Ansible Tower vs AWX: How to Manage Ansible at Scale

July 21, 2022
12:02 am

Learn about the key differences between Ansible Tower vs AWX. This guide covers setup instructions, features, support models, and helps you choose the best platform for large-scale automation.

Introduction

As infrastructure complexity increases, so does the need for robust automation tools. Ansible is one of the most widely adopted tools for managing IT environments. However, when it comes to scaling Ansible operations, it can be a challenge to manage playbooks, inventory, and job scheduling. This is where Ansible Tower and its open-source version, AWX, come in.

Ansible Tower and AWX provide centralized management for your Ansible automation, allowing for efficient scaling, better monitoring, and more streamlined workflows. In this article, we’ll compare Ansible Tower and AWX, explore their unique features, and walk you through setting up either platform for large-scale automation.

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Understanding Ansible Tower and AWX

Both Ansible Tower and AWX are designed to make it easier to manage, orchestrate, and monitor Ansible automation workflows. The key difference between the two lies in the fact that Ansible Tower is the commercial, enterprise-grade offering by Red Hat, while AWX is the open-source, community-driven counterpart.

These platforms include a web-based interface that simplifies tasks such as managing inventories, running playbooks, and scheduling jobs. Whether you are working on a small project or managing large-scale infrastructure, Ansible Tower and AWX provide the functionality you need for automation.

Key Features

Centralized Dashboard: Both Ansible Tower and AWX provide a user-friendly, centralized dashboard to view the status of your automation tasks, inventory, and job logs. With real-time updates, this dashboard allows administrators to track and manage complex workflows with ease.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Implementing RBAC ensures that only authorized individuals have access to specific tasks and resources, enhancing security within your automation environment.

Job Scheduling: Automating tasks on a schedule can significantly reduce manual intervention. Both Ansible Tower and AWX provide features to schedule jobs and run them at predefined intervals.

Inventory Management: Inventory management allows users to create a structured list of hosts and groups. This helps target specific systems and organize automation tasks efficiently, making playbook execution more effective.

Logging and Auditing: Both platforms offer detailed logging and auditing features. These logs help in troubleshooting, tracking changes, and ensuring compliance with security and operational standards.

Ansible Tower vs AWX

Distribution Model

Ansible Tower: The commercial product developed by Red Hat, Ansible Tower, offers additional enterprise-grade features such as enhanced scalability, support, and integration with Red Hat’s ecosystem. It’s a subscription-based service, providing businesses with guaranteed support, security updates, and service level agreements (SLAs).

AWX: AWX is the open-source version, freely available and developed by the community. While it includes the core features of Ansible Tower, AWX does not come with official Red Hat support or the proprietary features found in Ansible Tower.

Support

Ansible Tower: Red Hat offers official technical support for Ansible Tower, including 24/7 support, security patches, and direct access to Red Hat’s knowledge base. This is ideal for enterprises that need guaranteed assistance for mission-critical infrastructure.

AWX: AWX, being community-supported, relies on forums, community discussions, and open-source contributions. While the community is quite active, AWX does not offer the same level of support as Ansible Tower, making it more suitable for smaller teams or those with a high level of self-reliance.

Feature Parity

In terms of features, AWX and Ansible Tower are quite similar. Both platforms offer:

Centralized dashboards for easy monitoring

RBAC for controlled access

Job scheduling, inventory management, and playbook execution

However, Ansible Tower comes with a few extra enterprise features that AWX lacks, such as multifactor authentication (MFA), dedicated support for scaling in large organizations, and enhanced security features.

Release Schedule

Ansible Tower: Ansible Tower follows a stable release cycle with more thorough testing and quality assurance before updates are made available. This ensures a controlled environment, making it ideal for production environments.

AWX: AWX tends to have more frequent updates, with new features and bug fixes rolling out regularly. While this provides users with early access to new functionalities, it may be less stable than Ansible Tower for critical production environments.

Setting Up Ansible Tower or AWX

Install Dependencies

Before installing Ansible Tower or AWX, ensure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed. On a Linux system (Ubuntu), use the following commands to set up the necessary dependencies:

				
					# Install Docker
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker.io

				
					
# Install Docker Compose
sudo apt-get install docker-compose

Download Ansible Tower or AWX

You can download Ansible Tower from the official Red Hat website. For AWX, you can clone the GitHub repository:

				
					# Clone the AWX repository
git clone https://github.com/ansible/awx.git

				
					# Navigate to the awx directory
cd awx

Configure Docker Compose

To set up AWX, edit the docker-compose.yml file to configure your instance. This includes setting passwords, ports, and environment variables. Example configuration:

				
					version: '3'
services:
  awx:
    image: ansible/awx:latest
    container_name: awx
    ports:
      - "8080:8052"
    environment:
      - SECRET_KEY=mysecretkey
      - ADMIN_USER=myadmin
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=mypassword
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock

Build and Run the Container

After configuring Docker Compose, build and run the AWX container:

				
					# Build and run AWX container
docker-compose up -d

Access the Web Interface

Once the container is running, open your web browser and access AWX at http://localhost:8080. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the initial setup, such as creating the admin user.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys

Set up Inventories and Credentials

In the AWX web interface, navigate to the Inventories section and create an inventory of your infrastructure. Define credentials such as SSH keys, usernames, and passwords to connect securely to your remote systems.

Create and Run Playbooks

To execute automation tasks, upload your Ansible playbooks to AWX under the Projects section. Create job templates to specify the playbook, inventory, and credentials. You can then schedule jobs or run them manually, monitoring progress and logs in real time through the AWX interface.

Photo by admingeek from Infotechys

Conclusion

Both Ansible Tower and AWX provide powerful solutions for managing and scaling Ansible automation. While Ansible Tower is best suited for enterprises needing official support, enterprise features, and stability, AWX offers a community-driven, open-source alternative for smaller teams or those on a budget.

By following the setup instructions in this guide, you can implement Ansible Tower or AWX in your environment and begin streamlining your infrastructure management, job scheduling, and automation workflows. Whether you choose Ansible Tower or AWX, embracing these tools will empower your organization to manage IT at scale with efficiency and reliability.

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