CompTIA Cloud+ (CV0-004)DevOps FundamentalsMedium
A cloud engineer selects a configuration management tool that connects to managed servers over SSH and pushes configuration changes without requiring any persistent software to be installed on those servers. Which type of configuration management architecture is being used?
- ADeclarative
- BAgentless
- CIdempotent
- DAgent-based
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Agentless
Agentless configuration management tools, such as Ansible, connect over existing protocols like SSH to push changes without installing dedicated software on the target nodes. Agent-based tools, like Puppet or Chef, require an agent running on each managed node.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Declarative describes how configurations are written, not the communication architecture used.
- C. Idempotent describes the safety of repeated execution, not whether an agent is installed.
- D. Agent-based architectures require dedicated software running persistently on each managed node.
Agentless Configuration Management
An architecture where a control node pushes configuration changes to managed nodes using existing protocols (e.g., SSH, WinRM) without installing persistent agent software.
- Ansible is a common example of agentless tooling
- Reduces overhead of managing agent software
- Relies on existing remote access protocols
Memory trick: Agentless is a courier who delivers the package and leaves — no one stays behind at your house.