A potpourri of system configuration concepts

For many reasons, large and small installations of computers can benefit from Automated Configuration Management tools. All the processes from installation, configuration, to maintenance and updating the computers can benefit from automation for the following reasons. * Consistency across all the machines. * Timeliness in maintenance and updates * Simplify the process through the use declarative instructions. Meanwhile in software configuration management, they are examining the problems of identifying, controlling, monitoring and verifying changes in software development projects. To complicate matters, some of the reasons for software configuration management * Consistency in the source code. * Timeliness in updates to the project members so that they have what is needed. * A need to simplify documentation and development of complex projects. Subsequently, the purpose of this thesis is to understand how concepts from Software Configuration Management can aid the development of the field of System Configuration. To achieve this purpose, this thesis will start with an examination of the similiarities between SCM and System configuration. This will be followed by an examination of different key concepts in System Configuration and the following three different tools that have taken different approaches to the problem. * Cfengine * ISconf * LSconf With an understanding of how System Configuration and SCM are similar and an understanding of many of the major concepts in System Configuration, the next step is to examine some of the difference between the two fields. From there, it should be possible to see how some concepts from SCM could be applied to System Configuration. It should also be possible to examine concepts from System Configuration that could be applied to SCM