Introduction

Managing servers isn’t fun anymore. You’re juggling dozens of machines, running the same commands over and over. One typo can break everything. And don’t get me started on tracking who changed what. That’s where Ansible Tower (now known as Ansible automation Controller) comes in.

Ansible Tower is your automation control center. It takes the power of Ansible and adds a friendly web interface. Teams can work together better. Jobs run on schedule. Everything stays organized. If you’re diving into infrastructure automation or looking to upskill, exploring an Ansible and Terraform course can give you a solid foundation in these powerful tools.

Let’s explore what makes Ansible Tower special. We will answer first, “What is Ansible Tower?”. After that, we will discuss some of its key features along with its installation. By the end, you’ll understand why businesses highly trust it for their automation needs.

Let us begin by first understanding what Ansible Tower is and how it different from Ansible.

What is Ansible Tower and How its Different from Regular Ansible?

Ansible Tower is Red Hat’s enterprise automation platform. It builds on top of Ansible, the open-source automation tool. After 2021, Ansible Tower is renamed to automation controller.

Regular Ansible is great. It’s free, it’s powerful, and it gets the job done. But it’s all command-line based. You type commands, run playbooks, and hope everything works out.

Ansible Tower changes the game completely. First off, you get a web interface no more memorizing commands or digging through terminal history. Everything’s right there in your browser. Click a button, run a job. Simple as that.

But the real magic happens when you’re working with a team. See, with regular Ansible, everyone needs access to the same files. They need to know which playbooks to run, which inventory to use. It gets messy fast. Tower fixes this by centralizing everything. Your playbooks live in one place. Your inventories are organized. And best of all, you control who can do what.

The platform handles tasks like:

• Server configuration
• Application deployment
• Security patching
• Compliance checks
• Cloud provisioning

Major companies such as American Express, Adobe, etc, trust Ansible Tower to manage their critical infrastructure. Small teams benefit too. With its help, you can scale from dozens to thousands of servers.

Let us move on to our next section, where we will discuss the functioning of Ansible Tower.

How Does Ansible Tower Actually Work?

Tower isn’t some completely different tool – it’s built right on top of Ansible. When you run a job in Tower, it’s actually running regular Ansible playbooks behind the scenes. The difference is in how it manages everything around those playbooks.

The architecture is pretty straightforward. You’ve got the Tower server, which hosts the web interface and API. There’s a PostgreSQL database that stores all your data – job history, inventories, credentials, you name it. And then there’s the task engine that actually runs your playbooks.

When you click “Launch” on a job, here’s what happens. Tower checks your permissions first. Can you run this job? Good. Next, it loads the playbook from your project (usually a Git repo). It grabs the inventory you specified. Pulls in any credentials needed. Then it fires up Ansible and runs your playbook.

The cool part? You see everything happening in real-time. Output streams to your browser as the job runs. If something fails, you know immediately no more tailing log files or wondering if that script finished.

Let’s explore some of the key features of Ansible Tower.

What Are the Key Features That Make Ansible Tower Powerful?

Ansible Tower packs many features into one platform. Each feature solves a real problem IT teams face. Let’s look at the most important ones.

Visual Dashboard

The dashboard shows everything at a glance. See which jobs are running. Check which ones failed. Track system health. No more digging through log files. Everything appears in colorful charts and graphs.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Not everyone needs full access. Tower lets you control permissions. Junior admins might only run certain playbooks. Senior staff get more control. Auditors can view logs without changing anything.

Job Scheduling

Some tasks run better at night. Others need to happen every hour. Tower’s scheduler handles it all. Set up recurring jobs. Schedule one-time tasks. The system runs them automatically.

Real-Time Job Updates

Watch jobs run in real time. See each task complete. Spot errors immediately. The live output helps you troubleshoot faster—no waiting for logs to update.

Multi-Playbook Workflows

Complex tasks need multiple steps. Tower chains playbooks together. If one step fails, the workflow can stop or continue. Add logic between steps. Send notifications when done.

RESTful API

Tower plays well with other tools. The API lets external systems trigger jobs. Pull data into dashboards. Integrate with ticketing systems. The possibilities are endless.

Credential Management

Passwords and keys stay secure. Tower encrypts sensitive data. Users run jobs without seeing credentials. Rotate passwords easily. Meet compliance requirements.

How Do You Install and Set Up Ansible Tower?

Installing Tower takes planning. The process isn’t hard, but you need the right foundation. Here’s what you need to know.

Step 1: Check System Requirements

Tower needs a dedicated server. Don’t install it with other applications. Give it at least 4 GB of RAM. Production systems need 8 GB or more. Use RHEL or CentOS 7 or 8. Newer versions work too. Make sure you have 20 GB of disk space.

Step 2: Download the Installer

Get the installer from Red Hat’s website. You’ll need a subscription or trial license. The download includes everything needed.

Step 3: Update Your System and Install Dependencies

Start by updating your system. On RHEL or CentOS, run:

sudo yum update -y

sudo yum install -y epel-release wget

Step 4: Extract the Tower Installer

Next, grab the Tower installer from Red Hat. You’ll need an account, but they offer free trials. Download the tarball and extract it:

tar xvf ansible-tower-setup-latest.tar.gz

cd ansible-tower-setup-*/

Step 5: Configure Your Installation Settings

Here’s the important part – edit the inventory file. This is where you set your admin password and database credentials.

admin_password='your_secure_password'

pg_password='another_secure_password'

Step 6: Run the Installation Script

Run the setup script:

sudo ./setup.sh

Note: Installation takes about 10-15 minutes.

