What is the difference between configuration manag

Question

Can anyone explain in simple terms what the difference is between configuration management and version control? From the descriptions I've been able to find on various websites, it seems like configuration management is just a fancy term for putting your config files in a source control repository. But others lead me to believe there is a more involved explanation.

Answer 1

Version control is the control of deliverables whereas configuration management is managing the entire process leading to produce the deliverables. Configuration management involves change management, project management, etc., which generally are not managed by simple version control.

Answer 2

This can be helpful.

Versions and configurations

Versions:

• Ability to maintain several versions of an object.

• Commonly found in many software engineering and concurrent engineering environments.

• Merging and reconciliation of various versions is left to the application program

• Some systems maintain a version graph

Configuration:

• A configuration is a collection compatible versions of modules of a software system (a version per module)

Answer 3

Version control is one of the features of a SCM system.

From the subversion user guide: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.7/svn-book.html

"Some version control systems are also software configuration management (SCM) systems. These systems are specifically tailored to manage trees of source code and have many features that are specific to software development—such as natively understanding programming languages, or supplying tools for building software. Subversion, however, is not one of these systems. It is a general system that can be used to manage any collection of files. For you, those files might be source code—for others, anything from grocery shopping lists to digital video mixdowns and beyond."

Answer 4

Configuration management is an ambigute term.

In software, it tends to be a superset of version control with emphasis on the entire process to produce a result in a repeatable and predictible manner.

In computing maintenance, it is related to the maintenance of the configuration settings and hardware/firmware/software versions of entire networks and set of attached computing machines (including servers, clients, routers...).

In hardware manufacturing, it represents even a superset of the two above, including the hardware pieces and software modules needed to obtain a product, with the description of the process to manufacture them, and even sometime the entire schemas and configurations of the production lines themselves.

Answer 5

Roughly speaking, version control means you can check out the source for any particular version. Configuration management means you can build and deploy and probably test any particular version.

Answer 6

In addition to everything said above I'd like to recommend Bob Aiello's book named "Configuration Management Best Practices" - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0321685865 . It covers all aspects of Software Configuration Management including version control.