Perforce Puppet vs. vRealize Configuration Manager (discontinued)

Puppet is good enough to get the job done, you can use it to automate deployments and maintain files and configurations, if this is all you're looking for it's great. If you're looking for more control over your systems as a whole without having to write your own scripts or install multiple configuration management systems then Puppet is not what you're looking for.

Incentivized

If you want the best compatibility with VMware products, this is it. There are other HyperVisor platforms out there, however, this software is native to VMWare. Reduces potential security threats through a unified approach to configuration management across the physical and virtual infrastructure.

Incentivized

• Provides a clear map of how a system is configured
• Eases the creation of a system in a specific cluster as it is scripted in code
• Simplifies configuration changes to a cluster or to every system such as rolling out vhost configurations, updating ldap roles, NFS mounts, etc
• The syntax is very easy to read and carries a lot of fluidity once the language is learned.

Incentivized

• Active monitoring of Syslog and notifications based upon the matching conditions.
• Change management- Changes can be pushed to several system from one place. It also keeps the record of what changes and who made the change even if the changes has not been made through VMware vCenter Configuration Manager.
• Robust reporting feature- Enhanced filters features and report generation in excel format presents the data in readable and to the point.
• Integration with ticketing tool further ensures that changes are approved before implementation.

Incentivized

• The setup of Puppet is a nightmare compared to ansible. Anyone watching a youtube video can easily set up ansible with minimal IT knowledge. All one needs is the source IP addresses and we are good to go. Setting up Puppet is a more hands-on task and pushing the puppet agents to all the boxes is another issue. If the installation and setup were simplified like ansible that would attract a lot of people to this platform
• The syntax of the code for Puppet is not as easy as ansible. Ansible simply follows a YAML format and it's like typing in normal English. Even complicated tasks can be written by just understanding YAML syntax. Perhaps Puppet needs to revisit the lanugage used and try to come up with a much simpler lanugage for writing code. This will make day-to-day usage easier.

Incentivized

• It a little cumbersome to get all features up and running.
• Takes a bit of knowledge to get to all configured and thievery setup.
• It would be great if it had a monitoring tool internally, a tool like Nagios for example.

Incentivized

Puppet has top class support. You can simply mail them with their query and they will respond to your query in a timely manner. We do have enterprise license for puppet. Also there is a vibrant community for puppet out there. So even if you dont purchase a premium support option you can simply google your queries and get answers

Incentivized

HPSA is a licensed product and incurs significant upfront investment costs due to COTS licensing. Puppet Data Center Automation has a significantly lower upfront investment and product documentation is more readily available. Chef is a very similar offering, however, at the time our decision was considered, the adoption of Chef vs. Puppet was significantly less in the community.

Incentivized

• BMC TrueSight Server Automation
• VMware vCenter Configuration Manager has good reporting feature.
• The interface is very user-friendly and is simple to use.
• Multiple Platform support i.e Windows, Linux, UNIX
• Patch management and templates are easy to configure and use.

Incentivized

• Cut deployment times down to around 1 hour from 4-5 hours.
• Allows us to get a fully running system up from scratch in around 30 minutes.
• Allows for a more clear view of what is required to get a host running.

Incentivized

• Really good ROI!!! Every penny paid with a smile on my face!!!
• Ease of use, simplified GUI, evenhanded features, strong support behind it, compatibility with other products.
• Cuts time for configuration drastically.

Incentivized