Ansible is a powerful automation platform that can be used to manage and automate a wide variety of tasks, including software deployment, configuration management, and infrastructure provisioning. While Ansible is a powerful tool on its own, there are many benefits to using Ansible in conjunction with other automation platforms such as Ansible Controller.
Ansible Controller comes with the new set of automation tools called Ansible Automation Platform.
Ansible Automation Platform is made up of several components that work together to provide a comprehensive automation solution. These components include:
Ansible Engine: This is the core component of Ansible and is responsible for running automation tasks on remote servers. Ansible Engine is a command-line tool that uses the Python programming language to run playbooks (collections of automation tasks) on remote servers.
Ansible Controller: This is a web-based user interface that provides a centralized management console for your Ansible automation. Ansible Controller allows you to manage and monitor your automation tasks from a single location, and also provides advanced features such as role-based access control, job scheduling, and real-time reporting.
Ansible Galaxy: This is a public collection of Ansible roles and playbooks that can be used to automate a wide variety of tasks. Ansible Galaxy allows you to easily find and use pre-built automation tasks, saving you time and effort.
Ansible Content Collections: This is a new way to package and distribute Ansible automation content, including modules, plugins, and roles. It is easier to consume, version, and distribute content collections.
Ansible AWX: This is the upstream open-source project for Ansible Tower (Ansible tower has been replaced by Ansible controller in the full Red Hat Subscription version), it provides a similar web-based user interface and advanced features but it's free.
Ansible Network Automation: This is a set of modules and plugins that allow you to automate tasks on network devices such as routers and switches. Ansible Network Automation allows you to manage and configure your network infrastructure using the same automation tools as your servers and applications.
Ansible Service Broker: This is a Kubernetes operator that automates the deployment and scaling of Ansible Controller in a Kubernetes environment.
These components work together to provide a comprehensive automation solution that can be used to automate a wide variety of tasks across your entire infrastructure, from servers and applications to networks and storage.
One of the main benefits of using Ansible Controller is that it provides a centralized management console for your Ansible automation. This makes it easy to manage and monitor your automation tasks from a single location, rather than having to log into multiple servers and run commands manually. Ansible Controller also provides a web-based user interface, making it easy for non-technical users to access and run automation tasks.
Ansible Controller also provides a number of advanced features that are not available in Ansible alone, such as role-based access control, job scheduling, and real-time reporting. This allows you to fine-tune and customize your automation tasks to meet the specific needs of your organization.
Another benefit of Ansible Controller is that it allows you to easily scale your automation tasks. As your organization grows, you can simply add more servers to your Ansible Controller cluster to handle the increased load, rather than having to manually manage and configure each server individually.
Ansible Controller also includes a built-in API, making it easy to integrate with other tools and systems. This allows you to automate tasks across your entire infrastructure, from servers and applications to networks and storage.
In summary, Ansible is a powerful automation platform that can be used to manage and automate a wide variety of tasks. However, by using Ansible Controller, you can gain additional benefits such as centralized management, advanced features, scalability, and easier integration with other tools and systems. This can help organizations to optimize their automation tasks and achieve greater efficiency and productivity.