Skip to content

Ansible Playbooks Integration

This guide explains how to deploy Ansible playbooks to a remote server, step by step, and highlights the benefits of using Ansible's declarative approach compared to imperative integration.

Deploying Ansible Playbooks

Step 1: Set Up Your Ansible Environment

  • Install Ansible on your local machine. For most systems, you can use: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install ansible -y   # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install ansible                        # CentOS/RHEL
  • Verify the installation:
ansible --version
  • Ensure your ansible directory is organized with subdirectories for each operating system and that playbooks are correctly configured.

Step 2: Prepare the Remote Server

  • Confirm the remote server has SSH access enabled.
  • Ensure the required user account has the necessary permissions for deployment.
  • Verify that Python is installed on the remote server (required for Ansible): 
    python3 --version

Step 3: Configure the Inventory

  • Navigate to the appropriate operating system’s directory (e.g., ansible/ubuntu/).
  • Update the inventory.yaml file with the remote server’s details.

Example inventory.yaml:

all:
  hosts:
    my_remote_server:
      ansible_host: 192.168.1.100
      ansible_user: ubuntu
      ansible_ssh_private_key_file: /path/to/private/key.pem

Step 4: Test Connectivity

  • Test the connection to the remote server using Ansible's ping module: 
    ansible -i inventory.yaml all -m ping
  • A successful test will return: 
    my_remote_server | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}

Step 5: Run the Playbook

  • Run the desired playbook with the following command: 
    ansible-playbook -i inventory.yaml playbook_name.yaml
  • Replace playbook_name.yaml with the name of the playbook you wish to execute (e.g., installDocker.yaml).

Step 6: Monitor the Output

  • Ansible will log the progress of each task in real time.
  • Ensure that all tasks complete successfully. If any tasks fail, review the error message and make the necessary adjustments.

Benefits of Using Ansible vs. Imperative Integration

1. Declarative Approach

  • Ansible: Describes the desired state of the system (e.g., "ensure Docker is installed and running").

  • The system’s current state is evaluated, and only necessary changes are applied.

  • Ensures idempotency, meaning repeated runs won’t cause unintended changes.

  • Imperative Integration: Requires specifying each step in detail.

  • Re-running scripts can lead to errors or duplicates.

2. Simplicity and Readability

  • Ansible uses human-readable YAML syntax, making it easy to understand and maintain.
  • Imperative scripts often involve complex logic, which can be harder to debug.

3. Modular and Reusable

  • Ansible allows modular playbooks and reusable roles for different environments.
  • Imperative scripts need significant effort to adapt for new scenarios.

4. Agentless Architecture

  • Ansible is agentless, requiring no additional software on remote servers.
  • Imperative tools may rely on agents, increasing maintenance.

5. Automation at Scale

  • Ansible supports managing multiple servers simultaneously.
  • Imperative methods scale poorly due to their linear approach.

6. Built-In Error Handling

  • Ansible includes built-in error handling and rollback mechanisms.
  • Imperative scripts require custom error handling, adding complexity.

By following these steps and leveraging Ansible's capabilities, you can streamline infrastructure management, automate deployments, and maintain consistent configurations across your environments.

 I s o m e t r i c   C i t i e s  -  M e t r o p o l i a
          -------------------------------------------------------

