Ansible Connection Options for windows remote Server

Error – Failed to connect to the host via ssh

[root@ip-172-31-12-86 ansible]# ansible all -i inventory -m win_ping
13.233.160.153 | UNREACHABLE! => {
    "changed": false,
    "msg": "Failed to connect to the host via ssh: ssh: connect to host 13.233.160.153 port 22: Connection refused",
    "unreachable": true
}Code language: PHP (php)

Solution – You need to set ansible_connection=winrm to connect to windows

[windows]
13.233.160.153
[windows:vars]
ansible_connection=winrm

Error – auth method ssl requires a username

[root@ip-172-31-12-86 ansible]# ansible all -i inventory -m win_ping
13.233.160.153 | UNREACHABLE! => {
    "changed": false,
    "msg": "ssl: auth method ssl requires a username",
    "unreachable": true
}Code language: PHP (php)

Solution – You need to set ansible_user and ansible_password to connect to windows remote

[windows]
13.233.160.153
[windows:vars]
ansible_connection=winrm
ansible_user=administrator
ansible_password=”w$y%O.ubjQhQhfa&ME@5=TeEd4Yhfy”

ansible_winrm_scheme=http
ansible_winrm_scheme=https
#Reference
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/user_guide/windows_winrm.html

Error – certificate verify failed

[root@ip-172-31-12-86 ansible]# ansible all -i inventory -m win_ping
13.233.160.153 | UNREACHABLE! => {
    "changed": false,
    "msg": "ssl: HTTPSConnectionPool(host='13.233.160.153', port=5986): Max retries exceeded with url: /wsman (Caused by SSLError(SSLError(1, u'[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed (_ssl.c:579)'),))",
    "unreachable": true
}Code language: PHP (php)

Solution – You need to set ansible_winrm_transport=basic and ansible_winrm_server_cert_validation=ignore

[windows]
13.233.160.153
[windows:vars]
ansible_user=LocalUsername
ansible_password=Password
ansible_connection=winrm
ansible_winrm_transport=basic
ansible_winrm_server_cert_validation=ignore

winrm set winrm/config/client/auth '@{Basic="true"}'
winrm set winrm/config/service/auth '@{Basic="true"}'

Set-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth\Basic -Value $true

winrm set winrm/config/service/auth '@{Basic="true"}'
winrm set winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="true"}'



ansible_user=Administrator
ansible_password=Raju$123456
ansible_connection=winrm
ansible_winrm_transport=basic
ansible_winrm_scheme=http
ansible_winrm_server_cert_validation=ignore
ansible_port=5985
Code language: PHP (php)

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

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