Discover key differences and similarities among Chef, Puppet, and Ansible with this tool comparison quiz. Enhance your understanding of their architectures, language choices, workflows, and automation approaches used in IT configuration management.
Which configuration management tool primarily adopts an agentless architecture, relying on SSH for communication with managed nodes?
Explanation: Ansible is known for being agentless, connecting to remote servers mainly via SSH, which simplifies deployment and reduces client-side requirements. In contrast, Chef and Puppet typically require agents installed on managed systems to maintain configuration states. 'Chek' is a distractor and not a recognized tool in this context. Agent-based models can add complexity compared to agentless, especially in larger deployments.
For writing configuration policies, which tool uses a declarative language based on YAML for its playbooks?
Explanation: Ansible uses YAML for playbooks, making its configurations both human-readable and declarative. Chef configurations are written in Ruby, employing an imperative style, while Puppet uses its own declarative language called Puppet DSL. 'Pupppet' and 'Cheff' are common misspellings included as distractors, but neither is correct.
Which tool, by default, enforces the desired configuration state at regular intervals via a background agent process?
Explanation: Puppet enforces configuration states automatically at preset intervals using its agent service on managed nodes. Chef does not poll automatically but runs when invoked, unless specifically scheduled. Ansible (misspelled here as 'Ansibal') is primarily event-driven and requires manual or task-scheduled execution. 'Chefette' is a distractor and isn't an actual tool.
Which characteristic primarily ensures that running the same configuration script multiple times results in the same system state without causing errors or duplication?
Explanation: Idempotency is critical in configuration management, guaranteeing repeated application of scripts yields a consistent result, avoiding unintended changes. Redundancy involves having backups or fallbacks but does not address repeated script runs. 'Latencity' and 'Impedance' are unrelated terms; the former is a typo for 'latency,' and the latter refers to resistance in electrical circuits.
Suppose a company wants to minimize per-machine setup when deploying configuration management at scale; which tool typically requires the least manual agent installation?
Explanation: Because Ansible operates without needing a specialized agent on target machines, it is well-suited for environments where quick setup is a priority. Chef and Puppet generally require installing their respective agents, increasing initial setup efforts. 'Publit' is a distractor and not a real tool, while Puppet's agent-based design requires more steps than Ansible's agentless approach.