Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

Branau · 2016-02-25 22:31:57

So back in April of last year, I started learning to program, with Python, and then in August I landed my first Web Dev job, working in PHP and JavaScript. I've been on Linux since the beginning though, and I'm always trying to learn new things related to servers. One of the things my bosses have mentioned is moving me more into DevOps, because I can do a little bit of both system administration and development, so I've been looking at a few options, namely the ones in the title of this post. There are many many options to choose from, however, and I'm not sure which one to go for. I think the primary concern for me is that I'll need to be able to build highly-scalable, enterprise-level applications. This could include web apps but also could be backends for iOS/Android apps. Currently we do mostly eCommerce but we want to move more into custom applications so I'll need the skills and knowledge to design and build systems accordingly. I've done a little research on these tools, but I'd appreciate some advice from some people with a bit more experience than I have.

jasonwryan · 2016-02-25 22:42:21

We are primarily a Puppet outfit, but have been moving to Ansible of late because it apparently affords more flexibility with docker containers.

firecat53 · 2016-02-25 22:43:43

Try reddit.com/r/sysadmin. There are numerous posts there covering exactly this topic in depth. In short...learning any of the above will only help you. Which one you ultimately choose depends entirely on the infrastructure and projects you are supporting

Scott

fukawi2 · 2016-02-26 01:00:30

I initially experimented with Puppet and Chef, then got pointed to Ansible by someone after getting frustrated with them both. IMHO, Puppet and Chef are great for larger environments where you have "multiple of everything" (eg, 2 load balances, 10 web servers, 4 database servers etc). Ansible is great for smaller environments (like mine) where I generally have 1 of everything (1 mail server, 1 web server, 1 database server).

My opinion only; it's probably not right but Ansible works very well for me, where the others frustrated me like having a jigsaw piece that didn't fit the puzzle.

Branau · 2016-02-26 01:08:55

jasonwryan wrote:

We are primarily a Puppet outfit, but have been moving to Ansible of late because it apparently affords more flexibility with docker containers.

Interesting. What types of projects do you usually handle, if I may ask?

firecat53 wrote:

Try reddit.com/r/sysadmin. There are numerous posts there covering exactly this topic in depth. In short...learning any of the above will only help you. Which one you ultimately choose depends entirely on the infrastructure and projects you are supporting
Scott

I've been looking around there and I have found some interesting stuff, thanks for the suggestion! From what I can tell, they all basically do the same things, but with a different area of focus/different goals. It's just a matter of choosing the correct tool for the correct job.

fukawi2 wrote:

I initially experimented with Puppet and Chef, then got pointed to Ansible by someone after getting frustrated with them both. IMHO, Puppet and Chef are great for larger environments where you have "multiple of everything" (eg, 2 load balances, 10 web servers, 4 database servers etc). Ansible is great for smaller environments (like mine) where I generally have 1 of everything (1 mail server, 1 web server, 1 database server).

From what I understand, Chef and Puppet are meant for larger infrastructures whereas Ansible is more appropriate for smaller ones, which goes right along the lines of what you said. The company I work for is growing pretty steadily and hoping to take on bigger tasks, so I may want to get into Chef or Puppet to accommodate the growth. Worst case scenario, I learn skills that go beyond the scope of my current job and have to find a new one with a bigger company to put them to use. Not a bad alternative haha

jasonwryan · 2016-02-26 01:11:51

Branau wrote:

jasonwryan wrote:
We are primarily a Puppet outfit, but have been moving to Ansible of late because it apparently affords more flexibility with docker containers.
Interesting. What types of projects do you usually handle, if I may ask?

Sure: http://catalyst.net.nz/blog/ansible-catalyst-cloud

Branau · 2016-02-26 05:06:42

See perhaps Ansible would be good for me to learn, because right now the company I work for is just barely going to start getting more into server management. I don't imagine they'll have a lot of demand nor really large projects at first. The problem is if they grow by a sizeable amount in a short time, would Ansible be adequate in the long run?

fukawi2 · 2016-02-28 22:32:24

Branau wrote:

would Ansible be adequate in the long run?

I think Ansible should scale quite well, especially if you have the familiarity and skills internally using it. At scale you may wish to look at "pull" instead of "push" deployment of Ansible (the push methodology is actually something I really like, but makes sense for larger infrastructure).

Arch Linux

#1 2016-02-25 22:31:57

Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#2 2016-02-25 22:42:21

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#3 2016-02-25 22:43:43

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#4 2016-02-26 01:00:30

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#5 2016-02-26 01:08:55

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#6 2016-02-26 01:11:51

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#7 2016-02-26 05:06:42

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

#8 2016-02-28 22:32:24

Re: Ansible vs Chef vs Docker vs Puppet vs ....

Board footer