Introduction

Automating tedious tasks makes developers’ responsibilities more manageable, allowing them to focus on other activities that benefit the organization and if we talk about automation, Ansible is a great strength. It is becoming extremely relevant among automation tools and has become the number-one choice for software automation in many organizations.

It provides a centralized platform to automate configuration management and deployment processes, reducing manual errors and increasing efficiency, which has revolutionized the way IT infrastructure is managed and configured. Additionally, it also gained huge popularity in the CCIE DevNet track as it allows automating network infrastructure operations in an easy and efficient manner. To truly unlock the potential of this tool, many professionals are turning to Ansible course that provide hands-on experience and real-world use cases. Whether you’re managing servers or automating network devices, learning Ansible can open up new opportunities and help you stay competitive in today’s automation-driven landscape.

In this blog, you will learn about what is Ansible used for, how it works and much more in detail, but before that let us understand what it actually is.

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What is Ansible?

Ansible is an automation tool or platform that simplify the process of managing and deploying software applications and IT infrastructure and provides automation solutions to administrators, operators, and IT decision makers across various technical disciplines. It allows to save time at work while improving the scalability, stability and dependability of an IT infrastructure. It is introduced for IT specialists who use it for updates of workstations and servers, application deployment, cloud provisioning, intra-service orchestration configuration management and almost everything system managers do regularly.

Furthermore, it is an agentless system that executes actions over a remote SSH or Windows remote management connection and has no additional security infrastructure, so it is easy to deploy. It uses a simple, human-readable language called YAML (YAML is not a markup language) to describe automation tasks in the form of playbooks.

These playbooks define a series of steps or tasks that need to be executed on a remote system, known as a host. Unlike more simple management tools, its users can leverage Ansible automation to install software, automate daily tasks, provision infrastructure, improve security and compliance, and share automation across the enterprise.

How Ansible Works?

Ansible works by connecting to nodes and pushing out small programs known as ansible modules. It then implements these modules over SSH by default and then eliminates them when finished.

The Ansible management node is the control node, which handles the complete implementation of the playbook. It is the node from which users are performing the installation, and the inventory file provides a list of hosts where the module needs to run. The management node allows SSH connections, and then it applies the module to the host machines and installs the product and once installed it removes the module.

Now, let’s discuss what is Ansible used for.

What is Ansible used for?

Some of the significant use cases of it in an organization are:

Configuration Management

Ansible shines at keeping servers consistent. You write playbooks that define how systems should look. Then Ansible makes it happen. Need Apache on 50 servers? One playbook does it all. If you change your mind about a setting? Update the playbook and then rerun it. Every server matches perfectly.

Application Deployment

Deploying apps manually takes forever. Ansible automates the whole process. It copies files, sets permissions, and restarts services. Your app goes from development to production smoothly.

Cloud Provisioning

Building cloud infrastructure used to mean clicking through web interfaces. Now Ansible talks directly to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. It spins up servers, configures networks, and sets up storage. Everything happens through code.

Security and Compliance

Keeping systems secure requires constant updates. Ansible patches servers, rotates passwords, and configures firewalls. It runs compliance checks, too. When auditors ask about your security setup, you show them the playbooks.

Continuous Delivery

Modern teams deploy code multiple times daily. Ansible fits perfectly into CI/CD pipelines. It handles the deployment piece, working with tools like Jenkins or GitLab. Code changes flow automatically from the repository to production.

Network Automation

Network devices need updates, too. Ansible configures routers, switches, and firewalls from major vendors. It backs up configs, pushes changes, and validates settings. Network teams save hours by automating repetitive tasks. One playbook can update VLANs across your entire network.

Disaster Recovery

When systems crash, every minute counts. Ansible helps rebuild infrastructure fast. Your playbooks become recovery documentation. They restore servers, databases, and applications in the right order. What took hours manually now happens in minutes. Regular disaster drills become simple, just run the playbooks and verify everything works.

Ansible for DevOps

Ansible is the most popular DevOps tool because it allows orchestration, automation, configuration, and IT infrastructure management. It provides customization and scaling according to demand and helps automate implementing internally created applications in production programs to make DevOps easier. In DevOps, it allows rapid deployments, IT architectures are coordinated, installations are reliable, and feedback loops move faster.

