Ansible Configuration Management

Step 8 of the DevOps Roadmap

Learn what is configuration management. Understand roles, playbooks, inventory management and automation. Write some automation scripts e.g. db backup.

Why Ansible for DevOps?

Configuration management with Ansible provides:

• Agentless automation for any system
• Declarative configuration as code
• Consistent server configurations across environments
• Automated application deployment and updates
• Simplified orchestration of complex workflows

What You'll Learn

Configuration Management Fundamentals

• Configuration Management Concepts

  • Infrastructure drift and compliance
  • Idempotent operations
  • Configuration as Code principles
  • Push vs Pull-based systems

• Ansible Architecture

  • Ansible control node setup
  • SSH-based communication
  • Python and module system
  • Ansible Galaxy ecosystem

Ansible Core Components

• Inventory Management

  • Static and dynamic inventories
  • Host groups and variables
  • Inventory plugins and sources
  • AWS EC2 dynamic inventory

• Playbooks & Tasks

  • YAML syntax and structure
  • Task execution and handlers
  • Conditional execution
  • Error handling and debugging

Advanced Playbook Development

• Variables & Templates

  • Variable precedence and scoping
  • Jinja2 templating engine
  • Facts gathering and custom facts
  • Vault for sensitive data

• Control Flow

  • Loops and iterations
  • Conditional statements
  • Block and rescue constructs
  • Delegation and local actions

Ansible Roles

• Role Development

  • Role directory structure
  • Task, handler, and variable organization
  • Default values and dependencies
  • Role testing strategies

• Role Management

  • Ansible Galaxy usage
  • Private role repositories
  • Role versioning and updates
  • Community role evaluation

Automation Patterns

• Server Configuration

  • Package management
  • Service configuration
  • User and security setup
  • System hardening automation

• Application Deployment

  • Application installation
  • Configuration templating
  • Rolling deployments
  • Blue-green deployment strategies

Ansible Vault & Security

• Secrets Management

  • Ansible Vault encryption
  • Multiple vault passwords
  • External secret integration
  • Security best practices

• Privileged Access

  • Become methods and escalation
  • SSH key management
  • Sudo configuration
  • Security auditing

Hands-on Projects

Project 1: Web Server Automation

Build complete web server setup:

• LAMP/LEMP stack installation
• Virtual host configuration
• SSL certificate management
• Automated backup procedures

Project 2: Database Cluster Management

Automate database operations:

• MySQL/PostgreSQL cluster setup
• Automated backup and restore
• Performance tuning configuration
• Monitoring integration

Project 3: Application Deployment Pipeline

Create deployment automation:

• Multi-environment deployments
• Rolling update strategies
• Rollback procedures
• Health check integration

Project 4: Infrastructure Compliance

Implement compliance automation:

• Security baseline enforcement
• Configuration drift detection
• Compliance reporting
• Remediation workflows

Course Modules

Module 1: Ansible Fundamentals

• Configuration management concepts
• Ansible installation and setup
• Inventory and basic playbooks
• Ad-hoc commands and modules

Module 2: Playbook Development

• Advanced playbook techniques
• Variables and templates
• Handlers and notifications
• Error handling strategies

Module 3: Roles & Organization

• Role development and structure
• Ansible Galaxy integration
• Testing and validation
• Best practices and patterns

Module 4: Advanced Automation

• Complex orchestration workflows
• Integration with other tools
• Performance optimization
• Troubleshooting and debugging

Lab Environment

• Multiple Linux server instances
• Various application stacks
• Network connectivity testing
• Real-world scenarios

Prerequisites

• Required: All previous DevOps courses (1-7)
• Strong Linux administration skills
• Understanding of network services
• Infrastructure automation concepts

Learning Path

This is the eighth course in the DevOps roadmap. After completing this course, continue with:

1. CI/CD with GitHub Actions - Automated deployment pipelines
2. Nginx Web Server & Load Balancing - Application delivery optimization

Tools & Technologies

• Ansible Core and Collections
• Ansible Galaxy and AWX
• Various Linux distributions
• Application servers and databases
• Monitoring and logging tools

Integration Capabilities

• Cloud Platforms

  • AWS, Azure, GCP modules
  • Dynamic inventory sources
  • Cloud resource management
  • Auto-scaling integration

• Container Platforms

  • Docker container management
  • Kubernetes resource deployment
  • Container registry integration
  • Orchestration workflows

Monitoring & Observability

• Configuration change tracking
• Playbook execution monitoring
• Performance metrics collection
• Integration with monitoring tools

Advanced Topics

• Custom Module Development

  • Python module creation
  • Module testing and documentation
  • Community contribution
  • Plugin development

• Ansible Tower/AWX

  • Web-based automation platform
  • Role-based access control
  • Job scheduling and workflows
  • API integration

Real-world Applications

• Server provisioning automation
• Application configuration management
• Security compliance enforcement
• Disaster recovery procedures
• Multi-cloud orchestration

Industry Integration

• GitOps workflows with Ansible
• CI/CD pipeline integration
• Infrastructure testing automation
• Compliance and governance
• Change management processes

Certification

Upon completion, you'll receive a certificate demonstrating your Ansible configuration management expertise essential for automated DevOps operations.

Automate everything with Ansible configuration management!