what are the different configuration management tools

The popular choices for configuration management tools are Puppet, Ansible, and Chef. Even though each of these tools posess their own unique features and work in slightly different ways, they are all driven by an objective i.e to ensure the system performs in the state described by provisioning scripts.

Full Answer

How do configuration management tools actually work?

Configuration management helps engineering teams build robust and stable systems through the use of tools that automatically manage and monitor updates to configuration data. Complex software systems are composed of components that differ in granularity of size and complexity. For a more concrete example consider a microservice architecture.

What is configuration management and how does it work?

Configuration management (CM) is a governance and systems engineering process used to track and control IT resources and services across an enterprise. When properly implemented, configuration management ensures that an organization knows how its technology assets are configured and how those items relate to one another.

How to build a configuration management plan?

• Identify configuration items to be placed under government program office configuration management (CM).
• Identify the associated artifacts to be contained in the program’s technical baselines.
• Determine when in the acquisition life cycle the government program office will assume initial and full configuration control of its technical baselines.

Processes/Configuration-Management.aspx More items...

What are the best server configuration and automation tools?

The 5 Best Server Configuration Monitoring and Auditing Tools

1. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor. SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor is by far the most popular tool in our list. ...
2. Netwrix Server Auditor. Netwrix is another company that needs no introduction. ...
3. eG Enterprise Configuration and Change Monitor. ...
4. Quest Change Auditor. ...
5. Power Admin File and Directory Change Monitor. ...

What are the two configuration management tools?

Ansible and SaltStack are configuration management tools developed using Python. Ruby is typically considered a more difficult language to learn than Python.

What is the most commonly tool for configuration management nowadays 2021 )?

Many pundits consider Ansible to be the most popular configuration management tool. It provides a simple automation solution that helps IT professionals bypass time-consuming grunt work, freeing them to handle more challenging development-oriented tasks.

Which is best configuration management tool in DevOps?

Here is the list of the ten best and most popular (in no particular order) configuration management tools for DevOps.Ansible. ... Terraform. ... Chef Infra. ... Vagrant. ... TeamCity. ... Puppet Enterprise. ... Octopus Deploy. ... SaltStack.More items...

What is configuration management tools in DevOps?

What is Configuration Management? Configuration management occurs when a configuration platform is used to automate, monitor, design and manage otherwise manual configuration processes. System-wide changes take place across servers and networks, storage, applications, and other managed systems.

Is Jira a configuration management tool?

Insight is Jira Service Management's native asset and configuration management tool. It gives teams a simple and quick way to tie assets and configuration items to service requests, incidents, problems, changes, and workloads.

Is SCCM a configuration management tool?

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a Windows product that enables the management, deployment and security of devices and applications across an enterprise.

What are CI CD tools?

CI/CD is a method to frequently deliver apps to customers by introducing automation into the stages of app development. The main concepts attributed to CI/CD are continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous deployment.

Is git a configuration management tool?

Git is a foundational tool in higher-level configuration management. The following list of other configuration management tools is designed to be stored in a Git repository and leverage Git version control tracking.

Is an example of configuration management tool?

1. CFEngine. CFEngine is one of the older open source configuration management tools that provides automation configuration for huge computer systems, inclusive of the unified management of servers, systems, users, embedded networked devices, mobile devices, and more.

Which of the following is a configuration management tool?

Ansible is the best configuration management, deployment, orchestration open-source tool and also automation engine. It is a push-based configuration tool. It helps to automate the entire IT infrastructure by providing large productivity gains.

Is Jenkins a CI or CD?

Jenkins is a platform for creating a Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) environment. The system offers many different tools, languages, and automation tasks to aid in pipeline creation when developing and deploying programs.

Why do we need configuration management tools?

Configuration management tools make changes and deployments faster, remove the potential for human error, while making system management predictable and scalable. They also help you to keep track of the state of your resources, and keep you from repeating tasks, like installing the same package twice.

Is terraform a configuration management tool?

Terraform is not a configuration management tool, and it allows existing tooling to focus on their strengths: bootstrapping and initializing resources.

Is VSS a SCM tool?

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe (VSS) is a discontinued source control program oriented towards small software development projects. Like most source control systems, SourceSafe creates a virtual library of computer files....Microsoft Visual SourceSafe.Original author(s)One Tree SoftwareWebsitemsdn.microsoft.com/de-de/library/ms181038(VS.80).aspx8 more rows

Is git a software configuration management tool?

The Git-based configuration management can be set up in the Configuration management section on the Agent management dashboard.

Which three tools can you use to implement infrastructure as code?

Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and salt stack are configuration management tools to install and configure the applications on existing infrastructures.

What are the key benefits of configuration management tools?

Configuration management tools provide disaster recovery for the applications and resources they are managing, as well as help reduce downtime for...

What are the best configuration management tools?