Moving on, let’s discuss its features.

Ansible Features

Some of the notable features of Ansible are:

Agentless Architecture

Ansible connects through SSH, which means no software runs on managed servers. This reduces overhead and security risks. Each managed node only needs Python installed. The control node handles all the logic and execution. This design makes updates simple.

Simple Language

Ansible makes use of YAML for configuration. Anyone can read and write playbooks, and no programming skills are required. Tasks mentioned in YAML are simple, plain English. New team members learn quickly, and you can write what you want, not how to do it. Variables and loops work without complex syntax. Even non-developers can automate their tasks.

Idempotent Execution

Tasks run multiple times safely. Systems reach the desired state without breaking. Updates or any changes can be easily applied only when needed. If a package exists, Ansible skips installation. This prevents duplicate entries and conflicts. Failed runs restart from any point. Systems converge to the correct configuration, and no manual cleanup is needed after errors.

Parallel Processing

Ansible can easily control many servers at once. All the tasks can run simultaneously. This can further save time on large deployments. Default runs on five hosts together and can be increased for faster execution. Ansible manages connection pooling automatically. Network limits won’t cause failures. Each host gets independent task execution, which means if one server slows down, it won’t block others.

Secure by Design

Ansible encrypts passwords with Vault and uses SSH keys. Credentials stay protected in playbooks. Vault files use AES256 encryption and role-based access controls to determine who runs what. You can easily audit logs and track all changes. Sudo permissions handled per task. Connection encryption happens automatically. Security updates apply without service restarts.

Ansible Architecture

Ansible architecture is a simple design that works without agents on target machines. The control node runs commands and sends them to managed nodes through SSH. No special software is needed to run on remote systems. This makes setup fast and secure.

The architecture of Ansible follows a push model. You write tasks in YAML files called playbooks. These run from the control node to configure multiple servers at once.

Core Components of Ansible Architecture 

Control Node

This is where Ansible runs. You install Ansible here and run all commands from this point. It connects to other servers using SSH keys. The control node needs Python installed to work properly. 

Managed Nodes

These are the servers Ansible configures. They don’t need Ansible installed. Just Python and SSH access. Each node runs the tasks sent by the control node. They can be physical servers, VMs, or cloud instances. 

Modules

Modules are critical software that Ansible distributes from one command computer to all nodal network points or remote hosts. They are predefined instructions that are applied directly to the remote host. Playbooks run modules that maintain applications, packages, and files. Ansible invokes all modules to deliver updates or perform the required activity and disconnects them after completion.

It has over 450 modules for specific tasks. It contains hundreds of built-in modules and code that run when a playbook is launched. A playbook consists of plays, consisting of various tasks, consisting of modules.

Playbook

Playbooks are task-specific user guides for Ansible. Playbooks direct the workflow because the tasks written in them are executed in the order they are written. They are simple text documents built in YAML, a data serialization language that humans understand.

They are at the heart of what makes it so popular because they explain the tasks the user needs to perform quickly without the need to remember terminology. In addition to being able to describe settings, they can also organize the steps of any manually organized task and operate tasks concurrently or sequentially.

Plugins

Plugins are small pieces of code that extend the functionality of a website. Ansible comes with many of these, but user can create their own. Plugins in this case are a specific type of module and before running the module on the nodes, the plugins are run.

• To reduce the cost of fact-gathering processes, cache plugins are used.
• Action plugins are front-end modules that perform operations on the controller system before invoking the module directly.

Inventory

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

Roles

Roles help in organizing playbooks and files. Roles group related tasks, variables, and files together. They make sharing code easier. You can download roles from Ansible Galaxy or create your own.

Some other key elements that work along with the components of Ansible architecture are:

• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

One can use an application programming interface or API to extend Ansible’s connection options. It includes extending callbacks and other functionalities in addition to using SSH for transmission. Its API serves as a medium for public and private cloud applications.

