Ansible is an IT automation solution. It is more specifically an open-source configuration, deployment, and orchestration tool that integrates with much of your technology stack: networking, security, application deployment, storage, software development lifecycle processes, etc. Ansible is agentless, powerful, and simple, and therefore is easy to get up and running. A new sysadmin can get started with Ansible within hours. Ansible is free, and the latest versions can be installed with the following command:
$ sudo yum install -y ansible
Ansible Tower is the enterprise version of Ansible, and it helps organizations and teams scale quickly and effectively. There is a cost associated with adopting it, installing it, and getting the software up and running in your environments. Ansible Tower offers more control than the free version and is a great platform for breaking down silos, as it can be used cross-functionally in an efficient manner.
Why Ansible Tower?
Ansible Tower takes you beyond Ansible’s command-line interface to a web user interface, offering a more familiar environment for most customers, employers, and non-technical people. Tower allows sysadmin and DevOps/automation specialists to demonstrate the value and power of automation and provides easier training and demos that lead to quicker acceptance and overall buy-in so you can add this tool into your long-term automation strategy.
As a sysadmin or DevOps/automation specialist, this may be your first time using Ansible Tower. You will be glad you decided to take this path because it will demonstrate your ability to analyze and deduce what’s best for your team and company in the short- and long-term. Doing so will set you apart and show you to be a big-picture thinker, strategist, and savvy business professional. This is where the “soft skills” come in.
Ansible Tower is a scalable adoption strategy that, as your automation adoption grows, will be integral to quicker automation solutions. Those involved in the software life cycle process will thank you for choosing Ansible Tower. Here are a few of its features:
- A graphical user interface dashboard.
- Role-based access control.
- Job scheduling.
- Graphical inventory management.
- A multi-playbook workflow.
- RESTful APIs.
- External logging integrations.
- Real-time job status updates.
- Red Hat technical support.
- Red Hat Customer Portal access.
TASK BY TRAINER:
Install Ansible Tower on RHEL 8