Best Configuration Management Software for 2023
Best configuration management software are Chef, Ansible Tower, TeamCity, Codenvy, Docker, Puppet, and Cluster Control. The network configuration management software helps the development team perform their work efficiently.
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List of 20 Best Configuration Management Software
Site24x7 is an all-in-one cloud-based monitoring solution for DevOps, system engineers, sysadmins, and IT admins. It monitors websites, servers, networks, applications, and cloud services for businesses of all ranges, from startups and SMBs to large enterprises. Read Site24x7 Reviews
Starting Price: Starting Price: $7.64 Per Month
This software deals mainly with Macintosh platforms. It provides online asset management by means of software inventory, individual transactions, and network diagnosis. It is also used as an MSP billing software. Learn more about Auvik
Starting Price: Available on Request
Contenders | 2023
Docker is a fully featured App Development Software designed to serve Enterprises, SMEs. Docker provides end-to-end solutions designed for Windows. This online App Development system offers at one place. Read Docker Reviews
Starting Price: Available on Request
Recent Review
"Docker is a life server" - Anish Shrestha
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
The working mechanism. How everything is divided into image layers and stored in a container. And most of all it is very easy to use. Just one config file and you are good to go. |
Networking and volume part of docker is very challenging. It would be nice if that was simplified. |
Category Champions | 2023
BladeLogic is a fully featured Data Management Software designed to serve SMEs, Startups. BladeLogic provides end-to-end solutions designed for Web App. This online Data Management system offers Audit Trail, Device Auto Discovery, Import/Export Data, Multi-User, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance at one place. Read BladeLogic Reviews
Starting Price: Available on Request
Recent Review
"Best tool to automate your servers" - Sanjay
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
Patching is the best feature loved by its customers too. |
It keeps improving with every major release and new patch release. |
Contenders | 2023
Juju as a Service (JAAS) is a configuration management software platform that allows you to quickly deploy your cloud-based applications. It offers pre-configured open-source software and hosted Juju controllers for high availability. Read Canonical Juju Reviews
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Chef offers comprehensive DevOps solutions that are easy-to-implement, diversified, and highly scalable in real-time situations. It will help you conduct your DevOps operations with ease and security. You can create modernize apps as well. Learn more about Chef
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Ansible Tower IT is a workflow automation software that helps you deploy applications, crush complexity, and manage systems. It helps you create a strong foundation for DevOps, along with providing Deployment Management and Source Control. Learn more about Ansible Tower
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Bamboo is a fully-featured DevOps software designed to serve startups, enterprises, SME's, agencies. Bamboo provides end-to-end solutions. This integration system offers change management, configuration management, debugging, quality assurance management, testing management at one place. Learn more about Atlassian Bamboo
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
TeamCity is a fully featured Automation Testing Software designed to serve Enterprises, Agencies. TeamCity provides end-to-end solutions designed for Macintosh. This online Automation Testing system offers Build Log, Change Management, Quality Assurance Management, Continuous Deployment, Supports Parallel Execution at one place. Learn more about TeamCity
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
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Puppet infrastructre software gives you a clear audit trail with detailed reports on the state of your infrastructure. There you got to be a better way to manage infrastructure With automation, you eliminate manual work, minimize risk of human error. Learn more about Puppet
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager is a fully featured Compliance Management Software designed to serve Startups, Agencies. ManageEngine Network Configuration Manager provides end-to-end solutions designed for Windows. This online Compliance Management system offers ISO Compliance, Compliance Reporting, Policy Management, Exceptions Management, Log Management at one place. Learn more about ManageEngine NCM
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
The All-Inclusive Open Source Database Management
ClusterControl is a fully featured Database Management Software designed to serve SMEs, Agencies. ClusterControl provides end-to-end solutions designed for Web App. This online Database Management system offers Access Controls/Permissions, Multiple Programming Languages Supported, Data Replication, Relational, Backup and Recovery at one place. Learn more about ClusterControl
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
CFEngine is a configuration management software tool that allows you to manage and configure servers on the cloud. Designed explicitly for IT professionals, CFEngine allows you to download packages, configure embedded devices, and more. Learn more about CFEngine
