Mcollective is an open source framework for server orchestration and parallel job execution. It provides asynchronous and event-driven communication between nodes using a message broker like RabbitMQ. Nodes can be targeted based on facts, classes, or other criteria. Plugins allow mcollective to manage configurations, run puppet, install packages, manage firewall rules, and more across large server fleets. It provides a scalable and decentralized alternative to SSH loops for orchestrating infrastructure changes and operations.