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Ansible

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Ansible vs Docker Compose: What are the differences?

Introduction

This Markdown code provides a comparison between Ansible and Docker Compose, highlighting the key differences between the two technologies.

  1. Execution Method: Ansible is an open-source automation tool that uses agentless architecture to manage and configure systems. It operates by connecting to remote systems via secure shell (SSH) or Windows Remote Management (WinRM) protocols and executing tasks. On the other hand, Docker Compose is a tool that allows the creation and management of multi-container Docker applications. It uses a declarative YAML file to define the services, networks, and volumes required for the application.

  2. Deployment Scope: Ansible is primarily used for configuration management and orchestration of systems, making it suitable for managing a wide range of systems, including servers, network devices, and cloud resources. Docker Compose, on the other hand, is specifically designed for managing Docker containers and is limited to container deployment and orchestration within a single host or machine.

  3. Operating System Support: Ansible supports a wide range of operating systems, including Linux, Unix, macOS, and Windows. It provides a unified approach to managing heterogeneous environments. Docker Compose, on the other hand, is tightly integrated with Docker and thus supports the operating systems that Docker supports, such as Linux, macOS, and Windows.

  4. Container Management: Ansible manages systems at a higher level and can be used to deploy and manage Docker containers, but it is not specifically designed for this purpose. Docker Compose, on the other hand, is specifically built for managing Docker containers and provides advanced features like dependencies between containers, scaling, and network configuration.

  5. Orchestration Capabilities: Ansible provides a powerful orchestration engine that allows complex workflows and coordination between multiple systems. It can perform tasks in parallel or in a specific order, making it suitable for managing large-scale environments. Docker Compose, on the other hand, focuses on the orchestration of containers within a single host and does not provide the same level of scalability and complexity for managing distributed systems.

  6. Flexibility: Ansible provides a wide range of modules and plugins that enable it to integrate with various technologies, tools, and platforms. It can be extended to support custom requirements and integrate with existing infrastructure. Docker Compose, on the other hand, is tightly coupled with Docker and is limited to managing containers within a Docker environment. It does not offer the same level of flexibility for managing diverse infrastructure components.

In Summary, Ansible is a versatile automation tool that can manage various systems and offers advanced orchestration capabilities, while Docker Compose is specifically designed for managing Docker containers within a single host or machine.

Advice on Ansible and Docker Compose
Needs advice
on
AnsibleAnsibleChefChef
and
Puppet LabsPuppet Labs

I'm just getting started using Vagrant to help automate setting up local VMs to set up a Kubernetes cluster (development and experimentation only). (Yes, I do know about minikube)

I'm looking for a tool to help install software packages, setup users, etc..., on these VMs. I'm also fairly new to Ansible, Chef, and Puppet. What's a good one to start with to learn? I might decide to try all 3 at some point for my own curiosity.

The most important factors for me are simplicity, ease of use, shortest learning curve.

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Replies (2)
Recommends
on
AnsibleAnsible

I have been working with Puppet and Ansible. The reason why I prefer ansible is the distribution of it. Ansible is more lightweight and therefore more popular. This leads to situations, where you can get fully packaged applications for ansible (e.g. confluent) supported by the vendor, but only incomplete packages for Puppet.

The only advantage I would see with Puppet if someone wants to use Foreman. This is still better supported with Puppet.

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Gabriel Pa
Recommends
on
KubernetesKubernetes
at

If you are just starting out, might as well learn Kubernetes There's a lot of tools that come with Kube that make it easier to use and most importantly: you become cloud-agnostic. We use Ansible because it's a lot simpler than Chef or Puppet and if you use Docker Compose for your deployments you can re-use them with Kubernetes later when you migrate

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Pros of Ansible
Pros of Docker Compose
  • 284
    Agentless
  • 210
    Great configuration
  • 199
    Simple
  • 176
    Powerful
  • 155
    Easy to learn
  • 69
    Flexible
  • 55
    Doesn't get in the way of getting s--- done
  • 35
    Makes sense
  • 30
    Super efficient and flexible
  • 27
    Powerful
  • 11
    Dynamic Inventory
  • 9
    Backed by Red Hat
  • 7
    Works with AWS
  • 6
    Cloud Oriented
  • 6
    Easy to maintain
  • 4
    Vagrant provisioner
  • 4
    Simple and powerful
  • 4
    Multi language
  • 4
    Simple
  • 4
    Because SSH
  • 4
    Procedural or declarative, or both
  • 4
    Easy
  • 3
    Consistency
  • 2
    Well-documented
  • 2
    Masterless
  • 2
    Debugging is simple
  • 2
    Merge hash to get final configuration similar to hiera
  • 2
    Fast as hell
  • 1
    Manage any OS
  • 1
    Work on windows, but difficult to manage
  • 1
    Certified Content
  • 123
    Multi-container descriptor
  • 110
    Fast development environment setup
  • 79
    Easy linking of containers
  • 68
    Simple yaml configuration
  • 60
    Easy setup
  • 16
    Yml or yaml format
  • 12
    Use Standard Docker API
  • 8
    Open source
  • 5
    Go from template to application in minutes
  • 5
    Can choose Discovery Backend
  • 4
    Scalable
  • 4
    Easy configuration
  • 4
    Kubernetes integration
  • 3
    Quick and easy

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Cons of Ansible
Cons of Docker Compose
  • 8
    Dangerous
  • 5
    Hard to install
  • 3
    Doesn't Run on Windows
  • 3
    Bloated
  • 3
    Backward compatibility
  • 2
    No immutable infrastructure
  • 9
    Tied to single machine
  • 5
    Still very volatile, changing syntax often

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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 goals are foremost those of simplicity and maximum ease of use.

What is Docker Compose?

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

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What companies use Ansible?
What companies use Docker Compose?
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What tools integrate with Ansible?
What tools integrate with Docker Compose?

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What are some alternatives to Ansible and Docker Compose?
Puppet Labs
Puppet is an automated administrative engine for your Linux, Unix, and Windows systems and performs administrative tasks (such as adding users, installing packages, and updating server configurations) based on a centralized specification.
Chef
Chef enables you to manage and scale cloud infrastructure with no downtime or interruptions. Freely move applications and configurations from one cloud to another. Chef is integrated with all major cloud providers including Amazon EC2, VMWare, IBM Smartcloud, Rackspace, OpenStack, Windows Azure, HP Cloud, Google Compute Engine, Joyent Cloud and others.
Salt
Salt is a new approach to infrastructure management. Easy enough to get running in minutes, scalable enough to manage tens of thousands of servers, and fast enough to communicate with them in seconds. Salt delivers a dynamic communication bus for infrastructures that can be used for orchestration, remote execution, configuration management and much more.
Terraform
With Terraform, you describe your complete infrastructure as code, even as it spans multiple service providers. Your servers may come from AWS, your DNS may come from CloudFlare, and your database may come from Heroku. Terraform will build all these resources across all these providers in parallel.
Jenkins
In a nutshell Jenkins CI is the leading open-source continuous integration server. Built with Java, it provides over 300 plugins to support building and testing virtually any project.
See all alternatives