Windows Guides

The following sections provide information on managing Windows hosts with Ansible.

Because Windows is a non-POSIX-compliant operating system, there are differences between how Ansible interacts with them and the way Windows works. These guides will highlight some of the differences between Linux/Unix hosts and hosts running Windows.

• Setting up a Windows Host
  • Host Requirements
  • WinRM Setup
  • Windows SSH Setup
• Windows Remote Management
  • What is WinRM?
  • Authentication Options
  • Non-Administrator Accounts
  • WinRM Encryption
  • Inventory Options
  • IPv6 Addresses
  • HTTPS Certificate Validation
  • TLS 1.2 Support
  • Limitations
• Using Ansible and Windows
  • Use Cases
  • Path Formatting for Windows
  • Limitations
  • Developing Windows Modules
• Desired State Configuration
  • What is Desired State Configuration?
  • Host Requirements
  • Why Use DSC?
  • How to Use DSC?
  • Custom DSC Resources
  • Examples
• Windows performance
  • Optimise PowerShell performance to reduce Ansible task overhead
  • Fix high-CPU-on-boot for VMs/cloud instances
• Windows Frequently Asked Questions
  • Does Ansible work with Windows XP or Server 2003?
  • Are Server 2008, 2008 R2 and Windows 7 supported?
  • Can I manage Windows Nano Server with Ansible?
  • Can Ansible run on Windows?
  • Can I use SSH keys to authenticate to Windows hosts?
  • Why can I run a command locally that does not work under Ansible?
  • This program won’t install on Windows with Ansible
  • What Windows modules are available?
  • Can I run Python modules on Windows hosts?
  • Can I connect to Windows hosts over SSH?
  • Why is connecting to a Windows host via SSH failing?
  • Why are my credentials being rejected?
  • Why am I getting an error SSL CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED?