If you’re a systems administrator, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Ansible—a powerful tool for automating IT tasks. Whether you’re new to Ansible terminology or looking to brush up on your knowledge, understanding the key terms and concepts is crucial to using the tool effectively.
In this guide, we’ll provide a clear overview of Ansible and Ansible terminology, covering everything from its origins to its most recent features. By familiarizing yourself with the essential terminology, you’ll be well-equipped to start leveraging Ansible’s capabilities to streamline your workflows right away.
Ansible is a configuration management tool that automates the provisioning and deployment of applications and infrastructure. It is designed to be simple to use and easy to extend, making it an ideal tool for managing complex deployments.
Ansible works by connecting to your servers via SSH and then executing tasks on those servers.
Understanding Ansible’s key terms is your first step toward mastering automation and streamlining IT tasks effortlessly.
You can think of Ansible as a remote execution tool, like SSH, but with some important differences.
Let’s go through some of the key Ansible terminologies:
A Playbook is an expression of Ansible’s configuration, deployment, and orchestration language. They can describe a policy you want your remote systems to enforce or a set of steps in a general IT process.
Remote servers that you manage with Ansible are called Managed Hosts. Once you install Ansible on a management machine, you will use SSH to connect to remote servers.
The machine where Ansible is run is called the Control Node. The target machines can be virtualized or physical systems.
A task is a unit of work Ansible performs. Tasks are organized into plays, which are then executed on target machines.
A machine is a physical or virtual server that Ansible can manage.
Modules are small codes Ansible uses to perform tasks on target machines.
Roles are collections of related tasks and supporting files that can be used to easily provision complex environments.
Variables are used to store values that can be referenced in plays and tasks. Variables can be defined in playbooks, inventory files, and variable files.
From Playbooks to Variables, getting a grip on Ansible terminology simplifies your automation journey.
Ansible Playbooks are instructions that define what actions should be taken on a remote server or group of servers. They can configure, deploy, and manage systems and applications. Playbooks are written in YAML format and are very easy to read and understand.
Playbooks can perform various tasks, such as installing software, configuring services, or even rolling out entire application stacks. Playbooks are typically run from the command line using the ansible-playbook command.
Ansible playbooks are very flexible and can be used to automate many tasks. Here are five main use cases for Ansible playbooks:
Ansible machines are essentially software-defined machines that can be used to manage and automate tasks across your infrastructure. Ansible machines are built on top of existing physical or virtual machines, providing a consistent and repeatable way to manage your infrastructure.
Ansible machines are typically used to manage server deployments, provisioning, and configurations. They can also be used to automate application deployment and orchestration. Ansible machines are often used with other DevOps tools, such as Puppet, Chef, and SaltStack.
If you want to set up an Ansible machine, there are a few things you need to do.
Ansible machines are classified into several types depending on their functionality. The most common types are Control, Remote, and Target machines.
Ansible tasks are small pieces of code that can be used to automate workflows and processes. There are three types of tasks: simple, complex, and conditional.
A handler is an Ansible keyword that triggers a particular action on a remote server. Handlers are usually associated with notify directives, which tell Ansible to run a handler when a task changes state.
For example, if you have a task that restarts a service, you may want to use a handler to restart the service only if the task has changed state. This way, you can avoid unnecessary restarts and keep your remote servers running smoothly.
To create a handler, you need to use the Ansible handler module. This module allows you to specify the name of the handler, the action to be taken, and the remote server on which the handler should run.
Ansible commands are the basic building blocks for automating infrastructure management with Ansible. By running simple Ansible commands or playbooks (YAML files that define groups of hosts and tasks to be run), entire server deployments can be set up or torn down in moments.
How you could use Ansible commands for some common tasks.
Task 1: Start and Stop a Service
If you need to start or stop a service on a remote server, you can use the following command:
$ ansible -m service -a “name= state=”For example, if you need to start the Apache service on a remote server, you would use the following command:
$ ansible server1 -m service -a “name=httpd state=started”Task 2: Install a Package
If you need to install a package on a remote server, you can use the following command:
$ ansible -m yum -a “name= state=present”For example, if you need to install the Apache HTTP Server on a remote server, you would use the following command:
$ ansible server1 -m yum -a “name=httpd state=present”Ansible commands are very powerful and can help you automate many tasks. Below, we will discuss the most commonly used Ansible commands.
Ansible variables help you define values that you can reference in your playbooks. Variables can be used to store values that you want to reuse throughout your playbooks, and they can be used in conditionals and loops to dynamically change the behavior of your playbooks.
In Ansible, there are two types of variables: facts and vars. Facts are variables automatically populated by Ansible from the information it gathers about the managed system. Vars are user-defined variables that can be used to store any value, including strings, numbers, lists, and dictionaries.
YAML is a human-readable data serialization format often used for configuration files. It is easy to learn and understand and can be used in conjunction with other languages, such as JSON or XML. Ansible uses YAML because it is easy to read and write, and computers can easily parse it.
YAML tags are a powerful tool for Ansible that allows you to specify the type of data stored in a variable. This is especially useful when working with complex data structures like lists or dictionaries. By tagging the data, you can ensure that Ansible knows how to interpret it properly.
Mastering Ansible terminology is the first step toward unlocking the full potential of this powerful automation tool. By understanding key concepts like Playbooks, Roles, and Modules, you can streamline your IT operations and manage configurations with greater efficiency. For further exploration of Ansible’s capabilities, including detailed guides on playbooks, tasks, handlers, and variables, be sure to check out the official documentation.
LogicMonitor can further enhance your automation journey by providing comprehensive monitoring and observability solutions, helping you maintain visibility and control over your automated infrastructure.
© LogicMonitor 2025 | All rights reserved. | All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.
