cdist vs Quattor
cdist
cdi.stQuattor
quattor.orgSide by side
| Figure | cdist | Quattor |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Configuration Management Tools | 8.6 (#6) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Architecture | cdist uses push mode, needs no central server, and can be run from any computer. | Quattor comprises a configuration management database server, an automated installation infrastructure server, and managed clients; the first two can run on one system. |
| Installation | cdist can be installed from Git or as a Python package using pip install cdist. | The AII server uses plugins to manage DHCP and PXE boot configuration and to create Kickstart files for EL-derived systems. |
| Integrations | The project publishes a separate cdist-contrib repository for additional types not included in core cdist. | The overview describes configuration components for core and grid computing services, with examples including general-purpose metaconfig and filecopy components. |
| Intended users | The site describes cdist as used in environments ranging from small to enterprise grade. | The getting-started guide describes Quattor as a somewhat complex toolkit and says production use requires detailed knowledge of the tools and site configuration. |
| Purpose | cdist is a configuration management system positioned as an alternative to Ansible, Chef, or Puppet. | Quattor is a system administration toolkit for automated installation, configuration, and management of clusters, farms, grids, and clouds. |
| Support | The maker offers community help through a Matrix room and an IRC channel, and says commercial support can be requested from ungleich. | Quattor is developed and supported by its user community, with discussion through a mailing group and issue or pull request reporting on GitHub. |
Plans
In their own words
cdist
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.
Quattor
Quattor is free, open-source Linux software for automating installation, configuration, and lifecycle management across clusters, farms, grids, and clouds. Its self-hosted architecture uses a configuration-management database server, an Automated Installation Infrastructure server, and managed clients; the two servers may share one machine. AII plugins handle DHCP and PXE setup and create Kickstart files for Enterprise Linux-derived systems. Client components retrieve and validate profiles, then run configuration components. Quattor validates system descriptions before deployment, and its Pan compiler converts declarative configuration into nested structures including XML and JSON. Modular interfaces allow replacement implementations and site-specific tools, with components for core and grid services. The site describes deployments ranging from tens of systems to more than 30,000. It supports Enterprise Linux, including Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, and is licensed under Apache 2.0 and the EU DataGrid Software License. Community users provide development and support.