SCM Tools and Frameworks | A Complete Guide with Best Practices

• In this article you will learn:
• 1.Introduction.
• 2.Software Configuration Management Tool.
• 3.SCM Features.
• 4.Conclusion.

Introduction:

Term “management of configuration” appeared quite often in an IT industry. Several companies are expect IT services to be available at maximum efficiency and without an interruption. An Administrators need a structured server design and also management approach to satisfy these demands. Ideally, tools for the configuration management will support the multiple operating systems. That is why supplier built configuration management tools to help servers control a networks and lock systems to optimum configuration.

Software Configuration Management Tools:

Puppet Configuration Tool: A puppet is the tool for the centralization and automation of a configuration management, It is the open-source configuration management. It is used for the handling, deploying, configuring various applications and services.

Features of a Puppet Configuration Tool:

• It allows to manage software delivery process completely and entirely.
• Allows along with the model-based automation management, to make a quick adjustments or to fix urgent problems.
• It helps to use a preferred version control systems to handle an infrastructure as code.
• After understanding a current situation, every configuration is carefully reviewed and implemented to the compare the results with the expectations and to take an adequate measures for all resources.

JUJU Configuration Tool: Juju is the open-source platform that emphasizes the elimination of a new generation software operating overheads. Juju provides a features such as setup, integration, quick delivery, scaling, etc.

Features of JUJU Configuration Tools:

• It will offer the ability to provide information.
• It helps to solve most of the complexity of a service scaling with charm.
• By using this tool and can multiple the Paas Platform.
• This tool will allow to Scaling and Integration instantly.

Rudder: The rudder is the Continuous Settings open source solution. The method is used to meet a production infrastructure requirements. This multi-platform framework allows development processes to be streamlined and also managed.

Features of a Rudder Configuration Tools:

• Can control the nodes and explain an environment policy with a web interface feature.
• This allows to do administration simple task like a Configuring or installing.
• By using this can generate a host policies dynamically.
• It gives a hardware and software automatically inventory.

CHEF Configuration Tool: The chef is the automation framework that provides a way for infrastructure configuration and management. Within this method, infrastructure as code means that codes are be executed rather than executed manually. Ruby and DSL are the tools used by a chef for setups.

Features of Chef Configuration Tool:

• The Chef offers an automation expertise to reduce the risk and improve compliance at all development stages.
• Configure various a SaaS cloud-based services and incorporate APIs and apps from a third parties for cloud provisioning.
• This helps to improve reliability of the systems and create more faultless apps.
• The manager is adopting a Push model and provides easy adoption of a cloud.

Saltstack Configuration Tool: Another strong configuration form is a SaltStack. It is based on the master customer configuration model or unicentral model. The programming language is based on a Python. Push and SSH methods are available in a SaltStack to communicate with the customers.

Features of Saltstack Configuration Tool:

• Salt Cloud is compatible with various providers of cloud including Google Cloud, web services from an Amazon, and others.
• Can run this from a setup process because it is a sample and so simple to use.
• Offers of salt introspection will make it simple for to look at the things that happen inside Salt.

ConfigHub: ConfigHub helps the teams control, protect, and customize the whole stack. The tools allow for a given application or distributed system, to save, manage, and distribute the program configurations.

Features of ConfigHub:

• It will remove the error and duplicate configuration.
• From one place it will help to the configuration all control.
• To a system topology, it also has a dynamic modeling.

Alibaba Configuration Tool: Should centralize a program configuration management. The platform strengthens a DevOps, Big Data, and Microservices ‘ application capabilities.

Features of a Alibaba Configuration Tools:

• It will provide a multi-level cache and guarantee server availability of 99.99 percent.
• A Version Management was supported by this.
• For an environment, it will offer a real-time configuration.

Ansible Configuration Tool: The adequate platform offers a simple IT solution. It helps to avoid repetitive tasks and activates teams of a developers for strategic work.

Features of a Ansible Configuration Tool:

• Perform simple tasks in an inventor on any host or community of hosts.
• Can handle the whole infrastructure of a Ansible Tower.
• Using automated alerts to remind of automation status.

TeamCity Configuration Tool: TeamCity is the continuous Jet Brain open-source application platform. TeamCity offers up to 100 configurations and an operates a limitless building.

Features of a TeamCity Configuration Tool:

• It helps to maintain a healthy and secure CI server even when no builds are work.
• Enhances a standard of code for each project.

SCM Features:

Enforcement: With an enforcement feature execution daily, ensures that a system is configured to the desired state.

Cooperating Enablement: This feature helps to make a change configuration throughout an infrastructure with a one change.

Version Control Friendly: With feature, the user can take their choice of version for their work.

Enable Change Control Processes: As a Software Configuration Management tools are version control and textual friendly and can make changes in a code. Changes can be made as merge request and send for review.

Conclusion:

Small -Scale or Mid-Level Organization: As these types of an organizations look for the open-source and more effective tools that can be beneficial for their organization as they have a less strength of employees and finance.So for those CFEngine, CHEF, Rudder and Bamboo configuration tools would be a good choice as they are be open-source, highly scalable and robust and secure. They are being used by a many giant companies also. Maintenance and set up is simpleThey are based on a most used programming languages like a Java and .net. They support the cross-functionality and multiple OS platforms. These tools are support cloud adoption as well as 24*7 support.

Large Scale Industries: These companies are mainly focus on a robustness, availability, security, and support. So most of giant companies prefer CFEngine, Ansible, CHEF enterprise version, Octopus, TeamCity, etc. These tools are provide a reliable deployment process and support multiple OS platforms.They are open source as well as if a company wants the extended benefits they can opt for an enterprise version. These tools are possess multiple features, granularity and orchestration, Idempotent, interoperability and a minimal learning curve is be required.