• Host and Networking

Hosts are nodal structures that take advantage of the data model unique to the Ansible Automation Engine and can cross multiple hardware platforms without much difficulty.

• Cloud

A private or public cloud is a collection of remotely located servers that a person can use to collect, organize, and process information. Instead of keeping the data on a local server, these systems are hosted on the Internet. It deploys cloud resources and instances, connects them to the database, and can handle jobs remotely.

• Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

CMDB is a database that serves as a data repository for IT systems. By deploying Ansible-CMDB code, users can automatically transfer the results of Ansible’s data-collection tasks to a static HTML summary page.

Who are Ansible users? 

• System administrators manage server configurations and automate repetitive tasks daily 

• DevOps engineers deploy applications and maintain infrastructure pipelines across environments 

• Network engineers configure routers, switches, and firewalls using playbooks 

• Cloud architects provision resources on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud platforms 

• Security teams enforce compliance policies and patch systems automatically 

• Development teams set up consistent testing environments quickly 

• IT managers reduce manual work and human errors in operations 

• Enterprise organizations scale infrastructure management across thousands of servers 

• Startups bootstrap infrastructure without hiring large ops teams 

These professionals choose Ansible because it’s agentless, uses simple YAML syntax, and works everywhere. 

What are Ansible playbooks? 

Ansible Playbooks are YAML files that automate IT tasks. Each playbook contains plays that map hosts to roles and tasks. System administrators write these files to describe what they want systems to look like. 

Playbooks run tasks in order across multiple machines. They install software, copy files, start services, and manage configurations. The YAML format makes them easy to read and write. Teams store playbooks in version control systems like Git. 

Instead of logging into servers manually, engineers run playbooks once. This approach saves time, prevents mistakes, and ensures every server matches the desired configuration perfectly. 

Benefits of Ansible

Here are some benefits associated with ansible –

• Agentless: Automation does not require any other software or firewall ports to be installed on the client system. Additionally, there is no need to set up a separate management structure.
• Easy to set up: No special coding skills are required to use its playbooks (more on playbooks later).
• Powerful: It lets users model even more complex IT workflows.
• Flexible: It allows the entire application environment to be managed, regardless of where it is deployed and can be tailored based on user requirements.
• Efficient: There is more space for application resources on your server because no additional software needs to be installed.

It offers a lot of benefits, but like any tool, it also has its drawbacks.

Drawbacks of Ansible

Some of the drawbacks associated with Ansible are –

• Performance overhead: While its agentless architecture simplifies setup and management, it can introduce performance overhead, especially in large-scale deployments with multiple managed nodes.
• Limited real-time monitoring: It focuses primarily on configuration management and automation rather than real-time monitoring and reactive feedback.
• Playbook Complexity: While it promotes simplicity, complex automation tasks or complex workflows can result in verbose and complex playbooks, which can be challenging to maintain and debug over time.
• Learning curve for advanced features: While the basics of Ansible are easy to understand, advanced features like roles, dynamic lists, and Jinja templating may require additional time and effort to master.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1 – What is the main purpose of Ansible?

The primary purpose of Ansible is to automate provisioning, application deployment, configuration management, orchestration, and many other IT processes.

Q2 – What issues does Ansible solve?

Ansible allows to streamline automation and configuration management across the enterprise by supporting six critical use cases:

• Application Deployment
• Network Automation
• Cloud Provisioning
• Orchestration
• Configuration Management
• Security Automation

Q3 – Why Ansible is the best?

Because it provides an automation tool that is simple, powerful, and agentless. Also, powerful functions in many IT domains do not require special coding skills.

Q4 – How much memory does Ansible use?

Ansible uses 4 GB of memory per 100 forks to avoid potential resource conflicts.

Conclusion

Ansible is an open-source tool for provisioning, application deployment, and configuration management that allows saving time, money, and effort by automating tasks across multiple servers. It is essential for developers and operations engineers to understand tools like these. Therefore, in this blog, we have discussed it in-depth, like what it is, how it works, what is Ansible used for, its features, its architecture, and its advantages and disadvantages. Do check out PyNet Labs’ Ansible and Terraform Course to master these tools.