12/10/23, 8:39 PM Ansible and How Does it Work

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12/10/23, 8:39 PM Ansible and How Does it Work

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DevOps

What Is Ansible? Uses, Working,

Architecture, Features
Ansible is an open-source tool for resource provisioning automation that aids De
teams in continuous delivery.

Chiradeep BasuMallick Technical Writer

Last Update

Ansible is an open-source, cross-platform tool for resource provisioning

automation that DevOps professionals popularly use for continuous delivery
of software code by taking advantage of an “infrastructure as code”

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12/10/23, 8:39 PM Ansible and How Does it Work

approach. This article explains Ansible’s functioning, architecture, and features

in detail. It also discusses what Ansible is used for in a modern, digital
environment.

Table of Contents

What Is Ansible?

What Is Ansible used for?

How Does Ansible Work?

Understanding the Architecture of Ansible

Features of Ansible

What Is Ansible?
Ansible is defined as an open-source, cross-platform tool for resource
provisioning automation that DevOps professionals popularly use for
continuous delivery of software code by taking advantage of an
“infrastructure as code” approach.

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A Pictorial Representation of How Ansible Works

Over the years, the Ansible automation platform has evolved to deliver
sophisticated automation solutions for operators, administrators, and IT decision-
makers across various technical disciplines. It’s a leading enterprise automation
solution with flourishing open-source software and the unofficial standard in IT
automated systems. It operates on several Unix-like platforms and can manage
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systems like Unix and Microsoft architectures. It comes with descriptive language
for describing system settings. Michael DeHaan created Ansible, which Red Hat
acquired in 2015.

Ansible is an agentless system that executes actions over remote SSH or Windows
Remote Management connections (allowing remote PowerShell execution). Ansible
is an open-source IT automation engine that may help you save time at work while
simultaneously improving the scalability, consistency, and dependability of your IT
infrastructure.

It is designed for IT professionals who require it for app deployment, system

integration, in-service coordination, and anything else that an IT admin or
network manager routinely accomplishes. Sys admins and developers would be
unable to keep up if they had to manage everything manually in today’s IT
environments, which are usually too complex and often have to expand too
quickly.

Automation makes complex activities easier to manage, allowing engineers to

focus on tasks that offer value to the organization. This implies that time is saved
and production is boosted. And as said earlier, Ansible is fast becoming extremely
relevant among automation tools. While it is at the vanguard of automation,
systems management, and DevOps, it is also a valuable everyday tool for
developers. Ansible enables the rapid configuration of an entire network of devices
without the requirement for programming expertise.

In contrast to more simplistic management tools, Ansible users can leverage

Ansible automation for installing software, automating daily tasks, provisioning
infrastructure, improving security and compliance, and sharing automation across
the entire enterprise.

See More: DevOps vs. Agile Methodology: Key Differences and Similarities

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What Is Ansible Used For?

There are several prominent use cases for ansible in an organization:

1. Ansible for DevOps

Ansible helps automate the implementation of internally generated applications
to your production programs to make DevOps easier. For orchestration,
automation, configuration, and management of IT infrastructure, Ansible is the
most popular DevOps tool. Ansible’s advantages in DevOps include adapting and
scaling in response to demand. The following are the benefits of Ansible in DevOps
using Ansible: the feedback loop is accelerated quicker, installations are
dependable, IT architecture is coordinated, and deployments are faster.

2. Managing Docker containers using Ansible

Docker is a high-performance framework for efficiently constructing and executing
containers on local devices and servers. One can compare Docker containers to
lightweight virtual devices. Ansible delivers a robust collection of capabilities and
built-in modules that make building automation scripts easier thanks to its
straightforward design. This makes it possible to create tasks and run them in your
preferred setting. In the form of playbooks, Ansible uses the “yet another markup
language” or YAML language.

3. Utilizing Ansible for automation

Automating the deployment of any hardware will be the first step toward
automating the operational service lifecycle of your application. Ansible can

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automate IT infrastructures on bare metal servers, virtualization platforms, and

cloud servers. Moreover, it can automate the setup of various systems, devices,
databases, storage devices, networks, and firewalls.