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
SaltStack is an automation solution that helps IT organizations strengthen and secure their cloud infrastructure. This configuration management software allows you to automate the orchestration of enterprise DevOps workflows at scale. Learn more about SaltStack
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Powerful DevOps tool for Deploying Web Apps
Octopus Deploy is a configuration management solution that simplifies the release orchestration and DevOps automation process. It enables you to manage releases, automate complicated software deployments, and automate routine tasks. Learn more about Octopus Deploy
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Run Easy Penetration and Security Assessments
BackBox is an excellent Linux distro for technical professionals and organizations that want to run seamless security assessments and penetration tests. This configuration management software offers a tailored, easy-to-use environment. Learn more about BackBox
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
Azure Automation is a configuration management system that provides cloud-based automation and configuration solutions. It allows you to manage your resources with features like update management, process automation, and more. Learn more about Azure Automation
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
IT and Configuration Management at Your Fingertips
Micro Focus ZENworks is an effective configuration management software system that enables you to automate IT processes across various platforms and devices. It offers seamless application distribution features for efficient management. Learn more about Micro Focus ZENworks
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
CloudBees is a cloud-based, feature-rich configuration management system that offers self-service, centrally-managed development teams solutions. This software can be hosted either on-premise or in the cloud as per your needs. Learn more about CloudBees
Starting Price: Available on Request
Emergents | 2023
WeConfig is a widely-used configuration management software solution that provides Salesforce management and integrity services. It allows you to streamline and clear your data for field changes, accurate reporting, and account permissions. Learn more about WeConfig
Starting Price: Available on Request
Until 31st Mar 2023
Why Use Configuration Management Software?
Configuration management software automates repetitive tasks and ensures that your network is consistent and up-to-date. This makes configuration management an essential tool for any IT professional managing large networks with many devices.
Besides, configuration management tools perform various tasks to keep physical and logical assets consistent. These management tools identify and track all configuration items and document functional dependencies, helping the IT department understand how changing one configuration item affects all the others.
Here are some more reasons to use a configuration management tool.
1. Streamline Processes
Configuration management software helps you organize your servers, network devices, and other IT assets. For example, you can easily see what each device is doing, when it was last updated, and how long it's been running. This way, if there's an issue with one of your devices, you can quickly pinpoint the source of the problem.
2. Reduces Downtime
Having all of your devices organized in one central spot makes troubleshooting much easier. For example, if one server goes down for some reason (e.g., hardware failure or human error), you can easily find out which other pieces of equipment rely on that server and fix the issue before it becomes a major issue.
3. Improves Security
When there's no single point of failure in a networked environment, there's less risk of hackers compromising critical data or accessing sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers through brute force attacks. However, with software configuration tools, you can eliminate security risks.
Who Uses Software Configuration Management Tools?
Software development teams and IT departments typically use software configuration management (SCM) tools. Here's why these groups use software configuration management tools:
1. Development Teams
Development teams use SCM tools because it makes their job easier by tracking what changes have been made to code and where those changes came from. Besides, configuration management tools in software testing allow developers to see what other developers have done on a project and find out if there are conflicts between their work and someone else's.
2. IT Departments
SCM tools give IT departments version control of an application, so they know what version needs to be installed on each user's computer when upgrading their system. This also helps the DevOps team collaborate when tackling infrastructure challenges.
10 Best Configuration Management Software
Our top ten configuration management tools list includes:
1. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
2. Rudder
3. CFEngine
4. Chef Infra
5. Puppet Enterprise
6. Azure Automation and Control
7. ServiceNow Now Platform
8. Hashicorp Terraform
9. Octopus Deploy
10. Split
Let's dig deeper into the top five software configuration management tools so you can make an informed decision.
1. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
Ansible by Red Hat is new generation software that helps businesses automate critical processes. It allows IT teams to define rules for different departments and leverage automation to prevent processes that might interfere with current procedures.
Additionally, this software configuration management tool allows administrators to standardize how users deploy, initiate, and audit automation and configuration files in the network, enabling them to keep the systems stable.
Key Features
- Automation controller dashboard
- Real-time job output
- Remote command execution
- Job scheduling
- Workflows
- Role-based access control
- Audit trail
- 24/7 support
Pricing
Red Hat has not made the pricing public. You will have to contact the company for a customized quote.
2. Rudder
The Rudder is a configuration management solution that allows you to automate, deploy, and maintain your applications. It also acts as a server configuration monitor, enabling you to manage numerous devices and network types, including laptops, cloud environments, and industrial physical servers.
Furthermore, you can audit and enforce security across your systems based on your internal policies and vulnerability management strategies. This also helps IT managers prove infrastructure compliance.
Key Features
- Automate global configuration management
- Create dynamic groups based on inventory and data criteria
- Centralize systems management
- API-based design
- Drift management
- Hierarchical data management
- Progressive rollout
- Custom security policies
- CVE assessment
- OpenSCAP audit
- Activity logs and compliance view
Pricing
- Basic: 50€ per node per year
- Standard: 80€ per node per year
- Premium: 100€ per node per year
However, Rudder offers a one-month free trial to help you evaluate if it's the right choice for your business.
3. CFEngine
CFEngine is one of the best configuration management tools that allow you to automate your infrastructure, security, and compliance. You can also customize its reports and dashboards for better insights.
Furthermore, it acts as a single source of truth, allowing you to access critical business information from all your devices, including bare metal servers, VMs, cloud tools, or IoT devices.
Key Features
- Configuration management
- Real-time compliance levels
- Performance monitoring
- CI/CD integration
- Patch management
- Compliance reporting
- Alerts and dashboards
- APIs and web interface
- Automated inventory management
Pricing
Pricing details are not available on their website. Although there is a free version for open-source projects, enterprises must pay for a business license.
4. Chef Infra
The Chef configuration tool is a powerful policy-based configuration management software that helps businesses manage their systems and configuration changes. You can define configurations & policies and automate data aggregation & validation.
The DevOps team can automate repeatable and reusable processes for various types of systems and embedded networked devices. Besides, the continuous integration server developed by Chef Infra helps integrate with preferred source control, infrastructure, secrets management, and provisioning tools.
Key Features
- Test-driven development
- AIOps support
- Self-service
- Scheduled updates
- Resource management
- Secrets management
- Data aggregation and validation
- Full stack visibility
- Agile development practices
Pricing
Pricing isn't available on their website. However, you can contact the company for a customized quote.
5. Puppet Enterprise
If you're looking for a software configuration management tool that helps manage and automate complex workflows simply and effectively, Puppet is the right choice. It has model-based and task-based automation capabilities to help you scale your infrastructure.
Besides, its master client setup model helps deploy changes quickly and with fewer inconsistencies. It also has thousands of extensible modules that make it easier for organizations to enhance their capabilities.
Key Features
- Single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Customizable reporting
- System health checks
- Cloud integrations, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud
- Compliance tools
- Self-service automation
Pricing
Puppet offers a customized quote. You can contact the company for pricing.
The key features of configuration management systems include
1. Configuration Identification
Software configuration management tools can individually identify any instance or version of a tool. Every time a build is reconfigured, it will take a snapshot of the software so you can check its history at any time. This improves transparency and ensures complete visibility.
2. Configuration Control
Configuration management tools formalize internal change processes via configuration control. For example, admins can ensure any change in the software is fully authorized and documented. They can also set permissions to control access across the team, preventing unauthorized changes.
3. Configuration Status Monitoring:
Configuration management software tools help monitor the status of each change in an application. This ensures everyone stays on the same page and can react more effectively to issues (if any).
