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Difficulty: HardCapabilities of Configuration Management Mechanisms (Puppet, Chef, Ansible)

A network automation engineer is selecting configuration management tools for an enterprise infrastructure overhaul. Match each configuration management mechanism or artifact on the left with its corresponding operational model, transport mechanism, and configuration language characteristics on the right.

  • AnsibleAgentless architecture using a push model over SSH or NETCONF, formatted using YAML data structures.
  • PuppetAgent-based pull model communicating over TCP port 8140 to compile manifests written in a proprietary declarative DSL.
  • ChefAgent-based pull model communicating over TCP port 443 (HTTPS) to execute recipes written in a Ruby-based DSL.
  • Ansible PlaybookA YAML-encoded file containing one or more plays that map managed host inventory groups to specific task executions.

Answer

Ansible matches with the agentless push model using SSH/NETCONF and YAML; Puppet matches with the agent-based pull model communicating over TCP 8140 using Puppet DSL manifests; Chef matches with the agent-based pull model communicating over TCP 443 using Ruby DSL recipes; Ansible Playbook matches with the YAML-encoded file mapping host inventory groups to task executions.
Each automation mechanism exhibits specific architectural and transport signatures. Ansible uses an agentless push architecture over SSH/NETCONF with YAML files (Playbooks). Puppet uses an agent-based pull model communicating over TCP port 8140 with Puppet DSL manifests. Chef uses an agent-based pull model communicating over TCP port 443 (HTTPS) with Ruby DSL recipes.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Ansible's core architecture and communication method.
Ansible is agentless, uses an active push model, relies on SSH/NETCONF for network devices, and uses YAML formatting.
Eliminates the requirement to install local daemon agents on network switches and routers.
2
Analyze Puppet's operational model, transport ports, and configuration structure.
Puppet defaults to an agent-based pull model, communicates with a central master over TCP port 8140, and uses Puppet DSL manifests.
Agents periodically poll the Puppet Master to pull catalog updates and maintain state enforcement.
3
Analyze Chef's operational model, transport ports, and configuration structure.
Chef uses an agent-based pull model, communicates with the Chef server over TCP port 443 (HTTPS), and utilizes Ruby DSL recipes/cookbooks.
Chef Client runs periodically on target nodes to pull recipes from the server.
4
Identify the role and structure of an Ansible Playbook.
An Ansible Playbook is the YAML document containing plays, host specifications, and task lists executed by Ansible.
Distinguishes the tool framework (Ansible) from its execution file artifact (Playbook).

Key Concept

Capabilities and Architectural Differences of Network Configuration Management Tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef)
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Topics

Capabilities of Configuration Management Mechanisms (Puppet, Chef, Ansible)

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