Summary

Ansible handles Windows hosts as effectively as Linux (and other Unix) ones. In this chapter, we covered both how to run Ansible from a Windows host, and how to integrate Windows hosts with Ansible for automation, including the authentication mechanisms, encryption, and even the basics of Windows-specific playbooks.

You have learned that Ansible can run from a recent build of Windows that supports WSL, and how to achieve this. You have also learned how to set up Windows hosts for Ansible control and how to secure this with Kerberos authentication and encryption. You also learned how to set up and use the new and experimental support for SSH communication by Ansible with Windows hosts. Finally, you learned the basics of authoring Windows playbooks, including finding the correct modules for use with Windows hosts, escaping special characters, creating directories and copy files for the host, installing packages, and even running raw shell commands on the Windows host with...