cdist vs OpenVox

cdist is a free, open-source configuration management system that applies a defined state to computers through shell scripts and cdist types. It is positioned as an alternative to Ansible, Chef, and Puppet. Types provide the extension mechanism, and the project says their results are idempotent, so outcomes do not depend on call order. cdist uses push mode: source computers connect to targets over SSH and apply configuration, without requiring a central server or an agent on the target. A target needs a POSIX-compatible shell and SSH server, while the source needs a POSIX-like shell, Python 3.5 or later, and an SSH client. The project lists a small core, standard types, and parallel execution. Installation is documented through Git or pip. Supported systems include Linux distributions, BSD systems, Mac OS X, and XenServer. Manuals are available in HTML and man-page formats, with community help through Matrix and IRC.

OpenVox is a community-maintained implementation of Puppet for declarative configuration management: it describes system state and applies it through agents managed by a server or in standalone mode. In standalone use, `puppet apply` compiles and applies a catalog locally. Existing Puppet Open Source manifests, modules, Hiera data, and tooling work unchanged. It is self-hosted and lists support for Enterprise Linux, Amazon Linux, Fedora, SLES, Debian, Ubuntu, macOS, and Windows. Agent/server communication uses HTTPS with mutual TLS; agents must first obtain a signed certificate from a local Puppet certificate authority or an external CA. OpenVox Server exposes HTTP APIs for catalogs, certificate authority, status, and metrics. OpenVoxDB stores reports, inventory, and exported resources, while OpenBolt automates infrastructure over SSH and WinRM without agents. Documented packages include agent, server, database, termini, and orchestration components. The software is free and community-maintained. Documentation points users to community help and commercial support partners.