CFengine – automate large-scale, complex and mission critical IT infrastructure

CFengine is a suite of programs for integrated autonomic management of either individual or networked computers. The main purpose of CFengine is to allow a system administrator to create a single central file which will define how every host on a network should be configured.

With this software installed, an interpreter runs on every host on your network and parses the master file (or file-set); the configuration of each host is checked against this file and then, if you request it, any deviations from the defined configuration are fixed automatically.

It takes a while to set up CFengine for a network (especially an already existing network), but once that is done you will wonder how you ever lived without it. This software significantly reduces the amount of time consumed by mundane tasks.

CFengine consists of a number of components:

• cf-agent Active agent – responsible for maintaining promises about the state of your system.
• cf-execd Scheduler – responsible for running cf-agent on a regular (and user-configurable) basis.
• cf-know Knowledge modelling agent – responsible for building and analyzing a semantic knowledge network.
• cf-monitord Passive monitoring agent – responsible for collecting information about the status of your system.
• cf-promises Promise validator – used to verify that the promises used by the other components of CFengine are syntactically valid.
• cf-runagent Remote run agent – used to execute cf-agent on a remote machine.
• cf-serverd Server – used to distribute policy and/or data files to clients requesting them and used to respond to requests from cf-runagent.
• cf-report Self-knowledge extractor – takes data stored in CFengine’s embedded databases and converts them to human readable form.
• cf-key Key generation tool – run once on every host to create public/private key pairs for secure communication.

Features include:

• A brand new language with a simple uniform syntax and powerful templating features.
• Integrated self-diagnostics and automated self-healing documentation.
• Many features simplified but extended.
• Distributed monitoring and integrated reporting.
• Generic file editing with multiple models.
• Pattern matching and design features to match any environment, large and small.
• Integrated knowledge management using topic maps.
• GPL 3 code for open inspection and security auditing.
• Full integration with existing CFengine 2 systems.
• Auto-encapsulation of CFengine 2 for incremental upgrade.

CFEngine Community Edition is the Open Source foundation of CFEngine’s innovative configuration management technology that helps systems administrators automate and ensure the availability, security and compliance of mission-critical applications and services.

Website: cfengine.com
Support: GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Mark Burgess, CFEngine AS
License: GNU General Public License v3.0

CFengine is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Return to Configuration Management Tools

Explore Linux
	Best Free and Open Source Software - A huge collection of recommended free and open source software covering every major category.
	In-depth Linux Software Reviews - Detailed assessments of Linux software covering features, usability and overall quality.
	The Big List of Active Linux Distros - An extensive collection of actively developed Linux distributions.
	Open Source Alternatives - Alternatives to software and services from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle and others.
	Essential Linux System Tools - Indispensable utilities for monitoring, maintaining and managing Linux systems.
	Linux Productivity Tools - Useful utilities for improving productivity and streamlining everyday tasks.
	Alternatives to Popular CLI Tools - Modern alternatives to familiar command-line utilities supplied with Linux systems.
	Awesome Free Linux Game Tools - Tools, utilities and companion software that improve gaming on Linux.
	Machine Learning on Linux - Machine learning and deep learning software, self-hosted applications and practical tools.
	Saving Money with Linux - Practical ways to reduce electricity consumption and lower computing costs with Linux.
	Linux Candy - Fun, entertaining and sometimes delightfully quirky software from the lighter side of Linux.