The highest rated configuration management tools are as followsSystem Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)AnsibleBamboo

Are there free or open source configuration management tools?

In addition to proprietary configuration tools, there are also many open source solutions that businesses can implement and use for free. One of th...

What businesses can benefit most from a configuration management tool?

Configuration management tools are most popular with larger enterprises that are more likely to have a complex IT infrastructure. Despite this, a c...

What are Configuration Management Tools?

Configuration Management is a subset of systems management. Configuration management tools perform various roles to ensure consistency among physical and logical assets. These tools identify and track configuration items and document functional dependencies. These tools are invaluable for understanding the impact of changing one configuration item on all the others. Configuration management data is usually stored in a configuration management database.

What is the purpose of configuration management?

The purpose of configuration management is really to keep a detailed record of the information about the computer system and updating them as needed. This includes listing all of the installed software, the network addresses of the computers, and the configuration of different pieces of hardware, and creating updates or ideal models that can be used to quickly update computers or restore them to a predefined baseline.

What is AWS OpsWorks?

AWS OpsWorks is a configuration management service that provides managed instances of Chef and Puppet.

What is AWS configuration?

Amazon Web Services offers AWS Config, a service that provides monitoring and assessment of AWS resource configurations to support compliance auditing, change management and troubleshooting, with resource histories and comparison of historical configurations against planned configurations.…

What is Microsoft Endpoint Manager?

Microsoft Endpoint Manager, combining the capabilities of the former Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, SCCM or ConfigMgr with the mobile device management application Microsoft Intune, is presented as a unified endpoint management option. The former Microsoft Intune…

What is configuration management scripting language?

Scripting language: Most configuration management tools provide a scripting language for creating logic for automation. When purchasing a configuration management tool, you should consider how difficult each option's scripting language is, and how similar it is to what your developers already know.

What is trustmap?

TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.

What Do You Think About These Configuration Management Tools?

I still need to elaborate upon and research this list—so please let me know: Have you tried out any tools listed above?

Why is it important to use configuration tools?

Configuration tools touch essentially every aspect of your digital business infrastructure, which is why it’s so important to choose the right one. But, with so many options available, how do you decide which one to use?

What is version tracking?

To keep track of which versions belong with which configurations ( e.g. operating systems, libraries, browsers).

Is configuration management a testing tool?

Configuration management tools are not strictly testing tools either, but good configuration management is critical for controlled testing. To understand this better let us take an example, a test group started testing the software, expecting to find the usual quite high number of problems.

What Are Configuration Management Tools?

Configuration management tools perform various tasks to keep physical and logical assets consistent. These management tools identify and track all configuration items and document functional dependencies, helping the IT department understand how changing one configuration item affects all the others.

Why are configuration management tasks automated?

Many configuration management tasks are automated, reducing the likelihood of human error while freeing up staff to handle other matters.

What is CFEngine used for?

CFEngine is an automation tool primarily used for managing and provisioning software deployment in an operational IT environment. It is best suited for providing configuration and maintenance for heavy computer systems, servers, embedded network systems, laptop computers, mobile devices, and other related tech. Cost: Open-source.

What is server configuration monitor?

Server Configuration Monitor detects and compares configuration changes to servers, databases, and applications. It lets users configure applications and servers in real-time. IT teams use Server Configuration Monitor to monitor output changes, track server hardware and software inventory, create reports and alerts on deviations, and compare the current configuration version with previous ones. Cost: 30-day free trial and paid plan.

What is a confighub?

ConfigHub is particularly good at dynamic modeling for system topologies, eliminating config errors and duplication, and centralizing all configuration control in one place.

What is Chef software?

Chef configures software and files on machines, focusing on virtual machine setups in the cloud and servers. It’s an automation platform that offers a suitable method of configuring and managing the infrastructure. Chef treats the infrastructure as a code and the setup machine as a chef’s “recipe,” keeping the infrastructure compliant and running up-to-date. Every recipe is stored in a “cookbook,” where it’s considered a single task. Chef distinguishes itself as a tool that helps you best increase service resiliency and develop more bug-free software. Cost: Paid plan.

What is a repository in coding?

Used mostly during the development phase, it is the main container for all code versions. Additionally, the repository usually stores build scripts, test scripts, deployment scripts, and configuration files.

What is software configuration management?

In Software Engineering Software Configuration Management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software part of the larger disciplinary field of Configuration Management.

What is cooperating enablement?

Cooperating Enablement: This feature helps to make the change configuration throughout the infrastructure with one change.

What is CFEngine?

CFEngine is a configuration management tool that provides automat ion configuration for huge computer systems, inclusive of the unified management of servers, systems, users, embedded networked devices, mobile devices, and systems.

What is octopus deployment?

Octopus is one of the famous configuration tools which takes you beyond the limit where your Continuous Integration server ends. Octopus Deploy helps you enable automation even for the most complex application deployments, whether the application is on-premises or in the cloud, it will not be an issue.

