Top 15 DevOps Configuration Management Tools In 2024
DevOps has grown to be a fundamental pillar of the IT sector, coordinating vital tasks including infrastructure maintenance, app deployment, and workplace improvement. These complex duties are essential to smooth corporate operations, and the skillful application of cloud configuration management solutions further facilitates their optimization.
StrongDM predicts that by 2026, the DevOps industry would have grown to an incredible USD 12,200 million. Moreover, Medium notes that after strategically integrating DevOps tools into their operational structure, an astounding 65% of businesses have experienced measurable improvements in their customer experience.
Based on projections by Krusche & Company, the DevOps market is expected to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 20% between 2021 and 2028.
Let’s examine these instruments in greater detail and hear from eminent specialists regarding their functionality, features, and performance.
This post reveals the best DevOps configuration management tools for a thorough understanding of DevOps optimization.
- Why Is Configuration Management Important?
- Types of DevOps Configuration Management Tools
- The Top 15 DevOps Configuration Management Tools
Why Is Configuration Management Important?
It’s crucial to realize that configuration management is crucial for monitoring and managing IT services, even though there is a continuous need for the best configuration management solutions in DevOps.
For IT structuring, DevOps configuration management is crucial, yet many firms are unaware of its significance. In order to finish the delivery, it helps expedite the software development and operations process.
It would not be incorrect to state that these tools aid in comprehending the effects of changing one configuration item on the others. In summary, it is crucial to governance and compliance.
Types of DevOps Configuration Management Tools
Tools for DevOps Configuration Management (DCM) can be classified into various categories. To make it simple for you to decide which Configuration Management tools are right for you, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 categories of DevOps tools:
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Tools: Infrastructure configurations may be defined and managed as code thanks to IaC tools like Terraform and AWS CloudFormation. They are essential to the automation of infrastructure configuration and provisioning.
- Automation and Orchestration Tools: Software deployment, configuration management, and general infrastructure management may all be greatly accelerated by using automation tools like Ansible and SaltStack. They facilitate DevOps workflow optimization.
- Configuration management tools: Chef and Puppet are examples of tools that are specifically designed to manage server configurations and guarantee consistency between environments. They are essential for keeping infrastructure in the desired condition, making them a component of the DevOps configuration management toolkit.
- Tools for containerization and orchestration: Although not exactly configuration management tools, containerization tools such as Kubernetes and Docker Compose are critical to DevOps for consistently packaging and deploying applications.
- Workflow Automation solutions: The automation of the entire DevOps pipeline, including the deployment, testing, and configuration management procedures, is greatly aided by workflow automation solutions like Jenkins and GitLab CI/CD.
- Tools for managing policies and compliance: The purpose of these tools is to make sure that deployments and configurations of infrastructure adhere to security and compliance guidelines. They support reporting on configuration changes and audits. Chef Compliance and InSpec are two examples.
- Tools for Cloud Management and Orchestration: These tools are designed specifically for cloud environments, where they manage and orchestrate services and resources. This makes working with cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud easier. AWS CloudFormation and Google Cloud Deployment Manager are two examples.
- Teams may effectively manage and automate infrastructure and application configurations in a DevOps environment with the aid of these DevOps configuration tools, which are closely related to configuration management.
The Top 15 DevOps Configuration Management Tools
It can be dangerous to use unreliable open source configuration management solutions. Therefore, we are providing you with the top 15 tools below to assist you.
1. Ansible
This is a good option if you’re searching for open source configuration management tools. It defines the tasks and playbooks in YAML, a declarative language. Because of its agentless architecture, the target systems do not require the installation of a client-side agent.
Qualities:
- Ansible communicates with distant computers via WinRM or SSH.
- Many systems may be easily managed from one single area with the help of this program.
- Because you can write and save the automation scripts, it offers a great deal of flexibility.
2. Chef Infra
For automating the configuration and installation of software, this management solution is ideal. It functions by defining the desired state of your infrastructure in a code file called a recipe, which specifies what steps should be followed to configure each system component. This makes it one of the best programs in the DevOps consulting services sector.
