Working in production today often means continuous deployments and an environment distributed all over the world. When your infrastructure is decentralized and cloud-based and you’re dealing with frequent deployments of largely identical services across largely identical servers, having a way to automate the configuration and maintenance of everything is a large boon. Deployment management tools and configuration management tools are designed for this purpose. They enable you to use recipes, playbooks, templates, or whatever terminology to simplify automation and orchestration across your environment to provide a standard, consistent deployment.

There are several considerations to keep in mind when choosing a tool in this space. One is the model for the tool. Some require a master-client model, which uses a centralized control point to communicate to distributed machines, while others can or do operate on a more local level. Another consideration is the makeup of your environment. Some tools are written in different languages and support for particular OSs or setups can vary. Making sure your tool of choice will mesh well with your environment and the particular skills of your team can save you a lot of headaches here.

1. Ansible

Ansible is an open source tool used to deploy applications to remote nodes and provision servers in a repeatable way. It gives you a common framework for pushing multi-tier applications and application artifacts using a push model setup, although you can set it up as master-client if you’d like. Ansible is built on playbooks that you can apply to an extensive variety of systems for deploying your app.

When to use it: If getting up and running quickly and easily is important to you and you don’t want to install agents on remote nodes or managed servers, consider Ansible. It’s good if your need or focus is more on the system administrator side. Ansible is focused on being streamlined and fast, so if those are key concerns for you, give it a shot.

Pros:

• SSH-based, so it doesn’t require installing any agents on remote nodes.
• Easy learning curve thanks to the use of YAML.
• Playbook structure is simple and clearly structured.
• Has a variable registration feature that enables tasks to register variables for later tasks
• Much more streamlined code base than some other tools

Cons:

• Less powerful than tools based in other programming languages.
• Does its logic through its DSL, which means checking in on the documentation frequently until you learn it
• Variable registration is required for even basic functionality, which can make easier tasks more complicated
• Introspection is poor. Difficult to see the values of variables within the playbooks
• No consistency between formats of input, output, and config files
• Struggles with performance speed at times.

2. Chef

Chef is an open source tool for configuration management, focused on the developer side for its user base. Chef operates as a master-client model, with a separate workstation needed to control the master. It’s based in Ruby, with pure Ruby used for most elements you write. The Chef design is transparent and based on following the instructions it’s given, which means that you’ll have to make sure your instructions are clear.

When to use it: Before considering Chef, make sure you’re familiar with Git, as it’s required for configuration, and Ruby, as you’ll have to be writing in it. Chef is good for development-focused teams and environments. It’s good for enterprises looking for a more mature solution for a heterogeneous environment.

Pros:

• Rich collection of modules and configuration recipes.
• Code-driven approach gives you more control and flexibility over your configurations.
• Being centered around Git gives it strong version control capabilities.
• ‘Knife’ tool (which uses SSH for deploying agents from workstation) eases installation burdens.

Cons:

• The learning curve is steep if you’re not already familiar with Ruby and procedural coding.
• It’s not a simple tool, which can lead to large code bases and complicated environments.
• Doesn’t support push functionality.

3. Fabric

Fabric is a Python-based tool for streamlining SSH in application deployments. Its primary usage is for running tasks across multiple remote systems, but it can also be extended with plugins to provide more advanced functionality. Fabric will configure your system, do system/server administration, and automate the deployment of your app.

When to use it: If you’re just starting out in the deployment automation space, Fabric is a good beginning point. It helps if your environment involves at least a little bit of Python.

Pros:

• Good at deploying apps written in any language. It doesn’t depend on system architecture, but rather OS and package manager.
• Simpler and easier to deploy than some other tools in this space
• Extensively integrated with SSH for script-based streamlining

Cons:

• Fabric is a single point of failure set up (generally the machine you’re running the deploy on)
• Uses a push model, so not as well suited for a continuous deployment model as some other tools in this space
• While it’s a great tool for deploying apps in most languages, it does require Python to run, so you must have at least a little Python in your environment for Fabric.

4. Puppet

Puppet is one of the long standing tools in the full-fledged configuration management space. It’s an open source tool, but given how long it’s been around, it has been well vetted and deployed in some of the biggest and most demanding environments. Puppet is based on Ruby, but uses a customized Domain Scripting Language (DSL) closer to JSON for working within it. It runs as a master-client setup and uses a model-driven approach. The Puppet code design works as a list of dependencies, which can make things easier or more confusing, depending on your setup.

When to use it: Puppet is a good choice if stability and maturity are key factors for you. It’s good for large enterprises with a heterogeneous environment and range of skills on the DevOps team.

Pros:

• Well-established support community through Puppet Labs.
• It has the most mature interface and runs on nearly every OS.
• Simple installation and initial setup.
• Most complete Web UI in this space.
• Strong reporting capabilities.

Cons:

• For more advanced tasks, you will need to use the CLI, which is Ruby-based (meaning you’ll have to understand Ruby).
• Support for pure-Ruby versions (rather than those using Puppet’s customized DSL) is being scaled back.
• Because of the DSL and a design that does not focus on simplicity, the Puppet code base can grow large, unwieldy, and hard to pick up for new people in your organization at higher scale.
• Model-driven approach means less control compared to code-driven approaches.

5. Saltstack

SaltStack (or Salt) is a CLI-based tool that can be set up as a master-client model or a non-centralized model. Based in Python, Salt offers a push method and an SSH method of communication with clients. Salt allows for grouping of clients and configuration templates to simplify the control of the environment.

When to use it: Salt is a good choice if scalability and resiliency are a big concern. It’s good for system administrators thanks to its usability.

Pros:

• Straightforward organization and usage once you’re past the setup phase.
• Their DSL is feature-rich and isn’t required for logic and states.
• Input, output, and configs are very consistent – all YAML.
• Introspection is very good. It’s easy to see what’s happening within Salt.
• Strong community.
• High scalability and resiliency in the master model with minions and hierarchical tiers.

Cons:

• Difficult to set up and to pick up for new users.
• Documentation is challenging to understand at the introductory level.
• Web UI is newer and less complete than other tool’s Web UIs in the space.
• Not great support for non-Linux OSs.

Ansible vs. Chef vs. Fabric vs. Puppet vs. SaltStack

Which configuration management or deployment automation tool you use will depend on your needs and preferences for your environment. Chef and Puppet are some of the older, more established options, making them good for larger enterprises and environments that value maturity and stability over simplicity. Ansible and SaltStack are good options for those looking for fast and simple solutions while working in environments that don’t need support for quirky features or lots of OSs. Fabric is a good tool for smaller environments and those looking for a more low-lift and entry-level solution.