Ansible: 5 Things You Should Know!

Ansible is a tool for IT automation. It is capable of configuring systems, deploying software, and orchestrating more complex IT processes such as continuous deployments and zero-downtime rolling upgrades.

The primary aims of Ansible are simplicity and usability. It also has a significant emphasis on security and stability, with a minimal number of moving elements, the use of OpenSSH for transport (with other transports and pull modes as options), and a language built for even individuals who are unfamiliar with the programme.

Ansible mostly use the push technique.

Ansible has no agents.

USE CASES

Provisioning

Configuration Management

App Deployment

Continuous Delivery

Security & Compliance

Orchestration

INTEGRATIONS

Infrastructure

Networks

Containers

Cloud

DevOps Tools

5 Things You Should Know About Ansible

1. Ansible Playbooks

Playbooks are the files that contain Ansible code. Playbooks are authored in the YAML language. YAML is an abbreviation for "YAML Ain't Markup Language." Playbooks are one of Ansible's basic features that instruct it what to do. They function similarly to a to-do list for Ansible, including a list of tasks.

The Various YAML Tags in a Playbook

• Name

• Hosts

• Vars

• Tasks

A Sample playbook

---
- name: install nginx webserver
  hosts: WebServer
  become: yes
  tasks:
  - name: nginx installation
    yum:
      name: nginx
      state: present

2. Ansible Modules

Modules are independent bits of code that may be utilised from the command line or in a playbook job. Ansible runs each module, often on the distant target node, and gathers the results. Each module is executed on the target system via Ansible.

Modules can be run from the command line:

ansible WebServer -m service -a "name=nginx state=started"

YAML is another method for passing parameters to a module.

- name: restart webserver
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: restarted

Examples of modules are including:

• Command Module

• Shell Module

• Copy Module

• File Module

3. Ansible Variables

The use of variables in playbooks is quite similar to the use of variables in any programming language. It enables you to utilise and assign a value to a variable, which you can then use elsewhere in the script. Conditions can be placed around variable values and used in the script accordingly.

• Variables in the playbook can be defined.

• Variables can be specified in a separate file.

• A host inventory file can be used to specify variables.

Example:

---
- hosts: all
  become: true
  vars:
    doc_root: /var/www/example
  tasks:
    - name: Update apt
      apt: update_cache=yes    
    - name: Install Apache
      apt: name=apache2 state=latest
    - name: Create custom document root
      file: path={{ doc_root }} state=directory owner=www-data

4. Ansible Roles

The role is the basic method in Ansible for dividing a playbook into numerous files. This simplifies the creation of complicated playbooks and makes them more reusable. The playbook breaking feature allows you to logically divide the playbook into reusable components.

Each role is essentially restricted to a certain capability or desired result.

Creating a new role:

$ ansible-galaxy init demo-role
$ tree demo-role/ 
manojrole/ 
├── defaults 
│   └── main.yml 
├── files ├── handlers 
│   └── main.yml 
├── meta 
│   └── main.yml 
├── README.md ├── tasks 
│   └── main.yml 
├── templates ├── tests │   ├── inventory 
│   └── test.yml 
└── vars 
    └── main.yml

5. Ansible Vault

Ansible Vault is a feature that allows you to store sensitive data like passwords or keys in encrypted files rather than plaintext in playbooks or roles. These vault files can then be distributed or centralised.

Creating Encrypted Files

ansible-vault create my_vault.yml

Editing Encrypted Files

ansible-vault edit my_vault.yml

Encrypting Unencrypted Files

ansible-vault encrypt my_vault.yml

Decrypting Encrypted Files

ansible-vault decrypt my_vault.yml

Viewing Encrypted Files

ansible-vault view my_vault.yml

Conclusion:

So these are the first few items you should include in your ansible playbook. Ansible can be a lot of fun to learn and use. There's a lot more to it, but this should get you started.