Ansible Automation Hub vs. Private Automation Hub

[Trevor]

Hello all,

Ansible Automation Hub is a container image repository. 

Private Automation Hub is the execution environment container image repository. 

*** Both hubs are container image repositories.

Private Automation Hub is hosted locally.

Based on those opening statements, I've got a couple of questions.

1) Would Ansible Automation Hub ever be used as a repository for execution
      environments?

2) Regarding Private Automation Hub being hosted locally, does "lcally" refer to
      the control node?  

Thanks in advance.

[Travis · Accepted solution]

@Trevor -

Several misinterpretations above.

Ansible Automation Hub is a container image repository. 

This is only partially correct. Ansible Automation Hub is the location where people download supported collections and modules. It is accessed either https://cloud.redhat.com  or https://console.redhat.com and then navigating and selecting Ansible Automation Platform and selecting Ansible Automation Hub. This is also where users can get documentation on the Red Hat and partner supported Collections and Ansible Modules. This is the ONLY location to get supported collections and modules and is accessible with an Ansible Automation Platform subscription entitlement. You can almost view Ansible Automation Hub as a "supported" version of Ansible Galaxy. As it stands now, Ansible Automation Hub does not currently act as a container regisry. To get the supported container images (EEIs) for execution environments, those would come from https://registry.redhat.com

Private Automation Hub is the execution environment container image repository. 

So you are correct here is that it is a container image repository, specifically for EEIs (Execution Environment Images), however, it is so much more than that. Ansible Private Automation Hub is bundled and included as part of the Ansible Autpomation Platform subscription entitlement. It is meant to be run locally hosted or cloud hosted in your own environment and to be paired with your own Ansible Automation Controller (replacement/new version of Ansible Tower). The equivalent upstream project of Private Automation Hub would be a project called Ansible Galaxy-NG (for the upstream project). Private Automation Hub combines both a container image registry and the ability to house your own published collections and Ansible modules. 

Questions:

1) Would Ansible Automation Hub ever be used as a repository for execution
      environments?

No and not currently planned. Ansible Automation Hub is controlled by Red Hat and published on the Red Hat cloud infrastructure. This is mainly used for Red Hat to publish supported collections and Ansible modules and to support Red Hat partners publishing officially supported Ansible collections and modules. Individual users would only ever "consume" resources from Ansible Automation Hub. If it helps, you can almost think of that services like https://access.redhat.com where you can get the access to officially supported packages, documentation, and KB articles.

2) Regarding Private Automation Hub being hosted locally, does "lcally" refer to
      the control node?  

This would most likely be a no. Tyypically Private Automation Hub is installed on its own server and Ansible Automation is installed on a separate server, with both sharing a PostGres Database server on yet a third system. There are some PoC items out there with Ansible Galaxy-NG where it can run as a containerized application but not something you would use yet in production.

Also, keep in mind here, the purpose of Private Automation Hub is to act as a container image registry providing EEIs for an EE. It is also out there to provide installable collections and modules (either custom developed ones or official collections that you've downloaded and are hosting in a disconnected environment).

Finally, as the last point to make here, in terms of "control" node, with the newer AAP2 environment, your "control node" is actually the execution environment which is executing the playbook, so it is a container itself, which you most likely wouldn't run Private Automation Hub in an EE.

Also, see my comments in your other post regarding execution environments.

https://learn.redhat.com/t5/Enable-Sysadmin-Community/Ansible-Execution-Environment/m-p/36701/emcs_t...