It is a configuration management tool that is used for automating administration tasks. Puppet makes use of the Master-Slave architecture in which the two entities communicate via an encrypted channel.
System admins need to perform a lot of repetitive tasks, notably installing and configuring servers. Writing scripts for automating such tasks is an option but it becomes hectic when the infrastructure is large. Configuration management is a great workaround for this.
Puppet helps in configuring, deploying, and managing servers. Not only does it make such redundant tasks easier but also cuts a significant portion of the total work time. The mature configuration management tool:
- Continuously checks whether the needed configuration for a host is in place or not. If altered, the configuration is automatically reverted back
- Defines distinct configurations for every host
- Does dynamic scaling (up and down) of machines
- Provides control over all the configured machines so that a centralized change can automatically get propagated to all of them
