/ANSIBLE_TEMPLATE

TEMPLATE FOR ANSIBLE PROJECTS

Primary LanguageJinja

Ansible Example Project

This is a hypothetical implementation of an Ansible project to manage a complex, heterogeneous environment.

Structure

  • environments/: Contains inventory files for different environments.
  • roles/: Contains roles for different server types (app1, app2, databases).
  • main.yml: The main playbook that includes roles based on the target hosts.

How to Run

  1. Navigate to the environments/dev/ directory and edit the inventory.ini file to match your actual server IPs/hostnames.

  2. Run the playbook with the following command:

    ansible-playbook -i environments/dev/inventory.ini main.yml

Multi-Environment Support

This project also includes sample inventories for multiple environments:

  • Development (dev)
  • Pre-Production (preprod)
  • Qualification (qualification)
  • Production (prod)

To run the playbook for a specific environment, adjust the -i flag accordingly:

ansible-playbook -i environments/[env_name]/inventory.ini main.yml

New Roles and Environment-Specific Directives

Roles

  • mariadb: Ensures MariaDB is installed and securely configured.
  • nginx: Configures NGINX for load balancing and SSL.
  • react: Sets up React for frontend.
  • nestjs: Sets up NestJS for backend.

Environment-Specific Directives

  • MariaDB is installed and securely configured on hosts under the databases group.
  • NGINX is installed and configured for load balancing and SSL on hosts under the load_balancer group.
  • React is used for frontend servers under the frontend group.
  • NestJS is used for backend servers under the backend group.

The inventory files for each environment (dev, preprod, qualification, prod) include variables that control these directives.

To run the playbook for a specific environment, use the following command:

ansible-playbook -i environments/[env_name]/inventory.yml main.yml

Areas for Further Study

The main.yml playbook includes comments, indications, notes, and TODOs for areas you should explore to deepen your understanding of Ansible and DevOps practices. These areas include:

  • Variable Scope and Precedence
  • Conditionals and Loops
  • Templates and Jinja2
  • Roles and Include
  • Error Handling
  • Ansible Vault
  • Dynamic Inventory
  • Testing
  • CI/CD Integration
  • Community Resources

Refer to the main.yml playbook for specific tasks and examples to guide your further study.

Step-by-Step Guide and Considerations

Step 1: Understand the Inventory

  • Consideration: Learn how the YAML inventory is structured and how to represent different environments.

Step 2: Explore the Roles

  • Consideration: Dive into the roles directory to understand the tasks and variables associated with each role.

Step 3: Run the Playbook in a Test Environment

  • Consideration: Always test your playbook in a non-production environment first.

Step 4: Review the Playbook Output

  • Consideration: Understand what each task is doing and how to interpret the output.

Step 5: Add Custom Tasks

  • Consideration: Try adding your own tasks to the playbook for specific customizations.

Step 6: Use Ansible Vault for Sensitive Data

  • Consideration: Encrypt sensitive data like passwords and API keys using Ansible Vault.

Step 7: Dynamic Inventory

  • Consideration: Learn how to use dynamic inventories for environments that change frequently.

Step 8: Error Handling and Debugging

  • Consideration: Add error handling to your playbook and learn how to debug issues.

Step 9: Testing

  • Consideration: Use testing tools like Molecule or Ansible Lint to validate your playbook.

Step 10: CI/CD Integration

  • Consideration: Integrate Ansible into a CI/CD pipeline for automated deployments.

Refer to the main.yml playbook for specific tasks and examples that align with each step.