Ansible is a radically simple IT automation platform that makes application and system deployment faster. So, you no longer have to write tedious scripts or custom codes for updating or deploying your applications.
Here in this article, we will enlist the top 10 best Ansible courses with red hat ansible certifications that you can take up to kick start your automation journey. We have included both Ansible certification free courses as well as paid ones.
From the Red Hat Ansible training to the Udemy and Coursera courses, each of these classes is presented to you by top-tier recognized industry professionals. So, let us get started and address them one by one.
Top 10 Best Ansible Training Programs
- Ansible for the Absolute Beginner – Hands-On – DevOps – [Udemy]
- Mastering Ansible – [Udemy]
- Ansible Advanced – Hands-On – DevOps – [Udemy]
- Ansible Basics: Automation Technical Overview – [Ansible RedHat Certification]
- Dive Into Ansible – From Beginner to Expert in Ansible – [Udemy]
- Introduction to Ansible: The Fundamentals – [Coursera Project Network]
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automation with Ansible (RH294) – [ Red Hat]
- Ansible Foundation Training Course – [SimpliLearn]
- Getting Started with Ansible – [Plural Sight]
- Best Ansible Courses Online – [LinkedIn Learning]
10 Best Ansible Free Certifications & Paid Courses
1. Ansible for the Absolute Beginner – Hands-On – DevOps – [Udemy]
| Rating | 4.6 |
| Enrolled | 113,071 students |
| Duration | 2.5 hours of on-demand video |
| Instructor | Mumshad Mannambeth and KodeKloud Training |
| Paid | Yes |
| Is this ansible certification free? | Yes, no additional fee except course fees |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | Unfortunately, the content in some places seems dated. |
It is the bestseller Ansible certification course on Udemy. It is one of the best Ansible courses because it is 100 percent practical and hands-on. So, across this Ansible network automation certification, you learn by doing.
Here, every lecture has a set of coding exercises that provide you with hands-on experience and fill up with practical exposure to building Ansible Playbooks.
What’s more?
Every lecture in the Udemy course has animated slides. The presence of PPTs makes the class very easy to understand.
It is one of the rare internet courses wherein you get coding exercises for practicing Ansible Playbooks right in your browser. Even though there is no Ansible free certification with it, you receive a Udemy accreditation after completing this course.
If you need a free alternative, check out the Red Hat Ansible course with Ansible Redhat certification discussed in the subsequent sections.
Learning Outcomes
You can learn several things with this Ansible network automation certification course. Some of the things you discover here are:
- Introduction to Ansible
- Fundamentals of YAML with hands-on exercises
- Developing Ansible Inventory Files
- Elementary information on the Playbooks, Modules, Variables, Conditionals, Loops, and Roles
- Automating web server development and provisioning
Prerequisites
Here are some prerequisites associated with this Ansible certification course:
- Access to Linux System for Ansible Setup
- Basic Linux Administrator Skills
- Time and patience to take the course
- Money because it is not an Ansible free certification
Who should take this course?
This Ansible network automation certification is for:
- System Administrators
- Cloud Infrastructure Engineers
- Automation Engineers
- Anyone who wants to learn to automate sans codes
It is a paid course. So, not for someone seeking an Ansible certification free.
Review Raul Forigua A.
Good course, for the basics on Ansible is perfect and the on hands practices are so good!!!
2. Mastering Ansible – [Udemy]
| Rating | 4.5 |
| Enrolled | 39,626 students |
| Duration | 5 hours of on-demand video |
| Instructor | Chris Lunsford |
| Paid | Yes |
| Certification | Yes |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | The user experience is not the best. If that is what you seek, check out the Red Hat Ansible training. |
Next, we have another one of the top-rated courses from Udemy. It is a detailed, step-by-step, and one of the best Ansible courses online – course content wise. It takes you through the whole process of learning Ansible for configuration management and orchestration.
One distinguishing factor between this and the Red Hat Ansible course is that the instructor has designed this course as a journey. So, across this Ansible certification course, you move with the expert to configure a realistic application stack from scratch.
What’s more?
Your instructor does not take you page-by-page through the bland Ansible documentation. Instead, he aligned the topics in this Ansible network automation certification such that they build on the previous levels. So, it goes in the progressive complexity level for your easier understanding.
Beyond learning and understanding the core concepts in this best Ansible course online, the instructor also helps you with long-term Ansible maintenance. Their idea is to build a workflow wherein the complete troubleshooting happens via Ansible playbooks, which you can commit to a repository and amplify over time.
This Ansible certification course has six sections, commencing with foundational concepts and installation. From the third class onwards, you start building a sample application environment layer-by-layer, and then onward, you grasp a new concept in every session.
Once you set up the app, you refractor it in Section 4, and in the 5th one, you optimize the code and lower execution time. Lastly, you test and troubleshoot. Across every session, the instructor executes a new concept so you know what the output should look like.
This course has ansible certification free, you just have to pay the course fees and everything is included with that – course material, certificate, online video, etc.
Learning Outcomes
In this Ansible course, you get ansible free certification, the cost of which is covered in the course fee. Along with the certification, you also get to learn about:
- Executing Ad-Hoc commands against servers using Ansible
- Configuring Ansible roles with default variables, templates, files, handlers, and tasks
- Building operational playbooks to check cluster status to lower execution time
- Writing Ansible configuration playbooks for deploying a three-tier web application
- Optimize Ansible playbooks to decrease playbook execution time
- Performing and building a cluster restart
- Troubleshooting and testing Ansible playbook execution
Prerequisites
Some prerequisites associated with this Ansible certification course are:
- Any IDE or a code editor of your choice
- Mac OS X or Linux computer
- Access to one Linux virtual machine for installing Ansible
- Access to 5 Linux servers for setting up the course environment and following the instructions step-by-step
- SSH client and terminal to run Ansible against target hosts
- No programming or previous automation experience
Who should take this course?
It is the best Ansible course online for:
- Students who have little or no experience with Ansible
- Those familiar with Linux systems administration concepts
- Engineers interested in infrastructure-as-code, orchestration, configuration management, and DevOps principles
Review Gregory S L.
Excellent presentation. I would love to see an updated version of this course from the same instructor.
3. Ansible Advanced – Hands-On – DevOps – [Udemy]
| Rating | 4.5 |
| Enrolled | 43,020 students |
| Duration | 4 hours of on-demand video |
| Instructor | Mumshad Mannambeth and KodeKloud Training |
| Paid | Yes |
| Is this Ansible certification free? | Yes. The course fee covers it all. |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | There are some issues with the quizzes. |
Next, we have another Ansible network automation certification course by Udemy. It is the second course in the series by the author. Herein, you will work with the advanced Ansible concepts and comprehend their real-life uses. It is the perfect pick for someone with a basic understanding seeking to gain expertise in Ansible.
We like this course because all lectures come enclosed with animated slides, making them easy to understand and straightforward. It is one of the best Ansible courses where you receive ample Coding Exercises for practicing Ansible Playbooks in your browser.
Learning Outcomes
Here are some things you will learn with this Ansible network automation certification:
- Developing Ansible Playbooks for advanced use cases
- Managing errors during playbook execution
- Employing Dynamic Inventory in playbooks
- Utilizing Ansible Vault for securing critical information
- Ansible’s execution flow
- Acquiring good hands-on experience in developing playbooks
- Sharing work with Ansible Community using Ansible Galaxy
- Following Ansible best practices during playbook development
- Designing custom plugins, filters, and modules
- Using Lookups to retrieving data from external sources
- Reusing and creating custom roles
- Making and understanding templating using Jinja2
Prerequisites
Though not an Ansible free certification, it is an excellent course. Some things you require for the class are:
- Ansible basics – If you do not have clarity on Fundamentals, you can take the Ansible for the Absolute Beginners course.
- Structure of YAML files and how to develop one
- Making a basic Ansible Playbook
- Fundamental use cases of Ansible
Who should take this Ansible certification course?
