Configuration File Manipulation with Configuration Management Tools

Manipulating and defining content of configuration files is one of the central tasks of configuration management tools. This is important to ensure a desired and correct behavior of computer systems. However, often considered very simple, this task can turn out to be very challenging. Configuration management tools provide different strategies for content manipulation of files, hence an administrator should think twice to choose the best strategy for a specific task. This paper will explore different approaches of automatic configuration file manipulation with the help of configuration management tools. We will take a close look at the configuration management tool Puppet, as is offers various different approaches to tackle content manipulation. We will also explore similarities and differences of approaches by comparing it with other configuration management tools. This should aid system administrators who have to deal with configuration files and will assist in choosing the "best" strategy for a specific configuration task.