In modern DevOps and systems administration, manual infrastructure management is becoming a thing of the past. Automation tools like Ansible and Terraform are taking its place. They help reduce errors, speed up server deployment, ensure configuration consistency, and simplify scaling.
But how do these tools differ? When should you use each of them, and how do you get started?
1. Ansible vs. Terraform – What’s the Difference?
Both tools are designed for automation, but their approach is different.
| Characteristic | Ansible | Terraform |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Configuration management | Infrastructure as code |
| Language | YAML | HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) |
| Approach | Imperative | Declarative |
| Using SSH/agents | Without agents (via SSH) | No agent needed |
| Application | Software setup, system status management | Deployment of clouds, networks, services |
| Examples of tasks | Installing Nginx, updating packages | Create AWS EC2, GCP VPC, Azure resources |
2. When to use Ansible?
Ansible is the best choice for:
- Installing and configuring programs.
- Updating configurations.
- Deploying roles on servers.
- Managing Linux and Windows environments.
Example: you need to install Docker on 100 servers — Ansible will do the job perfectly.
3. When to use Terraform?
Terraform is suitable when you:
- Build or scale cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Want to manage VPC, DNS, load balancers.
- Require idempotency: run a script and get the same result regardless of the system state.
Example: deploying a virtual network with EC2, a database, and a load balancer in AWS.
4. Why are they often used together?
In practice, Terraform and Ansible complement each other.
Typical scenario:
- Terraform creates hardware: virtual machines, cloud resources.
- Ansible configures these machines: installs packages, edits configs, deploys applications.
5. How to get started?
👉 Ansible:
- Install: sudo apt install ansible or pip install ansible.
- Define the inventory (list of servers).
- Write a .yml playbook.
- Run: ansible-playbook install-nginx.yml
👉 Terraform:
- Install from the official website.
- Write a .tf file describing the infrastructure.
- Run:
- terraform init
- terraform plan
- terraform apply
6. Tips for Beginners
- Use modules and roles for scalability.
- Don’t keep secrets in the open – use Ansible Vault or Terraform Cloud Variables.
- Store code in Git, use CI/CD.
Ansible and Terraform are powerful automation tools that reduce the workload of system administrators and DevOps engineers. Together, they allow you to not just automate, but standardize the management of IT infrastructure from physics to applications.
If you are still doing everything manually, it’s time to change that.
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