TL;DR - Ansible
- Ansible is an open-source automation tool for configuration management, app deployment, and orchestration
- It uses simple YAML playbooks to define automation tasks without requiring agents on managed nodes
- Free and open-source, with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for enterprise features
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
Score: 86/100
Pricing Plans
Most Popular
Community
Free
Open source
- Automation
- Playbooks
- Modules
Automation Platform
Free
Enterprise
- Controller
- Hub
- Analytics
About Ansible
Ansible automates IT infrastructure with simple YAML files. Describe the state you want your servers in, and Ansible makes it happen—installing packages, configuring services, deploying applications.
No agents to install on target machines. SSH is enough. Playbooks are readable enough that non-programmers can understand what they do. The learning curve is gentle compared to alternatives.
DevOps teams use Ansible to make infrastructure reproducible. Instead of manually configuring servers, you write it once and apply it everywhere.
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Ansible FAQ
Yes, Ansible is open source and free. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (enterprise version) is paid. Core Ansible handles most needs without paying.
Ansible is an automation tool for configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration. Uses YAML playbooks, agentless design (SSH-based). Owned by Red Hat/IBM.
Different tools. Ansible configures servers (configuration management). Terraform provisions infrastructure. Often used together: Terraform creates servers, Ansible configures them.
All are configuration management tools. Ansible is agentless and simpler. Puppet/Chef use agents and are more complex. Ansible is easier to start; Puppet/Chef for complex enterprise needs.
AWX is the open-source upstream for Red Hat Ansible Tower. Provides web UI, REST API, and role-based access for Ansible. Free alternative to paid Automation Platform.