Among the many configuration management tools available, Ansible has some distinct advantages—it’s minimal in nature, you don’t need to install anything on your nodes, and it has an easy learning curve. This practical guide shows you how to be productive with this tool quickly, whether you’re a developer deploying code to production or a system administrator looking for a better automation solution. Author Lorin Hochstein shows you how to write playbooks (Ansible’s configuration management scripts), manage remote servers, and explore the tool’s real power: built-in declarative modules. You’ll discover that Ansible has the functionality you need and the simplicity you desire. Understand how Ansible differs from other configuration management systems Use the YAML file format to write your own playbooks Learn Ansible’s support for variables and facts Work with a complete example to deploy a non-trivial application Use roles to simplify and reuse playbooks Make playbooks run faster with ssh multiplexing, pipelining, and parallelism Deploy applications to Amazon EC2 and other cloud platforms Use Ansible to create Docker images and deploy Docker containers
Use Ansible to configure your systems, deploy software, and orchestrate advanced IT tasks Key FeaturesGet familiar with the fundamentals of Ansible 2.7Understand how to use Ansible Tower to scale your IT automationGain insights into how to develop and test Ansible playbooks Book Description Ansible is an open source automation platform that assists organizations with tasks such as application deployment, orchestration, and task automation. With the release of Ansible 2.7, even complex tasks can be handled much more easily than before. Learning Ansible 2.7 will help you take your first steps toward understanding the fundamentals and practical aspects of Ansible by introducing you to topics such as playbooks, modules, and the installation of Linux, Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), and Windows support. In addition to this, you will focus on various testing strategies, deployment, and orchestration to build on your knowledge. The book will then help you get accustomed to features including cleaner architecture, task blocks, and playbook parsing, which can help you to streamline automation processes. Next, you will learn how to integrate Ansible with cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) before gaining insights into the enterprise versions of Ansible, Ansible Tower and Ansible Galaxy. This will help you to use Ansible to interact with different operating systems and improve your working efficiency. By the end of this book, you will be equipped with the Ansible skills you need to automate complex tasks for your organization. What you will learnCreate a web server using Ansible Write a custom module and test it Deploy playbooks in the production environment Troubleshoot networks using Ansible Use Ansible Galaxy and Ansible Tower during deployment Deploy an application with Ansible on AWS, Azure and DigitalOceanWho this book is for This beginner-level book is for system administrators who want to automate their organization's infrastructure using Ansible 2.7. No prior knowledge of Ansible is required
Ansible is a simple, but powerful, server and configuration management tool. Learn to use Ansible effectively, whether you manage one server--or thousands.
This book is your concise guide to Ansible, the simple way to automate apps and IT infrastructure. In less than 250 pages, this book takes you from knowing nothing about configuration management to understanding how to use Ansible in a professional setting. You will learn how to create an Ansible playbook to automatically set up an environment, ready to install an open source project. You’ll extract common tasks into roles that you can reuse across all your projects, and build your infrastructure on top of existing open source roles and modules that are available for you to use. You will learn to build your own modules to perform actions specific to your business. By the end you will create an entire cluster of virtualized machines, all of which have your applications and all their dependencies installed automatically. Finally, you'll test your Ansible playbooks. Ansible can do as much or as little as you want it to. Ansible: From Beginner to Pro will teach you the key skills you need to be an Ansible professional. You’ll be writing roles and modules and creating entire environments without human intervention in no time at all – add it to your library today. What You Will Learn Learn why Ansible is so popular and how to download and install it Create a playbook that automatically downloads and installs a popular open source project Use open source roles to complete common tasks, and write your own specific to your business Extend Ansible by writing your own modules Test your infrastructure using Test Kitchen and ServerSpec Who This Book Is For Developers that currently create development and production environments by hand. If you find yourself running apt-get install regularly, this book is for you. Ansible adds reproducibility and saves you time all at once. Ansible: From Beginner to Pro is great for any developer wanting to enhance their skillset and learn new tools.
Learn how to write and run Ansible Playbooks, from the basics to launching complex multi-tier applications across public cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure Key Features Write roles to automate everything, from basic apps to the entire cloud infrastructure Leverage Ansible's module ecosystem to streamline tasks across cloud platforms, operating systems, and apps Adopt DevOps practices and integrate Ansible with CI/CD platforms to streamline automation workflows Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook Book DescriptionAre you tired of manually deploying and managing your infrastructure and looking for ways to streamline your deployments, introduce consistency and collaboration, and save time? If so, then Learn Ansible is for you. Written by a DevOps practitioner and system administrator with 30+ years of experience, this book will teach you how to automate repetitive tasks and effortlessly manage several resources from a single code base. From installing Ansible and writing your first playbook to deploying multi-tier applications across different cloud platforms, this book will take you on an exciting learning journey. By learning the art of defining highly available cloud infrastructure using code, you’ll find it easy to distribute configurations alongside your application. You’ll explore Ansible Galaxy, learn about community-contributed Ansible roles, and discover how to create and share your own roles. Later, the book delves into the capabilities of Ansible AWX and integrating Ansible with your CI/CD pipelines, using Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions. With real-world examples and hands-on tutorials, you’ll build a solid foundation to tackle any automation project. By the end of this book, you'll be able to confidently implement Ansible in your environment and day-to-day workflows, taking your deployments to the next level.What you will learn Understand how to install and configure Ansible on Linux, macOS, and Windows Write Ansible playbooks to automate system configuration and deployment Deploy applications such as LAMP stacks and WordPress using Ansible Create reusable roles and use Ansible Galaxy for sharing Automate infrastructure deployments on cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure Execute your Ansible playbooks with GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps Scan playbooks for security issues and secure systems using Ansible Centralize and manage Ansible deployments using Ansible AWX Who this book is for Learn Ansible is for system administrators, developers, and infrastructure engineers who want to implement infrastructure automation and configuration management using Ansible. The hands-on tutorials make this book ideal for both beginners as well as intermediate users looking to take their Ansible skills to the next level. Technology professionals working with public cloud platforms like AWS and Azure will also find valuable insights into automating deployments.
