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Choosing between the leading open source configuration managers
Puppet or Chef?
The migration to the cloud went hand in hand with a paradigm change in the design of modern IT solutions. Where IT configurations were once small, manageable, and defined at the department level, the big picture has now become the focus of attention: Setups from dozens of endpoints need to work as one well-integrated unit.
Automation plays a key role. With more systems covering larger spaces, many admins prefer to invest their time up front in labor-saving custom tools that will save time and energy on repetitive tasks.
Puppet [1] and Chef [2] are two open source configuration management tools that skillfully support admins with comprehensive, automated server management. Chef and Puppet are direct competitors. Admins who use at least one of these solutions consistently and correctly can significantly simplify their everyday lives.
However, Puppet and Chef both have pitfalls that you'll need to steer around. This article is a kind of inventory, based on my experience, of some of the issues concerning practical operations with Chef or Puppet. You will find countless comparisons of Puppet and Chef [3] on the web; depending on the source, sometimes Puppet wins, and sometimes Chef prevails – the choice ultimately comes down to the details. Read on for some issues to consider before you choose: Puppet or Chef?
Declarative or Imperative?
Chef is essentially imperative; Puppet is declarative. In concrete terms, this means: With Chef, the admin defines which commands need to be processed and in what order by creating a cookbook with commands in the appropriate order. In Puppet, admins instead describe a desired state using the Puppet manifest and then define the steps that lead to this condition.
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