What is Ansible?

Ansible is an IT automation tool. It can configure systems, deploy software, and orchestrate more advanced IT tasks such as continuous deployments or zero downtime rolling updates.

Ansible’s main goals are simplicity and ease-of-use. It also has a strong focus on security and reliability, featuring a minimum of moving parts, usage of OpenSSH for transport (with other transports and pull modes as alternatives), and a language that is designed around auditability by humans–even those not familiar with the program.

Ansible 是一個維運自動化工具，其特徵是無客戶端、簡單易用和日誌集中控管，而且很簡單，上手方便。

使用 Ansible 需要具備什麼基礎知識？

1. 具備 Linux 伺服器 (server) 基礎操作和管理經驗。

2. 會使用 ssh 遠端連線至 server。

3. 知道基本的標準輸入 (stdin) 輸出 (stdout) 等觀念。[^6]

4. 會安裝 Linux 套件。[^7]

5. 知道 sudo 指令在做什麼，並且會使用它。[^8]

6. 知道什麼是檔案權限，並且會修改它。

7. 知道如何啟用和停止系統服務 (Daemon / Service)。

8. 會撰寫簡易的腳本 (Script)。