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How Ansible Connects to a Target Host
Govardhana M K
October 14, 2025
TechOps Examples
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IN TODAY'S EDITION
🧠 Use Case
How Ansible Connects to a Target Host
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🧠 USE CASE
How Ansible Connects to a Target Host
Normal Ping output:
> ping 192.168.0.100
PING 192.168.0.100 (192.168.0.100): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.047 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.056 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.100: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.045 msAnsible Ping output:
> ansible 192.168.0.100 -m ping
> 192.168.0.100 | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}The normal ping uses ICMP to check network connectivity, while Ansible's ping is a functional test that uses SSH (or WinRM) to verify if Ansible can authenticate, execute Python, communicate successfully with the target host, and receive a "pong" response.
To get that ‘pong’ response this is what happens behind the scenes.
What happens when Ansible connects to a target host
You type: ansible 192.168.0.100 -m ping
Command parsing – The Ansible CLI reads the command, identifies the module (ping), and passes it to the Ansible controller.
Configuration loading – The controller loads settings from ansible.cfg, including inventory path, default user, SSH options, forks, and privilege escalation rules.
Inventory resolution – The target host (192.168.0.100) is looked up in the active inventory file (/etc/ansible/hosts or custom inventory). Associated variables such as ansible_user, ansible_port, or ansible_ssh_private_key_file are read.
Connection plugin initialization – Based on the connection type (default: ssh), Ansible loads the respective connection plugin (connection/ssh.py) to handle the remote session.
Authentication and session setup – The controller initiates an SSH handshake using the credentials or keys defined in the inventory or environment. If successful, it establishes a secure channel to the target host.
Module transfer – The selected module (in this case, ping.py) is copied to a temporary directory on the target host, usually under /tmp/ansible-tmp-*.
Module execution – The controller issues a command to run the module using the remote Python interpreter. The module performs its function and outputs a JSON-formatted result.
Result collection – The controller reads the JSON output from the remote host over SSH, parses it, and removes the temporary files from the target.
Display and summary – The result is formatted and printed to the terminal.
Before Ansible connects to a target host, it depends on a clear directory structure that organizes its configuration, inventory, variables, playbooks, and modules.
Here’s what each part of that structure represents.
Practical Nuances:
Keep ansible.cfg, inventory, and variable files organized for predictable behavior.
Clean temporary files on target hosts if custom modules or scripts are used.
Enable detailed logs (-vvv) to trace connection and authentication issues quickly.
Prefer key based authentication for stability and automation safety.
Validate Python availability on target systems since most modules depend on it.
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