| Tool | Primary Use Case | Best For | State Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell Script | System admin & automation | Quick and simple tasks | ❌ No |
| Ansible | Configuration Management | Server setup & provisioning | ✅ Yes (Idempotent) |
| Terraform | Infrastructure as Code | Cloud provisioning (AWS, Azure, GCP) | ✅ Yes |
| Python | General automation & scripting | API integrations, monitoring, DevOps tooling | ❌ No |
1. Shell Script
✅ Best for: Automating simple tasks, running system commands, and quick scripting.
🔹 Use Cases:
- System administration (e.g., user management, file handling)
- Simple deployment scripts
- CI/CD pipeline automation
- Running system updates and package installations
🔸 Limitations:
- Not ideal for complex logic
- Hard to maintain for large-scale automation
- Lacks built-in state management
2. Ansible (Configuration Management)
✅ Best for: Automating server provisioning and configuration management.
🔹 Use Cases:
- Installing and configuring software on servers
- Deploying applications and managing services
- Ensuring system state consistency (idempotency)
- Managing infrastructure as code (IaC)
🔸 Limitations:
- Push-based model (doesn’t track infrastructure state like Terraform)
- Performance issues for large-scale environments
3. Terraform (Infrastructure as Code - IaC)
✅ Best for: Provisioning and managing cloud infrastructure.
🔹 Use Cases:
- Creating and managing cloud resources (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Infrastructure automation (networking, storage, compute)
- Managing Kubernetes clusters
- Scaling infrastructure with version control
🔸 Limitations:
- Not designed for OS-level configurations (use Ansible for that)
- Learning curve for complex setups
4. Python (General-Purpose & Automation)
✅ Best for: Custom automation, API integrations, and data processing.
🔹 Use Cases:
- Writing custom automation scripts
- Developing monitoring tools
- Orchestrating DevOps pipelines (e.g., using Python with AWS Boto3)
- Managing cloud infrastructure via SDKs
- Data analysis & log processing
🔸 Limitations:
- Not as declarative as Terraform for IaC
- Not designed for direct system administration (like Ansible or Shell)
