Can Ansible Manage Windows Hosts?

Learn how Ansible manages Windows hosts, its requirements, and use cases for automating tasks on Windows systems.

Ansible is known for its versatility in managing Linux systems, but can it manage Windows hosts? The answer is yes. Ansible provides robust support for automating Windows systems using Windows Remote Management (WinRM) or SSH. This article explains how to manage Windows hosts with Ansible, its prerequisites, and common use cases.

Can Ansible Manage Windows Hosts?

Yes, Ansible can effectively manage Windows hosts. By leveraging WinRM, Ansible communicates with Windows systems to perform configuration management, software deployment, and other administrative tasks.

Key Features:

Agentless Architecture: Ansible uses WinRM or SSH to manage Windows systems without requiring additional software.

Rich Module Support: Ansible provides Windows-specific modules for tasks like service management, file operations, and user management.

Seamless Integration: Manage both Linux and Windows hosts from a single control node.

Prerequisites for Managing Windows Hosts with Ansible

1. Enable WinRM on Windows Hosts

WinRM is the primary communication protocol for managing Windows hosts with Ansible. To enable it:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.

2. Run the following commands:

``powershell


   winrm quickconfig
   winrm set winrm/config/service/auth '@{Basic="true"}'
   winrm set winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="true"}'
   Set-Item wsman:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts -Value "<Ansible_Control_Node_IP>"



2. Install pywinrm on the Control Node
The pywinrm Python library is required for Ansible to communicate with Windows hosts:

`bash


pip install pywinrm



3. Configure the Inventory File
Add the Windows host to your inventory file:

`ini


[windows]
windows_host ansible_host=192.168.1.10 ansible_user=Administrator ansible_password=your_password ansible_connection=winrm



Common Ansible Modules for Windows

Ansible offers a wide range of modules specifically designed for managing Windows systems:

1. win_service:
   Manage Windows services.

`yaml


   - name: Ensure IIS is running
     win_service:
       name: W3SVC
       state: started



2. win_package:
   Install or uninstall software.

`yaml


   - name: Install Google Chrome
     win_package:
       path: "https://dl.google.com/chrome/install/GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi"



3. win_user:
   Create or manage user accounts.

`yaml


   - name: Add a new user
     win_user:
       name: dev_user
       password: StrongPassword123!
       state: present



4. win_file:
   Manage files and directories.

`yaml


   - name: Create a directory
     win_file:
       path: C:\Temp
       state: directory



5. win_shell:
   Execute PowerShell or command-line commands.

`yaml


   - name: Run a PowerShell command
     win_shell: Get-Service

Example Playbook for Managing Windows Hosts

Here’s a simple playbook to install and configure IIS on a Windows