This blog post is about the comparison between two popular configuration management tools, Ansible and Puppet. The article highlights the key differences and similarities between these tools and provides insights into their features and functionalities. The post includes an introduction to the topic, a detailed comparison of the two tools, and a conclusion discussing their future prospects in the market.
Companies must stay ahead of their competition in today's fast-paced business world by adopting the latest technologies. DevOps is one such technology that has gained tremendous popularity in recent years. Ansible and Docker are the most popular DevOps tools companies use worldwide. As both tools have unique features and advantages, choosing between them can be a challenging decision for many businesses, we have covered a brief comparison of Ansible vs Docker in this article to assist you in choosing one.
Ansible is an open-source information technology automation tool. It automates many IT processes like provisioning, orchestration, application deployment and configuration management. Ansible automation is used to automate regular tasks, provide security, provision infrastructure, install software, and share automation across the entire organization.
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We know that Ansible works on automation. It connects the programs you want to automate by pushing the execution of instructions. Here, Ansible programs are written with specific expectations of the commands, endpoint's connectivity, and interface; furthermore, Ansible executes these modules and removes them after completion. There are no extra servers and databases required. Users can work with their favourite terminal program to keep track of changes in your content. Let us understand the process in which Ansible works.
Ansible has many features for managing operating systems, IT infrastructure, networks, and services in less time. Let us look at them.
● Configuration Management:
Ansible is designed to be very simple, reliable, and consistent for configuration management. If you are already in IT, you can get up and running with it very quickly. Ansible configurations are simple data descriptions of Infrastructure and are readable by humans and machines.
● Security Management:
In today's world, security is the crucial aspect of any industry, whether it will be the security of your system from attacks, the security of information stored in your plan or the security of customer data. Ansible helps us to make systems in an enterprise more secure.
● Stateless and Agentless:
No agents or software are deployed on the servers to work with Ansible. The connection is made through SSH or with the help of Python.
It is also a stateless process, meaning it can be understood in isolation. There is no stored knowledge of or reference to past transactions.
● Push Architecture:
With the push architecture, the provisioning server accesses the Virtual Machines of interest and pushes the artefacts and applications directly onto the VM.
Ansible is beneficial to users because of being simple to learn, straightforward language and independent. Here's how you'll be able to make a better decision:
After understanding the advantages of Ansible, let us know how and what problems it can create through the following points.
Docker is an open-source containerization platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications in lightweight virtualized environments called containers.
It is mainly a software development platform for distributed applications that work efficiently in different environments. By making the software system agnostic, developers do not have to worry about compatibility issues. Packaging apps into isolated environments (containers) also makes developing, deploying, maintaining, and using applications easier.
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The following official high-level docker architecture diagram demonstrates the Docker workflow:
Docker has many features that make it stand out among other automation tools. Let us look at some of its user-friendly features.
● Cross Platform Tool
Docker is a cross-platform tool. It runs on MacOS, Windows and Linux. Users can use the containers everywhere.
● Code Isolation:
Docker provides containers that are used to run codes in an isolated environment. Since each container is independent, Docker can execute any code.
● Seamless Integration:
Docker is a cross-platform tool that allows seamless integration with MacOS, Windows, Linux and other operating systems.
● Security Management:
It saves secrets into the swarm and chooses to give services access to certain secrets, including a few essential commands to the engine, such as secret inspect, secret create, etc.
● Docker Swarm:
Swarm is a clustering and scheduling tool for Docker containers. At the front end, it uses the Docker API, which helps us to use various tools to control it. It is a self-organizing group of engines that enables pluggable backends.
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Docker comes with some prominent advantages. This includes significant investment return, simple and faster configuration, etc. Let us understand them in detail.
Every coin has two sides. Along with the advantages, there are also downsides of Docker as a tool due to its incomplete features, non-cross-platform compatibility etc. Let us understand them in detail.
Following points differentiate Ansible from Docker:
● Pricing:
Ansible pricing depends on the number of nodes you manage. There are two pricing levels: standard and premium. The legal plan is ideal for enterprise IT operations. On the other hand, the premium plan is suitable for mission-critical DevOps. The main difference between the two plans is the level of support.
