Ansiterra: Unifying Infrastructure as Code and Configuration Management with Ansible and Terraform
Introduction
In today’s multi-cloud and hybrid environments, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and configuration management tools have become the foundation of scalable and secure IT operations. While Terraform excels at provisioning infrastructure resources, Ansible stands out for its agentless configuration management and orchestration capabilities. Although Ansible can also be IAC , and can provision resources on cloud and on prem. Let us see both siblings at IBM.
This article demonstrates how combining both tools in a single workflow can deliver a powerful and flexible automation framework — using Ansible not just for configuration management, but also as the primary driver of Terraform based infrastructure provisioning.
We use Terraform and Ansible to provision and configure infrastructure. Terraform provisions the cloud resources, and then Ansible configures those resources (for example, setting up a web server).
However, a bigger challenge arises when provisioning resources in the AWS Cloud that must interact with other environments. The configuration information from those provisioned resources needs to be distributed and applied across multiple clouds, on-premises systems, industrial facilities, or remote IoT sensors spread across different locations.
The Concept: Multi-Tool IaC Integration
The approach showcased in the Ansiterra project illustrates how to use Ansible as a unified automation controller that:
Calls Terraform modules to provision infrastructure in AWS (e.g., VPCs, subnets, EC2 instances).
Captures the Terraform outputs (such as VPC IDs, private IPs, route table information).
Propagates that configuration to local data center or on-premises hosts (Host1, Host2, etc.), ensuring hybrid connectivity and consistency.
This approach leverages the strengths of both tools:
Terraform: State management, modular IaC, multi-cloud provisioning.
Ansible: Idempotent configuration management, orchestration, and local/remote file handling.
Why Use Ansible as the Orchestrator
While Terraform can manage resources efficiently, it lacks mature post-deployment configuration capabilities. Ansible fills that gap by:
Managing runtime configurations after resources are provisioned.
Creating configuration files dynamically on local or remote systems.
Enforcing compliance and operational policies through playbooks.
Providing a unified interface for both cloud and on-premises automation.
In this project, Ansible wraps Terraform execution within its playbook logic. After Terraform creates AWS infrastructure, the same Ansible run generates configuration files on local data center servers — for instance, updating local route definitions or service endpoint mappings.
Example Flow
Before Execution of Workflow
- Ansible Playbook Executes Terraform Module
- Uses community.general.terraform module to call a Terraform script.
- Terraform provisions AWS infrastructure (VPC, subnets, EC2, etc.).
After Execution of Workflow
- Collects Terraform Output
VPC and and it component created
Outputs (like VPC ID, subnet CIDR, private IPs) are registered as Ansible variables.
Propagates Configuration to Local Hosts
( Ansible templates generate configuration files using Jinja2. in coming article of this series)
- Files are deployed to host1, host2, and other LAN nodes for integration with cloud resources.
Key Benefits
- Unified automation workflow — no need for separate tooling pipelines.
- Single source of truth for both provisioning and configuration.
- Supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
- Reduces operational complexity and on-boarding time.
Conclusion
The Ansiterra approach illustrates the evolving role of Ansible as not only a configuration management tool but also a multi-purpose automation orchestrator. By integrating Terraform seamlessly, DevOps teams can achieve greater agility, maintain consistent environments, and ensure faster infrastructure-to-application readiness.
Project Repo https://github.com/neamanahmed/ansiterra
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