Bash scripting for server automation

Three servers you can manage by hand. Twenty servers across three environments? Manual deployment is a full day’s work and a source of errors. Bash scripts are the simplest path to automation.

Deployment script¶

Downloads an artifact from Nexus, stops Tomcat on each server, copies the WAR file, starts it, runs a health check. set -euo pipefail — the script stops on the first error. The server list is in an external file.

Backup with rotation¶

Tar + gzip of configuration files. Rotation of files older than 30 days. Integrity check after creation. Failure = email alert.

Log monitoring¶

Searches for ERROR and FATAL in application logs since the last run. A state file tracks the current position. New errors are sent by email. Runs every 5 minutes via cron.

SSH multiplexing¶

SSH ControlMaster keeps a single connection open. A second SSH command is instant. On a deployment with twenty servers, this saves minutes.

Conclusion¶

Bash scripts save hours, eliminate errors and create repeatable processes. Version them in SVN and test on staging.