Ansible terminology - ansible vs ansible-core packages

What is ansible-core? What is the ansible community package? What happened to the Ansible project after version 2.9? An overview of the ansible community and ansible-core packages and use-cases nowadays.

January 6, 2022

Access the Complete Video Course and Learn Quick Ansible by 200+ Practical Lessons

#ansible #terminology #ansible-core #collection #reuse #release #ansible-lifecycle

What is ansible-core? What is the ansible community package?

What happened to the Ansible project after version 2.9? Today we’re going to talk about ansible community and ansible-core packages released since 2021. I’m Luca Berton and welcome to today’s episode of Ansible Pilot.

ansible vs ansible-core

ansible community

Uses new versioning (2.10, then 3.0.0)
Follows semantic versioning rules
Does not use semantic versioning
Maintains only one version at a time
Includes language, runtime, and selected Collections
Developed and maintained in Collection repositories

ansible-core (was ansible-base 2.10)

Continues “classic Ansible” versioning (2.11, then 2.12)
Does not use semantic versioning
Maintains the latest version plus two older versions
Includes language, runtime, and builtin plugins
Developed and maintained in ansible/ansible repository

What happened to ansible after version 2.9? Starting with version 2.10, Ansible distributes two deliverables: a community package called ansible and a minimalist language and runtime called ansible-core (called ansible-base in version 2.10). Choose the Ansible style and version that matches your particular needs. The ansible package includes the Ansible language and runtime plus a range of community curated Collections. It recreates and expands on the functionality that was included in Ansible 2.9. You can choose any of the following ways to install the Ansible community package:

Install the latest release with your OS package manager (for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Fedora, Debian, or Ubuntu).
Install with pip (the Python package manager). Ansible community package release cycle The Ansible community team typically releases two major versions of the community package per year, on a flexible release cycle that trails the release of ansible-core. This cycle can be extended to allow for larger changes to be properly implemented and tested before a new release is made available. See Ansible Roadmap for upcoming release details. Between major versions, the Ansible team releases a new minor version of the Ansible community package every three weeks. Minor releases include new backward-compatible features, modules, and plugins, as well as bug fixes. Starting with version 2.10, the Ansible community team guarantees maintenance for only one major community package release at a time. For example, when Ansible 5.0.0 gets released, the team will stop making new 4.x releases. Community members may maintain older versions if desired.

The Best Resources For Ansible

Certifications

The Linux Foundation Linux Performance Tuning - Build a broad toolkit to optimize Linux performance from the kernel up

Coursera Pro - Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs—all included in your subscription

Video Course

Udemy: Learn Ansible Automation in 250+examples & practical lessons: Learn Ansible with some real-life examples of how to use the most common modules and Ansible Playbook

Printed Book

eBooks

ansible-core

The ansible-core package is primarily for developers and users who want to install only the collections they need.

What is the ansible-core package?

Ansible Core is the command-line tool that is primarily for developers and users who want to install only the collections they need. It contains a minimal amount of modules and plugins and allows other Collections to be installed. Similar to Ansible 2.9 though without any content that has since moved into a Collection. Ansible core or ansible-core is the main building block and architecture for Ansible and includes:

CLI tools such as ansible-playbook, ansible-doc. and others for driving and interacting with automation.
The Ansible language uses YAML to create a set of rules for developing Ansible Playbooks and includes functions such as conditionals, blocks, includes loops, and other Ansible imperatives.
An architectural framework that allows extensions through Ansible collections. ansible-core releases a new major release approximately twice a year.

ansible community

The Ansible community package offers the functionality of Ansible 2.9, with 85+ collections containing thousands of modules and plugins.

What is the ansible community package?

Each major release of the Ansible community package accepts the latest released version of each included Collection and the latest released version of ansible-core. Major releases of the Ansible community package can contain breaking changes in the modules and other plugins within the included Collections and/or in core features. The Ansible package depends on ansible-base (soon ansible-core). So when you do pip install ansible, pip installs ansible-core automatically. Ansible 3.0.0 and following contains more Collections thanks to the wider Ansible community reviewing Collections against the community checklist. The Ansible community team typically releases two major versions of the community package per year, on a flexible release cycle that trails the release of ansible-core.

Recap

Now you know more about the ansible package releases of ansible-core and ansible community packages. You know how to use it based on your use case.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, and Website, X (formerly Twitter) to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.