Comparison

Tool	Model	Transport	Language
Ansible	Push	SSH (agentless)	YAML
Puppet	Pull	Agent + master	Puppet DSL (Ruby-like)
Chef	Pull	Agent + chef-server	Ruby
SaltStack	Push or pull	ZeroMQ + minions	YAML
Terraform	Push	Provider APIs (agentless)	HCL

Ansible playbook example

---
- hosts: routers
  gather_facts: no
  connection: network_cli
  tasks:
    - name: Set hostname on each router
      ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
        config: hostname {{ inventory_hostname }}
    - name: Configure NTP
      ansible.netcommon.cli_config:
        config: ntp server 0.pool.ntp.org

Ansible's agentless SSH transport made it the de-facto network automation tool — most network engineers' first taste of automation is Ansible against a lab full of routers.

Ansible, Puppet, Chef, Terraform — Module 7: Network Automation · NetForge-AI

Ansible, Puppet, Chef, Terraform

What you'll learn

Comparison

Ansible playbook example

Modules 2–8 are part of the Course & Lab Pass and All-Access Max — start with a free account