Ansible for Windows

Free automation tool

Ansible is a free and open-sourced platform that helps you automate tasks and manage application deployment. The tool is handy as IT environments often scale too fast for management to keep up without automation. 

Ansible is extremely simple to set up and start using once you download it. However, before you start, you may need to find a tutorial online to walk you through the process and ensure everything works correctly. You don't need to have any special coding skills or knowledge before using this program's playbooks.

Simplistic

Configuration management

Configuring Ansible doesn't require long or complicated steps. With a little background experience in IT, you can have your configurations up and running in almost no time. All you need to start is an SSH key or password.

This software's configurations are data descriptions that are readable by both man and machine. To update any of your software on the system, write out the IP addresses of the nodes. Once you have them stored, you can use a playbook to deliver the new app versions.

App deployment

With Ansible, you can deploy multi-tier applications within moments. You don't need to code the tasks yourself, as you can use the playbooks. This feature makes this platform do all the work for you as it figures out how to work your system the way you specified. However, you need to manage the tasks written in the playbook and ensure that they proceed in order.

Secure

This software allows you to implement sitewide security measures in the same way you deploy applications. Once you run the edited playbook, all the remote hosts listed will receive the new standards. Additionally, your admin ID and password will not store themselves as plain text within the Ansible server.

Robust task automation and app deployment

Ansible is a great platform to use for automation as it's both powerful and efficient. The software is written in Python, making it easy to learn and use. However, if you're looking for alternatives, you may find Puppet and Terraform near equally as useful as Ansible.