Hands-on Lab·Ansible
Ansible Execution Environments and ansible-navigator
An execution environment is the control node packaged as a container image: ansible-core, its collections and their Python dependencies, versioned together. `ansible-navigator` runs your playbook inside one. It is not on the objective list, and it is what a current Red Hat automation setup actually looks like.
Bonus: Beyond the Blueprint Guide 42 of 45 Advanced
- OSUbuntu 26.04 LTS
- ansible-core2.20.1
- Python3.14.4
- TimeAbout 17 min
- Reviewed23 August 2026
Written against the versions above. `ansible-navigator` needs a container runtime - podman here, docker also works with `--ce docker`. The image used is `community-ee-minimal` at 445MB; Red Hat's supported images are larger and require a registry login. `--pp never` stops it re-pulling on every run, which matters on a slow link.
| Server Name | IP Address | OS | Roles | CPU | RAM | HDD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANS-CTL01 | 192.168.0.36 | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | Ansible Control Node | 2 Core | 3 GB | 50 GB |
| ANS-A01 | 192.168.0.37 | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | Managed Node (group: web) | 2 Core | 3 GB | 50 GB |
| ANS-B01 | 192.168.0.38 | Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | Managed Node (group: db) | 2 Core | 3 GB | 50 GB |
Before you start
- A control node with
podman,ansible-navigatorand an EE image already pulled - the session installs none of them, it uses them. - This guide changes nothing on the managed nodes.
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The configuration this guide assumes
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The problem it solves
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A container runtime and the tool
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What is inside one
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Running a playbook inside it
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The config file that saves the flags
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What the container can and cannot see