Ansible: Up and Running, 3rd Edition

Chapter 15. Collections

Collections are a distribution format for Ansible content. A typical collection addresses a set of related use cases. For example, the cisco.ios collection automates management of Cisco iOS devices. Ansible Content Collections, which we’ll simply refer to as collections for the rest of the chapter, represent the new standard of distributing, maintaining, and consuming automation. You can think of collections as a package format for Ansible content. By combining multiple types of Ansible content (playbooks, roles, modules, and plug-ins), collections greatly improve flexibility and scalability.

Traditionally, module creators have had to wait for their modules to be marked for inclusion in an upcoming Ansible release or else add them to roles, which made consumption and management more difficult. Now that the Ansible project has decoupled Ansible executables from most of the content, high-quality Ansible releases can be delivered more quickly and asynchronously from collection releases.

Shipping modules in Ansible Collections, along with roles and documentation, removes a barrier to entry, so creators can move as fast as the demand for their collection. This means vendors can roll out and automate new functionalities for existing or new products and services, independent of the release of Ansible.

Anyone can create a collection and publish it to Ansible Galaxy or to a private Automation Hub instance. Red Hat partners can publish certified collections to the ...