Ansible for Ubuntu 24.04

Ansible is a configuration management system written in Python. It allows you to automate the setup and deployment of software on VPS and dedicated servers. With Ansible, you can manage applications, configurations, and infrastructure without having to perform tasks manually on each host.

Ansible is an open-source tool used for managing software, configurations, and application deployment across multiple hosts.

Installation

First, update the package index:

sudo apt update

Install the software-properties-common package, which simplifies managing third-party repositories:

sudo apt install software-properties-common

Add the Ansible PPA repository:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ansible/ansible

Press Enter to confirm.

Update the package index again and install Ansible:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ansible

After this, Ansible will be installed on the server, providing the tools you need to manage your hosts.

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Setting up SSH access to hosts

Generate an SSH key for connecting to your hosts:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Display the SSH public key on the Ansible server:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Example output:

root@kvmde67:~# ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/root/.ssh/id_rsa): 
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
Enter same passphrase again: 
Your identification has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:Zvr1I9IfDK3wCK9K5h5KtWBtC0R2ppUtgQOB/fikhNE root@kvmde67.fornex.org
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 4096]----+
|+=o.=+           |
|ooE=o .          |
| oo+ .           |
|..o.o      .     |
| .+++ . S . .    |
| ..=.o * + +     |
|  . * . o.+ o    |
| . = . o..o...   |
|  ..+.. .. oo.   |
+----[SHA256]-----+
root@kvmde67:~# cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAACAQClTC6YhDZdHhiTj2UjDdOv5gpJufT0YKF6tnE1YwIFRrROBH8+hG7hyNlRtc7c5NGTp7fXXoVhnFRFe+thN/4ZDJ/1A44Pe91NldOBVovMlulk9RsRQqvLX8sZXLzY17i+2DINVF3aoOh6o3QEHrk3Axh+qz5DUYvJ70wM6GM40szUBf0wpA1GwoUaOmT4oZVDN6xRT05k++DGcik/EgwWy8hWK8hW8fmg5kXiWSvslLM8i/URaFFtTiFrna1NB75Rbl9brMLc3xMwUzqXRnohRBGbP/M7Js7HoaiS3yHqxIeo2JPVfdmxwpdCB2y14FTG0GU7gTeEOg6BUYNsSlU6IKv593RIGZ9hyPGnDiTZd3jgaOdOoYTKiHWj23zlrqqwSWbNQ== root@kvmde67.fornex.org

Copy the key to each host that will be managed by Ansible:

ssh-copy-id user_name@ip-address

Example:

ssh-copy-id root@5.187.2.32

Open the Ansible configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/ansible/hosts

Define a group [group_name] with your servers:

[group_name] 
server1 ansible_host=your_server_ip_1
server2 ansible_host=your_server_ip_2

[group_name:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

Example:

[servers]
server1 ansible_host=5.187.2.32
server2 ansible_host=5.187.5.236

[servers:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

Save the file and exit (CTRL + X, Y, Enter).

apt-get install python python-apt

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Testing the connection

By default, Ansible connects to remote hosts as the root user. If you use a different user, additional configuration is required.

Create a directory for YAML files for each group:

sudo mkdir /etc/ansible/group_vars

Create a subdirectory with your group name:

sudo nano /etc/ansible/group_vars/group_name

Example:

sudo nano /etc/ansible/group_vars/servers

Specify the user to connect as:

---
ansible_user: user_name

Save the changes.

To test the connection, run the ping module:

ansible -m ping all

Example output:

server1 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false, 
    "ping": "pong"
}
server2 | SUCCESS => {
    "changed": false, 
    "ping": "pong"
}