Cfengine vs Bcfg2

Struggling to choose between Cfengine and Bcfg2? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Cfengine is a Network & Admin solution with tags like automation, configuration-management, devops.

It boasts features such as Agent-based architecture for distributed configuration management, Declarative policy-based configuration language, File integrity monitoring and intrusion detection, Automated system configuration and maintenance, Built-in promise theory for modeling dependencies, Support for common OS platforms like Linux, Windows, Solaris and pros including Powerful policy framework for modeling system state, Agentless and autonomous operation, Efficient at scale for large server deployments, Robust security and access controls, Thorough file integrity monitoring capabilities, Open source with active development community.

On the other hand, Bcfg2 is a Network & Admin product tagged with configuration-management, drift-detection, desired-state.

Its standout features include Configuration management, Managing large server environments, Automated configuration monitoring, Detect and correct configuration drift, Declarative configuration modeling, Integration with Puppet, Chef, etc, Plugin architecture, and it shines with pros like Powerful configuration modeling, Scales to large environments, Detects and fixes drift, Integrates with other tools, Open source and free.

Feature	Cfengine	Bcfg2
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Network & Admin	Network & Admin

Product Overview

Cfengine

Description: Cfengine is an open source configuration management software used to automate tasks like configuring servers, managing files, and deploying applications. It uses a policy-based approach allowing admins to define desired system states.

Bcfg2

Description: Bcfg2 is an open-source configuration management system that helps administrators maintain an overview of the configuration of many computers. It allows defining desired configuration states and automatically correcting any detected differences or 'drift'.

Key Features Comparison

Cfengine Features

• Agent-based architecture for distributed configuration management
• Declarative policy-based configuration language
• File integrity monitoring and intrusion detection
• Automated system configuration and maintenance
• Built-in promise theory for modeling dependencies
• Support for common OS platforms like Linux, Windows, Solaris

Bcfg2 Features

• Configuration management
• Managing large server environments
• Automated configuration monitoring
• Detect and correct configuration drift
• Declarative configuration modeling
• Integration with Puppet, Chef, etc
• Plugin architecture

Pros & Cons Analysis

Cfengine

Pros

• Powerful policy framework for modeling system state
• Agentless and autonomous operation
• Efficient at scale for large server deployments
• Robust security and access controls
• Thorough file integrity monitoring capabilities
• Open source with active development community

Cons

• Steep learning curve for policy language
• Less intuitive than procedural languages like Ansible
• Limited built-in modules compared to Ansible/Puppet
• Complex dependency modeling requires planning
• Not as widely used as other tools like Chef/Puppet

Bcfg2

Pros

• Powerful configuration modeling
• Scales to large environments
• Detects and fixes drift
• Integrates with other tools
• Open source and free

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Less flexible than pure scripting
• Limited adoption compared to Puppet/Chef/Ansible
• No commercial support available

Pricing Comparison

Cfengine

• Open Source
• Commercial Editions Available

Bcfg2

• Open Source