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Experiment 7

The document provides a comprehensive guide to using Ansible for configuration management, covering key concepts such as inventory, playbooks, and modules. It details the steps for installing Ansible on Ubuntu, including setting up the control node, configuring SSH keys, and creating an inventory file. Additionally, it includes instructions for testing connections and creating a basic playbook to automate tasks on managed servers.

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3 views6 pages

Experiment 7

The document provides a comprehensive guide to using Ansible for configuration management, covering key concepts such as inventory, playbooks, and modules. It details the steps for installing Ansible on Ubuntu, including setting up the control node, configuring SSH keys, and creating an inventory file. Additionally, it includes instructions for testing connections and creating a basic playbook to automate tasks on managed servers.

Uploaded by

notfairksd
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment 7: Configuration Management with Ansible: Basics of

Ansible: Inventory, Playbooks, and Modules, Automating Server


Configurations with Playbooks, Hands-On: Writing and Running a
Basic Playbook

1. Introduction to Ansible

What Is Ansible?
Ansible is an open-source IT automation and configuration management tool. It allows you to
manage multiple servers and perform tasks such as:
Configuration Management: Automate the configuration of servers.
Application Deployment: Deploy applications consistently.
Orchestration: Coordinate complex IT workflows and processes.
Key Concepts in Ansible
Inventory:
An inventory is a file (usually in INI or YAML format) that lists the hosts (or groups of
hosts) you want to manage. It tells Ansible which machines to target.
Playbook:
A playbook is a YAML file that defines a set of tasks to be executed on your target hosts.
It is the heart of Ansible automation. In a playbook, you specify:
o Hosts: The target machines (or groups) on which the tasks should run.
o Tasks: A list of actions (using modules) that should be executed.
o Modules: Reusable, standalone scripts that perform specific actions (e.g.,
installing packages, copying files, configuring services).
Modules:
Ansible comes with a large collection of built-in modules (such as apt, yum, copy,
service, etc.). These modules perform specific tasks on target hosts. You can also
write custom modules

Agentless: Ansible uses SSH to communicate with target hosts, so no agent needs to
be installed on them.
Simplicity: Playbooks use simple YAML syntax, making them easy to write and
understand.
Idempotence: Ansible tasks are idempotent, meaning running the same playbook
multiple times yields the same result, ensuring consistency.
Scalability: Ansible can manage a small number of servers to large infrastructures
with hundreds or thousands of nodes.

2. Installing Ansible on Ubuntu


STEP 1: Configure Ansible Control Node

The Ansible control node is a system used to connect to and manage Ansible host servers.
Proceed with the steps below to set up the control node on the main
server:
1. Create an administrator-level user for the control node. Use the adduser
command:

sudo adduser username

2. When prompted, define a strong account password.

Optionally, provide more details about the user by answering questions. Press
Enter to skip a question.
3. Use the following usermod command to assign superuser privileges to the
account:
sudo usermod -aG sudo username
A membership in the sudo group allows the user to utilize the sudo command to
perform administrative tasks.
4. Switch to the newly created user on the control node:
sudo su username

Note: The Ansible control node can be a dedicated server, a local machine, or a virtual
machine running Ubuntu.

STEP 2: Set up an SSH Key pair


The Ansible control node uses SSH to connect to hosts. Generate an SSH key pair for the
Ansible user by executing the following steps:
1. Enter the command below using the Ansible control node command line:
ssh-keygen

Note: If an SSH key pair with the same name already exists, SSH displays a warning asking
the user to decide whether to overwrite it. Overwriting makes the previous SSH key pair
unusable, so ensure the old keys are no longer needed before confirming.

2. When prompted, provide a passphrase. While adding a strong passphrase is


recommended, pressing Enter allows the user to skip the passphrase creation. The system
generates the public/private key pair and prints the randomart image.

STEP 3: Configure an Ansible Host

Ansible hosts are remote servers managed by the Ansible control node. Each
host must have the control node's SSH public key into authorized_keys directory.
Apply the steps below for each new Ansible host:
1. Use the following ssh-copy-id command on the control node to copy the public
key to a host:
ssh-copy-id username@remote-host
Replace [username] with an existing administrative user on the host system and
[remote-host] with the remote host domain or IP address. For example, to copy
the key to the user ansible on the host with the local IP address 192.168.0.81,
type:
2. Type yes and hit Enter when asked whether to continue connecting to an
authenticated host.
3. Enter the remote host account password.

The utility uploads the public key to the remote host account.

STEP4 : Install Ansible

Use the APT package manager to install the Ansible package on the control node
system:
1. Ensure the package index is up to date
sudo apt update
2. Install Ansible on Ubuntu with the following command:
sudo apt install ansible –y

STEP 5: Verify the Installation

Check that Ansible was successfully installed on your Ubuntu system using the
ansible command:
ansible --version
The output displays the Ansible version number, the location of the configuration
file, the path to the executable, and other information.

STEP 6: Set up the Inventory File


Once Ansible is installed on the control node, set up an inventory file to allow Ansible to
communicate with remote hosts. The inventory file contains all the information about the
remote hosts managed through the Ansible control node.

Follow the steps below to create an inventory file on the control node:
1. Create the ansible subdirectory in the etc directory:
sudo mkdir -p /etc/ansible

2. Use a text editor such as Nano to create a file named hosts:


sudo nano /etc/ansible/hosts
3. Add localhost that the control node will manage. Use the following format:
[local]
localhost ansible_connection=local
The [local] line allows for the creation of categories to organize local hosts. The
following example adds a local host using its local IP address 192.168.0.81 and
sorts it into the servers category:

4. Save the file and exit.


5. Enter the command below to check the items in the inventory:
ansible-inventory --list -y
The output lists the hosts:

STEP 7: Test the Connection


To ensure the Ansible control node can connect to the local hosts and run commands, use
the following ansible command to ping the hosts from the
control node:
sudo ansible all -m ping
Note: When a user connects to the remote hosts for the first time, Ansible asks for
confirmation that the hosts are authentic. To confirm the authenticity, enter yes when
prompted.

The output confirms the successful connection.

The Ansible control node is now set up to control the connected remote hosts.

STEP 8: Create a sample playbook called HelloWorld.yml and type the following

Save the file and exit


Run the program as ansible-playbook HelloWorld.yml
And note down the output.

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