GitLab announced the general availability of GitLab Duo with Amazon Q.
Red Hat announced the general availability of Ansible 2.1, the latest version of the agentless open source IT automation framework.
Ansible 2.1 introduces support for network automation, which helps further extend Ansible as a common language in enterprise IT environments--from the foundation of the network to container-based deployments.
Ansible enables developers and IT operators to more easily and quickly deploy IT applications and environments, empowering them to remove barriers between IT teams by automating routine activities such as network configuration, cloud deployments, and creation of development environments. Ansible’s modular code base, combined with ease of contribution, and a community of contributors in GitHub, enables the powerful IT automation platform to manage today’s infrastructure, but also adapt to new IT needs and DevOps workflows.
Ansible 2.1 includes many new features, including:
Support for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Azure - Ansible 2.1 now includes support for Microsoft Windows environments, enabling users to use a single automation platform for complete cross-platform automation.
New features include:
- Broader support for Microsoft Azure, expanding Ansible’s support for hybrid cloud deployments, including the ability to take advantage of Azure’s Resource Manager functionality.
- New Windows modules, enabling the management of Windows file sharing and the Windows firewall, further increasing Windows’ automatable surface area within Ansible.
- Easier management of domain-joined machines with NT LAN Manager (NTLM), enabling more secure authentication of domain users with just a username and password - reducing the need to configure and manage Kerberos on the Ansible control machine.
- Kerberos delegation for multi-hop scenarios, enabling better credential flow for legacy scripts and installations that need transparent access to domain file shares, Microsoft SQL Server, and more.
- Simple reboots with new win_reboot action, helping to solve the challenge of automating software installations on Windows platforms that also require a system restart as part of a workflow.
Expanded Support for Containers - Ansible 2.1 introduces a powerful new module, docker-service, as well as a rewrite of Ansible’s existing Docker modules:
- docker_service: consumes Docker Compose, enabling Ansible users to manage and scale multi-container applications.
- docker_container: Manage basic container lifecycle
- docker_image: Build, push, pull, and tag images for Docker
- docker_login: Manage access to Docker registries
- docker_image Facts: Inspect images, using the results as Ansible facts
With Ansible 2.1’s new docker-service module, users can use Docker’s compose language from the file system or by embedding it in a playbook. By using compose directly, the docker-service module allows deployment and scaling of multi-container applications within the context of broader Ansible playbooks, enabling the user to create complete workflows encompassing both container app deployments and the orchestration of network, operating system, and infrastructure found outside of the container environment.
Ansible 2.1 fully integrates the network automation support that debuted in February. By extending Ansible automation to the network, Ansible now enables network infrastructure to be managed in the same simple, powerful, and agentless manner that systems and applications already utilize. This helps network teams to take advantage of new deployment paradigms, including configuration automation, test-driven network deployment, and continuous compliance.
Ansible 2.1 adds more than 40 new core modules providing network automation support across a variety of network platforms including: Arista EOS; Cisco IOS; Cisco IOS-XR; Cisco NXOS; Cumulus Networks; Juniper Junos; and OpenSwitch.
Ansible 2.1 is now available via GitHub, PyPi, and package manager for most major Linux distributions. For users seeking more control, knowledge, and delegation for their Ansible deployments, Ansible Tower is available as a subscription suitable for teams ranging from small companies to full-scale, enterprise IT organizations.
Tim Cramer, Head of Ansible Engineering, Red Hat, said: "We are pleased to deliver Ansible 2.1, which continues to build on the great things we did with our community in the recent 2.0 release. By extending Ansible’s capabilities into Microsoft Windows and Azure environments and networking, our users can further expand their automation capabilities into their environment, helping to make their operations as hybrid as their IT."
Industry News
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CodeSecure and FOSSA announced a strategic partnership and native product integration that enables organizations to eliminate security blindspots associated with both third party and open source code.
Bauplan, a Python-first serverless data platform that transforms complex infrastructure processes into a few lines of code over data lakes, announced its launch with $7.5 million in seed funding.
Perforce Software announced the launch of the Kafka Service Bundle, a new offering that provides enterprises with managed open source Apache Kafka at a fraction of the cost of traditional managed providers.
LambdaTest announced the launch of the HyperExecute MCP Server, an enhancement to its AI-native test orchestration platform, HyperExecute.
Cloudflare announced Workers VPC and Workers VPC Private Link, new solutions that enable developers to build secure, global cross-cloud applications on Cloudflare Workers.
Nutrient announced a significant expansion of its cloud-based services, as well as a series of updates to its SDK products, aimed at enhancing the developer experience by allowing developers to build, scale, and innovate with less friction.
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd.(link is external) announced that its Infinity Platform has been named the top-ranked AI-powered cyber security platform in the 2025 Miercom Assessment.
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The Live API for Gemini models is now in Preview, enabling developers to start building and testing more robust, scalable applications with significantly higher rate limits.
Backslash Security(link is external) announced significant adoption of the Backslash App Graph, the industry’s first dynamic digital twin for application code.
SmartBear launched API Hub for Test, a new capability within the company’s API Hub, powered by Swagger.
Akamai Technologies introduced App & API Protector Hybrid.