Tower Credentials Management

1. Introduction

Ansible Tower (now part of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform) provides a web-based interface for managing Ansible projects and automation. Credential management in Ansible Tower is crucial for securely storing and managing authentication information needed for connections to devices and services.

2. Key Concepts

**Credentials**: Information needed to authenticate with external systems.
**Credential Types**: Different kinds of credentials for various use cases (SSH, API tokens, etc.).
**Organization**: A way to group users and resources in Ansible Tower.

3. Credential Types

Ansible Tower supports various types of credentials:

**Machine Credentials**: For SSH access to machines.
**Source Control Credentials**: For accessing Git repositories.
**Vault Credentials**: For accessing encrypted data.
**Cloud Credentials**: For authenticating with cloud services (AWS, Azure, etc.).

Example: Creating Machine Credentials


ansible tower credential create --name "MySSHKey" \
--credential_type "Machine" \
--inputs '{"username": "myuser", "ssh_key_data": "ssh-rsa ..."}'

4. Managing Credentials

To manage credentials in Ansible Tower:

Log into the Ansible Tower web interface.
Navigate to the **Credentials** section.
Click on **Add** to create a new credential.
Select the appropriate credential type.
Fill in the required fields and save.

**Tip:** Always use encrypted credentials whenever possible to enhance security.

5. Best Practices

Follow these best practices for managing credentials:

Regularly audit credentials for unused or outdated entries.
Use role-based access control (RBAC) to limit credential visibility.
Employ Ansible Vault for sensitive data.
Consider using external vault solutions for added security.

6. FAQ

What is Ansible Vault?

Ansible Vault is a feature that allows you to encrypt sensitive data within your Ansible projects, such as passwords and private keys.

Can I use AWS secrets in Tower?

Yes, you can create cloud credentials in Tower to manage AWS secrets and other cloud provider credentials securely.

Flowchart for Credential Management


graph TD;
    A[Start] --> B{Credential Type?};
    B -->|Machine| C[Create Machine Credential];
    B -->|Source Control| D[Create Source Control Credential];
    B -->|Vault| E[Create Vault Credential];
    B -->|Cloud| F[Create Cloud Credential];
    C --> G[Save Credential];
    D --> G;
    E --> G;
    F --> G;
    G --> H[End];