Qualities:
- Cloud computing platforms and DevOps are only two of the many operating systems that Chef Infra may be used to manage infrastructure for.
- Numerous configuration management activities are supported by it, including file management, user administration, service management, and package installation.
3. Microsoft Endpoint Manager
MEM, or configuration management tool, enables businesses to secure and manage their devices, data, and applications. It combines the capabilities of Microsoft Intune with Configuration Manager to manage sophisticated, contemporary IT settings. It offers Windows 10 device management in the modern era.
Qualities:
- This covers software deployment, policy administration, remote troubleshooting, and over-the-air (OTA) provisioning support.
- Additionally, MEM is compatible with Windows Autopilot, which enables businesses to provide and install new Windows 10 devices with little assistance from users.
- To stop data loss, it offers security features including threat prevention and controlled access.
4. CFEngine
Given that it provides a framework for defining and carrying out security, systems management, and compliance standards, this is one of the most dependable DevOps solutions available.
Qualities:
- Declarative language is used in its operation to specify the IT infrastructure. Vulnerability, scalability, scanning, auditing, and hardening are some of its characteristics.
- It is compliant with a number of security standards and laws, including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and CIS benchmarks.
- Administrators may track changes and quickly discover concerns in real-time with its powerful reporting and monitoring system.
5. Puppet
To manage and configure the systems, this configuration management application makes use of a declarative language. It can also oversee and control the software deployment procedure. It’s a modeling language designed to make IT framework implementation as efficient as possible.
Qualities:
- It helps clients deploy and manage the infrastructure and is often installed on the primary server.
- Building libraries and modules to satisfy project requirements is made simple with this open-source tool.
- When utilizing this tool, scheduling the actions is an option.
6. Terraform
Although there are many DevOps solutions available, Terraform stands out due to its language that is independent of platforms. It aids in defining the dependencies and resources. Because it makes use of the HashiCorp Configuration Language, changing the infrastructure configurations is simpler.
Qualities:
- The infrastructure resources’ dependencies and present state are monitored by a state management system.
- It assists in controlling modifications to infrastructure settings and, if required, rolling back to an earlier version.
- Users can design and share reusable infrastructure settings with other users using Terraform’s powerful module system.
7. RackHD
Automating the deployment, configuration, and management of networking devices and physical servers is made easier with the help of RackHD, a dependable software. It offers hardware management tools and APIs, enabling businesses to automate the administration of their IT infrastructure and cut down on errors and downtime.
Qualities:
- Its API layer makes managing and automating heterogeneous devices simpler by abstracting away the underlying hardware specifics.
- Users may create and carry out sophisticated workflows, including firmware updates, network setups, and device diagnostics, thanks to its workflow engine.
- It can be combined with Ansible and Puppet to simultaneously manage hardware and software configurations.
8. Vagrant
Vagrant is an obvious choice among hundreds of DevOps technologies, but selecting one might be difficult. The development environments can be designed and managed by the developers with the help of this application. Virtual machines can be regularly designed by the developers.
Qualities:
- The IT framework’s provisioning and configuration can be automated by integrating it with Ansible and other tools. There is support for Docker, Hyper-V, VMware, and VirtualBox.
- It offers a number of tools for managing and sharing environments within the development environment.
9. TeamCity
TeamCity is the final tool on our list. Software development teams may release high-quality software more rapidly and effectively by automating their build, test, and deployment processes with the aid of TeamCity.
Qualities:
- It may start and schedule the builds with a variety of triggers.
- This tool’s greatest feature is its integration with popular testing frameworks such as JUnit, NUnit, and Selenium, which enables users to report test results and do automated tests as part of the development process.
- It offers test results, build statistics, and build logs.
Six Open Source DevOps Configuration Management Tools
The list of open source and free DevOps configuration tools is provided below. Adding open-source technologies is especially important for DevOps professionals who want total control and customization flexibility for their workflows.
Choosing open source tools means that customization can proceed unimpeded, free from developer restrictions or limitations imposed by pricing packages.