This is the best Ansible course online for:
- Anyone who wishes to learn Ansible
- System Administrator who wishes to learn to automate with Ansible
- Anyone who wishes to learn Orchestration/Automation in the cloud
Review Nisant K.
Excellent contents. With the final project , the approach to project is cleared which gives a starting point for students.
4. Ansible Basics: Automation Technical Overview – [Red Hat]
Next, we have an informative course from Red Hat. It is not an ordinary Red Hat Ansible certification program, but one of the best options available, given its comprehensiveness.
If you need credentials, you can avail the Ansible Redhat certification as part of their subscription plan that gives you access to all their resources for the whole year. It is a free Red Hat Ansible training. So, you can start viewing all their videos and study materials.
Before enrolling in this training, please know that you do not get hands-on labs or course completion recognition included.
So, why do we like it?
It is a series of on-demand, online videos that familiarize you with the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform in the most interactive format. As part of this course, you grasp information on deploying, provisioning, and configuration management.
In addition, you also study how to manage and compute infrastructure across cloud, virtual, and physical environments with Ansible. You can finish the course in 30 days. After you finish this class, the instructor recommends following it up with the below sessions:
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automation with Ansible (RH294)
- Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) exam (EX294)
Learning Outcomes
Even though it is not a Red Hat Ansible certification course, it is a preferred choice for learners. In this Red Hat Ansible training, you learn several things. Some of them are:
- Fundamentals of Ansible Automation Platform
- Working on Ansible
- Creating, managing, and scaling automation with the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
- Understanding of playbooks, tasks, and modules
- Executing Ansible commands
- Using templates and variables
- Automation controller and where it fits in
- Controller basics
- RBAC, workflows, and other Controller basics
Who should take this course?
This Ansible Redhat certification will benefit:
- Engineers
- Administrators
- Architects
- IT leaders
- Anyone else seeking high-level Red Hat Ansible training
Prerequisites
For this Red Hat Ansible certification, you need:
- Basic Linux® system administration skills
5. Dive Into Ansible – From Beginner to Expert in Ansible – [Udemy]
| Rating | 4.7 |
| Enrolled | 20,067 students |
| Duration | 7.5 hours of on-demand video |
| Instructor | James Spurin and DiveInto Publications |
| Paid | Yes |
| Is the Ansible certification free? | Yes, the cost is covered in the course fees. |
| Return or refund policy | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee |
| Cons | Some examples do not seem very apt. |
It is one of the top-rated Udemy courses, updated to the latest Ansible version – 2.10. Across this one of the best Ansible courses, the instructor employs Python 3.
You can find exceptional hands-on lab experience to learn as you go with the course. In addition, there are multiple hands-on quizzes and exercises. Lastly, you will finish the course with an Ansible-themed game – Playbook Stacker.
Learning Outcomes
It is an informative Ansible certification course. As part of this Ansible network automation certification, you learn the following:
- Knowledge of the Ansible Modules – Structure of Ansible Playbooks, Building and Executing the Ansible Playbooks, Jinja2 Templating, and Ansible Facts
- Clarity on advanced Ansible Topics like – Parallel Looping, Built-in Modules, Magic Variables, Building Plugins, Task Delegation, Creating Modules, Conditionals, Dynamic Inventories, and Vault
- Troubleshooting issues related to Ansible
- Employing Ansible for testing and validation
- Structuring Ansible playbooks like Tags, Roles
- Using Ansible with containers and cloud services, Docker, and AWS
Prerequisites
Unlike the free Red Hat Ansible certification, it is not an Ansible certification free course. So beyond time, you also need money to pay for the class. Other than this, it is a beginner to advanced best Ansible course online. So, you have no other requirements for the class.
Who should take this course?
Similar to the Red Hat Ansible course, it is for anyone who wishes to learn Ansible and make the most of scalable orchestration, DevOps, and Automation.
Review Syed Shareef A.
This course is very detailed and wonderfully represented.
6. Introduction to Ansible: The Fundamentals – [Coursera Project Network]
Next, we have a Coursera Guided Project. It is a beginner-friendly project course. Like the Ansible Redhat certification, in this course, too, the instructor follows a task-based approach. So, you learn as you do by working on a real-life project.
In this one of the best Ansible courses, you acquire all the knowledge to work with Ansible more efficiently. Herein, you create the first Ansible playbook, which caters to the running Nginx server in your system. You can also create an Ansible role to personalize the Nginx server with a specific landing page.
Some shortcomings of this course are:
- The instructor’s pronunciations are sometimes hard to follow.
- You do not receive Ansible free certification
- It is meant solely for beginners.
- There is no return policy in this guided project.
Learning Outcomes
Here we will enclose a few of the learnings of this course:
- Creation of your first infrastructure code using Ansible playbook
- Building an Ansible playbook
- Implementing infrastructure as a code practice
- Using Ansible, a configuration management tool
- Designing handlers in Ansible
- Making changes to the server
- Developing a modular and reusable infrastructure using Ansible role
- Devising complex Ansible roles, personalizing the Nginx server
7. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Automation with Ansible (RH294) – [Red Hat]
Next, we have another Ansible Redhat certification. It is one of the best Ansible courses. In this Red Hat Ansible certification, you learn to automate Linux system administration tasks with the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.
This Red Hat Ansible course is based on the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 1.2 and the Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 8.4.
Learning Outcomes
In this Ansible free certification, you will learn the following:
- Installing Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform on control nodes
- Reusing code
- Creating and updating inventories of managed hosts
- Writing effective playbooks at scale
- Simplifying playbook development with Ansible Content Collections and Ansible Roles
- Guarding sensitive data with Ansible Vault
- Automating administration tasks
Who should take this Red Hat Ansible training?
This Ansible Redhat certification is for the developers and Linux system administrations who wish to automate provisioning, configuration, application deployment, and orchestration.
Prerequisites
For this Red Hat Ansible certification, you need the following:
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux experience or pass the Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam (EX200)
- Take the assessment test that comes free with the Red Hat Ansible course to check whether the class is suited for your existing skills.
8. Ansible Foundation Training Course – [SimpliLearn]
This Ansible network automation certification is for beginners who wish to start with the installation of Ansible 2.0.
Learning Outcomes
As you progress, you learn to create your playbooks, manage cloud regions, and configure network devices across Windows or Linux OS. This Ansible certification course comes with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee and lifetime access. Complete 85 percent of the online self-learning Ansible course to receive the certification.
Prerequisites
For this best Ansible course online, you need:
- High school diploma
- Undergraduate degree
- Access to a Linux system
- Webcam
- Microphone, speakers, and headset
- Strong internet access
Who can take this course?
This Ansible network automation certification is for:
- Beginners who wish to automate their organizational infrastructure
- System administrators, developers, and automation engineers
9. Getting Started with Ansible – [Pluralsight]
Next, we have a course from Pluralsight. It is not an Ansible certification free course but is comprehensive and informative.
Learning Outcomes
It is one of the best Ansible courses and teaches you the following:
- Installing Ansible
- Using the Ad-hoc command-line tool to execute one-off modules
- Composing Playbooks
- Using inventories to configure multiple machines like a full-fledged VM learning lab
- Swapping Ansible’s default usage of SSH with connection plugins to connect to different environments
- Reusing the Ansible Galaxy
10. Ansible Online Courses – [LinkedIn Learning]
LinkedIn Learning is a hub for some of the top Ansible certification courses by recognized and trained industry professionals. You can find both ansible free certification courses and paid classes.
A few of the top picks are:
Conclusion
Knowledge of Ansible can help you bag one of the highest-paid jobs in the DevOps industry. The above-listed ten best Ansible courses online have a variety of Ansible certification free and paid courses.
If you also wish to learn Ansible from the basics in an easy interface, we suggest you begin with this basic Udemy course.
But, if you are an intermediate learner you can also go for Red Hat Ansible training and grab an Ansible Redhat certification for advanced concepts.
