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Repeatable Server Configuration and Deployment
January 30, 2020

Repeatable Server Configuration and Deployment

Gene Baker | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Chef

Chef is not an enterprise-wide tool. We use Chef within our department for the configuration management of our numerous servers. Even though we only have a small number of different types of servers, the configuration of hundreds of servers can be unwieldy. Having a standard recipes for a database server or reporting server has helped us to have a more consistent deployment. This helps when deploying new virtual machines, and helps with our speed to market.
  • System Configuration Recipes.
  • Configuration Management.
  • The recipe language could be a little more robust.
  • Less time is spent troubleshooting configuration errors.
  • From the first time we see correct deployment of servers.
We found that Chef was easy to use, and we liked the whole concept of recipes and cookbooks. We were using the concept of recipes and cookbooks for our SQL development, so Chef was a natural fit for our team members and environment. That whole paradigm is easy for everyone to understand. The language to write the recipes wasn't too difficult to master either.
There are training and professional services available for Chef in addition to just regular support. This shows that there is a commitment from the company for this product. We have not had to use the support team much, and have been pretty much self-reliant, although we do have support as is required by our enterprise.

Do you think Progress Chef delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Progress Chef's feature set?

Yes

Did Progress Chef live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Progress Chef go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Progress Chef again?

Yes

Chef is a great tool to have when you need to have consistent server deployments as it offers the use of recipes and cookbooks. Because the recipe is used, the process is repeatable, and you can expect consistent deployment results. This helps prevent drift in the configuration deployments and that allows for standardization which helps for troubleshooting server and configuration issues. For me it is critical that if we deploy 7 reporting servers, that they are all configured the same, unless requirements call for them to be different. I prefer this, what we call the "Southwest model," being that Southwest Airlines uses one type of planes, 737s, albeit different variants. We prefer all of our Linux reporting boxes to be configured alike, all the same. It's the same with our database servers; they should all be the same unless we find a valid reason for them to differ. This is where the recipes are extremely helpful and valuable.