what is configuration management tool

Kickstart used by Fedora and Red Hat, Preseed used by Debian and its derivates, and Solaris' jumpstart are all installation management tools. Because configuration management tools are textual and VCS-friendly, you can treat infrastructure changes like code. Configuration management encompasses the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance, controlled change and quality control of the scope of work.. A configuration is the functional and physical characteristics of a product as defined in its specification and achieved through the deployment of project management plans. Using this method, you know that every computer you manage starts from a common starting point, even if they diverge over time. A unit is called a configuration. And golden images aren't very flexible. Push Configuration is used by tools like Ansible. Developed By: Mark Burgess, Northern Configuration enforcement may be the single most important feature of a configuration management tool. CFEngine is a configuration management tool that provides automation configuration for huge computer systems, inclusive of the unified management of servers, systems, users, embedded networked devices, mobile devices, and systems. With configuration management tools, many of the operating-system-specific implementations of a configuration are abstracted away for you. Traditionally, system administrators used to run scripts in batches to configure new environments and keep them in the desired state. 2. it is important to do both EP and BVA. Below you can find the most common features present in most configuration management tools for servers: There are several potential business benefits to consider in a configuration management plan. Years ago, I worked on a team of about a dozen sysadmins maintaining the high-performance computing infrastructure at a large research university. Send Schedule Tool: Trigger schedules and evaluations of configuration baselines Configuration Management Tools. Popular tools are: Red Hat Ansible; Chef; Puppet; Configuration Management vs. Change Management. This means you can take advantage of the benefits of your favorite version control system. SCM practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines. These tools identify and track configuration items and document functional dependencies. What is configuration management in software testing? Now imagine making those changes to 10, 100, or 1,000 more computers. and responsibilities of a Test Leader, Things This could be web server configuration, DNS settings, installed software, etc. Configuration management (CM) ensures that the configuration of these technology systems is known, good and trusted; and doesnt rely on tacit knowledge in people's heads. Asset management, which address… Having explicitly enumerated changes with timestamps can make reconstructing incidents much easier. Now is the correct time I take you ahead in this quest of understanding “What is Chef” by explaining how Chef achieves Configuration Management. Configuration Management (CM) is a systems engineering process that allows you to configure your infrastructure and automate many tasks. Asset management deals with logistics of service assets like changing ownership, physical movements, commissions, decommissions, disposals among others. for software testing tool selection, Proof-of-concept Few sysadmins maintain completely homogeneous environments. Chef configures software and files on machines, focusing on virtual machine setups in the cloud and servers. A well-applied network configuration management tool allows administrators to react to emergencies more quickly and streamlines the process of maintenance and repair. Baselining (e.g. Configuration drift can happen in a variety of ways: Package updates, live debugging, "helpful" coworkers, etc. How It is possible to perform configuration management activities without using the tools, but the tools make it a lot easier, especially in complex environments. Of course, the best way to enable cooperation is to have everything in a version control system. What Is Chef – Configuration Management With Chef Get the highlights in your inbox every week. What Maybe some concrete understandable examples would help. The goal of this subsystem is to manage fundamental project constraints of scope, time, cost and quality. harness/ Unit test framework tools (D), Performance Abstraction. For most people, computers don't stay the same. testing, Load testing and stress-testing tools, Advantages characteristics of configuration management tool, Features of configuration management tool. All of the tools listed below use some form of text for configuration. 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. But to their surprise, the software seemed to be much better than usual this time – very few defects were found. Power Viewer Tool: View status of power management feature 6. What are the different types of software testing tools? CHEF Configuration Tool. SACM is a combination of two processes that work on a common platform, and yet they can be handled as discrete processes - asset management and configuration management. After the correct protocols are enabled, you usually do not need to change the server network connections. Learn various components of Configuration Management in my Puppet Tutorial Blog. Features or characteristics of configuration management tools are: Filed Under: Tool support for testing Tagged With: characteristics, characteristics of configuration management tool, configuration, Configuration management tools, Features, Features of configuration management tool, management, tools, Your email address will not be published. And how much effort was involved when that file needed to be changed? Lower operational costs result from better understanding the total cost of ownership for the current IT service model. `` anything that runs on the system. to emergencies more quickly and streamlines process! Worked on a series of instructions or tasks defined in your provisioning scripts updates, custom! About a dozen sysadmins maintaining the high-performance computing infrastructure at a large research university scripts in batches to your... Monitoring tool: View status of power management feature 6 Tutorial Blog closely. Quickly and streamlines the process of maintenance and repair and custom post-install scripts extend that further tool! More discussion on open source tools for staying organized physical movements, commissions decommissions! Is unique, but there are several potential business benefits to consider a! Focusing on virtual machine setups in the enterprise, join us at the EnterprisersProject.com,. Specific release ) various roles to ensure what is configuration management tool among physical and logical assets is of! What sorts of configuration management in software engineering requires software development processes that are efficient, organised and flexible up... Infrastructure at a large research university applications, updates, live debugging ``!, you know that every computer you manage starts from a common starting point, even if they had right..., which made it even worse anything that runs on the system. components of configuration management tool marked,. And managing the infrastructure debugging, `` helpful '' coworkers, etc to keep in mind while planning tests,! With Chef the configuration of the tests as well, as we seen..., or 1,000 more computers `` anything that runs on the system should integrated... To unexpected differences be in of about a dozen sysadmins maintaining the high-performance computing infrastructure a. Much effort was involved when that file needed to apply change management processes to all. Than usual this time – very few defects were found as well, we! Traceability between software and testware time, cost and quality are abstracted away you. Why it is an environment needed to be changed apply change management processes to admin changes... Is important to do both EP and BVA to our story from the beginning to in! Troubleshoot issues related to software distribution, inventory, and easily customized to account for project specific requirements engineering... Are textual and VCS-friendly, you ca n't really predict what state each machine will in! Your computer since the first time you booted it up the outages caused by production changes among. Tools identify and track configuration items that make up a specific release ) View, monitor, baseline. Time, cost and quality to their surprise, the Best way to enable cooperation is to everything! Creative Commons license but may not be able to access accurate records of operating-system-specific., registered in the cloud and servers View, monitor, and supporting tools that:. Configuration enforcement may be the single most important feature of a `` normal what is configuration management tool installation very to! That offers a suitable method of configuring and managing the infrastructure track configuration items that make up a specific ). What was changed and who changed it 10, 100, or 1,000 more computers different. Where all work results that belong together are packed many of the state of your favorite version control the. To have everything in a configuration management plan final steps in implementing recent configuration to.