Puppet vs CFEngine

While most people think of Puppet and Chef when they’re thinking about Configuration

Management tools, other alternatives exist. One notable example is CFEngine. In this

post, we’ll compare Puppet to this older, more established configuration management

tool.

CFEngine is actually significantly older than Puppet or Chef, dating back to 1993. It was

created by Mark Burgess and, like Puppet, started out as an open-source configuration

management tool, not an an enterprise Configuration Management product. It wasn’t

commercialized in 2008. CFEngine has been described as the grandfather of

configuration management tools.

So how do CFEngine and Puppet differ from one another?

Complexity and Power

While Puppet is heralded to be more “Ops-friendly”, due to its model-driven approach

and relatively small learning curve, CFEngine resides more in the “Dev-friendly” side of

the spectrum.

CFEngine runs on C, as opposed to Puppet’s use of Ruby. C is the more low level of the

two languages, and one of the main complaints regarding CFEngine is that the learning

curve is very steep. It does mean though that CFEngine has a dramatically smaller

memory footprint, it runs faster and has far fewer dependencies.

Puppet’s model-driven approach means a smaller learning curve, which makes it a

preferred option for sysadmins with limited coding experience. The model-driven

approach also takes on a lot of the responsibility for dependency management. Some

argue that this can result in unexpected behaviour though and has its limits.

Platforms

Puppet’s edge here is avoiding specific nuances across operating systems, which exist

when using CFEngine. However, Puppet and CFEngine have excellent support across

platforms.

CFEngine’s supported platforms

Puppet’s supported platforms

Community

Puppet and CFEngine both have strong user communities, as they are both mature

tools. CFEngine has a strong international presence, headquartered in Oslo, with

several US offices as well.

CFEngine’s site claims that they currently manage more than 10 million nodes. Puppet is

less specific about exactly how many servers their software runs on, but they have an

impressive list of customers.

Documentation

Both Puppet and CFEngine have moved past early missteps (or lack of focus) on the

documentation front. Both have online references available:

CFEngine Reference Doc

Puppet Reference Doc

Whatever your choice it is always wise to look to third party reference material to get a

full appreciation of the power and nuances of each tool.

Learning CFEngine

Automating Linux and Unix System Administration

Pro Puppet

Puppet 2.7 Cookbook

Pricing

Naturally, due to its open-source origins, CFEngine (like Puppet) has a free open-source

version available. Puppet’s Enterprise edition provides 10 free nodes, and then charges

$99 per node per year (with bulk discounts available). CFEngine’s pricing after the 25

free nodes is unspecified, they require you to contact a sales representative for more

pricing information – they offer “promotional pricing” based off of a client’s particular

needs.

One key benefit of CFEngine’s pricing model appears to be that its pricing is more

customizable to a company’s specific needs. CFEngine also offers significantly more

free nodes than does Puppet.

Conclusion

At a high level if coding and complexity doesn’t scare you, if small agent footprints and

speed matter and you’ll take control and scale over simplicity then CFEngine may be for

you. If the relatively smoother onboarding and simpler model driven approach is more

attractive then Puppet may well be for you. As always, both tools are available to trial at

no cost so if you have the time choose a representative (if modest) configuration to

automate using each and compare and contrast. Nothing beats hands on experience.