Canonical MAAS vs CFEngine
Canonical MAAS
canonical.com
CFEngine
cfengine.comSide by side
| Figure | Canonical MAAS | CFEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.50/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 3 |
| Spec score · IT Automation Software | 9.3 (#2) | 9.0 (#6) |
| Spec score · Orchestration / Provisioning Software | 9.3 (#1) | 9.0 (#3) |
| Spec score · Data Center Automation | 9.3 (#1) | 9.0 (#3) |
| API | MAAS exposes a REST API with GET, POST, PUT and DELETE methods; version 2.0 is the documented supported API version. | The Enterprise Hub exposes a REST API that also supports SQL-based queries for custom reports over distributed database data. |
| Architecture | A PostgreSQL-backed region controller handles operator requests while distributed rack controllers provide DHCP, IPMI, PXE, TFTP and cached images. | The CFEngine agent runs on each managed device and connects to the CFEngine hub by default every five minutes to ensure configuration compliance. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation is organized into tutorials, how-to guides, explanations and reference material, including installation, API, Terraform, troubleshooting, metrics, logging and security-hardening sections. | Documentation includes getting-started guides, installation, policy tutorials, promise and function references, web UI material and API references. |
| Extensibility | Canonical documents CLI and Python client bindings, custom commissioning scripts, deployment scripts and custom power-driver plugins. | CFEngine Build supplies community and vendor policy modules that can be added through Mission Portal or command-line tools. |
| Founded | 2004 | 2008 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Oslo, Norway |
| Purpose | MAAS is an open source platform for centrally managing and provisioning physical servers as cloud resources. | CFEngine automates infrastructure, security and compliance by continuously keeping infrastructure secure, compliant and up to date. |
| What it does | MAAS is Canonical's private-cloud infrastructure manager that turns physical servers into cloud-like, repeatably deployable resources. | CFEngine automates configuration, patching, security hardening, compliance and infrastructure maintenance through continuously running agents. |
Plans
Canonical MAAS
- FreeFree
- Self-supportFree
- Essential$30 a year
- Essential$30 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
CFEngine
- Community EditionFree
- Enterprise free trialFree
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
In their own words
Canonical MAAS
Canonical MAAS is an open source platform for provisioning physical servers as centrally managed cloud resources. It automates server discovery, inventory, commissioning, deployment, and decommissioning, and lets operators manage nodes through a web interface, command line, or API. Hardware discovery uses PXE boot and supports IPMI-enabled machines, as well as subnets, VLANs, and switch fabrics. MAAS integrates with Terraform, Juju, and Ansible for infrastructure automation. It can configure networking and storage, run hardware tests, and manage LXD and KVM virtual machines. Listed images include Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows, and RHEL; images can be synchronized or served from an onsite mirror for offline use. Canonical describes MAAS for private cloud with OpenStack, server automation, and bare-metal Kubernetes. A free self-support plan covers all machines but excludes HA support, RBAC, Knowledge Base, a Sev 1 response SLA, phone support, and ticket support. Paid plans start at $30 a year per managed machine. Ubuntu Pro is required for MAAS controllers; Canonical says it provides security patching and enterprise support for controllers and Ubuntu machines.
CFEngine
CFEngine automates infrastructure, security, and compliance by moving managed systems toward a state defined in policy. Users describe desired infrastructure states in CFEngine’s domain-specific language, and lightweight agents work to bring each device into compliance. By default, an agent contacts the CFEngine hub every five minutes. The system runs on embedded devices, servers, cloud systems, and mainframes, and is designed for tens or hundreds of thousands of nodes. Enterprise adds the Mission Portal web interface, reporting backed by an SQL database, REST APIs, compliance reports, policy analysis, alerts, inventory and change reporting, file-integrity monitoring, and performance monitoring. Dashboards provide compliance and performance views, alerts, and customizable sharing. Secure bootstrap uses mutual authentication, key exchange, and encrypted TLS communication. Community Edition is free under GNU GPL, supports Linux, and includes community support. Enterprise is free for up to 25 hosts; pricing beyond that is available on request. The supported operating systems listed include Linux distributions and Windows.