Configuration Management #

Configuration management ensures systems stay consistent, secure, and compliant over time.

Common approaches #

• Declarative management: define end state and reconcile
• Imperative automation: explicit steps for desired changes
• Immutable pattern: replace hosts/images instead of mutating them

Tools #

• Ansible: agentless automation and strong ecosystem
• Puppet/Chef: mature enterprise policy enforcement models
• SaltStack: event-driven orchestration

Best practices #

• keep config in version control
• separate reusable roles from environment values
• run idempotent playbooks/jobs
• detect and alert on drift