How to document linux server configuration?
I have about 20 linux servers which I need to document the configuration of. I do not mean the detailed configuration of services, but rather user accounts, databases, databases accounts, ip addresses, physical location, SSH port etc. etc. I know all this data is stored in config files, but I want to centralize it all. I am considering just creating a spreadsheet to record this data, but was wondering if there is something better (perhaps a small php/mysql app) which would be more structured and complete than a hacked together spreadsheet.
What do you use?
I assume this is a long term documentation effort, not just trying to capture a snapshot of the current configuration.
The wiki works now and might keep you sane for a while but if your environment changes quickly you will have a serious problem. You will always have to make sure the cron jobs are properly written, run in a timely fashion, get written for new services, are compatible with new versions of software, etc.
Consider using an configuration management tool like Puppet or Cfengine. At least put whatever data you collect under version control (like Mercurial, git, or Subversion).
Your configuration data is coming in from everywhere instead of being centralized. A wiki will always lag the current state of your machines. You need to centralize the configuration data; make it flow from the center out to the edges. But it is true that sometimes you have to go out and capture configuration data. Cfengine can do audits, Puppet might. Look at this Wikipedia article listing other configuration managers.
You might want to try cfg2html, which dumps your configuration to an HTML file, which you can then fetch at regular intervals and serve from a central server.
Next time you tweak a machine, you should install etckeeper on it first. That way you will keep a log of configuration changes.
What distro are you using? There are some quite convenient tools for managing and auditing conffiles, and they generally depend on the package manager.