Ansible Automation Platform

[Trevor]

Is Ansible Automation Platform open source?

[Blue_bird]

Yes...it is open source..!

[Trevor]

Blue_bird, Chetan_Tiwary says NO, AAP is NOT open source.
He's the authority out here, so I've got to go with what he says!!!!

[Blue_bird]

Hi Travor, 

 There  is free, unsupported community Ansible  and  there is subscription-based, enterprise supported product, When anyone  go for free.. they will be needed to afford the associated risks, which is unlikely to happen. It's always recommended to use subscription-based,  where enterprise supported is included and added additional features. I think, we should considered Subscription-based as the main, yes.. go for it.

Thanks

[Chetan_Tiwary_]

@Trevor No, Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform is a subscription based product built on the foundations of Ansible with numerous enterprise features.

[bonnevil · Accepted solution]

So, AAP is open source, but it's really a collection of open source projects that Red Hat provides as a unified, supported, subscription-based product.  For example, ansible-navigator is developed upstream at https://github.com/ansible/ansible-navigator under the Apache 2.0 license.  The upstream for the web UI to automation controller and other core services is AWX, also Apache 2.0. 

However, upstream, especially AWX, is bleeding-edge fast moving, and it's also currently undergoing a fair amount of churn as they switch to a CalVer-based version numbering release plan and adjust the architecture to a Kubernetes container-based deployment model for upcoming releases.

What I tell people is to get a subscription for AAP if you're planning to use it in production -- it's packaged, it's integrated, it's supported, and it's just more convenient. You get access to a bunch of other things like easy access to various execution environments, the optional AI-based Ansible Lightspeed code assistant and Red Hat Insights resources like automation analytics, and certified or validated Ansible Content Collections too.  Upstreams exist, but they're of most value to folks planning to enhance or make changes to future releases of the various components.

[Travis · Accepted solution]

@Trevor -

Steve is 100% right. What we need to get people to understand is the difference between Open-Source and FOSS (Free and Open Source). There are several commercial applications including RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) that are open source, but they are paid, supported enterprise products and applications. 

You are purchasing support and convenience of updates for the products. As Steve mentioned, just like most other Red Hat products we have one or more open-source projects upstream that make up our enterprise offerings. Some of these include:

Web Applications:

AWX - https://github.com/ansible/awx 

Galaxy-NG - https://github.com/ansible/galaxy_ng

In general, most of the layered products are attached to Ansible in https://github.com/ansible .

This covers Nagivator, VSCode extensions, developer tools and much much more.

[Trevor]

Travis, you served up a full-course meal with your response!
When you mentioned that RHEL was open source, and explosion
went off in my head.  That probably happened because I'm guilty
of never having looked at RHEL, or any software product, as 
being open source, the moment I learn that there's a price tag
attached to it.

While I'm in a confessing mode, I'm also guilty of not even
considering FOSS.  This is definitely causing a mind shift.

As I said, this is a full-course meal, and it's going to feed a hunger
that I didn't even know I had.  Many thanks for your response!!!

[ric]

Hi, @Travis 

You wrote:

"(...) What we need to get people to understand is the difference between Open-Source and FOSS (Free and Open Source). There are several commercial applications including RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) that are open source, but they are paid (..)"

I'm sorry, but my understanding is that, in "FOSS", the "F" stands for "Free as in Free Speech" and NOT "Free as in Free Beer". So, theoretically, a software may be called FOSS and still be paid.

See, for instance, https://fossunited.org/wiki/what-is-foss :

What is FOSS?

FOSS stands for "Free and Open Source Software." It refers to software that respects user freedom and is open source, meaning that the source code is made available to the public. Let's break down these two components:

1. Free Software: The "free" stands for freedom (as in "free speech"). Free software respects users' freedom and community. It means that users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve the software. These freedoms are essential in enabling individuals and communities to make the software do what they want it to. Free software doesn't mean that the software is available at no cost (although it often is).
2. Open Source Software: This means that the original source code of the software is made available without restrictions and may be redistributed and modified. It allows anyone to inspect, modify, and enhance the code, which can lead to a more transparent and community-driven development process.

[Travis]

I stand corrected. Free as in speech and free as in beer. You can always compile the open source software and modify and contribute to the open source projects. You have the ability to do whatever you want with the FOSS software.