4. Configuration management
Ansible is a simple, trustworthy, and consistent configuration management
solution. You can set it up quickly if you have prior experience in IT. Ansible
configurations are descriptions of fundamental infrastructure data humans can
read and process by computers. You only require passwords or an SSH (Secure
Socket Shell) key to begin monitoring machines.

5. Installing web application using Ansible

Ansible enables rapid and simple deployment of applications with several tiers.
One does not have to develop a code base to manage processes; instead, one can
just define the required actions in a playbook, and Ansible will determine how to
get the processes to the desired outcome. In other words, there will be no need to
set up applications on each machine manually. Ansible uses SSH to communicate
with remote networks and implement all instructions when a module is launched
from a control device.

See More: DevOps Roadmap: 7-Step Complete Guide

6. Other ansible uses

Other reasons to use ansible include:

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Provisioning: The first step toward automating the life cycle of your
applications is to set up your hardware. One can use Ansible to set up cloud
platforms, network hardware devices, virtualized hosts, and bare metal
servers, among other equipment. Users can set up the numerous servers
needed in the computer network during provisioning.

Compliance and security – Site-wide security policies, like rules for firewall
software, can be used with other automated processes. When you set up the
security information on the control device and run the playbook that goes
with it, the security information is automatically adjusted on the various
connected servers.

See More: DevOps Engineer: Job Description, Key Skills, and Salary in 2022

How Does Ansible Work?

Ansible interacts with your networks and sends little programs, known as modules,
to them. These modules are utilized to complete automated tasks as systems
designed to be resource models for the functioning at the desired state. Ansible
runs these modules and eliminates them after they’re done. If modules weren’t
available, you would have to depend on ad-hoc procedures and scripting to
complete tasks. Ansible’s management node is the primary node overseeing the
Playbook’s implementation.

The management node sets up an SSH connection before executing the modules
and installing the product on the host workstations. Once the modules have been
deployed, it eliminates them. So that’s how it works with Ansible. Python is used to
create an Ansible script and connects remote hosts through SSH, specified in the
inventory file. Ansible is agentless – implying that it doesn’t need any program to
be installed on the nodes it controls.

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Ansible takes inventory data to determine which machines you wish to control. It
has a default inventory file, but users can customize it to manage the servers they
want to. To link to servers and conduct tasks, Ansible employs the SSH protocol.
Ansible establishes a connection with the remote system and distributes the
modules required for command or playbook execution. Ansible uses human-
readable YAML templates to allow the automation of repetitive processes without
the need to master a complex programming language.

You could use Ansible’s built-in modules to automate, or you can develop your own
processes. Creating Ansible modules is possible using any programming language
that can return JSON, including Ruby, Python, and shell. Powershell is used to
develop Windows automation modules. It also stores your application’s history
information, enabling you to repeal to a previous standard or update it simply. It
provides the following advantages:

Ansible is a free and open-source software tool that all can access.

Ansible’s playbooks do not need coding expertise for installation and usage;
they are straightforward to configure and use.

Ansible enables the modeling of even the most complex IT processes.

You can orchestrate the whole app environment regardless of where the
application is deployed.

It has no agent in the client machines you desire to automate, and one must
open no additional software or firewall ports.

Since no extra software is necessary, servers have a greater capacity for app
resources, resulting in increased efficiency.

See More: Scrum vs. DevOps: Understanding the Key Differences

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Understanding the Architecture of

Ansible
Here is a look at the many components that make up the Ansible framework.

1. Modules
Modules are essential software that Ansible delivers from the command computer
to all nodal network points or distant hosts. They are predetermined instructions
that are executed directly on remote hosts. Playbooks run modules that manage
applications, packages, and files. Ansible executes all modules for delivering
updates or performing the required activity and then eliminates them after they’re
through. Ansible has over 450 modules for typical tasks. Ansible has hundreds of
built-in modules, the pieces of code that are run when a playbook is launched. A
playbook has plays, containing various tasks that include modules.

