In this chapter, we saw that Ansible is a very powerful and complete tool that allows the automation of server configuration and administration. To work, it uses an inventory that contains the list of hosts to be configured and a playbook in which the list of configuration actions is coded.
Roles, modules, and variables also allow for better management and centralization of playbook code. Ansible also has a Vault that protects sensitive playbook data. Finally, for dynamic environments, inventory writing is simplified with the implementation of dynamic inventories.
In the next chapter, we will see how to optimize infrastructure deployment with the use of Packer to create server templates.