Best Configuration Management Software
What is Best Configuration Management Software?
Application and infrastructure changes are tracked by Best configuration management software to guarantee that configurations are in a known and trustworthy state and that configuration details don’t rely on the collective wisdom of the development team. Project management, auditing, and debugging can all benefit from configuration management software since it provides a reliable historical record of the system state. A company’s change control procedure is streamlined when using configuration management software, which also improves stability and efficiency. Software for configuration management is integrated with bug-tracking tools, software testing tools, version control systems, and other tools used in software development.
A product must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the Configuration Management category:
- Note any alterations to the configuration elements’ status.
- Configuration files can be used to automatically configure systems to the desired state.
- Retrace flaws to their source using version control systems, usually.
- Keep a copy of the most recent release versions and a snapshot of the system’s state
- be able to restore configurations to earlier snapshots
Systems engineering technique known as “software configuration management” tracks and monitors changes to the metadata representing the configuration of a software system. In the software development process, configuration management is typically used in conjunction with version control and CI/CD infrastructure. This paper concentrates on its application in modern agile CI/CD software configurations.
In the SCM procedures, baselines are established through visual controls. SCM can identify who changed anything and what was modified if something goes wrong.
In general, the objectives of software configuration management include configuration, identification, the definition of baselines and idioms for configuration, configuration control, and implementation of a control change process.
Typically, this is accomplished by establishing a change control board, whose main duty is to accept or reject any change requests received in relation to any baseline. Accounting, reporting, and recording of configuration status, including all relevant data regarding the progress of the development process.
SCM Features:
- Enforcement: By running the enforcement feature every day, you may make sure the system is set up to the condition you want.
- Cooperating Enablement: This function makes it possible to update one configuration setting and have it affect the entire infrastructure.
- Version Control Friendly: Thanks to this feature, users can choose the version they want to use for their work.
- Enable Change Control Processes: Since version control and text editing are supported by Software Configuration Management technologies, we can make changes to the code.
Why Configuration Management?
Configuration management software offers real-time control and provisioning of data centres through the use of unencrypted definition files and proven and true software development processes.
All configuration management (CM) tools do is automate the implementation of configuration states. Like any instrument, they are designed to address certain problems in a particular manner. They can be utilised more effectively or less effectively depending on the user’s knowledge and competence.
In order for you to find the configuration management tool that’s ideal for you (and be able to justify your choice not to select options X, Y, and Z), we’ve made it simple to compare each tool to alternatives and obtain a concise synopsis of each one.
Best Configuration management software helps organisations track and manage various aspects of their IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, networks, and system configurations. Here are some essential content elements for configuration management software:
Inventory Management:
Hardware inventory: Capture detailed information about servers, workstations, network devices, and other hardware assets.
Software inventory: Maintain a comprehensive list of installed software, including versions and licences.
Network inventory: Document network devices, IP addresses, VLANs, and other network-related information.
System configuration: Track configuration details of servers, including operating systems, applications, and settings
Change Management:
Change requests: Provide a platform for submitting, reviewing, and approving change requests.
Change approval workflow: Define customizable workflows for change request approval, involving different stakeholders and levels of authorization.
Change implementation: Record and track the execution of approved changes, including any rollbacks or remediation actions.
Change history: Maintain a historical log of all changes made to the IT infrastructure for audit and troubleshooting purposes.
Configuration Baseline:
Configuration templates: Create predefined templates for different types of systems, ensuring consistency and standardisation.
Baseline comparison: Compare the current configuration of systems against established baselines to identify deviations or non-compliance.
Configuration drift: Detect and notify administrators about configuration changes that occur without proper authorization or documentation.
Compliance and Policy Management:
Compliance checks: Conduct automated assessments against industry standards, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.
Policy enforcement: Define and enforce configuration policies across the organisation, ensuring adherence to security and operational guidelines.
Compliance reporting: Generate reports on compliance status, highlighting areas of non-compliance and suggesting corrective actions.
Version Control:
Configuration versioning: Track and manage different versions of configuration files and scripts to enable rollbacks and change management.
Version comparison: Compare and analyse differences between configuration versions to identify changes and potential issues.
Documentation and Knowledge Base:
Configuration documentation: Provide a repository for storing detailed documentation, diagrams, and procedures related to system configurations.
Knowledge base: Create a searchable database of known issues, troubleshooting guides, best practices, and other relevant information.
Automation and Orchestration:
Configuration automation: Enable automated deployment and configuration of systems based on predefined templates or policies.
Task scheduling: Schedule automated tasks such as configuration backups, updates, and system maintenance.
Integration with other tools: Integrate with other IT management tools like ticketing systems, monitoring tools, and asset management software for seamless operations.
Reporting and Analytics:
Configuration reports: Generate comprehensive reports on system configurations, changes, compliance, and performance metrics.Analytics and insights: Provide visualisations and analytics to identify trends, anomalies, and optimization opportunities within the IT infrastructure.
Risks and Rewards:
The advantage of automating configuration state changes for your infrastructure is that you can make changes rapidly, but someone or something else must validate those changes. You should think about the complementary tool(s) you’ll employ in addition to the configuration management tool(s) you choose to prevent the expensive consequences of automating the deployment of flaws in your infrastructure-as-code. Additionally, because software configuration management systems (also known as SCM tools) support version control and text, modifications can be made in the code and submitted as merge requests for review.
Many of the operating-system-specific implementations of a configuration are abstracted away for you by configuration management tools. On both Red Hat and Ubuntu systems, for instance, the installation of Apache HTTPD can be managed using the same configuration file.
An enormous cybersecurity risk that can lead to data leaks and other cyberattacks is improper configuration. Cybersecurity, information security, and information risk management must be taken into consideration when automating infrastructure configuration.
Consider your Best configuration management tools security as well as whether you are giving them access to too much private data. Perform a cyber security risk assessment, consider vendor risk management, and have a framework for third-party risk management handy.