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Installation·Ansible

Ansible Control Node Installation

The whole install is one package on one machine. What is worth knowing is what that package actually contains - seven separate commands, and several hundred modules bundled as collections - and the difference between the `ansible` package and `ansible-core`, which is the distinction the exam and every upgrade note cares about.

Control Node and Managed Nodes Guide 2 of 45 Beginner

Written against the versions above. `ansible-core` is the engine plus the `ansible.builtin` collection. The `ansible` package is that PLUS a large bundle of community collections. On Ubuntu, `apt install ansible` pulls both. Installing with `pip install ansible-core` instead gives you the engine only, which is the lighter and more predictable choice when you manage your own collections.

Ansible is installed on the control node only. The last step checks the other two, which is the point.
Server NameIP AddressOSRolesCPURAMHDD
ANS-CTL01192.168.0.36Ubuntu 26.04 LTSAnsible Control Node2 Core3 GB50 GB
ANS-A01192.168.0.37Ubuntu 26.04 LTSManaged Node (group: web)2 Core3 GB50 GB
ANS-B01192.168.0.38Ubuntu 26.04 LTSManaged Node (group: db)2 Core3 GB50 GB

Before you start

  1. Nothing installed yet

    Starting from a genuinely clean machine:

    ansible: not installed
    Python 3.14.4

    Python is already there - it is part of the base system, not something Ansible needs you to add. On the control node Ansible needs Python for itself; on the managed nodes it needs one to run modules. Same requirement, different reason.

    bash Example session 
    sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get purge -y ansible ansible-core 2>&1 | tail -3Processing triggers for man-db (2.13.1-1build1)…(Reading database…(Reading database… 5%(Reading database… 10%(Reading database… 15%(Reading database… 20%(Reading database… 25%(Reading database… 30%(Reading database… 35%(Reading database… 40%(Reading database… 45%(Reading database… 50%(Reading database… 55%(Reading database… 60%(Reading database… 65%(Reading database… 70%(Reading database… 75%(Reading database… 80%(Reading database… 85%(Reading database… 90%(Reading database… 95%(Reading database… 100%(Reading database… 101287 files and directories currently installed.)Purging configuration files for ansible (13.1.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1)…sudo apt-get autoremove -y 2>&1 | tail -2Removing python3-xmltodict (1.0.3-1)…Processing triggers for man-db (2.13.1-1build1)…command -v ansible || echo "ansible: not installed"ansible: not installedpython3 -VPython 3.14.4

    Expected resultNo ansible binary, and a Python that was already present.

    Success conditionYou have a clean starting point rather than an assumed one.

  2. Install it

    One package:

    sudo apt-get install -y ansible
    ansible [core 2.20.1]
  config file = /home/sysadmin/ansible.cfg

    The version banner is worth reading properly. It reports core, the config file actually in use, the module search path, the Python running it and the collections locations. When something behaves unexpectedly, ansible --version answers 'which Ansible, reading which config' before you start guessing.

    On RHEL - which is what EX294 uses - the equivalent is dnf install ansible-core, and the exam expects you to be able to do it from a repository that is already configured.

    bash Example session 
    sudo apt-get update 2>&1 | tail -2Hit:5 http://deb.gierens.de stable InReleaseReading package lists...sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y ansible 2>&1 | tail -6 No containers need to be restarted. No user sessions are running outdated binaries. No VM guests are running outdated hypervisor (qemu) binaries on this host.ansible --versionansible [core 2.20.1]  config file = /home/sysadmin/ansible.cfg  configured module search path = ['/home/sysadmin/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']  ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible  ansible collection location = /home/sysadmin/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections  executable location = /usr/bin/ansible  python version = 3.14.4 (main, Jun 18 2026, 14:25:02) [GCC 15.2.0] (/usr/bin/python3)  jinja version = 3.1.6  pyyaml version = 6.0.3 (with libyaml v0.2.5)

    Expected resultansible-core 2.20.1 and the config file it will read.

    Success conditionYou have a control node, and you know which config it obeys.

  3. What you actually got

    Not one command - seven:

    /usr/bin/ansible            /usr/bin/ansible-galaxy      /usr/bin/ansible-pull
/usr/bin/ansible-config     /usr/bin/ansible-inventory   /usr/bin/ansible-vault
/usr/bin/ansible-console    /usr/bin/ansible-playbook    /usr/bin/ansible-doc

    The five that matter for the exam:

    • ansible - one module against some hosts, right now
    • ansible-playbook - run a playbook
    • ansible-doc - module documentation, offline
    • ansible-vault - encrypt secrets
    • ansible-galaxy - install roles and collections

    and two more worth knowing: ansible-inventory to see what your inventory resolves to, and ansible-config to see which settings are in force.

    The package also bundles collections - amazon.aws, community.general, ansible.posix and dozens more - which is why the download is large and why ansible-core alone is a different proposition.

    bash Example session 
    ls /usr/bin/ansible*/usr/bin/ansible/usr/bin/ansible-community/usr/bin/ansible-config/usr/bin/ansible-console/usr/bin/ansible-doc/usr/bin/ansible-galaxy/usr/bin/ansible-inventory/usr/bin/ansible-playbook/usr/bin/ansible-pull/usr/bin/ansible-test/usr/bin/ansible-vaultdpkg -l ansible ansible-core 2>/dev/null | awk '/^ii/{print $2, $3}'ansible 13.1.0+dfsg-1ubuntu1ansible-core 2.20.1-1ansible-galaxy collection list 2>/dev/null | head -12 # /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible/_internal/ansible_collectionsCollection                               Version---------------------------------------- -------ansible._protomatter                     * # /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible_collectionsCollection                               Version---------------------------------------- -------amazon.aws                               10.1.2ansible.netcommon                        8.2.0ansible.posix                            2.1.0

    Expected resultNine binaries and a long list of bundled collections.

    Success conditionYou know which command does what before you need it.

  4. The managed nodes got nothing

    ans-a01: no ansible installed
    ans-b01: no ansible installed
    Python 3.14.4

    That is the entire configuration of a managed node: an SSH server, a user you can log in as, and a Python interpreter. All three were there before Ansible existed on the network.

    It is worth pausing on, because it changes how you think about scale. Adding the hundredth managed node is one line in an inventory file. There is no bootstrap, no enrolment, no certificate exchange and nothing to install.

    bash Example session 
    command -v ansible || echo "ans-a01: no ansible installed"ans-a01: no ansible installedcommand -v ansible || echo "ans-b01: no ansible installed"ans-b01: no ansible installedpython3 -VPython 3.14.4

    Expected resultNo Ansible on either managed node, and a Python on both.

    Success conditionYou can add a machine to the fleet by editing one file.

Troubleshooting

Official sources

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