4. Automatic Configuration:
Whether you want to manage configuration management data or change the application status, you can define rules for them to happen automatically with tools for configuration management.
What are The Common Problems With Configuration Management Software?
The most common problems with SCM tools are:
- It doesn't always include everything
- It is complicated to use (at least at the start)
- Increases security risks (if not implemented appropriately)
- Can affect your decision-making (if accurate data is not fed)
Let's understand the challenges of IT configuration management software in detail.
1. Doesn't Include Everything You Need
There are many different types of configuration management software available on the market today, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. However, no single product can handle every situation, so you need to pick one that best suits your needs.
For example, Chef or Puppet may be a good choice if you're looking for something that helps you manage your networks and applications and implement a continuous integration server. However, if you're looking for something to manage your server environments, then Ansible may be better suited for your needs.
But the good part is that you can customize your SCM tool to meet your business’s unique requirements without paying a hefty amount.
2. Might Be Complicated
Another common problem with configuration management software is that it can sometimes be too complicated for inexperienced users to use effectively. If you've never used a product like Chef or Puppet before, it's quite likely that it will take some time before things make sense! This can lead people to give up on their implementation efforts early because they think they're doing it wrongly.
3. Inaccurate data
This can cause problems when deciding what features should be added or removed from your platform. For example, suppose you have inaccurate data. In that case, you may not know whether a given feature would benefit your customers or not because the data may indicate that it isn't being used as much as it is being used. Therefore, make sure you constantly analyze data accurately and remove inaccurate ones.
4. Security risks
Although tools for configuration management help mitigate security risks, they can significantly increase if you don't have accurate data. That’s because you won't know if there are security risks associated with certain features — or if the data indicates there aren't any security risks when there are some. This can leave you vulnerable to hackers trying to exploit loopholes in your system's security policy.
The key trends related to SCM tools are continuous integration and deployment, AI integration, and model-driven automation management.
Regarding the industry, the configuration management systems market was valued at $1.72 billion in 2020. The number is expected to reach $5.81 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 16.26% from 2021 to 2028. This indicates that configuration management systems are not going out of the trend anytime soon!
So, what can we expect in the future of configuration management software tools? Here are some trends!
1. Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD)
A proper CI/CD strategy includes planning, building, testing, and deploying software. It also involves ensuring compliance with the project's goals. Configuration management software helps streamline the CI/CD process by offering agile control over application infrastructure.
2. Artificial Integration (AI) integration
AI integration will be one of the most sought-after features in configuration management tools in 2023. AI-based mechanisms will be able to identify bugs automatically, saving developers a lot of time on debugging.
3. Model Driven Automation Management
As more organizations adopt DevOps culture and practices, automated SCM tools are becoming popular among software developers. These tools can automatically detect changes in code and initiate tasks such as testing or deploying them without requiring manual intervention by developers. This helps reduce human errors while improving efficiency at the same time.
What are The Software and Services Related to Configuration Management Software Tools?
The key software and services related to software configuration management tools are bug tracking systems, software testing tools, and version control systems.
1. Bug tracking systems
Bug tracking systems provide an organized way for teams of developers to track and manage bugs in their projects. Bug tracking systems include issues tracking, requirements management, timekeeping, and defect tracking capabilities.
2. Software testing tools
Software testing solutions allow you to test code before it goes into production to ensure it works as expected before making it live. Software testing tools include automated test case builders and manual testing tools like Selenium WebDriver for browser-based testing.
3. Version control systems
Version control systems are tools that allow you to store multiple versions of files in an organized way and then easily retrieve any file at any point in history. If a change is made to a file that needs to be rolled back, the version control system will let you know which version is the most recent and which should be restored from the repository.
FAQs of Configuration Management Software
1. Planning and identification
2. Version control and baseline configuration
3. Change control
4. Configuration status accounting
5. Audits and reviews