Infra Sync Tracker development community. This is a great place to get started!

How do I get help with Infra Sync Tracker?​

If you need assistance with Infra Sync Tracker, you can reach out to the community and the development team through the following channels:

  • Discord: Join the Infra Sync Tracker Discord server to ask questions, get support, and engage with other users.
  • GitHub Issues: Submit issues or questions on the Infra Sync Tracker GitHub repository (https://github.com/opsmill/infrahub/issues).

Is there a paid support option or an Enterprise version of Infra Sync Tracker?​

Yes! Infra Sync Tracker Enterprise is deployed in diverse infrastructure environments with 24/7 support. Contact us at opsmill.com for more information about Infra Sync Tracker Enterprise.

I have generated my configurations with Infra Sync Tracker, how can I deploy them to my devices?​

Infra Sync Tracker is designed to be the source of truth for your infrastructure data and configurations. It does not directly connect to or deploy configurations to your infrastructure devices. Instead, Infra Sync Tracker integrates with tools like Nornir, Terraform and Ansible, which can be used to deploy the generated configurations to your infrastructure.

Please see the documentation on integrations for more information.

Does Infra Sync Tracker send telemetry? And how can I disable it?​

Infra Sync Tracker collects anonymous usage metrics and sends them to OpsMill servers for analysis and improvement purposes. No personally identifiable information is collected. If you prefer to opt-out of telemetry collection, you can do so by setting the INFRAHUB_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT environment variable to true:

export INFRAHUB_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=true

What telemetry does Infra Sync Tracker send?​

The following information is included in telemetry:

  • Infra Sync Tracker version
  • Platform information
  • Anonymous counters about the graph and the schema

This information is used as aggregated analysis to better understand what and how to improve the project. All information collected are anonymous and the implementation is open source on GitHub.

About OpsMill​

Who is behind this project?​

Infra Sync Tracker is sponsored and developed by OpsMill, a startup focused on infrastructure management. The OpsMill team is distributed across Europe and the United States, with members who have extensive experience in managing infrastructure and building automation solutions.

You can learn more about the OpsMill team and the company on our website: https://www.opsmill.com/about-us

Why is OpsMill’s mascot an Otter?​

Otters are really cool, and they are considered a keystone species, meaning they have a disproportionately large impact on their natural environment relative to their representation.

Similarly, Infra Sync Tracker aims to be a keystone platform for managing and automating infrastructure, providing a central and influential role in shaping and maintaining your infrastructure ecosystem.

What is the name of the otter?​

otto

The OpsMill’s mascot is an otter named Otto.

You can send fan mail to Otto at [email protected]!

Can Infra Sync Tracker make me as cool as Tony Stark?​

Almost! You’ll definitely feel like a tech genius managing your infrastructure with Infra Sync Tracker!

Made it this far? We'd love to hear from you​

If you've made it this far, please feel free to reach out on the Discord server to share your thoughts or schedule a customer interview session. The Infra Sync Tracker team is always eager to receive feedback and engage with the community.