Installation and Configure Ansible on Ubuntu

Step 1: Update Your System

Ensure your system is up to date:

Copysudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

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Step 2: Install Ansible

2.1: Add Ansible PPA

Ansible is included in the Ubuntu repositories, but using the official Ansible PPA ensures you get the latest version:

Copysudo apt install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository --yes --update ppa:ansible/ansible

2.2: Install Ansible

Copysudo apt install -y ansible

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Step 3: Verify Ansible Installation

Check the installed version:

Copyansible --version

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Step 4: Configure Ansible

Ansible uses an inventory file to define the hosts it manages. By default, the inventory file is located at /etc/ansible/hosts.

4.1: Edit the Inventory File

Open the inventory file:

Copysudo nano /etc/ansible/hosts

Add managed hosts (IP addresses or domain names) to the file. For example:

Copy[webservers]
192.168.1.10
192.168.1.11

[dbservers]
192.168.1.20

Save and exit the file.

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Step 5: Test Ansible Connectivity

5.1: Ensure SSH Access

Ansible connects to managed nodes using SSH. Ensure SSH is configured:

1. Install OpenSSH server if not already installed:

   Copysudo apt install -y openssh-server
   

2. Test SSH access to a managed node:

   Copyssh username@192.168.1.10
   

5.2: Test Connection with Ansible

Use the ping module to test connectivity to all hosts:

Copyansible all -m ping

Output should indicate success:

Copy192.168.1.10 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false,
    "ping": "pong"
}

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Step 6: Create a Simple Playbook

Ansible uses playbooks (written in YAML) to define automation tasks.

6.1: Create a Playbook

Create a file named example-playbook.yml:

Copynano example-playbook.yml

Add the following content to install Apache on the webservers:

Copy- name: Install Apache on Webservers
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Install Apache
      apt:
        name: apache2
        state: present

6.2: Run the Playbook

Execute the playbook:

Copyansible-playbook example-playbook.yml

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Step 7: Optional Ansible Configuration

7.1: Change Default Configuration

Edit the Ansible configuration file:

Copysudo nano /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg

You can modify settings like:

• Default Inventory: Change the default inventory file.

• Privilege Escalation: Enable become for privilege escalation.

• Remote User: Specify the SSH user.

For example:

Copy[defaults]
inventory = /etc/ansible/hosts
remote_user = your-username

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Step 8: Common Troubleshooting Tips

1. SSH Key Authentication: Use SSH keys for passwordless authentication:

   Copyssh-keygen -t rsa
   ssh-copy-id username@192.168.1.10
   

2. Verbose Output: Run commands with -vvv to get detailed logs:

   Copyansible all -m ping -vvv
   

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With Ansible installed and configured, you can now automate tasks and manage multiple servers efficiently. Let me know if you need help with specific use cases or modules!