Canonical MAAS
8.1#1 in bare metal provisioning softwareFrom $30 a yearFree planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted
VisitCanonical MAAS vs CFEngine
What both publish
| Fact | Canonical MAAS | CFEngine |
|---|---|---|
| API | MAAS exposes a REST API with GET, POST, PUT and DELETE methods; version 2.0 is the documented supported API version. | The Enterprise Hub exposes a REST API that also supports SQL-based queries for custom reports over distributed database data. |
| Architecture | A PostgreSQL-backed region controller handles operator requests while distributed rack controllers provide DHCP, IPMI, PXE, TFTP and cached images. | The CFEngine agent runs on each managed device and connects to the CFEngine hub by default every five minutes to ensure configuration compliance. |
| Documentation depth | The documentation is organized into tutorials, how-to guides, explanations and reference material, including installation, API, Terraform, troubleshooting, metrics, logging and security-hardening sections. | Documentation includes getting-started guides, installation, policy tutorials, promise and function references, web UI material and API references. |
| Extensibility | Canonical documents CLI and Python client bindings, custom commissioning scripts, deployment scripts and custom power-driver plugins. | CFEngine Build supplies community and vendor policy modules that can be added through Mission Portal or command-line tools. |
| Founded | 2004 | 2008 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom | Oslo, Norway |
| Purpose | MAAS is an open source platform for centrally managing and provisioning physical servers as cloud resources. | CFEngine automates infrastructure, security and compliance by continuously keeping infrastructure secure, compliant and up to date. |
Canonical MAAS plans
- FreeFree
- Self-supportFree
- Essential$30 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
CFEngine plans
- Community EditionFree
- Enterprise free trialFree
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
Pick Canonical MAAS if…
MAAS suits teams managing physical servers for private cloud with OpenStack, server automation, or bare metal Kubernetes. Its single-machine installation is also described for homelabs, proofs of concept, and small production environments.
Pick CFEngine if…
CFEngine suits teams managing infrastructure across devices and systems that need policy-based configuration, security and compliance. Enterprise adds reporting, dashboards and dedicated support.