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diff --git a/doc/introduction/index.txt b/doc/introduction/index.txt new file mode 100644 index 000000000..5f4d41ff4 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/introduction/index.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +.. -*- mode: rst -*- + +.. _introduction-index: + +Introduction +============ + +Bcfg2 helps system administrators produce a consistent, reproducible, +and verifiable description of their environment, and offers +visualization and reporting tools to aid in day-to-day administrative +tasks. It is the fifth generation of configuration management tools +developed in the `Mathematics and Computer Science Division`_ of +`Argonne National Laboratory`_. + +.. _Mathematics and Computer Science Division: http://www.mcs.anl.gov/ +.. _Argonne National Laboratory: http://www.anl.gov/ + +It is based on an operational model in which the specification can be +used to validate and optionally change the state of clients, but in a +feature unique to Bcfg2 the client's response to the specification can +also be used to assess the completeness of the specification. Using +this feature, Bcfg2 provides an objective measure of how good a job an +administrator has done in specifying the configuration of client +systems. Bcfg2 is therefore built to help administrators construct an +accurate, comprehensive specification. + +Bcfg2 has been designed from the ground up to support gentle +reconciliation between the specification and current client states. It +is designed to gracefully cope with manual system modifications. + +Finally, due to the rapid pace of updates on modern networks, client +systems are constantly changing; if required in your environment, +Bcfg2 can enable the construction of complex change management and +deployment strategies. + + +.. toctree:: + :maxdepth: 2 + + architecture-overview + os-support |