{"id":12836,"date":"2022-06-17T05:07:14","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T11:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/?p=12836"},"modified":"2026-03-25T02:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:46:35","slug":"ansible-awx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/ansible-awx\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with Ansible AWX: Complete Setup and Configuration Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Ansible<\/strong> is a popular automation tool based on Infrastructure as Code (IaC), used for provisioning infrastructure, managing virtual machines, and deploying applications across environments. It simplifies tasks such as configuration management, cloud provisioning, and service deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ansible AWX<\/strong> is the open-source, community-driven version of Ansible Tower. It serves as a web-based interface and automation hub that makes managing Ansible workflows easier. AWX is often used in lab environments, proof-of-concept setups, and testing scenarios, and it forms the foundation for the enterprise-grade Ansible Tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Use Ansible AWX?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ansible AWX enhances the usability of Ansible by providing a centralized platform for automation tasks. Some key advantages include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>User-friendly web interface for managing automation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Centralized control of infrastructure and workflows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support for multiple credential types<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integration with version control systems like Git<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enterprise-level features available in an open-source tool<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>AWX helps streamline automation processes while maintaining flexibility and scalability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Concepts in Ansible AWX<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before diving into setup, it\u2019s important to understand the core components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Credentials<\/strong> \u2013 Authentication details for accessing servers and services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inventories<\/strong> \u2013 Groups of managed hosts or servers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Projects<\/strong> \u2013 Collections of Ansible playbooks (usually from Git repositories)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Job Templates<\/strong> \u2013 Defined automation tasks combining projects, inventories, and credentials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Setting Up Credentials<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Credentials in AWX are used to authenticate with target systems and external services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Credentials<\/strong> from the left menu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the <strong>\u201c+\u201d<\/strong> button to add new credentials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Credential Type (choose <strong>Machine<\/strong> for SSH access)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide authentication details (SSH key or password)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Machine<\/strong> credential type allows secure SSH access to managed servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Creating Inventories<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Inventories define the servers that AWX manages. These can be grouped for better organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Inventories<\/strong> \u2192 Click <strong>\u201c+\u201d<\/strong> \u2192 Select <strong>Inventory<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter the <strong>Name<\/strong> and <strong>Description<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Adding Hosts:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Open the created inventory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Hosts<\/strong> \u2192 Click <strong>\u201c+\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hostname<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Variables (e.g., IP address)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Verify Host Connectivity:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select the host<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Run Commands<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose the <strong>ping<\/strong> module<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select credentials and click <strong>Launch<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This ensures that the host is reachable and properly configured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Setting Up Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Projects in AWX are collections of Ansible playbooks, typically sourced from a Git repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Projects<\/strong> \u2192 Click <strong>\u201c+\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SCM Type (select <strong>Git<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide the repository URL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>AWX will fetch and manage playbooks from the specified repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Creating Job Templates<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Job templates define automation tasks by linking projects, inventories, and credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Templates<\/strong> \u2192 Click <strong>\u201c+\u201d<\/strong> \u2192 Select <strong>Job Template<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Name and Description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inventory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Credentials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Project<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Playbook to execute<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Save<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Once created, job templates can be launched to execute automation tasks across selected hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ansible AWX is a powerful and accessible automation platform that simplifies infrastructure management through a centralized interface. With features like credential management, inventory grouping, and job templates, it enables efficient automation across diverse environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re testing automation workflows or managing infrastructure at scale, AWX provides a flexible and cost-effective solution to get started quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you require help, contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/requestquote.php\">SupportPRO Server Admin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><gwmw style=\"display:none;\"><gwmw style=\"display:none;\"><\/gwmw><\/gwmw><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center has-white-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Facing issues? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Our technical support<br>engineers can solve it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be\" id=\"hs-cta-3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/2725694\/3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/2725694\/3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be.png\"  alt=\"Contact Us today!\"\/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(2725694, '3350a795-db50-482f-9911-301930d1b1be', {\"useNewLoader\":\"true\",\"region\":\"na1\"}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"931\" src=\"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Free-server-checkup.png\" alt=\"guy server checkup\" class=\"wp-image-12943 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Free-server-checkup.png 904w, https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Free-server-checkup-291x300.png 291w, https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Free-server-checkup-768x791.png 768w, https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Free-server-checkup-585x602.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ansible is a popular automation tool based on Infrastructure as Code (IaC), used for provisioning infrastructure, managing virtual machines, and deploying applications across environments. It simplifies tasks such as configuration&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[81,76,77,67,5,91,75],"tags":[102],"class_list":["post-12836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ansible","category-build-automation","category-compiling-tools","category-devops","category-general-topics","category-linux","category-open-source","tag-devops"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12836"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16559,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12836\/revisions\/16559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.supportpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}