Part 1 - Evaluation of configuration management tools
In this assignment you are going to learn about modern configuration management- and provisioning tools and present your findings in a written rapport. The goal with this assignment is that you will get deeper understanding of what different modern tools there are made for automating the build process in a cloud-based infrastructure. You will also compare these tools and try to to describe their differences. At the latest step you should create your own opinion about these tools and motivate it.
You will investigate at least three different configuration management- and provisioning tools. The below two is mandatory but you are free to choose the last one by yourself.
Disposition
You will be examined trough a written report. Below you could see a recommended structure of your report. You are free to add own sub-headlines if you want. Please think about the structure and your language. Use headlines, make paragraphs, check your spelling and grammar. Use images, tables if needed.
Introduction
- Give an introduction to the subjects of the report, explain technical definitions used in the report.
- An presentation and overview of the tools
- How the tools can support the idea of DevOps
The tools in this report
- Ansible
- Describe the tool and its history
- Describe the problems the tool is constructed to solve
- Describe its payment models, licenses etc.
- Give some simple example of syntax, and explain it for the reader
- List pros and cons, and how it differs from the other tools in this report
- Give examples of good (hopefully free) web resources for learning the tool
- Terraform
- Describe the tool and its history
- Describe the problems the tool is constructed to solve
- Describe its payment models, licenses etc.
- Give some simple example of syntax, and explain it for the reader
- List pros and cons, and how it differs from the other tools in this report
- Give examples of good (hopefully free) web resources for learning the tool
- Your choice of tool (must be some kind of "configuration management- and provisioning tool")
- Describe the tool and its history
- Describe the problems the tool is constructed to solve
- Describe its payment models, licenses etc.
- Give some simple example of syntax, and explain it for the reader
- List pros and cons, and how it differs from the other tools in this report
- Give examples of good (hopefully free) web resources for learning the tool
Your personal reflection of your findings
- If you will choose a tool to learn which is of your interest? motivate your choice.
As usually you must use the IEEE-reference system when handling your sources and references used in the text. We have not set a fixed requirements of pages for this assignment so we expect that you are experience enough to hold it within a reasonable number of pages, think around 3-4 pages per tool plus introduction and personal reflection.
For the first hand-in (the peer-review) you are free to choose to write your name on your report (you could be anonymous).
Hand-in instructions for peer-instruction
- No later then 08.00am 19 of September
- The format must be PDF
- You send the report to john.haggerud@lnu.se
- The same day you get an other students report to review with further instructions
- You read your peer and send a review before 24/9 08:00
- After you gone through the review on your work you send in the final version before 26/9 08:00
- This time you must send the report to: john.haggerud.LNU@analys.urkund.se
Late hand-in
If you could not produce a report to the date above we will have one late hand-in during this course with the following requirements:
- Also include an extra configuration management tool in your report (you decide which, means four total)
- No later then 08.00am 22 of October
- The format should PDF
- The report should be send to john.haggerud@lnu.se
- The same day you get an other students report to review with further instructions
Questions
Use slack for questions.
