Introduction

As IT environments become increasingly complex, the need for robust automation tools to manage infrastructure across various platforms is more critical than ever. VMware vRealize Automation (vRA) is a powerful tool that helps IT teams manage, automate, and deliver IT services at scale. Integrating Ansible, a widely used automation tool, with vRA enhances its capabilities, enabling seamless configuration management, application deployment, and infrastructure orchestration.

This article explores how to integrate Ansible with VMware vRealize Automation, the benefits of this integration, and best practices for leveraging these tools to streamline IT operations.

Why Integrate Ansible with VMware vRealize Automation?

Integrating Ansible with vRA offers several advantages:

1. Enhanced Automation: Ansible's agentless architecture and extensive module library make it an ideal companion to vRA, allowing for the automation of complex tasks across a variety of environments.

2. Consistency and Compliance: Ansible ensures consistent configuration across environments, reducing configuration drift and ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

3. Scalability: Ansible can automate tasks across large-scale environments, including cloud, on-premises, and hybrid infrastructures, making it a perfect match for the scalable nature of vRA.

4. Simplified Management: With Ansible's simple, human-readable playbooks, IT teams can manage configurations and deployments with ease, reducing the need for complex scripting.

Configuring Ansible Integration in VMware vRealize Automation

The integration process involves configuring vRA to interact with an Ansible control node, enabling the execution of Ansible playbooks as part of the deployment and management workflows within vRA. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Prerequisites

Before you begin the integration, ensure that:

  • You have a running instance of vRA.
  • Ansible is installed and configured on a control node.
  • SSH or WinRM access is configured between the vRA environment and the Ansible control node.
  • The necessary credentials and permissions are set up on both vRA and the Ansible control node.

Step 1: Add Ansible Integration in vRA

1. Log in to the vRA console.

2. Navigate to Infrastructure > Connections > Integrations.

3. Click Add Integration and select Ansible.

4. Enter the details for the Ansible control node, including the hostname and inventory file path.

5. Provide the necessary credentials (username and password or SSH key) for connecting to the Ansible control node.

6. Click Validate to ensure the integration is set up correctly.

7. Once validated, click Add to complete the integration.

Step 2: Configuring Ansible Playbooks in vRA

1. After the integration is set up, you can add Ansible components to your vRA cloud templates.

2. On the cloud template canvas, select Ansible under the **Configuration Man