2. Playbooks
Playbooks for Ansible are task-specific user guides. Playbooks dictate your
workflow since functions written in them are executed in the order they are
written. They are simple text documents created in YAML, a data serialization
language that humans understand. They are at the heart of what makes Ansible so
attractive since they describe the tasks one must perform quickly without requiring
the user to remember particular terminology. In addition to being able to describe
settings, they may also orchestrate the stages of any manually arranged task and
conduct tasks concurrently or sequentially.

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3. Plugins
Plugins are little pieces of code that augment a website’s functionality. Ansible
comes with several of these, but one can create their own. Plugins are a specific
type of module in this case. Before a module is performed on the nodes, the
plugins are run. For logging reasons, plugins are executed on the primary control
unit. You have call-back plugins because they allow you to connect to various
Ansible events for display and reporting. To minimize the costs of fact-gathering
processes, cache plugins are used. Action plugins are front-end modules that
perform operations on the controller system prior to invoking the modules
directly.

4. Inventories
The inventory comprises all the nodes or hosts that need to be taken care of, along
with their IP addresses, server details, databases, and other information. All
machines (control and nodes) used with Ansible are listed in a single, easy-to-read
file containing this comprehensive data. After registering the inventory, you can
assign parameters to multiple hosts using a simple text-based format.

5. Application programming interfaces (APIs)

One may use application programming interfaces or APIs to enhance Ansible’s
connection choices. This covers more than just using SSH for transmission and
extends to callbacks and other functionalities. The Ansible APIs serve as a conduit
for public and private cloud applications.

See More: What Is DevSecOps? Definition, Pipeline, Framework, and Best

Practices for 2022

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6. Hosts and networking

In the Ansible architecture, hosts are the nodal structures that Ansible manages, as
well as any computer (RedHat, Linux, Windows, etc.). It leverages a data model
unique to the Ansible automation engines and can traverse multiple hardware
platforms without any difficulties.

7. Cloud
A private or public cloud is a collection of distant servers that one may use to
collect, organize, and process information. Rather than keeping data on a local
server, these systems are hosted over the internet. It simply deploys the cloud
resources and instances, links them to the databases, and you’re ready to handle
your job remotely.

8. Configuration management database

(CMDB)
A CMDB is a database serving as a data repository for IT systems. By deploying the
Ansible-CMDB code, users may automatically transform the results of Ansible’s
data-collecting function into a static HTML summary page.

See More: What Is DevOps Lifecycle? Definition, Key Components, and

Management Best Practices

Features of Ansible
Here are the core features of Ansible that one should remember:
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Features of Ansible

1. Agentless functioning
Ansible is an agentless system, which means it doesn’t install software on the
machines it controls. This eliminates possible faults and cyber threats while also
conserving server resources. Ansible is responsible for managing all master-agent
interactions. It does so by using either standard SSH or the Paramiko module, of
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which the latter is a Python implementation of SSH2. The tool does not need the
installation of agents on remote networks to be controlled, resulting in lower
maintenance costs and performance deterioration.

Ansible’s agentless usage is made possible via SSH and Windows Remote
Management. This sends micro, auto-generated modules to remote workstations
that “self-destruct” instead of running Unix commands. These modules deliver
JSON data and specify desirable states and organized procedures.

This highly efficient strategy can repurpose connections and requires very little
network traffic because of how activities are carried out. This strategy makes users
and the central management server more efficient with their resources and
eliminates all the problems that come with agent-based systems. For example,
“who will manage the management” is no longer an issue with Ansible. Non-root
access and a smaller attack surface are two other features that add to this
configuration’s desirability.

2. Support for Python

One may use Ansible in a variety of ways from an API standpoint. You may control
nodes using the Ansible Python API, expand Ansible to respond to different
Python events, develop plugins, and import inventory information from external
data sources. Ansible is built in Python and has a relatively low learning curve.

