Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Pros and Cons

Ansible is widely appreciated for its simplicity and efficiency, making it one of the most helpful tools in automation and configuration management. One of its key features is its agentless architecture, which eliminates the need to install software on the managed nodes, reducing complexity and overhead. It uses straightforward YAML syntax in its playbooks, which makes it accessible even to those with limited programming experience. Ansible also supports idempotency, ensuring that tasks can be run repeatedly without causing unintended changes if the system is already in the desired state. With its strong community support and a wide range of modules, Ansible integrates well with various platforms and applications, allowing for seamless automation of repetitive tasks like provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One common issue is the slow execution of playbooks, especially when managing large-scale environments or executing tasks over many nodes. Since Ansible is agentless, it relies on SSH connections for communication, which can introduce delays, particularly if multiple servers are involved or if there are network latency issues. Another challenge is that playbooks written inefficiently, with redundant tasks or complex loops, can further contribute to performance bottlenecks. Additionally, Ansible's default execution model is single-threaded, meaning it processes tasks sequentially, which can slow down operations when dealing with a high volume of servers. Debugging and troubleshooting can also be tricky at times, as verbose logs are sometimes needed to pinpoint issues, leading to an increase in execution time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The best feature of Red Hat Ansible Platform is its Automation Controller. It provides a centralized, easy-to-use interface for managing, scheduling, and scaling automation tasks across large environments. With role-based access control, graphical management, and the ability to orchestrate complex workflows, it ensures that automation is secure, repeatable, and scalable. This makes it ideal for organizations looking to streamline and standardize their IT processes across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One potential downside of Red Hat Ansible Platform is its complexity for newcomers. While Ansible itself is known for its simplicity with YAML-based playbooks, the enterprise-level features of the platform, such as the Automation Controller, Analytics, and Hub, can be overwhelming for new users or smaller teams. The advanced features and configurations require more in-depth knowledge and can present a steeper learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with enterprise IT environments. Additionally, the platform’s cost could be a factor for smaller organizations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Automação do ambiente e modernização do parque Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some potential critiques of the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform often center around:

1. Performance for Large-Scale Environments: Ansible can face scalability issues in very large infrastructures because it is agentless, which means each task is executed sequentially, making parallel processing slower compared to tools with agents.

2. Complexity in Larger Playbooks: As automation tasks grow, playbooks can become complex and harder to maintain, especially without clear documentation or when multiple people contribute.

3. Limited Error Handling: While Ansible provides some error handling, it is not as robust as other automation tools. This can make debugging large or intricate tasks difficult.

4. YAML Syntax: Some users dislike YAML for its strict indentation rules, which can lead to small, hard-to-catch errors in playbooks.

5. Limited Scheduling and Orchestration: Compared to other tools like Rundeck or Jenkins, Ansible’s native scheduling and orchestration capabilities are less mature without external integrations.

These are common areas where users may express dissatisfaction, depending on specific requirements and environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform provides a wide range of features and integrations that are necessary for day-to-day workflows. Its implementation is easier with the guide provided. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There is nothing that I dislike about RedHat AAP, but there is a feature which needs to be enhanced. i.e., there is no to enable/disable all servers at a time. Hence i need to manually enable/disable the servers Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One of the most valuable features is automation & agentless.It has an easy-to-use interfaceit provides deep automation capabilities which help removing multiple manual processes in the IT workflow Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

it uses a CLI by default. Those accustomed to it can find their way and adopt the YAML files easily over time. But, some users are more comfortable using UIs.Complexity in third-party service integration.price is a bit high Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Easy to integrate with other products, f.ex. satellite, git, salt, foreman ... Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Pricing - is little bit too expensive for medium and small companies

in one word ... waste of money Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I enjoy best about the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is how simple and efficient it is for automating complex operations. It helps me to easily automate repeated procedures, eliminating manual work and the possibility of errors. The platform's agentless architecture makes it simple to manage, and the playbooks are intuitive, allowing you to easily customise automation workflows to meet specific requirements. This not only saves time, but also maintains uniformity throughout my infrastructure, resulting in smoother deployments and more reliable operations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform has a steep learning curve for more complex capabilities and large-scale automation, which is one characteristic I detest. Setting up simple tasks is simple, but gaining proficiency in more intricate automation scenarios can be difficult and time-consuming, particularly for those who are unfamiliar with the platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AAP has been a great upgrade moving from Ansible Tower. We have been able to utilze the platform to manage upgrades of the OS, daily drift and compliance checking. It's been great platform to work with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing that is frustrating about AAP is the separate logins for Hub and different authentication methods for integrating into Active Directory. It was a challenge to get it all working and stay working consistantly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Use the IaC over yaml manifests to reduce the time to deliver and configuration. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The admin interface could be better, maybe more intuitive Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The most likely from Ansible is the easy way to configure and how it can help to agile my business Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Anything, all is really great, and the hardest isn't use it Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.