Master Ansible Automation and learn how to automate your apps deployment and IT infrastructure operations. Ansible is one of the most popular DevOps tools available in the IT market. Key Features Run Ansible Ad-Hoc commands. Deploy Files with Jinja2 templates. Create and run Ansible Playbooks. Use Ansible Vault to protect sensitive information. Use Ansible Galaxy to install and use Ansible roles. Learn various Ansible troubleshooting techniques. Book Description Learn Ansible Quickly is a fully practical hands-on guide for learning Ansible Automation. It will get you up and running with Ansible in no time. First, you will break the ice with Ansible by running very simple Ad-Hoc commands. Then, you will dive into the world of Ansible playbooks, variables, facts, registers, and loops. Also, you will learn how to use conditional statements in your Ansible playbooks. Moreover, you will explore how to use blocks to handle exceptions and failures in Ansible. In addition, you will get to install and use Ansible roles, so your playbooks look clean and unrepetitive. Finally, you will learn various troubleshooting techniques in Ansible. By the end of this book, you will have all the skills necessarily to develop state of the art Ansible playbooks that can automate any repetitive task you may encounter while working on Linux systems. What you will learn Run Ansible Ad-Hoc commands and Playbooks. Understand how to work with Ansible variables, Facts, Registers, and Loops. Make your Ansible Playbooks smarter with conditional statements. Use Blocks to handle exceptions and failures. Use Handlers to trigger tasks upon change. Who This Book Is For This book is an amazing preparation guide for anyone wants to pass the EX294 certification exam and become a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE). If you are tired of spending countless hours doing the same tedious task on Linux over and over again then this book is for you! Learn Ansible Quickly will teach you all the skills you need to automate borings tasks in Linux. You will be much more efficient working on Linux after reading this book, more importantly, you will get more sleep, I promise you! Learn Ansible Quickly does assume prior Linux knowledge (RHCSA Level) and that you have experience working on the Linux command line. Table of Contents Hello Ansible Running Ad-Hoc Commands Ansible Playbooks Ansible Variables, Facts, and Registers Ansible Loops Decision Making in Ansible Jinja2 Templates Ansible Vault Ansible Roles RHEL System Roles Managing Systems with Ansible Ansible Troubleshooting Final Sample Exam Knowledge Check Solutions
Design automation blueprints using Ansible's playbooks to orchestrate and manage your multi-tier infrastructure About This Book Get to grips with Ansible's features such as orchestration, automatic node discovery, and data encryption Create data-driven, modular and reusable automation code with Ansible roles, facts, variables, and templates A step-by-step approach to automating and managing system and application configurations effectively using Ansible's playbooks Who This Book Is For If you are a systems or automation engineer who intends to automate common infrastructure tasks, deploy applications, and use orchestration to configure systems in a co-ordinated manner, then this book is for you. Some understanding of the Linux/UNIX command line interface is expected. What You Will Learn Write simple tasks and plays Organize code into a reusable, modular structure Separate code from data using variables and Jinja2 templates Run custom commands and scripts using Ansible's command modules Control execution flow based on conditionals Integrate nodes and discover topology information about other nodes in the cluster Encrypt data with ansible-vault Create environments with isolated configurations to match application development workflow Orchestrate infrastructure and deploy applications in a coordinated manner In Detail Ansible combines configuration management, orchestration, and parallel command execution into a single tool. Its batteries-included approach and built-in module library makes it easy to integrate it with cloud platforms, databases, and notification services without requiring additional plugins. Playbooks in Ansible define the policies your systems under management enforce. They facilitate effective configuration management rather than running ad hoc scripts to deploy complex applications. This book will show you how to write a blueprint of your infrastructure encompassing multi-tier applications using Ansible's playbooks. Beginning with the basic concepts such as plays, tasks, handlers, inventory, and the YAML syntax that Ansible uses, you will see how to organize your code into a modular structure. Building on this, you will master techniques to create data-driven playbooks with variables, templates, logical constructs, and encrypted data. This book will also take you through advanced clustering concepts such as discovering topology information, managing multiple environments, and orchestration. By the end of this book, you will be able to design solutions to your automation and orchestration problems using playbooks quickly and efficiently. Style and approach This book follows a step-by-step approach, with the concepts explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially in the process of creating a course. A comprehensive explanation of the basic and advanced features of Ansible playbooks is also included.