Docker has four pricing plans: personal, pro, team, and business. The individual plan is complimentary, while the pro plan costs $5 monthly. The team plan costs you $7 per user per month, while the business plan costs you $21 per user per month. The main difference between these plans is the available features.
● Repeatable tables:
Users can repeat Ansible in any container or application. This enables you to track the application's activity and last time use. Containers in Docker cannot be repeated.
● Infrastructure provisioning:
Ansible manages the entire environment together with the applications or containers. Therefore, you do not have to worry about provisioning the underlying environment. On the other hand, Docker manages the underlying application partially. It works only in the assigned territory. Therefore, users should be careful of the containerized environment.
● Images:
Ansible does not have portable images. If users need ideas in Ansible, you must download them from other sources. On the other hand, Docker has available and mobile photos. Users can use Docker images for the containerization of applications.
● Programming Language:
Users will need python knowledge to operate Ansible. Ansible also uses human-readable YAML templates to program repetitive tasks that do not require the user to learn advanced programming. Docker is written in the Go programming language. Go language delivers excellent functionality and enables Docker developers a simple and powerful way of operating with Linux.
● Functionality:
Ansible is primarily a configuration tool. It helps configure the application or software inside the container. The software or application can be either inside or outside the container. Ansible provides the server installation, configuration, and deployment. Docker keeps applications inside the container. The main function of Docker is to enable developers to package, ship, and run any application as a lightweight, portable container. It provides the environment to run the application detached from the operating system.
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Step.1 Create a Docker image of your application. This should contain everything that your application needs to run, such as application code, libraries, dependencies, and runtime.
Step.2 Use ansible to install Docker on your servers. You can do this by using the docker_install module in Ansible.
Step.3 Use ansible to deploy your Docker image to your servers. You can do this by using the docker_image module in Ansible. This module lets you pull a Docker image from a registry and run it on your servers.
Step.4 Use ansible to manage the running Docker containers. You can use the docker_container module to start, stop, and manage the containers on your servers.
Look closely at the situations where you can use Docker:
1. Running Applications in Different Environments
Docker allows you to run applications in different environments. This includes on your servers or in the cloud. Deploying and running applications like staging or development becomes easier here.
2. Isolating Applications
Docker containers provide isolation for running applications. This means each container runs in its isolated environment. This enables running multiple applications on the same server without any interference.
3. Simplifying the development process
Docker is used to simplifying the development process. It is done by providing a consistent environment for building and testing applications.
4. Automating the build process
Docker is used to automating the build process for applications. It includes building and testing the applications in a consistent and reproductive environment.
5. Sharing Applications
Docker allows the user to share applications with others by packaging them with the help of a Docker image. It helps share applications with team members for better productivity.
Users can use Ansible in the following situations:
1. Deploying Applications
Ansible is used to automate the deployment of applications on multiple servers. You can use Ansible to install software, manage dependencies, etc.
2. Managing Infrastructure
Ansible manages the configuration of servers and other infrastructure components like networks and storage.
3. Managing Multiple Environments
Ansible is used to manage multiple environments at a time. This includes staging, development, and production. This saves time and improves productivity.
4. Provisioning New Servers
Ansible is also used to automate the process of setting up new servers. This includes software installation and server configuration to meet user requirements.
5. Automating Routine tasks
Ansible is used to automate routine tasks. This includes backups and updates. It is used to save time and reduce the risk of errors.
Conclusion
Both Ansible and Docker have unique features and advantages, and choosing between them depends on the specific needs of a business. Ansible is more suitable for configuration management, while Docker is better suited for containerization. Both have unique features and advantages, and choosing between them can be tough. We hope the comparison article has helped you choose the one that could bring the best solutions to your organization.
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Both tools are designed to automate tasks. Ansible is used to automate software deployment and infrastructure management tasks, while Docker is used to automating building, shipping, and running applications.
Ansible is a configuration management tool, while Docker is a containerization tool.
A containerization tool is a tool that allows you to package an application and its dependencies into a single container.