Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs. vRealize Configuration Manager (discontinued)

The thing I mentioned earlier where we're constantly dealing with federal regulations or new agents that they want us to install and deploy and just getting those out in a consistent manner in a canned installation via Playbook is ideal

Incentivized

If you want the best compatibility with VMware products, this is it. There are other HyperVisor platforms out there, however, this software is native to VMWare. Reduces potential security threats through a unified approach to configuration management across the physical and virtual infrastructure.

Incentivized

• Makes it easy to create and share automation in one central hub.
• Ansible content collections give me the ability to reuse code, making it rapid to carry out complex IT processes.
• Event-driven automation allows me to reduce manual tasks: it is rapid to know which action to take and respond automatically by receiving events from external apps automatically.

• Active monitoring of Syslog and notifications based upon the matching conditions.
• Change management- Changes can be pushed to several system from one place. It also keeps the record of what changes and who made the change even if the changes has not been made through VMware vCenter Configuration Manager.
• Robust reporting feature- Enhanced filters features and report generation in excel format presents the data in readable and to the point.
• Integration with ticketing tool further ensures that changes are approved before implementation.

Incentivized

• Workflows should have more flexible paths than just success or failure.
• The upgrade process can be challenging with differences in security and environment.
• There is an opportunity to add CICD functionality into the tool.
• For development, it would be nice to have the option of editing a repo directly from AAP to allow quick tests/reruns. Then, allow it to push the updates back or create a new branch/PR in GitHub.
• The RBAC is good but could use improvements. One example would be an option that allows admins to assume the access of another user to validate it works as expected.

Incentivized

• It a little cumbersome to get all features up and running.
• Takes a bit of knowledge to get to all configured and thievery setup.
• It would be great if it had a monitoring tool internally, a tool like Nagios for example.

Incentivized

We are deploying Ansible at all levels of the organization

Incentivized

the yaml is easy to write and most people can be taught to write basic playbooks in a few weeks

Incentivized

Great in almost every way compared to any other configuration management software. The only thing I wish for is python3 support. Other than that, YAML is much improved compared to the Ruby of Chef. The agentless nature is incredibly convenient for managing systems quickly, and if a member of your term has no terminal experience whatsoever they can still use the UI.

Incentivized

There is a lot of good documentation that Ansible and Red Hat provide which should help get someone started with making Ansible useful. But once you get to more complicated scenarios, you will benefit from learning from others. I have not used Red Hat support for work with Ansible, but many of the online resources are helpful.

Incentivized

I spoke on this topic today!

Incentivized

AAP doesn't truly stack up against any of the products mentioned except for Aria Automation. But, it is extensible and open and has a lower cost to entry.

Incentivized

• BMC TrueSight Server Automation
• VMware vCenter Configuration Manager has good reporting feature.
• The interface is very user-friendly and is simple to use.
• Multiple Platform support i.e Windows, Linux, UNIX
• Patch management and templates are easy to configure and use.

Incentivized

• Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform offers automation and ML tools that allow me to automate complex IT tasks.
• Through automation analytics, it is seamless to gain full visibility into automation performance allowing me to make informed decisions.
• Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform allows me to move rapidly from insights to action.
• Creating and sharing automation content in one place unify a team in one place hence enhancing real-time collaboration.

• Really good ROI!!! Every penny paid with a smile on my face!!!
• Ease of use, simplified GUI, evenhanded features, strong support behind it, compatibility with other products.
• Cuts time for configuration drastically.

Incentivized