Ansible Troubleshooting SSH Connection Issues

Resolving Ansible SSH Authentication Errors with Paramiko and pylibssh

Error Overview

When running an Ansible playbook, you may encounter the following error message:

TASK [Show version] *****************************************
[WARNING]: ansible-pylibssh not installed, falling back to paramiko
fatal: [10.96.192.10]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "msg": "paramiko: The authenticity of host '10.96.192.10' can't be established.\nThe ssh-ed25519 key fingerprint is b'REDUCTED'."}

This error indicates a failure in SSH connection due to the inability to establish the authenticity of the host. Below, we provide a detailed explanation of the issue and steps to resolve it.

Error Explanation

1. Warning: ansible-pylibssh not installed, falling back to paramiko

• This warning means Ansible is using paramiko for SSH connections because pylibssh is not installed. While paramiko is functional, pylibssh is generally more efficient and secure.

1. Fatal Error: The authenticity of host '10.96.192.10' can't be established.

• This error occurs when the SSH client cannot verify the host’s identity because the host key is not in…