10. SaltStack (Salt)
An automation and configuration management solution available as open source is called SaltStack, sometimes just Salt. It is renowned for being quick and scalable, which makes it appropriate for large-scale infrastructure management. In the master-minion architecture used by Salt, the minion nodes’ configuration is managed by the master node.
Important characteristics:
- architecture using agents and a master server.
- facilitates automation driven by events.
- incredibly scalable for handling sizable and intricate settings.
- a vast library of ready-made modules for a range of jobs.
- Configuration files based on YAML for simple setup.
11. JUJU
JUJU provides a high-level abstraction layer for specifying application models, freeing users to concentrate on the requirements and application design. Databases, Microservices, and message queues are also supported by this tool. Application components can be automatically configured and connected.
Qualities:
- Reusable charms are pre-made packets that are used to configure and deploy program details.
- Users may simply interface their applications with pre-existing workflows and tools thanks to its integration and automation framework.
- JUJU has an API as well for system and tool integration.
12. Podman
An open-source containerization technology called Podman offers an interface that is compatible with Docker so that containers can be managed without the need for a central daemon. It emphasizes security and gives users efficient control over containers, pods, and container images.
Important characteristics:
- CLI that works with Docker for simple migrations.
- allows for rootless containers for increased security.
- The capacity to oversee pods in order to coordinate several containers.
- compatibility with Docker Hub and other container registries.
- Process isolation is supported by namespace and cgroup.
13. Nomad
Nomad, an open-source cluster manager and orchestrator from HashiCorp, is made for deploying and controlling services and apps over expansive, dynamic infrastructures. Although it is compatible with Docker containers, it is independent of Docker and provides a range of options for container runtimes.
Important characteristics:
- Task planning and coordination for services and applications.
- support for many datacenters and regions.
- Support for a number of task drivers, such as Java and Docker.
- Integration with Consul from HashiCorp for networking and service discovery.
- HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) declarative configuration.
14. Packer
With just one configuration, Packer is an open-source tool that can create machine images, such as virtual machines or container images. It enables you to specify infrastructure in code, guaranteeing consistency in various environments.
Important characteristics:
- creates machine images automatically.
- supports a variety of builders, including as Docker, AWS, Azure, and others.
- HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) templated configurations.
- integration with a range of cloud and DevOps tools.
15. Delphix Continuous Data & Compliance
With individualized read/write datasets and automated control, Delphix’s programmable data infrastructure drives development and testing teams and expedites the supply of relational, NoSQL, and cloud-native data. This accelerates the adoption of cloud computing.
Delphix guarantees data delivery at a speed that corresponds with expedited release deadlines by enabling the seamless operation of non-production dev/test environments in the cloud while maintaining production data on-premises.
Important characteristics:
- Maintain non-production development and testing environments in the cloud while keeping production data on-premises.
- Make sure that the transmission of data fits into a rapid release schedule.
- Software triage can be made more efficient by quickly recovering data states for break/fix analysis.
These extra tools offer a wide range of capabilities for containerization, orchestration, and automation in DevOps environments, making them ideal for DevOps setup and management. The fact that each of these technologies works well with AWS-based apps is their strongest feature.
In addition to these tools, DevOps consulting services can be used to expedite the transformation and configuration process.
Conclusion
Appic Softwares will be a crucial ally for anybody negotiating the intricate world of DevOps Monitoring technologies in 2024. Understanding how important it is for development and operations teams to work together seamlessly, Appic Softwares is excellent at creating apps that connect with the top 16 DevOps monitoring tools listed. Because of the company’s experience, clients may manage metrics, improve performance, and keep a strong IT infrastructure by utilizing products like Pluralsight Flow, InfluxDB, Prometheus, and others. Appic Softwares is at the forefront of the DevOps evolution, offering customized solutions that support end-to-end observability, scalability, synchronization of the technological stack, debugging capabilities, and continuous monitoring. Clients can confidently traverse the dynamic world of DevOps with Appic Softwares, guaranteeing high-performance, secure, and efficient software delivery.
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