Gardience · Compare · Updated 2026-11-07 · Gardience Engineering · How we test

Ansible Automation Platform alternative for Windows, Linux, and CMMC

Gardience is an Ansible Automation Platform alternative that runs your existing playbooks over the Salt agent, on Windows without WinRM, and adds built-in patching, DISA STIG checklists for Linux, and CMMC Level 2 evidence. At 1,000 machines it costs $15,000 a year, flat, against $192,500 a year at list for AAP Premium.

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), the product once sold as Ansible Tower, is an automation controller that connects into machines and runs playbooks. Gardience is a fleet console built on open-source Salt: an agent on each machine connects out to your Gardience server, and the console adds patching, compliance, approvals, and evidence. It runs your Ansible playbooks over that same connection.

How does Gardience compare to Ansible Automation Platform?

	Ansible Automation Platform	Gardience
Pricing model	Per managed node, sold in 100-node packs	Flat yearly price per fleet
Price at 1,000 machines	$192,500 a year (Premium list, AWS Marketplace, Oct 2026)	$15,000 a year (Team), Windows and Linux
Windows	WinRM, or SSH on Server 2022 and later	Yes: every Windows Server from 2016 to 2025, plus Windows 10 and 11; agent connects out, no WinRM
Linux	Yes	Yes: RHEL, Oracle, Rocky, SUSE, Ubuntu, Debian, and Amazon Linux, each verified on real machines
How it reaches machines	Controller connects in with stored credentials	Agent connects out; no inbound ports, no SSH keys or WinRM listeners
Offline (air-gapped) install	Disconnected install documented	Yes: fully offline from one signed bundle
Patching	Built from playbooks and content you choose	Built in: pilot and broad rings, change windows, reboots handled
Vulnerabilities	Not part of AAP	CVE matching with CISA KEV due dates and EPSS; fix one CVE on only the exposed machines
DISA STIG checklists for eMASS	Built from content you choose	Yes: Windows Server 2016 to 2025, Windows 10 and 11, RHEL family, SLES, and Ubuntu, with DISA STIG scans and a STIG Viewer checklist per machine
CMMC Level 2	Not part of AAP	Covers all 110 requirements: live SPRS score, SSP, POA&M, signed evidence pack
Approvals and audit	Workflow approvals, activity stream	Two-person approval, change windows, tamper-evident audit log
Your Ansible playbooks	Native	Run from your Git as they are, Windows included
Event-driven automation	Event-Driven Ansible (rulebooks on outside events)	Event rules on events from the machine itself (service, disk, join)
AI assistant	Lightspeed intelligent assistant	Built in; Claude, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, or a self-hosted model; nothing runs until a person approves
MCP server for AI agents	Technology preview	Built in; requests wait for approval
Terraform	Official provider (runs job templates from Terraform)	Provider: machines enroll and get their state on first boot, removed on destroy

Why do teams leave Ansible Automation Platform?

The bill grows with every server. Red Hat counts each managed node, including short-lived cloud instances, and AAP Premium lists at $19,250 per 100 nodes a year (sources).
Windows means WinRM. AAP reaches Windows over WinRM, or SSH on Server 2022 and later, with credentials stored in the controller (Ansible on Windows without WinRM).
CMMC needs more than automation. A Level 2 assessment needs patch evidence, STIG results, an SPRS score, a System Security Plan, and a POA&M. AAP runs the automation; the evidence comes from other tools you buy and connect.

What do you keep when you move?

Your playbooks. They stay in Git, unchanged, and Gardience runs them over the Salt agent.
Your job templates, surveys, inventories, and schedules. Gardience imports an AWX or AAP export and shows a preview before it creates anything.
Your team's Ansible skills. Gardience adds Salt underneath without asking anyone to rewrite automation.

How does the move work?

Step	What you do	Time
1	Install Gardience on a Linux server with the one-line installer	About 5 minutes
2	Enroll a test group with the installer or your existing Ansible inventory	Minutes
3	Export from AWX or AAP (`awx export`), preview, and import into Gardience	Under an hour
4	Run important job templates in check mode in both and compare	A few days
5	Turn schedules on in Gardience one at a time and off in AWX or AAP	One patch cycle

The full walkthrough, with a sample export to try first: moving from AWX or AAP.

Is Gardience an AWX alternative too?

Yes. AWX is the open-source upstream of the AAP controller, and it imports the same way: awx export, preview, and import. You keep your playbooks in Git and gain patching, a STIG/CIS-aligned baseline, approvals, and evidence that AWX does not have, with a supported release instead of a community one.

When is AAP the better choice?

Your team is deep in Ansible and Red Hat, and most of your fleet is Linux.
You rely on certified collections and Red Hat's support relationship across RHEL and OpenShift.
You automate network devices and cloud services as much as servers.

When is Gardience the better choice?

A large share of your fleet is Windows, and WinRM is a cost you would rather not carry.
Patching, a STIG/CIS-aligned baseline, and audit evidence are the main jobs, not general orchestration.
Per-node pricing grows faster than your budget: at 1,000 machines, Gardience Team is $15,000 a year, nearly 13 times less than AAP Premium at list, or $532,500 back over three years.
You want approvals, locks, and a tamper-evident record on every change by default.

Some teams run both: AAP for provisioning and orchestration, Gardience for Windows and Linux day-two operations. Because Gardience runs the same playbooks, the move can be gradual.

Can Gardience run on an air-gapped network?

Yes. Gardience installs from a signed offline bundle with no internet access, every release ships with a software bill of materials, and a paid license is verified offline with an Ed25519 signature. See deployment options.

Questions

Is Gardience a replacement for Ansible Automation Platform?

For day-two operations on Windows and Linux servers (patching, compliance, approved changes), yes. It runs your existing playbooks, so you keep your automation and drop the per-node bill.

Do my Ansible playbooks need changes?

No. Gardience runs them from your Git repository over the Salt agent, on Linux and on Windows, with no WinRM listener on the machine.

How much does Gardience cost compared with AAP?

Gardience Team is $15,000 a year for up to 1,000 Windows and Linux machines. AAP Premium lists at $192,500 a year for 1,000 nodes on AWS Marketplace. Starter is $6,000 a year for up to 250 machines.

Does Gardience need Red Hat Enterprise Linux?

No. Gardience installs on any Linux server with Docker (amd64 or arm64), and is tested on fresh Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, and Oracle Linux 9 servers.

Can I try Gardience and AAP on the same machines?

Yes. Gardience's agents do not conflict with an Ansible controller connecting to the same machines.

Does Gardience help with CMMC Level 2?

Yes. Gardience covers all 110 requirements: it checks and fixes the technical ones on your machines, collects your records for the rest, and writes the System Security Plan, POA&M, and a signed evidence pack. See CMMC Level 2.

Sources: AWS Marketplace listing for Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Premium, seen October 26, 2026; Red Hat's managed node counting terms (article 3331481, article 7088928); Ansible documentation for Windows connections over WinRM and SSH. Gardience prices are on the pricing page.

Planning a move from Ansible Automation Platform?

Book a migration call and bring your hardest state file or playbook. We walk through what carries over, what changes, and a plan that runs both side by side. Gardience Team is $15,000 a year at 1,000 machines.

Book a migration call The Ansible Automation Platform migration plan See pricing

Salt is a trademark of its owner, Ansible is a trademark of Red Hat, Inc., and other names are trademarks of their owners. Gardience is independent and not affiliated with any of them.