What are Configuration Management Tools? Answer from SUSE Defines

If the smartphone model is suddenly different in the hypothetical scenario, then you need to be informed so you can adjust your search for the right charger. Development and operations teams need the same insight for their software configurations. A large focus of configuration management is on capturing the metadata for the various systems within an organization. This way, the development team knows not only what servers are available, for example, but which operating systems each server is running to match their application’s operating parameters. Configuration services can also ensure that your company’s data, files and resources are backed up, properly stored and available for recovery should you ever discover a problem that requires immediate action.

When we build software with tools like Docker, we codify our build instructions into our Dockerfile. You’ll experience faster onboarding of new team members, easier collaboration between teams, and extended software lifecycle of products/assets, among other benefits. CMPIC graduates leave CMPIC courses with a solid foundation in all things related to configuration management.

Platform products

Baseline configurations are essential to providing consistency in both provisioning infrastructure and change management. Traditionally, adding simple baseline configurations for operating system security has been cumbersome for IT staff and fraught with errors. Configuration items such as user accounts, compliance standards, and Information Security requirements often go unconfigured or misconfigured across operating systems, driving inconsistency and increasing risk. ] configuration management has been applied to large construction projects which can often be very complex and have a huge number of details and changes that need to be documented. Construction agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration have used configuration management for their infrastructure projects.

what is configuration

Continuous delivery is the process of ensuring that software is always in a releasable state. Continuous integration is the process of bringing separate software artifacts together into a single location on a frequent basis, for the purposes of verifying that the code integrates properly. Software pipelines are the steps (or “value stream,” which we can create with tools like Plutora) that we usually automate, taking code from commit to production. Pipelines usually involve steps such as linting code, unit testing code, integration testing code, and creating artifacts.

Mechanics of Configuration

That way, when we want to increase the number of servers that we run, it’s simply a case of clicking a button or running a script. Before we explore different tools for configuration management, we need to know what end results we’ll receive for our efforts. 6There are various practical ways to automate compiling a new configuration into raw data. For example, if you store your configuration in a version control system, a post-commit hook can facilitate this.

  • It can be dynamically determined based on other properties of the system.
  • Project Management Plan Agile projects, track deadlines, and deliver results.
  • As for IaaC, you have to put the code again in the version control system for CaaC.
  • There are several popular formats for configuration files, each with its own strengths.
  • These settings can either be set by default, or configured manually by the user.

For instance, if a resource manager wants to see resources under their span of control, they can do it by using the right sort-by like project + teams etc. This kind of real-time data helps managers to take timely decisions, increase operational efficiency and deliver projects successfully. Configuration management entails a set of processes that ensure smooth customization of the tool for the entire lifecycle.

How to use configure in a sentence

As part of this emphasis on visibility, configuration management prioritizes accurate documentation. Configuration management has several features like updating production SSL certificates, adding new DB endpoints, password changes, and API keys for new third-party integration. Thus development in agile becomes faster than traditional manual processes.

what is configuration

XML is often used by Java programmers, and Java has a rich set of XML parsers. While it has a reputation of being quite strict, XML is simultaneously very flexible. Unlike HTML, which has a set of tags you’re allowed to use, you can arbitrarily invent your own XML tags. As long as you structure it consistently and have a good library to parse it, you can extract your data with precision and ease. It doesn’t have much of a syntax aside from where you place the data in relation to previous data. What’s a feature for some, though, is a bug for others, and many developers avoid YAML because of the significance it places on what is essentially not there.

Why do we need configuration management?

Regardless of what you’re configuring and how you’re configuring it, the human-computer interaction ultimately boils down to an interface that asks users questions, requesting inputs on how the system should operate. This model of conceptualization holds true regardless of whether users are editing XML files or using a configuration GUI https://globalcloudteam.com/ wizard. As the complexity of systems grows, operator cognitive load becomes increasingly important. However, configuration tends to differ meaningfully from code in several aspects. Changing a system’s capabilities via code is typically a lengthy and involved process, involving small incremental changes, code reviews, and testing.

