Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) Guides: Install, Upgrade, EDA and Operations
By Luca Berton · Published 2026-11-02 · Category: installation
Every AnsiblePilot guide to Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform: AAP 2.6 and 2.7 install and upgrade paths, architecture, EDA, security and day-2 operations.
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) is Red Hat's supported, subscription product built on Ansible. It adds a web UI and REST API, role-based access control, automation controller (formerly Ansible Tower), private automation hub, Event-Driven Ansible (EDA) and automation mesh on top of the Ansible command line. This page lists every AAP guide on AnsiblePilot by task.
Upgrading? AAP 2.7 upgrades only from AAP 2.6, so AAP 2.4 and 2.5 move to 2.6 first. AAP 2.7 removes the RPM installer and supports two methods: the containerized installer on RHEL and the operator on OpenShift. An RPM-based AAP 2.6 must migrate to containerized 2.6 before upgrading, because a version upgrade and an install-method change cannot be combined in one step. Details: AAP 2.7 upgrade path.
AnsiblePilot covers AAP and enterprise Ansible. For core Ansible how-to (modules, filters, playbook syntax), see Ansible by Example.
Upgrade paths at a glance
| You run | Path to AAP 2.7 | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| AAP 2.4 (any install method) | 2.4 → 2.6 → 2.7 | AAP 2.4 and 2.5 to 2.6 upgrade guide |
| AAP 2.5 (any install method) | 2.5 → 2.6 → 2.7 | AAP 2.6 upgrade: RHEL 8 to 9 and RPM to containerized |
| AAP 2.6 RPM | Migrate to 2.6 containerized, then upgrade to 2.7 | AAP 2.6 RPM deprecation: plan the containerized migration |
| AAP 2.6 containerized | Upgrade to 2.7 containerized in one step | AAP 2.7 upgrade path |
| AAP 2.6 operator (OpenShift) | Upgrade to the 2.7 operator in one step | AAP 2.7 upgrade path |
Install AAP
- Install containerized Ansible Automation Platform 2.7: setup bundle, inventory and installer run on RHEL 9.
- AAP 2.6 install guide: containerized, RPM and OpenShift methods
- AAP 2.6 tested deployment models: growth and enterprise topologies
- Ansible Automation Portal VM appliance on RHEL, KVM, OpenShift Virtualization and VMware (AAP 2.7)
- Install AAP on OpenShift with the operator
- Renew and change SSL/TLS certificates in AAP 2.7 (operator on OpenShift)
Upgrade and migrate
- AAP 2.7 upgrade path: RPM installer removed, 2.6 as the mandatory stepping stone
- AAP 2.6 upgrade guide: RHEL 8 to 9 and RPM to containerized migration: migration matrix and the database-centric approach.
- Upgrade path from AAP 2.4 and 2.5 to 2.6: topology, authentication and RBAC migration.
- Upgrade from AAP 2.4 to 2.6, step by step
- Upgrade from AAP 2.5 to 2.6
- AAP 2.7: removing direct API access, and the aap-detect-direct-component-access tool
- Migrate from AWX to AAP 2.6
- AAP 2.6 vs 2.5: what's different and should you upgrade?
What's new by version
- AAP 2.7: what's new and everything new in AAP 2.7: portal, orchestrator, MCP and AI
- AAP 2.7 patch release of June 17, 2026
- What's new in AAP 2.6
- What's new in AAP 2.5
- AAP roadmap 2026
Architecture and components
- AAP 2.6 architecture and components: platform gateway, automation controller, automation hub, EDA controller, automation mesh and execution environments.
- AAP 2.7 gateway-only architecture: all traffic through one ingress
- AAP 2.6 vs 2.5 architecture comparison
- AAP 2.6 automation mesh: distributed execution across sites
- AAP 2.6 execution environments: build, manage and deploy custom EEs and the visual execution environment builder in AAP 2.7
- AAP 2.6 private automation hub: collections and EE images
Event-Driven Ansible (EDA)
- Event-Driven Ansible: complete guide with rulebooks and examples
- What's new in Event-Driven Ansible in AAP 2.6 and 2.7
- Migrate from ansible.eda to eda.builtin and community.eda (AAP 2.7)
- Kafka integration for Event-Driven Ansible in AAP 2.6
- HashiCorp Vault with Event-Driven Ansible in AAP 2.6
Security, identity and access
- AAP 2.6 SSO: LDAP, SAML and OIDC authentication
- Centralized RBAC with the gateway API in AAP 2.6
- AAP 2.6 credential management: vaults, external secrets and machine credentials
- AAP 2.7 workload identity: OIDC credential types for HashiCorp Vault
- hashicorp.vault collection for AAP 2.7
- Security best practices for AAP 2.6
Day-2 operations
- AAP 2.6 troubleshooting guide: common issues and solutions
- AAP 2.6 backup, restore and disaster recovery
- AAP 2.6 REST API guide
- Configuration as code with the ansible.platform collection (AAP 2.7)
- AAP 2.6 job scheduling and capacity planning
- AAP 2.6 monitoring and logging with Prometheus and Grafana
- AAP 2.6 Windows automation: WinRM, PowerShell and Active Directory
AI in AAP: Lightspeed and MCP
- AAP MCP server, generally available in AAP 2.7
- Deploy and configure the MCP server for AAP (containerized and OpenShift)
- Ansible Lightspeed intelligent assistant in AAP 2.6
AWX, Ansible Tower and AAP
AWX is the open-source (Apache 2.0) upstream project with community support. Ansible Tower is discontinued, and its successor is automation controller inside AAP.
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