Automation ensures efficiency, scalability, and security in today’s dynamic IT environment. RedHat Ansible Automation Platform provides a robust, enterprise-grade framework for automating tasks across IT infrastructures. This blog will explore how the platform can empower organizations, overcome challenges with open-source Ansible, and integrate seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines like Azure DevOps.

Introduction to RedHat Ansible Automation Platform

RedHat Ansible Automation Platform is an enterprise solution built on the open-source Ansible framework. It extends Ansible’s capabilities by providing a fully supported automation platform with advanced tools like Ansible Tower, Ansible Content Collections, and RedHat Insights. This platform enables organizations to automate at scale while maintaining security, compliance, and governance.

Overcoming Challenges with Open-Source Ansible

While open-source Ansible is a powerful tool, it has limitations when scaling across large, complex infrastructures. The absence of centralized management, role-based access control (RBAC), and reporting tools can complicate large-scale deployments. Maintaining and updating playbooks and managing sensitive credentials also becomes challenging in larger environments.

RedHat’s Ansible Automation Platform mitigates these challenges by adding centralized control, improved security features, and automation workflows that streamline complex tasks.

Advantages of RedHat Ansible Automation Platform

  1. Centralized Automation Control: Ansible Tower provides a web-based UI that simplifies the management of playbooks, inventories, and credentials across multiple teams.
  2. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Fine-grained access control ensures that only authorized users can execute specific playbooks, reducing the risk of misconfigurations.
  3. Enhanced Security: Secure credential storage, audit logs, and integration with identity management systems help maintain security and compliance.
  4. Scalability: The platform scales efficiently for enterprises thanks to features like job templates, workflows, and the ability to delegate tasks across multiple nodes.
  5. Automation Insights: RedHat Insights provides data-driven analytics for optimization and troubleshooting.

Integrating Ansible Playbooks with Azure DevOps

Integration with CI/CD pipelines such as Azure DevOps is a game-changer for continuous delivery. Organizations can automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration, and deployment alongside the application release process by linking Ansible Playbooks with Azure DevOps.

To integrate Ansible with Azure DevOps:

  1. Install the Ansible extension in your Azure DevOps project.
  2. Use playbooks as part of the CI/CD pipelines to automate infrastructure changes.
  3. Define pipeline variables to execute different playbooks based on the environment dynamically.

This seamless integration accelerates the development lifecycle by unifying infrastructure management with application deployment.

Setting Up Ansible Automation Platform

Setting up the RedHat Ansible Automation Platform is straightforward:

  1. Install the platform via RedHat’s installer on supported environments.
  2. Configure Ansible Tower, the central control node, to manage inventory and credentials.
  3. Set up project repositories and job templates to execute playbooks based on different variables.
  4. Use the UI or API to manage users, credentials, and RBAC policies.

Implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC in the Ansible Automation Platform is critical for secure, enterprise-scale automation. Through RBAC, you can assign roles like Admin, User, and Viewer to ensure appropriate access levels to playbooks, inventories, and credentials.

To set up RBAC:

  1. Define users and teams within Ansible Tower.
  2. Assign roles based on job templates or inventories.
  3. Use credentials securely, controlling which teams can access them to execute playbooks.

Utilizing Surveys for Dynamic Variable Overrides

Surveys provide an interactive way to override variables dynamically during playbook execution. This feature allows users to customize the behavior of playbooks without modifying the underlying code, making automation more flexible and adaptable.

Steps:

  1. Create a Job Template and define the variables.
  2. Configure a Survey by adding prompts for user input during playbook execution.
  3. Use the input variables in your playbook to adjust configurations dynamically.

Executing Playbooks and Monitoring Results

After setting up playbooks and inventories, executing playbooks through Ansible Tower is seamless. With the platform, you can:

  1. Execute individual playbooks or use job workflows to orchestrate complex tasks.
  2. Monitor the progress of each job in real-time.
  3. View detailed logs, ensuring complete transparency and audibility of automation tasks.

Automating Playbook Execution with Schedules

Automation is most effective when it is scheduled. The Ansible Automation Platform allows you to schedule playbooks for specific intervals or dates, ensuring regular updates or configuration changes without manual intervention.

To set up a schedule:

  1. Define a Job Template for the playbook.
  2. Assign a schedule to the job, specifying the frequency and time.
  3. Monitor and manage scheduled jobs directly from the Ansible Tower dashboard.

Leveraging Ansible Automation Platform’s Reporting Features

Ansible Automation Platform offers comprehensive reporting features that allow teams to:

  1. Track the status and results of executed jobs.
  2. Monitor failures and performance bottlenecks.
  3. Generate reports for audit and compliance purposes.

These reports provide valuable insights into the success and performance of your automation workflows.

Orchestrating Complex Tasks with Job Workflows

Job workflows enable you to orchestrate complex automation tasks by chaining multiple playbooks together. This is useful when different playbooks must be executed in sequence or when certain conditions trigger additional playbooks.

To create a job workflow:

  1. Define Job Templates for each task.
  2. Use the workflow editor to define the sequence and conditions for each playbook.
  3. Execute the workflow and monitor the progress through the platform’s UI.

Programmatically Managing Components with Ansible Tower API

Ansible Tower API offers programmatic control over various components, such as projects, inventories, and playbooks. The API is RESTful, making integrating with third-party applications or custom tools easy.

To use the API:

  1. Access the API documentation via your Ansible Tower instance’s/API/v2 endpoint.
  2. Use authentication tokens for secure access.
  3. Automate tasks such as job execution, inventory updates, or project synchronization through API calls.

Conclusion

RedHat Ansible Automation Platform extends the power of open-source Ansible by providing enterprise-level features such as RBAC, centralized control, reporting, and seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines like Azure DevOps. With enhanced security, scalability, and flexibility, the platform is essential for any organization looking to automate complex tasks across its infrastructure.

References

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Subscription on AWS

Advent One