Ansible Automation Platform

Ansible Automation Platform
Name	Ansible Automation Platform
Developer	Red Hat
Released	2019
Programming language	Python
Operating system	Cross-platform
License	Proprietary (subscription)

Ansible Automation Platform

Ansible Automation Platform is a commercial automation product suite developed by Red Hat that builds upon the open-source Ansible project. It provides orchestration, configuration management, and application deployment capabilities for enterprise IT environments, integrating with a broad ecosystem of vendors and standards. The platform targets operations teams in organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and VMware and positions itself for use alongside tools from Puppet, Chef (software), SaltStack, and Terraform (software).

Overview

Ansible Automation Platform is offered as a subscription product by Red Hat and complements the upstream project maintained by the Ansible community. It is designed for large-scale automation across hybrid infrastructures involving providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and virtualization platforms including VMware vSphere and Red Hat Virtualization. Enterprise customers from sectors represented by Fortune 500 firms and public institutions such as United States Department of Defense and European Commission adopt the platform for repeatable workflows, aligning with practices advocated at events like Red Hat Summit and conferences including KubeCon and AnsibleFest.

Architecture and Components

The platform combines several components around the upstream Ansible engine and follows a controller-managed model similar in intent to control plane architectures used by Kubernetes. Core components commonly include an automation controller, execution nodes, content collections, and web-based UI and API endpoints. The automation controller (commercial counterpart to AWX) provides role-based access controls comparable to standards from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and integrates with identity providers such as Microsoft Active Directory and Okta. Execution nodes run playbooks and modules across targets like Linux, Windows Server 2019, and network devices from vendors like Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, and Arista Networks. Content collections package plugins and modules with metadata, analogous to how Red Hat Satellite manages content lifecycle.

Features and Functionality

Features include orchestration of multi-tier applications, configuration drift remediation, automated provisioning, and workflow chaining that can call APIs from providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. The platform supports inventory management, secret handling through integrations with HashiCorp Vault and CyberArk, and analytics for operational insights similar to telemetry systems from Splunk or Elastic (company). It exposes RESTful APIs enabling CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab, and GitHub Actions, and aligns with GitOps practices promoted by projects such as Flux (software) and Argo CD.

Deployment and Management

Deployment options include appliance-style installations on private infrastructure, containerized deployments on platforms like Red Hat OpenShift and Kubernetes, and SaaS-style consumption through managed offerings by cloud providers. Management workflows use concepts of inventories, projects, credentials, and job templates; these are administered through a web UI and command-line utilities integrating with Ansible Tower functionality. Scale-out architectures employ clustering and high-availability patterns seen in PostgreSQL clusters and load balancers from F5 Networks or NGINX (software). Backup and disaster recovery strategies for the controller often reference storage solutions from NetApp and Dell EMC.

Security and Compliance

Security features encompass role-based access control, audit logging, credential vaulting, and integration with enterprise identity systems like LDAP and SAML 2.0 providers. Compliance workflows map to standards and frameworks promulgated by NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, and regulatory regimes such as GDPR and HIPAA; customers often use the platform to automate remediation required by audits from agencies like Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or assessments referencing CIS Benchmarks. Ansible content signing and execution policies reduce supply-chain risks highlighted by organizations like OWASP and CISA.

Use Cases and Integrations

Common use cases include infrastructure provisioning for cloud-native applications on OpenShift Container Platform, automated patch management for fleets of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Server, network automation across devices from Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks, and configuration management for middleware stacks such as Apache HTTP Server and NGINX. Integrations extend to ITSM platforms like ServiceNow, observability stacks including Prometheus and Grafana, and enterprise configuration management databases such as CMDB implementations used by BMC Software customers. Industry adopters span finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and public sector organizations like National Health Service (England).

Version History and Licensing

The platform was commercialized following Red Hat's acquisition of the original Ansible company and the growth of the upstream community, with formal platform releases announced in the late 2010s and iterative updates aligning with upstream Ansible engine versions. Releases follow subscription channels from Red Hat Enterprise Linux and support policies similar to other Red Hat offerings, and licensing is offered via subscription with entitlements for support, certified collections, and enterprise features. Major product milestones are typically announced at events like Red Hat Summit and through Red Hat's product lifecycle communications to customers including partners such as IBM and Accenture.

Category:Red Hat software