Operations automation history swings like pendulum. Initially SSH scripts, then Chef/Puppet, Docker rejected mutable config itself, Kubernetes brought back declarative. AWS followed. OpsWorks for Chef Automate (2017) and Puppet Enterprise once provided "AWS-managed Chef/Puppet," but OpsWorks Stacks reached EOL May 26, 2024, AWS recommending Systems Manager migration.
This article examines why OpsWorks ceded ground to SSM; Launch Configuration → Launch Template succession and fundamental differences; Mixed Instances Policy + Spot cost pattern. AWS Proton and Service Catalog position. Goal: trend awareness "why pendulum swung to SSM" rather than tool name memorization.