The Ansible Service Broker is a Go-based implementation of the Open Service Broker API that manages applications defined through Ansible Playbook Bundles (APB). APBs are containerized collections of Ansible Playbooks that enable users to define and provision microservices according to the Open Service Broker API specification. The project serves as a bridge between Ansible automation and Kubernetes/OpenShift service provisioning, allowing operators to package complex applications as reusable service definitions.
The core functionality enables users to define, distribute, and provision microservices like RocketChat and PostgreSQL through Ansible playbooks packaged in containers. The broker also supports binding multiple microservices together, allowing provisioned services to communicate and share credentials. For example, users can provision a PostgreSQL database through an APB and then bind it to a web application, with the broker automatically managing the connection details and redeploying dependent services when bindings are created.
The repository provides multiple deployment paths for different environments. For Kubernetes clusters, users can leverage Minikube to quickly set up a test environment with the service catalog and broker. For OpenShift, the broker integrates directly into the cluster startup process, with OpenShift Origin v3.10 and later supporting simple enablement via the oc cluster up command with the automation-service-broker flag. The project also supports Minishift deployments through dedicated addons. Detailed getting started documentation covers prerequisites and step-by-step installation for both platforms, including example workflows for provisioning MediaWiki and PostgreSQL instances and binding them together.
The project maintains strict versioning alignment with OpenShift Origin releases, with version numbers matching corresponding Kubernetes and OpenShift versions. The compatibility matrix indicates support for multiple APB runtime versions, with APB runtime 1 supporting older APBs and APB runtime 2 introducing enhanced capabilities. Release dates span from November 2017 through planned releases in 2019, with feature freeze dates preceding each release.
Activity tracking shows the project maintains a median issue and pull request response latency of 663.5 hours. The most active issue labels include tide/merge-blocker, indicating active merge management. Contributors like jmguzik have been tracked with significant engagement events. The repository shares overlapping contributors with other OpenShift projects including openshift/installer, openshift/coredns, and openshift/descheduler, reflecting its integration into the broader OpenShift ecosystem.
The project emphasizes community engagement through multiple channels including IRC on Freenode, a dedicated mailing list, and a YouTube channel featuring keynote demos and technical presentations. A Trello board tracks ongoing work and feature planning. The contribution guidelines direct new contributors to a dedicated CONTRIBUTING.md file, and the project welcomes bug reports, questions, and pull requests from the community. The codebase is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, and the project maintains comprehensive documentation covering deployment scenarios, versioning strategies, and compatibility matrices for different component versions.
