Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.3: What to expect

Red Hat® Ansible® Automation Platform continues to evolve with its 2.3 release. Building on the foundation of its modern container-based architecture, Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 introduces a number of new features and capabilities that deliver simpler, security-focused automation at scale. Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 also includes a developer preview of Event-Driven Ansible, a new set of capabilities that will empower true end-to-end automation.

As your automation grows, so does your required automation content. Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 helps you build a more trusted software supply chain for your automation content, incorporating new security-focused features, tooling, and content, including:

• Automation controller project signing, via a new tool called ansible-sign. Projects are logical arrangements of Ansible Playbooks, represented in automation controller. Project signing adds additional checks for playbooks held in source control.
• Sign and validate Ansible content via a web UI. Signing of collections and execution environments was first released as a technology preview in Ansible Automation Platform 2.2 using the command line. Private automation hub now allows administrators to sign collections and execution environments directly from the web user interface (UI) and validate signed content, simplifying control.
• Profile support in Ansible Lint allows linting rule sets to be changed based on environments. Ansible Lint is now fully supported in Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 after its inclusion in technology preview in the 2.2 version. Ansible Lint helps support teams write cleaner Ansible Playbook YAML and follow recommended coding practices. 
• Ansible validated content provides highly opinionated Ansible Roles that help teams start automation faster.  It complements the  existing ecosystem of Ansible community content and Red Hat Ansible Certified Content. Ansible validated content uses a trusted, expert-led path for performing  Day-2 operational tasks against public clouds, networks, and even Ansible Automation Platform itself. Initially, customers will have the option to have Ansible validated content collections preloaded when installing a private automation hub. 

Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 offers an automation management experience with more simplicity, accessibility, and choice. The simplified infrastructure and management plane makes it easier to create automation content, and it allows your teams to onboard new platforms quickly without waiting for an Ansible content collection to be built. Improvements in the 2.3 release include:

• Direct Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) support with role-based access control (RBAC). Private automation hub can directly integrate with your LDAP system and provide  RBAC.
• Platform installer enhancements
  • A guided installation wizard for creating platform inventory files
  • Updates to make the installer more fapolicyd aware
  • Ansible-builder image is now bundled with certified content to simplify Day 0 operations

A containerized architecture, paired with the automation controller and automation mesh components, anchors Ansible Automation Platform 2’s core mission: to help users create, manage, and scale their automation in entirely new ways.

When you purchase an Ansible Automation Platform subscription, you gain support—from your datacenter, to execution nodes in the cloud, out to edge locations.  Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 includes improvements to give users more flexibility and control when scaling their automation. Key platform component updates include: 

• The continued evolution of the automation controller, with numerous performance enhancements to increase both platform resilience and execution efficiency.

New automation mesh features available in technology preview for the 2.3 release include:

• Simplified addition and removal of execution node capacity. In the tech preview, we have removed requirements for using platform installer to add or remove execution nodes.
• Enhancements for job utilization on multiple execution nodes. A more efficient task manager can make efficient use of execution nodes, increasing your automation capacity.
• Support for external execution nodes. Multiple solutions are available, giving you the freedom to run your automation anywhere you need to. Automation mesh now allows you to connect external execution nodes to your Red Hat OpenShift® Ansible Automation Platform installation. This new feature provides you more flexibility and agility to deliver automation across the hybrid cloud—physical, virtual, cloud, and to edge locations. 

Available as a developer preview provided in Ansible Automation Platform 2.3, Event-Driven Ansible is a scalable, responsive automation capability that can process events containing discrete, actionable intelligence. It empowers teams to determine the appropriate response to an event, then executes automated actions to address or remediate. 

Event-Driven Ansible delivers more responsive and resilient IT services through faster resolution of requests. The developer preview includes:

A rules language and file structure for defining relationships between events and actions.

Fully integrated RESTful application programming interface (API) to automate automation jobs and workflows.

Integrated webhook support with GitHub and GitLab to provide automation into existing GitOps workflows. 

Visit ansible.com/event-driven to learn more about the technology and how you can get involved with shaping Event-Driven Ansible to meet the needs of your organization. If you are ready to get started right away, try our self-paced lab. 

Read this article to learn what to expect with the Event-Driven Ansible preview.