Design, develop, and solve real-world automation and orchestration problems by unlocking Ansible's automation capabilities Key FeaturesCompletely revised and updated for Ansible 4.0 and beyondTackle complex automation challenges with the newly added features in AnsibleLearn about the rapidly expanding field of network automation using Ansible, with the help of practical examples for configuring network devicesBook Description Ansible is a modern, YAML-based automation tool (built on top of Python, one of the world's most popular programming languages) with a massive and ever-growing user base. Its popularity and Python underpinnings make it essential learning for all in the DevOps space. This fourth edition of Mastering Ansible provides complete coverage of Ansible automation, from the design and architecture of the tool and basic automation with playbooks to writing and debugging your own Python-based extensions. You'll learn how to build automation workflows with Ansible's extensive built-in library of collections, modules, and plugins. You'll then look at extending the modules and plugins with Python-based code and even build your own collections — ultimately learning how to give back to the Ansible community. By the end of this Ansible book, you'll be confident in all aspects of Ansible automation, from the fundamentals of playbook design to getting under the hood and extending and adapting Ansible to solve new automation challenges. What you will learnGain an in-depth understanding of how Ansible works under the hoodGet to grips with Ansible collections and how they are changing and shaping the future of AnsibleFully automate the Ansible playbook executions with encrypted dataUse blocks to construct failure recovery or cleanupExplore the playbook debugger and Ansible consoleTroubleshoot unexpected behavior effectivelyWork with cloud infrastructure providers and container systemsWho this book is for If you are an Ansible developer or operator who has a detailed understanding of its core elements and applications but are now looking to enhance your skills in applying automation using Ansible, this book is for you. Prior experience working with core system administration tasks on Linux and basic familiarity with concepts such as cloud computing, containers, network devices, and fundamentals of a high-level programming language will help you make the most of this book.
Get ready to go from the basics of using Ansible to becoming proficient at implementing configuration management in your projects. This book begins with the basics of Ansible, providing you with details on how to install and configure your environment while working with different Ansible modules from the command line. Next, it introduces you to working with Ansible tasks and organizing configuration code into playbooks. You'll then learn how to extend playbooks further, using roles and templates within the configuration code. Author Vincent Sesto then extends your knowledge further by covering custom Ansible modules using Python and Linux shell scripts and demonstrating how you can start to keep your secret values encrypted and secure using Ansible Vault. You'll also develop Ansible roles with the use of Ansible Galaxy to reuse existing roles that others have created. This updated edition reflects changes added in the latest version of Ansible (2.9). It also includes an expanded chapter on testing Ansible using Molecule and managing large server environments using applications like Ansible Tower. You will: Understand what Ansible is and how to install and run your first basic command line commands Expand your configuration management using Ansible playbooks, roles and templates Customize your code further using Ansible Vault and third-party roles in Ansible Galaxy. Work with Ansible in managing cloud infrastructure, specifically in Amazon Web Services Troubleshoot your Ansible code and use frameworks like Molecule and Testinfra to help test your code changes Manage large server environments using real-world examples and extend your configurations using an application like Ansible Tower.
Leverage the power of Ansible to gain complete control over your systems and automate application deployment Key FeaturesUse Ansible 2.9 to automate and control your infrastructureDelve into advanced functionality such as plugins and custom modules in AnsibleAutomate and orchestrate major cloud platforms such as OpenStack, AWS, and Azure using AnsibleBook Description Ansible enables you to automate software provisioning, configuration management, and application roll-outs, and can be used as a deployment and orchestration tool. While Ansible provides simple yet powerful features to automate multi-layer environments using agentless communication, it can also solve other critical IT challenges, such as ensuring continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) with zero downtime. In this book, you'll work with Ansible 2.9 and learn to solve complex issues quickly with the help of task-oriented scenarios. You'll start by installing and configuring Ansible on Linux and macOS to automate monotonous and repetitive IT tasks and get to grips with concepts such as playbooks, inventories, and network modules. As you progress, you'll gain insight into the YAML syntax and learn how to port between Ansible versions. In addition to this, you'll also understand how Ansible enables you to orchestrate multi-layer environments such as networks, containers, and the cloud. By the end of this Ansible book, you'll be well - versed in writing playbooks and other related Ansible code to overcome just about all of your IT challenges, from infrastructure-as-code provisioning to application deployments, and even handling the mundane day-to-day maintenance tasks that take up so much valuable time. What you will learnBecome familiar with the fundamentals of the Ansible frameworkSet up role-based variables and dependenciesAvoid common mistakes and pitfalls when writing automation code in AnsibleExtend Ansible by developing your own modules and pluginsContribute to the Ansible project by submitting your own codeFollow best practices for working with cloud environment inventoriesTroubleshoot issues triggered during Ansible playbook runsWho this book is for If you are a DevOps engineer, administrator, or any IT professional looking to automate IT tasks using Ansible, this book is for you. Prior knowledge of Ansible is not necessary.
