Terraform is one of the most popular open source IaC tools. It is developed by HashiCorp, which uses a declarative configuration language called HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) or JSON to define infrastructure. With Terraform, you can deliver IaC by codifying cloud application programming interfaces (APIs) into declarative configuration files. You can enable self-service infrastructure provisioning using IaC and seamlessly integrate with VCS, IT service management (ITSM), and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines. It is widely used for multi-cloud deployment and to manage network infrastructure, such as updating load balancer member pools or applying firewall policies. HashiCorp also provides a business plan that includes functionalities such as identifying configuration drift, single sign-on (SSO) support, audit trail logs, an option for hosting your agents, and customizable concurrency settings. Specific pricing details for the business plan can be obtained from the official website: https://www.terraform.io/.
Ansible by Red Hat
Ansible is a widely embraced open source automation tool used as an IaC by Red Hat. It has the capability to set up systems, distribute software, and coordinate more advanced IT operations such as continuous deployments or seamless, zero-downtime rolling updates. Ansible is agentless, which means it does not require any software agents to be installed on the target machines. Instead, it communicates with remote hosts using SSH (for Linux/Unix) or WinRM (for Windows) protocols. This reduces the complexity of managing agents and makes Ansible easy to deploy and use. Ansible is widely used for multi-cloud environments and is suitable for a range of environments, spanning from modest configurations featuring just a few instances to sprawling enterprise setups encompassing thousands of instances. Beyond just infrastructure orchestration, Ansible seamlessly extends its capabilities to configuration management and facilitates swift application deployments, making it a versatile and favored choice for automating diverse IT operations. For more details about Ansible, refer to the official website: https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/management/ansible.
Puppet
Puppet is an open source configuration management and automation tool that helps IT teams manage IaC. It allows you to define and enforce the desired state of your infrastructure using declarative code, making it easier to automate tasks, ensure consistency, and scale your infrastructure efficiently. Puppet is widely used in IT operations, particularly for configuration management, software deployment, and compliance enforcement. Puppet uses a declarative approach where you define the desired configuration state, and Puppet takes care of ensuring that the system matches that state. Puppet uses agent software (Puppet Agent) installed on target nodes to manage them, allowing for secure and efficient communication between the Puppet master and agents. It is highly extensible, allowing you to create custom modules and facts to adapt it to your specific needs. It also provides reporting and auditing capabilities, making it possible to track changes to your infrastructure and ensure compliance with desired configurations. Puppet can integrate with various tools and services, including cloud providers, VCSs, and external data sources. For more details about the tool and its extensive use cases, please refer to the official website: https://www.puppet.com/.