Ansible has a straightforward installation process that requires no extra software,

servers, or client daemons. It is parallel by design and maintains nodes through
SSH. Ansible was developed in Python, unlike competing options built in languages
like Ruby. As a consequence, setting it up and operating it is easier, as Python
libraries come preinstalled on most Linux PCs. More programmers and sys admin
are likely to be familiar with Python than Ruby. Further, Users may write Ansible

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modules extending the tool’s capabilities in any language as long as the data is in
JSON format.

3. SSH for security

A secure network authentication mechanism that does not require a password. So,
it’s up to you to transmit this key to the user. Ansible works by connecting to
clients over SSH, eliminating the need for a dedicated client agent, and pushing
modules to the clients, which are then performed locally on the client side. The
result is delivered back to the Ansible server. Ansible uses the SSH protocol to
connect with distant computers. Ansible links to remote computers using native
OpenSSH and your current user’s name, much like SSH.

SSH simplifies the entire setup procedure. Client information, such as hostnames,
IP addresses, and SSH ports, are saved in inventory files. Ansible may utilize an
inventory file once it has been built and filled. You can confirm how you can
interact with all inventory nodes over SSH with the identical username. Moreover,
if necessary, you can add your public SSH key to the authorized_keys file on those
systems. For running tasks against local Linux systems, Ansible uses SSH. To use
Ansible, you must set up the software’s SSH connection so that it can
automatically bypass a password request.

4. The use of push architecture

Ansible allows users to jot down all settings and push them to the nodes
simultaneously. One can see how efficient it is to make adjustments to thousands
of servers in a matter of minutes. Within the context of systems for managing
configurations in this manner, the main server sends “or pushes” the configuration
to nodes. As a result, communication is initiated by the primary server rather than
the nodes. This implies that each node may or may not have an agent/client
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installed. Ansible is a push-based configuration management solution that does

not require the installation of an agent on the nodes.

The central server initiates contact and delivers configuration information to the
nodes without requesting it in both circumstances. Because the central server
pushes the design to the nodes, you have greater control over which nodes need to
be set, the operations are more synchronous, and error management is much easier
because you can detect and solve errors immediately.

5. Ease of setup
Playbooks, roles, inventories, and variables files are organized by functions in the
setup feature, with tags at the play and task level for further specificity and control.
Although this is a robust and adaptable method, there are alternative options for
organizing Ansible data. Ansible makes it simple to complete tasks by automating
them and eliminating the need for manual deployment. It can configure systems,
install software, and organize more complex operations like continuous delivery
and zero downtime while rolling out new features, among other things.

After continuous integration and continuous deployment, continuous deployment

refers to the software deployment process to a server. Simply install the Ansible
package on one system to utilize it from the command line to set up ansible.
There’s no need to set up a database or start any daemons. Two machines are
required. The first machine is referred the ‘Server’, and it serves as a managed
node, while the second is referred to as a ‘Node’, and it serves as a controller node.

See More: DevOps vs. Agile Methodology: Key Differences and Similarities

Takeaway
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Ansible is among the most popular technologies in the DevOps toolchain in 2022.
Indeed, OpenLogic’s 2022 State of Open Source Survey found that Ansible is one of
the top five DevOps tools for automation and orchestration, second only to Puppet.
Nearly one in four DevOps teams use the technology to automate the delivery of
software code, owing to its powerful yet free features. This 2013 launched DevOps
automation platform will remain popular worldwide even as new solutions
emerge.

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Chiradeep BasuMallick 
Technical Writer

Chiradeep is a content marketing professional, a startup incubator, and a tech

journalism specialist. He has over 11 years of experience in mainline advertising,
marketing communications, corporate communications, and content marketing. He
has worked with a number of global majors and Indian MNCs, and currently manages
his content marketing startup based out of Kolkata, India. He writes extensively on
areas such as IT, BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and financial analysis
& stock markets. He studied literature, has a degree in public relations and is an
independent contributor for several leading publications.

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Table of Contents

What Is Ansible?

What Is Ansible used for?

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How Does Ansible Work?

Understanding the Architecture of

Ansible

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