Configuration Management with Salt Stack on Windows - Part 0

This is the first foray into Configuration Management on Windows with Salt Stack. With Configuration management on Windows, I feel as the more I am getting ramped up on working with a development team, the more I understand the need for measurable, consistent and scripted changes. I am looking for the following things: Centralized management over the public Internet Reasonable cost per machine OR the ability to use the community / free edition for my tasks. Ability to work well with Windows IIS configuration Registry / File & User management Patch status evaluation and configuration Low agent footprint. I stumbled upon SaltStack after a co-worker recommended it. I had a hard time finding specific information related to my use case, but I dug into watching the following presentation. I’ll be honest, after watching, I was completely lost - but it seemed like I was on the right path, so I thought I’d dig in. With the following series, I’ll be digging into a much easier and approachable use case: Part 1 - Installing Salt Stack Server with Vagrant Part 2 - Configuring Salt Stack Minion with Vagrant Part 3 - Configuration Management of Windows with Salt. Part 4 - Practical configuration management with Salt.