Ansible Vault is a powerful feature within Ansible that allows you to encrypt sensitive data, such as passwords, API keys, and certificates, directly within your Ansible playbooks and roles. This ensures that your sensitive information remains secure and is not exposed in plain text in your version control system.

Encrypting Strings with Ansible Vault

You can encrypt individual strings or variables using the ansible-vault encrypt_string command. This command takes the string you want to encrypt and a name for the encrypted variable. It then outputs the encrypted string in YAML format, ready to be included in your Ansible variables files.

Example: Encrypting a Secret String

To encrypt a string using a keyfile named backup_encryption_key, you would use the following command:

---
tags: [ orchestration, security ]
---
# To encrypt string using keyfile `backup_encryption_key`:
ansible-vault encrypt_string 'SupersecretPa$$phrase' --name 'backup_encryption_key'

This command will generate an encrypted string that can be stored in your Ansible variables. When Ansible runs, it will automatically decrypt this string using the provided vault password or keyfile, making your automation more secure.

Managing Sensitive Data with Ansible

Ansible Vault is crucial for maintaining the security of your infrastructure automation. By encrypting sensitive data, you prevent accidental exposure and comply with security best practices. It integrates seamlessly with Ansible's execution flow, ensuring that secrets are handled securely without manual intervention during playbook runs.

Key Concepts in Ansible Vault

• Encryption: Protecting sensitive data by converting it into an unreadable format.
• Decryption: Converting encrypted data back into its original, readable format.
• Vault Password: A password used to encrypt and decrypt vault-encrypted files.
• Keyfile: A file containing the encryption key, which can be used instead of a password.
• ansible-vault command: The primary command-line tool for managing Ansible Vault.

Further Resources

• Ansible Vault Official Documentation
• What is Ansible Vault? - Red Hat
• Ansible Vault Questions on Stack Overflow