                  ________            _______
         /\ \ \ \/_______/     ______/\      \  /\ \/ /\ \/ /\  \_____________
        /\ \ \ \/______ /     /\    /:\\      \ ::\  /::\  /::\ /____  ____ __
       /\ \ \ \/_______/     /:\\  /:\:\\______\::/  \::/  \::///   / /   //
      /\ \ \ \/_______/    _/____\/:\:\:/_____ / / /\ \/ /\ \///___/ /___//___
_____/___ \ \/_______/    /\::::::\\:\:/_____ / \ /::\  /::\ /____  ____  ____
         \ \/_______/    /:\\::::::\\:/_____ /   \\::/  \::///   / /   / /   /
          \/_______/    /:\:\\______\/______/_____\\/ /\ \///___/ /___/ /_____
\          \______/    /:\:\:/_____:/\      \ ___ /  /::\ /____  ____  _/\::::
\\__________\____/    /:\:\:/_____:/:\\      \__ /_______/____/_/___/_ /  \:::
//__________/___/   _/____:/_____:/:\:\\______\ /                     /\  /\::
///\          \/   /\ .----.\___:/:\:\:/_____ // \                   /  \/  \:
///\\          \  /::\\ \_\ \\_:/:\:\:/_____ //:\ \                 /\  /\  /\
//:/\\          \//\::\\ \ \ \\/:\:\:/_____ //:::\ \               /  \/  \/+/
/:/:/\\_________/:\/:::\`----' \\:\:/_____ //o:/\:\ \_____________/\  /\  / /
:/:/://________//\::/\::\_______\\:/_____ ///\_\ \:\/____________/  \/  \/+/\
/:/:///_/_/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /:/_____ ///\//\\/:/ _____  ____/\  /\  / /  \
:/:///_/_/_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//:/______/_/ :~\/::/ /____/ /___/  \/  \/+/\  /
/:///_/_/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /:/____/\  / \\:\/:/ _____  ____/\  /\  / /  \/
:///_/_/_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//:/____/\:\____\\::/ /____/ /___/  \/  \/+/\  /\
///_/_/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /:/____/\:\/____/\\/____________/\  /\  / /  \/  \
//_/_/_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//::::::/\:\/____/  /----/----/--/  \/  \/+/\  /\  /
/_/_/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /\:::::/\:\/____/ \/____/____/__/\  /\  / /  \/  \/_
_/_/_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//\:\::::\:\/____/ \_____________/  \/  \/+/\  /\  /
/_/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /\:\:\::::\/____/   \ _ _ _ _ _ /\  /\  / /  \/  \/___
_/_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//\:\:\:\              \_________/  \/  \/+/\  /\  /   /
/_/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /\:\:\:\:\______________\       /\  /\  / /  \/  \/___/_
_/_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//::\:\:\:\/______________/      /  \/  \/+/\  /\  /   /
/_/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /::::\:\:\/______________/\     /\  /\  / /  \/  \/___/___
_//\::/\:\///_/ /_//:\::::\:\/______________/  \   /  \/  \/+/\  /\  /   /   /
/:\/::\ \:/__  __ /:\:\::::\/______________/    \ /\  /\  / /  \/  \/___/___/
/\::/\:\///_/ /_//:\:\:\                         \  \/\\\/+/\  /\  /   /   /+/
\/::\ \:/__  __ /:\:\:\:\_________________________\ ///\\\/  \/  \/___/___/ /_
::/\:\///_/ /_//:\:\:\:\/_________________________////::\\\  /\  /   /   /+/
::\ \:/__  __ /:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:\/____\\\/  \/___/___/ /___
/\:\///_/ /_//:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:::\    /\/\  /   /   /+/   /
\ \:/__  __ /:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:::::\  ///  \/___/___/ /___/_
:\///_/ /_//:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:\:::::\///\  /   /  __________
\:/__  __ /:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:::\:::::\/  \/___/__/\
///_/ /_//:\:\:\:\/_________________________/:\:::\:::::\  /   /  /::\
/__  __ /\::\:\:\/_________________________/_____::\:::::\/___/__/:/\:\
/_/ /_//::\::\:\/_____________________/\/_/_/_/_/\  \           /::\ \:\
_  __ /:\::\:8\/_____________________/\/\   /\_\\/\  \ 8       /:/\:\ \:\
/ /_//\     \|______________________//\\/\::\/__\\/\  \|______/::\ \:\ \:\
 __ /  \  \                        /:\/:\/\_______\/\        /:/\:\ \:\/::\
/_//    8      -8  --  --  --  -- //\::/\\/_/_/_/_/_/ --  --/::\ \:\ \::/\:\
_ /     |\  \   |________________/:\/::\///__/ /__//_______/:/\:\ \:\/::\ \:\
__________\     \               //\::/\:/___  ___ /       /::\ \:\ \::/\:\ \:\
::::::::::\\  \  \             /:\/::\///__/ /__//       /:/\:\ \:\/::\ \:\ \: