What is software configuration management and why do you. Jul 29, 2017 configuration control and change control are often used interchangeably. Software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organizes the development process. Software configuration management is a process to systematically manage. Cfengine 3 is a popular open source configuration management system. It is considered the most mature version control system because it has been developed for such a long. In this way, software configuration management intersects with broader configuration management, occupying cis such as physical servers and os instances. In the software development world, git is currently the most popular version control system. Both are subsets of the overall configuration management system. Configuration control is the activity of managing the product or projects deliverables and related documents, throughout the lifecycle of the product.
However, they are distinct activities with different focus, and one is not a substitute for other. Guenter teubner 154 software engineering fall 1998 3 why software configuration management. Comments on open source software free software ossfs. If something goes wrong, scm can determine what was.
Some version control systems are also software configuration management. The version control system is software that allows you to create versions of elements and work with these versions, as with independent elements. Software configuration management systems are commonly used in software development groups in which several developers are concurrently working on a common set of files. What is the difference between configuration management and. Software configuration management is defined as a process to systematically manage, organize, and control the changes in the documents, codes, and other entities during the software development life cycle. Allows you to take full control and visibility over your software delivery process. If something goes wrong, scm can determine what was changed and who changed it. An introduction to configuration management with ansible. This is where instead of just saving your code to your desktop where you might lose it, or at least forget what it looked like yesterday before you decided to refactor everything and break everythin. Laura taylor, matthew shepherd technical editor, in fisma certification and accreditation handbook, 2007. Before you use software updates in a configuration manager production environment, its important that you go through the planning process. Revision control, also known as version control or source control and an aspect of software configuration management or scm, is the management of changes to documents, programs, and. Configuration management cm is a systems engineering process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a products performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life.
It is the result of over 10 years of research and development at the compaqdigital systems research center. The figure here depicts this level of traceability from both. Scm helps in identifying individual elements and configurations, tracking changes, and version selection, control, and baselining. Software configuration management systems are commonly used in software development. Configuration management an overview sciencedirect topics. To keep the artifacts in the local working copy and remote source control. The list of the most popular software configuration management tools top scm tools in 2020 in software engineering software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software part of the larger disciplinary field of configuration management the scm practices include vision controls in the establishment of baselines. Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. There are two components to the configuration management system. A fork project of cvs, cvsnt was created to run cvs on windows servers. Puppet is an open source configuration management tool for centralizing and automating the configuration management process. Its primary function is to provide automated configuration and. Without scm, source code would become so fragmented and. The list of the most popular software configuration management tools top scm tools in 2020 in software engineering software configuration management is the task of tracking and controlling.
The interface among software development, software configuration. For software, the basics of cm are the same, but there are some added goodies. Version control is a way to keep a track of the changes in the code so that if something goes wrong, we can make comparisons in different code versions and revert to any previous version that we want. The primary goal is to increase productivity with minimal mistakes. Over time, it systems invariably move towards a state of disorder. What is configuration management and how does it work. It is considered the most mature version control system because it has been developed for such a long time and does not receive many requests for new features at this time. The cvs server runs on unixlike systems with client software that runs on multiple operating systems. Setting up a software configuration management scm configuration file. Historically, a major deficiency in the management of software systems has been the lack of an accurate means of determining the interdependencies or configurations of applications and their related components. In this format, each repository object, such as a connection pool, physical table, or business model, is represented in its own xml file. If two developers change the same file, that file might be. A component of software configuration management, version control, also known as revision control or source control, is the management of changes to.
The set of xml files that make up your repository can then be. Left unchecked, these continuous software changes lead to a degradation in performance and quality. Experience with software configuration management and source control tools, such as git, cvs, jenkins, maven and artifactory experience using version control tools for documents experienced in installing and configuring and administering cm tools knowledgeexperience with pcbased software tools for integration, build and release of software. As you work with modules managed in source control, differences arise between the local and remote copies of the modules. Software development is often supported by specialized programs called software configuration management scm tools, aka version control tools. Git being a distributed version control system, the central copy of the code is. Those tools include ansible works awx, jenkins, rundeck, and ara, which offers traceability when running playbooks.
Subversion is an opensource software configuration management scm. Indeed, the problem is now an embarassment of reasonable choices. Software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by organizations to manage the changes introduced. An introduction to configuration management digitalocean. To keep the artifacts in the local working copy and remote source control system in accordance with one another, the local workspace should be synchronized with the remote software configuration management system scm. It simultaneously maintains the current state of the software called the baseline, while enabling developers to work on new versions for features or fixes. The software configuration management process identifies the functional and physical attributes of software at critical points in time, and implements procedures to control changes to an identified attribute with the objective of maintaining software integrity and traceability throughout the software life cycle. Automate provisioning across your it infrastructure. Experience with software configuration management and source control tools, such as git, cvs, jenkins, maven and artifactory experience using version control tools for documents experienced in installing. This is for good reason, since it has a great feature set. Perforce software development tools for innovation at scale. Apr 04, 20 you can probably figure out that the best time to start software configuration management is at the beginning of development. In the localonly approach, all developers must use the same file system.
