I think our definition of homogeneous might be different then. I have file-servers, web-servers, app-servers, etc, and I would consider my environment homogeneo

I think our definition of homogeneous might be different then. I have file-servers, web-servers, app-servers, etc, and I would consider my environment homogeneous. I use the same base-os, and I can reuse the same scripts for each type of server because of how modular my system is. For my setup, just using shell scripts works much simpler and easier. But I'm also not advocating that shell-scripts will work for everyone. For many situations, a full-fledged config-mgmt system is the better solution. I've just never been in one.