Step 7: Access Your New Tower Instance

Open your browser and go to the server’s IP address. Use HTTPS http://<server-ip> or https://<server-ip> if you configured SSL. Log in with the admin credentials. You’ll see a license prompt.

Note: Upload your license file. Tower won’t work without it. Red Hat gives you a 60-day trial – plenty of time to test things out. For production, you’ll need to buy a subscription based on how many nodes you’re managing.

How Do Organizations Use Ansible Tower in Real Life?

Real companies solve real problems with Tower. Their stories show what’s possible. Let’s look at some examples.

Configuration Management

Keep servers configured correctly. Tower runs playbooks that check settings. Fix drift automatically. Ensure all servers match standards. Schedule regular compliance checks.

Application Deployment

Deploy code across multiple servers. Tower coordinates the rollout. Stop services gracefully. Update files. Restart services. Verify everything works. Roll back if needed.

Patch Management

Security patches can’t wait. Tower applies updates systematically. Test on development first. Roll out to production in waves. Track which servers need updates. Report on compliance.

Disaster Recovery

When systems fail, recovery must be fast. Tower automates backup processes. Test restore procedures regularly. Document everything in playbooks. Reduce recovery time.

Cloud Management

Provision cloud resources on demand. Tower works with AWS, Azure, and GCP. Create instances Configure networking, install applications.

Companies like Mozilla use Tower for server fleet management. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory automates space mission infrastructure. These aren’t toy projects. They’re mission-critical systems.

What Are the Best Practices for Using Ansible Tower?

Success with Tower requires good habits. Follow these practices to avoid problems later.

Start Small

Don’t try to automate everything on day one. Pick one simple task – maybe user creation or log rotation. Build a playbook, test it thoroughly, then create a Tower job. Once that’s working perfectly, move to the next task.

Organize from the Start

Create a logical structure for your projects, inventories, and credentials. Use clear naming conventions. Trust me, “Test_Job_Final_FINAL_v2” isn’t helpful six months later. Be descriptive. Be consistent.

Use Source Control

Store your playbooks in Git. Tower can sync directly from repositories. This gives you version history, peer review, and easy rollbacks. Plus, it keeps Tower clean – no playbooks scattered on the filesystem.

Use Dynamic Inventory

If you’re in the cloud, use dynamic inventory plugins. Why manually update host lists when Tower can pull them automatically? Set it up once and forget about it.

Test in dev first.

Create separate inventories for dev, staging, and production. Test your playbooks in dev. Promote to staging. Only then touch production. This has saved me countless times.

Monitor Everything

Enable notifications for job failures. Send them to Slack, email, wherever your team looks. Set up alerts for long-running jobs. Review job history regularly to spot patterns.

Document your Workflows

Write down why you built each workflow, what it does, and what could go wrong. Put this in your project README files. Make it easy for new team members to understand.

Review Permissions Regularly

People change roles, leave the company, and join new teams. Schedule quarterly reviews of who has access to what. Remove permissions that aren’t needed anymore.

Let’s explore some of the steps that you can follow in order to use Ansible Tower.

How Can You Get Started with Ansible Tower Today?

Ready to try Tower? Here’s your action plan.

Start with AWX

AWX is Tower’s open-source version. It’s free to use. Install it on a test server. Learn the interface. Practice with simple playbooks. Get comfortable before buying Tower.

Request a Trial

Red Hat offers 60-day trials. Get the full Tower experience. Test with your real infrastructure. Evaluate if it meets your needs—no commitment required.

Plan Your Implementation

List what you want to automate first. Start small and grow. Pick easy wins initially. Document your processes. Build team buy-in.

Get Training

Online tutorials help. Practice makes perfect. Join the community forums. Learn from others’ experiences.

Build Gradually

Don’t automate everything at once. Start with one workflow. Perfect it. Move to the next. Momentum builds naturally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1 What is the Ansible Tower?

Ansible Tower is a web-based control center for Ansible automation. It gives teams a dashboard to run playbooks, manage inventories, and schedule jobs without using command-line tools.

Q2. What is the difference between Ansible and Ansible Tower?

Ansible runs through the command line only. Tower adds a web interface, user permissions, job scheduling, and visual dashboards.

Q3. How much does Ansible Tower cost?

Tower pricing depends on how many nodes you manage. Standard subscriptions start around $5,000 per year for 100 nodes. Larger deployments cost more. The price includes support and updates.

Q4. What is Ansible Tower now called?

Red Hat renamed Tower to “Automation Controller” in 2021. It’s part of the Ansible Automation Platform. The functionality remains the same.

Q5. Do I need Ansible experience to use Tower?

Basic Ansible knowledge helps a lot. You should understand playbooks, inventories, and variables. Tower makes Ansible easier to use. Start learning Ansible basics first. Then add Tower to enhance your capabilities.

Conclusion

Ansible Tower transforms how IT teams work. It takes the power of Ansible and makes it accessible. Teams collaborate better. Automation runs reliably. Compliance becomes easier.

Starting with Tower doesn’t require a massive commitment. Try AWX first. Learn the basics. Build simple automations. Grow from there.

The future of IT is automated. Manual processes can’t keep up with modern demands. Tower provides the platform you need. It scales with your organization. It adapts to your needs.

Remember, every expert started as a beginner. Take that first step.