Software configuration management integrations spirateam. Software configuration management tools, such as chef and puppet, can be used in concert with version control tools for source code management, such as apache subversion and git. Revision control system rcs stores the latest version and backward deltas for fastest access to the trunk tip compared to sccs and an improved user interface, at the cost of slow branch tip access and missing support for includedexcluded deltas. Software configuration management jobs, employment. Top 10 configuration management tools you need to know about. Source control basics whether you are writing a simple application on your own or collaborating on a large software development project as part of a team, source control is a vital. Configuration management software is one of a constellation of devops categories designed to facilitate cooperation between it and development. Version control systems software configuration management.
Version control software vcs is also referred as scm source code management tools or rcs revision control system. Apply to configuration manager, analyst, inventory manager and more. Jan 25, 2018 software configuration management scm is a set of processes, policies, and tools that organizes the development process. Configuration management determines clearly about the items that make up the software or system. Top 5 best version control software source code management. It is used to configure, manage, deploy various applications and services. Configuration management software is designed to automate the deployment of applications in the data center and in the cloud. Software configuration management is referred to as source control, change management, and version control. It outclasses scm tools like subversion, cvs, perforce, and clearcase with features like cheap local branching, convenient staging areas, and multiple workflows. The figure here depicts this level of traceability from both a top down and a bottom up view. Revision control, also known as version control or source control and an aspect of software configuration management or scm, is the management of changes to documents, programs, and other information stored as computer files. Source control management scm systems provide a running history of code development and help to resolve conflicts when merging contributions from multiple sources. Software configuration management resume samples velvet jobs. In this lesson, well take a look at an overview of configuration management tools and version control systems.
The set of xml files that make up your repository can then be managed in your source control management system. Identification of configuration items like source code modules, test case. Those tools include ansible works awx, jenkins, rundeck, and ara, which offers traceability when running. There are some great open source systems out there, as well as many that will require an investment. This includes version control, application lifecycle management, agile planning, and static analysis. Introduction to software engineeringtoolssource control. Configuration management and version control automation. Scm practices include revision control and the establishment of baselines.
Vesta is an advanced software configuration management system. Version control is not configuration management spectrumscm. These systems are specifically tailored to manage trees of source code and have many features that are specific to software developmentsuch as natively understanding programming languages, or supplying tools for building software. Semiautomated source scanning techniques have provided a partial solution. What are some examples of software configuration management. It handles source revision control and automated construction. It is most commonly used in software development, where a team of people may change the same files. What is software configuration management and why do you need it. Scm tools often control can read and modify the source code of a program, keep history information so that people can find out what changed between versions, and who changed them, and generally. Changes are usually identified by a number or letter code, termed the revision number, revision level, or simply revision.
In software engineering, software configuration management scm or sw cm is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software, part of the larger crossdisciplinary field of configuration. What is the difference between configuration management. It is only through automation and software configuration management principles that this pitfall can be prevented. Jul 01, 2014 software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by organizations to manage the changes introduced to its software products. Configuration management and version control automation world. Using a source control management system for repository. Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency git is easy to learn and has a tiny footprint with. Both are related activities in the sense that they are concerned with management of change. We install updates for our operating systems and packages and make changes to configurations. Changes are usually identified by a number or letter code, termed the revision number, revision level, or.
These systems are specifically tailored to manage trees of source code and have many features that are. Configuration management software is one of a constellation of devops categories designed to facilitate. You can combine ansible with other tools to create a central console to control processes. This is where instead of just saving your code to your desktop where you might lose it, or at least forget what it looked like yesterday before you. There are several reasons why git is a compelling tool to consider for source control. A configuration management plan shows evidence that software changes. Cfengine is a configuration management tool that provides automation configuration for huge computer systems, inclusive of the unified management of servers, systems, users, embedded networked devices, mobile devices, and systems. This lesson explains why we use configuration management tools like chef, puppet, or ansible, and what version control systems like git are used for. In software engineering, software configuration management scm or sw cm is the task of tracking and controlling changes in the software, part of the larger crossdisciplinary field of configuration management. Software configuration management in software engineering. Configuration management cm is a systems engineering process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a products performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements. Configuration control and change control similar yet. All about version control systems types, benefits and best.
Jeff geisler, in missioncritical and safetycritical systems handbook, 2010. Perforce software is also the parent company of perfecto and rogue wave. It simultaneously maintains the current state of the software. Puppet is an opensource software configuration management tool. Tools for software configuration management v software configuration management is normally supported by tools with different functionality. Perforce software provides enterprisescale development tools. Historically, a major deficiency in the management of software systems has been the lack of an accurate means of determining the interdependencies or configurations of applications and their related. Jun 05, 20 vesta is an advanced software configuration management system.
Revision control system rcs stores the latest version and backward deltas for fastest access to. A component of software configuration management, version control, also known as revision control or source control, is the management of changes to documents, computer programs, large web sites, and other collections of information. The scm practices include vision controls in the establishment of baselines. Jul, 2017 the number one activity is source code control. Configuration management tools servers and network devices dont remain the same. Version control is necessary but not sufficient for configuration. As a broader subject, configuration management refers to the process of handling changes to a system in a way that assures integrity over time, typically involving the use of tools and processes to facilitate automation and observability. Software configuration management scm is a software engineering discipline consisting of standard processes and techniques often used by organizations to manage the changes introduced to its software products. It is abbreviated as the scm process in software engineering. With a good configuration management system, there should be a complete picture of what changed, the reason for the change and who performed it.
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