The CM process is widely used by military engineering organizations to manage changes throughout the system lifecycle of complex systems, such as weapon systems, military vehicles, and information systems. Managing config files can be intimidating, but what’s even more intimidating is fixing a mistake after mismanagement. It’s critical to manage your config files properly in order to configuration components keep them running like a well-oiled machine. This is one of the main reasons why it’s so important to keep track of changes within each config file. Each change may need to be referred to, reconciled, or built upon at a later date. Having the correct config file parameters at the beginning will help, but continuous management is the key to running your applications successfully.

Software

And the best part is that you can free up your internal resources to persue other projects. Likewise, if managers want to look at information from department & teams or department & project, they can do so by using the sort-Bys. Resource management software, for instance, provides resource managers with the ability to sort information such as teams + project, project + resource, and so on. That way, managers can procure data according to relevance and other defined criteria and enhance operational efficiency. Chef configures software and data on computers, with an emphasis on cloud and server virtual machine installations.

Network Configuration and Change Management (NCCM) Market … – Digital Journal

Network Configuration and Change Management (NCCM) Market ….

Posted: Fri, 19 May 2023 05:20:08 GMT [source]

Monitoring the progress and settlement of all change requests are also included. One must be able to provide information on the project’s assets, often in terms of what is ready and where it is located, as well as on its finances, including expense, budgeting, depreciation, etc. Reduce the cost of your technology asset by eliminating configuration redundancy because it keeps detailed knowledge of all the configuration elements. Agile software, by definition, reflects the desire to make changes to our software faster so that we can respond to market demands. Configuration management helps us to safely manage our changes and keep velocity high.

Baseline Configuration

That ideal configuration, or desired state, is the state in which systems and resources are aligned to support development, network performance, and efficiency. CM applied over the life cycle of a system provides visibility and control of its performance, functional, and physical attributes. CM verifies that a system performs as intended, and is identified and documented in sufficient detail to support its projected life cycle. The relatively minimal cost of implementing CM is returned manyfold in cost avoidance. The lack of CM, or its ineffectual implementation, can be very expensive and sometimes can have such catastrophic consequences such as failure of equipment or loss of life. It helps to think of the tabs and colons as their way of communicating.

Author: Nancy Proctor

Nancy Proctor is Chief Strategy Officer and founding Executive Director of The Peale, Baltimore's Community Museum, based in the first purpose-built museum in the U.S. Previously, Nancy was Deputy Director of Digital Experience and Communications at the Baltimore Museum of Art (2014-2016), Head of Mobile Strategy and Initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution (2010-2014), and Head of New Media Initiatives at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum (2008-2010). With a PhD in American art history and a background in filmmaking, curation and feminist theory and criticism in the arts, Nancy lectures and publishes widely on technology and innovation in museums, in French and Italian as well as English. She edited Mobile Apps for Museums: The AAM Guide to Planning and Strategy in 2010, and coordinated the publication of Inclusive Digital Interactives: Best Practices + Research for MuseWeb with Access Smithsonian and the Institute for Human Centered Design in 2020. Nancy served as Co-chair of the international MuseWeb (formerly Museums and the Web) Conferences with Rich Cherry, and edited its annual proceedings from 2012-2020. Nancy created her first online exhibition in 1995 and went on to publish the New Art CD-ROM and website of contemporary art – a first in the UK – in 1996. She co-founded TheGalleryChannel.com in 1998 with Titus Bicknell to present virtual tours of innovative exhibitions alongside comprehensive global museum and gallery listings. TheGalleryChannel was later acquired by Antenna Audio, where Nancy led New Product Development from 2000-2008, introducing the company’s multimedia, sign language, downloadable, podcast and cellphone tours. She also directed Antenna’s sales in France from 2006-2007, and was part of the Travel Channel’s product development team 2007-2008. As program chair Nancy led the development of the Museums Computer Network (MCN) conference programs 2010-2011, and co-organized the Tate Handheld conference 2008 & 2010 with Jane Burton. She started the MuseumMobile wiki and podcast series in 2008, was Digital Editor of Curator: The Museum Journal from 2009-2014, and is now on the Journal's editorial board, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Omnimuseum Project.