An Ansible task is a single operation in a playbook. Tasks form an ordered, procedural sequence that the Ansible control node executes on managed devices to apply configuration changes. section 25.2.1
A task operates within Ansible’s centralized push model:
- The control node connects to managed devices and pushes configuration changes rather than waiting for devices to retrieve them. section 25.2.1
- SSH is the primary connection method, using TCP port 22; NETCONF can also configure devices. section 25.2.1
- Tasks contribute to standardized configuration management, helping automate changes and reduce configuration drift. section 25.3
Figure 25.5 Basic Ansible operations. Inventory, template, and variable files define configurations, and playbooks define actions. The control node uses SSH to connect and push configurations to managed devices.
Shows how playbooks define actions while inventory, template, and variable files provide the information used to push configurations. section 25.2.1
