Configuration management tools are essential components in the DevOps ecosystem. DevOps encompasses various software development processes aimed at enhancing a company’s ability to deliver high-volume applications and services efficiently. Configuration management plays a pivotal role within DevOps by serving as a centralized hub for managing and automating software application configurations, thereby optimizing productivity.
What is Configuration Management
People always think about – what is configuration management and why it is important. Configuration management is all about automating major and repetitive tasks in an IT context. Configuration management is concerned with functions involving hundreds or thousands of machines. Some of its examples include – software installations, patch management, upgrades, updates, user management, and security compliance.
Configuration management assists in eliminating irregularity between software versions while testing, ensuring configuration consistency. It helps to avoid long periods of outage and system turbulence. It also aids in keeping it all documented and reported, ensuring that no trivial system changes or misconfigurations go undiscovered, risking performance and causing additional problems.
Why Should You Use Configuration Management Tools
Talking about configuration management tools, changes and deployments are streamlined, regular, flexible, and consistent. They managed to sustain the intended outcomes, bringing controlled assets into the standard condition.
Some configuration management tools use a pull approach in DevOps. Under this, a client is deployed on the servers and regularly runs to pull the most recent definitions from a central repository and apply them to the server. Other systems work with a push approach, in which a central server sends updates to managed servers.
Configuration management software speeds up modifications and deployments, reduces the risk of human error, and makes the management system more reliable and sustainable. They also assist you in maintaining track of your resources and preventing you from performing repetitive operations, such as installing the same program twice.
5 Best Configuration Management Tools in DevOps
Here is the list of top 5 configuration management tools that you must know
1. Ansible
Ansible, the most popular and well-known technology, allows developers to avoid repetitive tasks and strategize things. Everyday tasks will no longer interfere with sophisticated operations this way. The framework uses executable XML or YAML configuration data files to provide system configuration algorithms. The Python-based executables subsequently carry out the prescribed series of activities. The system is simple to grasp and does not necessitate the deployment of different agents to handle nodes.
2. Puppet
Another open-source tool for providing resilient infrastructure is Puppet. DevOps engineers can use Puppet for configuring, installing, and running servers and automating the deployment of applications on the configured servers. Continuous compliance can remedy operational and security concerns in an IT system using Puppet. Windows infrastructure automation, patch management, and managed app operations are among the top features.
3. Chef
Chef is a DevOps tool that allows you to manage servers and other computer resources. The approach of Chef towards infrastructure management automates infrastructure configuration with agents like Chef Infra. Chef is an essential tool for automating processes. Many nodes can be established and run with just a few clicks. Chef has a large user base and offers comprehensive tools that enable people with various technical backgrounds and talents to collaborate on recipes. It is, however, mainly a specialized tool.
For configuration management, DevOps teams create recipes. The recipes include a list of the resources and software packages required for server settings. Chef’s essential components for configuration and automation are Cookbooks, Chef servers, and Nodes.
4. CFEngine
The configuration management tool CFEngine is a well-known and widely used tool. CFEngine is a software deployment automation solution used in the operational IT environment for provisioning and managing software deployment. CFEngine’s software is built in C and operates in a client-server mode with the assistance of remote nodes and server management agents. CFEngine is a system interface that is independent of the operating system. It can run on Windows, Unix, Linux, AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris, among other operating systems. The main goal of CFEngine is to change computer system configurations in a “convergent” manner.
5. Saltstack
Saltstack, or just salt, is a configuration management and orchestration platform that is scalable. DevOps teams use it to handle IT techniques, for example, data centers, with the help of event-driven orchestration and remote configuration execution.
To explain how an IT Infrastructure is provisioned and delivered, the Salt configuration management system uses states and configuration files. Infrastructure packages to be installed, services to be launched or terminated, users and user creation processes, and many other duties in providing an IT environment are described in the configuration files.
Configuration Management Tools: Key Takeaways
The DevOps tool landscape is constantly changing, and it’s critical to stay on top of the latest developments. Trying out different tools is the most excellent way to determine which ones are best for you. What is working for others may not work for you in the same way, so test them out to see how they perform and how they might assist your company in maintaining a consistent and secure configuration. The above blog narrates the top 5 configuration management tools in DevOps in brief. After reading this blog, you can better understand configuration management tools.