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OpsWorks is a nice convenience on AWS and is implemented with the Chef configuration management tool (provided by Opscode, the company behind Chef, hence the na

OpsWorks is a nice convenience on AWS and is implemented with the Chef configuration management tool (provided by Opscode, the company behind Chef, hence the name). Shameless plug: If you know you should be using a configuration management tool, but haven't picked one yet, I'll be releasing a book on Wednesday Sept 4th just for you. The book is called "Taste Test" and compares Puppet, Chef, Salt, and Ansible. In the book, I implement an identical project with each tool so you can see what each one is like to work with. I definitely had some big surprises when writing the book. Spoiler: Ansible was by far the simplest, easiest to understand, and quickest to get up and going. To get a discount for the book release, just sign up on the mailing list: http://devopsu.com/books/taste-test-puppet-chef-salt-stack-ansible.html http://devopsu.com/books/taste-test-puppet-chef-salt-stack-a...

vosper 13y ago
This is awesome, I'm eager to check out your book; in-depth side-by-side comparisons are something that's missing from way too many technology discussions.
joeya 13y ago
I've heard a little about Ansible but look forward to learning more. I'm in awe that you took the time to get up to speed on each of those tools. Some of the learning curves are... intimidating. For what it's worth, I actually found OpsWorks' usage of Chef to be more intuitive than Opscode's own. OpsWorks relies on "events" (setup, deploy, shutdown, etc.) that trigger (i.e., push) recipes to be applied to instances. Opscode, at least in its typical architecture, relies on clients pulling configuration from a Chef server at a regular interval.
gingerlime 13y ago
sounds interesting. I was reading some great things about ansible and am keen to give it a try. However, reading about AWS Opswork makes me wonder if it's better to stick to chef, even if it's not as easy. If Opsworks picks up, chef's likely to become the gold standard. I'm curious to know your take on this?
- mattjaynes 13y ago
  I've been recommending and using Puppet and Chef for years. However, the new generation of tools like Ansible and Salt are miles ahead in terms of usability. Ansible in particular makes it easy to be up and going in a matter of minutes where some of the other tools literally take days. So, if you're on the fence, I'd try Ansible first, then if for some reason it's not working for you, then consider Chef.
ZoFreX 13y ago
I'm curious - why didn't you include CF-Engine?

vosper 13y ago

This is awesome, I'm eager to check out your book; in-depth side-by-side comparisons are something that's missing from way too many technology discussions.

joeya 13y ago

I've heard a little about Ansible but look forward to learning more. I'm in awe that you took the time to get up to speed on each of those tools. Some of the learning curves are... intimidating. For what it's worth, I actually found OpsWorks' usage of Chef to be more intuitive than Opscode's own. OpsWorks relies on "events" (setup, deploy, shutdown, etc.) that trigger (i.e., push) recipes to be applied to instances. Opscode, at least in its typical architecture, relies on clients pulling configuration from a Chef server at a regular interval.

gingerlime 13y ago

sounds interesting. I was reading some great things about ansible and am keen to give it a try. However, reading about AWS Opswork makes me wonder if it's better to stick to chef, even if it's not as easy. If Opsworks picks up, chef's likely to become the gold standard. I'm curious to know your take on this?

mattjaynes 13y ago
I've been recommending and using Puppet and Chef for years. However, the new generation of tools like Ansible and Salt are miles ahead in terms of usability. Ansible in particular makes it easy to be up and going in a matter of minutes where some of the other tools literally take days. So, if you're on the fence, I'd try Ansible first, then if for some reason it's not working for you, then consider Chef.

ZoFreX 13y ago

I'm curious - why didn't you include CF-Engine?