An super simple ansible playbook to provision a new linode server, set its hostname and FQDN, deploy a public ssh key under its root account, disable password based ssh login (changes /etc/ssh/sshd_config).
Each time you run it, it creates a NEW LINODE SERVER.
The default configuration (vars/config.yml) creates a Linode 1024 in Fremont, CA, USA.
It gives it 1GB swap (it's on SSD) and installs Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
Change variables in vars/config.yml to suit your needs.
$ export LINODE_API_KEY=4kfjh59shlhdkjhksdj00sdsTTsskklkjoiRPrbDtgHY
$ ansible-playbook --extra-vars server_hostname=hades provision.yml
After the playbook finishes, you can login via ssh as root@THE-IP-IN-THE-OUTPUT.