[cparedes]

I can't know for sure, but it's at least corroborated with quite a bit of research: https://www.google.com/search?q=usenix+configuration+managem...

I'm a fan of both of those systems, because it's easier to express system state with them (and clearer, too), versus using shell scripts or what have you. I'm definitely not advocating using it as a way to deploy software, but it's definitely possible to do so (I'd likely build system packages, throw them in an internal repo, and use yum/apt to ensure software packages are up to date, or at a certain version.)

It's not the only solution, though. I've worked at shops where there have been exceptional software deployment pipelines that are absolutely not tied to a configuration management system. I'm also not a fan of using Chef or Puppet for doing a git/svn repository checkout of software.

Again, I want to reiterate my point: it's still not about the tools, but about identifying the problem you need to solve and discussing possible solutions to the problem. There's no right answer.

[ryanpers]

This is a pretty typical answer I've gotten from various people. First off, no one should ever (a) be using SVN EVER and (b) be checking out in production as a way to get code there.

So you said "use yum/apt to ensure software packages are up to date, or at a certain version."

So how do you make a 100 node cluster get to the desired installed state? Do it by hand? Ssh loop? cssh or similar tools that attempt to do parallel ssh? This is the part where things really break down and then I realize there actually is no principled way to do it, and in fact it's done by hand, and the sysadmins are just creating more work for themselves ensuring job security.

[cparedes]

Kick off Puppet/Chef runs? It's not too hard to automate these tasks, either (or even put a fancy interface around it, though of course this takes a bit more time.)

It's also a bit insulting when you say that we 'in fact [do it] by hand', because sysadmins, as a whole, strive to not do that. Fine, I can see myself logging into a box and typing 'chef-client' or 'puppet' by hand - but this is too much work to be done by hand. That's why we automate. I don't know why you have this idea that we simply want to make things harder just for job security.

[ryanpers]

I have run into sysadmins who prefer to be manual, and avoid automation.

I have a destination in mind, and I'm always looking for new travelers. But I havent seen many lately.