Why use configuration management tools?

Configuration management tools enable changes and deployments to be faster, repeatable, scalable, predictable, and able to maintain the desired state, which brings controlled assets into an expected state.

What is CFEngine in computer science?

CFEngine was introduced by Mark Burgess in 1993 as a scientific approach to automated configuration management. The goal was to deal with the entropy in computer systems' configuration and resolve it with end-state "convergence." Convergence means a desired end-state and elaborates on idempotence as a capacity to reach the desired end-state. Burgess' research evolved in 2004 when he proposed the Promise theory as a model of voluntary cooperation between agents.

What is DevOps best practices?

By manipulating simple configuration files, a DevOps team can use application development best practices, such as version control, testing, small deployments, and design patterns. In short, this means code can be written to provision and manage an infrastructure as well as automate processes.

Is Chef a technical tool?

But, at its base, it is more technically oriented tool.

What is configuration management tool?

These configuration management tools provide IT operators and DevOps engineers with event-driven DevOps automation and orchestration for integrated configuration management, infrastructure security and compliance, and control over clouds and containers.

What is CFEngine used for?

Let us discuss the primary features and functions of the tools in the following paragraphs.CFEngine is an automation tool used for provisioning and managing software deployment in the operational IT environment. The software of CFEngine is written in C, and it works in a client-server mode with the help of remote nodes and server managing agents. CFEngine is an independent operating system interface. It can host on windows, Unix as well Linux, AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris. The key aim of using CFEngine is changing configurations of the computer system in a “convergent manner.”

What is a Cobbler server?

Cobbler is a well classified Linux provisioning server that facilitates and caters towards automation of the network-based system installation of multiple computer operating systems. Cobbler helps in facilitating and automating system installations and uses network boot to initiate and control installations. Besides this, it facilitates repository mirroring, kick-start templates, manages connectivity with the available power management systems. There are a lot of features that make it even more powerful is Configuration management, XML RPC APIs and the KOAN client, etc.,

What is octopus deployment?

Octopus Deploy is a release management and deployment automation server. Using Octopus Deploy, we can design applications securely with deployment on the cloud platforms. Deployments are modified and executed through a web-based interface. Deployment statuses can be monitored by using dashboards.

Why is infrastructure as code important?

By supporting the approach “infrastructure as code”, it helps in managing network deployment, vulnerability, and configuration automation to the machine.

What is the function of CFEngine?

The primary function of CFEngine is to provide maintenance and configuration to heavy computer systems, embedded network systems, desktops, servers, mobile phones , and so on. Let us discuss some of the major advantages of CFEngine they are:

Is Cobbler configuration management lean?

Cobbler configuration management is written in Python, hence it is lean and fast.

What is Configuration Management?

An increasingly important foundation for building a successful software product, Configuration Management is a critical system engineering process that helps organizations establish, monitor, and maintain computer systems, servers, and software in a desired, consistent state. It has become an efficient way for organizations to keep track of a software product's performance, functional, and physical attributes, along with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life.

What is the purpose of configuration control?

Configuration Control: This step of the process is focused on evaluating all the change-requests and change-proposals as well as their approval and disapproval. From the system's design and hardware to software and documentation, this step helps teams control modification throughout the process.

Why is configuration management important in DevOps?

The role of Configuration Management in DevOps is extremely important and extends from just automating processes to empowering software engineers to request and provision needed resources on-demand and removing the potential organizational dependency bottleneck. However, for it to function properly, teams ought to ensure its accurate implementation.

Why is configuration identification important?

Configuration Identification: Helps establish the setting and maintaining baselines , which further elaborate on the system or subsystem architecture, components, and any developments. It is an important step of the process, as any changes in the system during the design, development, testing, and delivery stages are identified, documented, and tracked based on this aspect of Configuration Management. It is also used to establish and maintain configuration items throughout the development lifecycle.

What is configuration status accounting?

Configuration Status Accounting: Here, the process involves recording and reporting configuration item descriptions and all departures from the baseline during the design and production phases. Moreover, during this stage, if any issue or problem is suspected necessary verification of baseline configuration and approved modifications are quickly determined.

What is CAC in software development?

Configuration as Code (CaC): It is a code or script that standardizes configurations within a given resource, like a server or network. These standardized configurations are then applied during the deployment phase and ensure infrastructure configuration is suitable for the application. Here, the code is pushed to a version control system as part of the software deployment pipeline, which ensures the configuration of the relevant infrastructure and prepares it for software development and testing.

What is source code repository?

Source Code Repository: As suggested by its name, the Source Code Repository is a database that contains all versions of code. It stores source code used by the development team, as well as other relevant components like configuration files, test, build, and deployment scripts. In short, this component of Configuration Management stores everything readable by humans, except software binaries, and is further categorized into: