Integration of Ansible Open Source with VMware Aria Automation fails with write access error

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to integrate Ansible Open Source with VMware Aria Automation using a Private Key, the validation phase fails.
• The following error is displayed during the integration attempt:
  Failed to validate credentials. Error: Ansible control machine validation failed.

Environment

• VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x
• Ansible Open Source

Cause

This issue occurs due to two configuration factors on the Ansible Control Machine (ACM):

1. Unsupported Ansible Version: The ACM is running a version of Ansible (e.g., 2.16.3) that is outside the supported range. VMware Aria Automation provider scripts are hardcoded to interact with specific Ansible binary behaviors. Using an unsupported version leads to parsing errors and unexpected command failures.

2. Insufficient Permissions: The integration service user lacks the mandatory write permissions on its home directory (/home/ansible). The integration logic requires the ability to orchestrate files on the ACM via SSH to properly create the host_vars directory and edit inventory files to pass the pre-flight check.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform the following steps to bring the environment into a supported and functional state:

1. Downgrade the Ansible version on the ACM to a supported version (such as version 2.15.8).

2. Apply the necessary permission fixes by setting the correct ownership and write permissions for the service user under the /home/ansible directory. This allows the automated validation scripts to safely create the necessary workspace without manual intervention or interactive security prompts.

Additional Information

 

• For a complete list of supported product versions, refer to the VMware Aria Automation Support Matrix.

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