Configuration Management Tools in Devops

Due to developers’ desire to maintain their own system configuration, Devops configuration management tools are occasionally less well-known and utilized. Up until pride interferes with achievement and good sense, it is very commendable.

The smoother operation of your system while keeping configurations in sync with their respective surroundings is guaranteed by a sound strategy employing one of the IT infrastructure management services (tools) outlined further in the article.

Configuration management tools in Devops are essential for automating and managing the configuration of infrastructure and software components in an efficient and consistent manner. These tools help ensure that the desired state of the system is achieved and maintained, making it easier to deploy, scale, and manage applications.

Configuration Management: What is it?

Configuration management connects functionality, design, and product requirements to guarantee the software performs consistently as part of system management and engineering.

In order to accomplish this, a specialist must fully understand the system at hand and be able to keep track of its performance level at all times. Any system’s configuration management procedures typically lead to the complete system being reconfigured, updated, or patched as necessary.

The Importance of Configuration Management

By preventing incompatibilities between software versions while testing, configuration management ensures configuration continuity. Additionally, it helps to keep everything recorded and reported so that any small system modifications or incorrect configurations that can impair performance and cause new problems are always caught. In the end, this aids in preventing prolonged outages and general system instability.

Specialized tools and methods are used in the configuration management process to avoid handling manual chores in complex software settings where manual input is nearly impossible overall (these may include actions prioritization, completion validation, and such stuff).

By offering enough tools for defining baseline system settings and working in accordance with them from the start in order to get the smoothest, most reliable, and error-free results, configuration management makes the lives of both administrators and users easier.

What is Software for Configuration Management? What is SCM Software, Exactly?

These two-word combinations essentially have the same meaning. SCM, which stands for software configuration management, refers to the process of keeping track of and managing software configuration elements and modifications. By automating human errors, accelerating system deployments and configurations, improving scale, and predicting various system customization and configuration outcomes, tools like Ansible enable saving the accomplished system state so that it may be readily maintained over time.

Additionally, you may track recurring tasks, keep an eye on resources, and take use of automated SCM possibilities to speed up system recovery following crucial server shutdowns (logging all the information in the process to help you get to the root of the issue to fix and avoid further similar shutdowns). You can even do a thorough audit of using SCM.

Who are an SCM system’s main users?

DevOps, CI/CD, and Agile teams working on intricate, cloud-based software architectures where data files are necessary for the deployment and management of software pieces are the most frequent users of SCM tools and methodologies. As a result, CI/CD can automate the introduction of code changes, many manual DevOps processes may be streamlined, and Agile teams can effectively handle tasks like renewing SSL certificates, adding DB endpoints, etc. through careful prioritizing.

SCM Features

Chores like gathering data on software versions, keeping track of which configurations correspond to which versions, and other such tasks are typically aided by effective configuration management software.

• Prioritization of actions;
• centralizing fundamental setup adjustments;
• classification and system management;
• the simultaneous application of fresh settings to several systems;
• comprehensive remediation management; automation of system definitions, patches, and upgrades; and more.

What do the Devops configuration management tools entail?

When it comes to Devops, configuration management technologies are used to address a very pertinent problem: manually managing hardware and system resources when creating or maintaining web apps.

The most effective way to implement Devops, which primarily calls for the automation of system administration activities, is with the aid of adequate SCM solutions, which free software development teams from the need for separate system administration teams. Without having to wait for someone else to finish their assignment, they can acquire all the information and resources they need to keep working.

Jenkins, a tool for configuration management?

Jenkins is quite well-known in the configuration management industry and was originally developed as an open-source server for software development automation. This is because it offers previously unheard-of CI/CD, software deployment, testing, and building opportunities. Jenkins eventually streamlines and speeds up continuous integration procedures, enabling users to access new builds more quickly and easily. Additionally, it is simple to combine with a variety of other deployment and testing tools and methodologies.

 Alternative Configuration Management Software Options

For the major configuration management projects, you can eventually decide whether to carry out the following actions by yourself or using the aforementioned solutions:

• Auditing: Whenever modifications are made to the system, always review and approve them with your team. For streamlined collaboration and complete transparency of all related actions, it is most advantageous to consolidate all the configuration data and preserve it in a single repository for system auditing.
• Identifying, acquiring, and assembling configuration data from multiple contexts allows for the timely classification and proper handling of particular types of data (e.g., encrypt secrets, pack assets into proper data files, etc.).
• Creating a baseline is something you can do when the data has been appropriately sorted and aggregated. You can create and set the baseline configuration that describes the intended error-free system operation after examining the running condition of the entire system.
• You must use a specific version control system for version management (like Git). To ensure thorough administration, add data files to a single repository built into your choice version control solution and encrypt sensitive information using external keys.