Ansible
Agentless IT automation using YAML playbooks for configuration management and orchestration.
Ansible is an open-source automation platform by Red Hat for configuration management, application deployment, and orchestration. It uses YAML-based playbooks and requires only SSH access — no agents to install. Ansible Tower (AAP) adds a web UI, RBAC, and scheduling. Strongest in config management and Day-2 operations where Terraform is weak.
- Best for: Infrastructure as Code
- Pricing: Free and open-source (core), Ansible Automation Platform from $5k/yr
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Features
Drift Detection
Detect and report manual changes outside of IaC
No drift detection — idempotent by design
Kubernetes-Native
Built on Kubernetes CRDs for native K8s experience
Agentless, runs over SSH/WinRM
Module/Package Registry
Reusable infrastructure components managed via registry
Ansible Galaxy for roles and collections
Multi-Cloud Support
Provision infrastructure across AWS, Azure, GCP and others
Modules for AWS, Azure, GCP, and 50+ platforms
Policy as Code
Define and enforce infrastructure policies programmatically
Ansible-lint, custom validation rules
Preview/Plan
Preview infrastructure changes before applying them
Check mode (dry run) before applying
Programming Languages
Use general-purpose languages instead of DSL
YAML-based playbooks (not a general-purpose language)
Secret Management
Handle sensitive values like passwords and API keys
Ansible Vault for encrypted variables
State Management
Track and manage infrastructure state over time
No state file — idempotent playbooks
Team Collaboration
Multi-user support with RBAC and audit logs
Ansible Tower/AAP for RBAC and audit
Best For
Find the right DevOps tools for your specific needs. Ansible is featured in these buying guides: