Puppet Labs Releases Configuration Modules For Enterprise OpenStack Installations

IT automation leader Puppet Labs today announced the release of configuration modules for OpenStack built specifically for enterprise-grade OpenStack implementations. Through partnerships with Cisco, Red Hat, Morphlabs and eNovance, Puppet Labs developed modules that streamline IT automation for enterprise OpenStack deployments. The configuration modules are designed to facilitate OpenStack management for enterprise CIOs and IT personnel by providing tools that typically result in a “10x boost in productivity, a 75 percent reduction in applications’ time-to-production, and a significant reduction in service outages,” according to the press release. The modules promise to simplify enterprise-level OpenStack installations by automating the deployment and ongoing management of complex, heterogeneous cloud IT infrastructures.

The decision by Puppet Labs to develop configuration modules for OpenStack signals its confidence in the appeal of the open-source cloud operating system for the enterprise. Moreover, Puppet Labs CEO Luke Kanies told Cloud Computing Today that the configuration modules are likely to drive OpenStack development in certain ways as opposed to others, leading to greater standardization in OpenStack deployments across the industry. Given the leadership that Puppet Labs has demonstrated in the IT automation space, the modules should predispose IT executives to experiment with OpenStack and decide whether to build an OpenStack deployment with the aid of automation from Puppet Labs and its partners, or buy an off the shelf commercialized OpenStack variant from the likes of Rackspace, HP, Dell, Nebula and Piston Cloud. Right now, however, the OpenStack market is too young to determine whether enterprises will tend to opt for deployments done by their own staff or by a commercial vendor that provides soup to nuts installation, training, maintenance and support.