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Home > Cloud & Networking > Cloud Computing > OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2
OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2
OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2

OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2: Automate and monitor administrative tasks , Second Edition

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OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2

Chapter 2. Introduction to Ansible

This chapter will serve as a high-level overview of Ansible 2.0 and components that make up this open source configuration management tool. We will cover the definition of the Ansible components and their typical use. Also, we will discuss how to define variables for the roles and defining/setting facts about the hosts for the playbooks. Next, we will transition into how to set up your Ansible environment and the ways you can define the host inventory used to run your playbooks against. We will then cover some of the new components introduced in Ansible 2.0 named Blocks and Strategies. We will also discuss the cloud modules natively part of the Ansible framework. Finally, the chapter will finish up with a working example of a playbook that will confirm the required host connectivity needed to use Ansible. The following topics will be covered:

  • Ansible 2.0 overview.
  • What are playbooks, roles, and modules?
  • Setting up the environment.
  • Variables and facts...

Ansible 2.0 overview

Ansible in its simplest form has been described as a Python-based open source IT automation tool that can be used to configure\manage systems, deploy software (or almost anything), and provide orchestration to a process. These are just a few of the many possible use cases for Ansible. In my previous life as a production support infrastructure engineer, I wish such a tool would have existed. I would have surely had much more sleep and a lot less gray hairs.

One thing that always stood out to me in regard to Ansible is that the developer's first and foremost goal was to create a tool that offers simplicity and maximum ease of use. In a world filled with complicated and intricate software, keeping it simple goes a long way for most IT professionals.

Staying with the goal of keeping things simple, Ansible handles configuration/management of hosts solely through Secure Shell (SSH). Absolutely no daemon or agent is required. The server or workstation where you run...

What are playbooks, roles, and modules?

The automation code you will create to be run by Ansible is broken down in hierarchical layers. Envision a pyramid with its multiple levels of elevation. We will start at the top and discuss playbooks first.

Playbooks

Imagine that a playbook is the very topmost triangle of the pyramid. A playbook takes on the role of executing all of the lower level code contained in a role. It can also be seen as a wrapper to the roles created. We will cover the roles in the next section.

Playbooks also contain other high-level runtime parameters, such as the host(s) to run the playbook against, the root user to use, and/or if the playbook needs to be run as a sudo user. These are just a few of the many playbook parameters you can add. Following is an example of what the syntax of a playbook looks like:

--- 
# Sample playbooks structure/syntax. 
 
- hosts: dbservers 
 remote_user: root 
 become: true 
 roles: 
  - mysql-install

Tip

In the preceding example, you...

Setting up the environment

Before you can start experimenting with Ansible, you must install it first. There was no need in duplicating all the great documentation to accomplish this already created on http://docs.ansible.com/. I would encourage you to go to the following URL and choose an install method of your choice: http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/intro_installation.html.

Tip

If you are installing Ansible on Mac OS, I found using Homebrew was much simpler and consistent. More details on using Homebrew can be found at http://brew.sh. The command to install Ansible with Homebrew is brew install ansible.

Upgrading to Ansible 2.0

It is very important to note that in order to use the new features part of Ansible version 2.0, you must update the version running on your OSA deployment node. The version currently running on the deployment node is either 1.9.4 or 1.9.5. The method that seemed to work well every time is outlined here. This part is a bit experimental, so please make a note of any...

Variables and facts

Anyone who has ever attempted to create some sort of automation code, whether via bash or Perl scripts, knows that being able to define variables is an essential component. Like other programming languages Ansible does contain features such as variable substitution.

Variables

To start, let's first define the meaning of variables and use in the event this is a new concept.

Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed

Using variables allows you to set a symbolic placeholder in your automation code that you can substitute values for on each execution. Ansible accommodates defining variables within your playbooks and roles in various ways. When dealing with OpenStack and/or cloud technologies in general, being able to adjust your execution parameters on the fly is critical.

We will step through a few ways of how you can set variable placeholders in your playbooks, how to define variable values, and how you...

Ansible 2.0 overview

Ansible in its simplest form has been described as a Python-based open source IT automation tool that can be used to configure\manage systems, deploy software (or almost anything), and provide orchestration to a process. These are just a few of the many possible use cases for Ansible. In my previous life as a production support infrastructure engineer, I wish such a tool would have existed. I would have surely had much more sleep and a lot less gray hairs.

One thing that always stood out to me in regard to Ansible is that the developer's first and foremost goal was to create a tool that offers simplicity and maximum ease of use. In a world filled with complicated and intricate software, keeping it simple goes a long way for most IT professionals.

Staying with the goal of keeping things simple, Ansible handles configuration/management of hosts solely through Secure Shell (SSH). Absolutely no daemon or agent is required. The server or workstation where you run the playbooks...

What are playbooks, roles, and modules?

The automation code you will create to be run by Ansible is broken down in hierarchical layers. Envision a pyramid with its multiple levels of elevation. We will start at the top and discuss playbooks first.

Playbooks

Imagine that a playbook is the very topmost triangle of the pyramid. A playbook takes on the role of executing all of the lower level code contained in a role. It can also be seen as a wrapper to the roles created. We will cover the roles in the next section.

Playbooks also contain other high-level runtime parameters, such as the host(s) to run the playbook against, the root user to use, and/or if the playbook needs to be run as a sudo user. These are just a few of the many playbook parameters you can add. Following is an example of what the syntax of a playbook looks like:

--- 
# Sample playbooks structure/syntax. 
 
- hosts: dbservers 
 remote_user: root 
 become: true 
 roles: 
  - mysql-install 
...

Setting up the environment

Before you can start experimenting with Ansible, you must install it first. There was no need in duplicating all the great documentation to accomplish this already created on http://docs.ansible.com/. I would encourage you to go to the following URL and choose an install method of your choice: http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/intro_installation.html.

Tip

If you are installing Ansible on Mac OS, I found using Homebrew was much simpler and consistent. More details on using Homebrew can be found at http://brew.sh. The command to install Ansible with Homebrew is brew install ansible.

Upgrading to Ansible 2.0

It is very important to note that in order to use the new features part of Ansible version 2.0, you must update the version running on your OSA deployment node. The version currently running on the deployment node is either 1.9.4 or 1.9.5. The method that seemed to work well every time is outlined here. This part is a bit experimental, so please make a note of any warnings...

Variables and facts

Anyone who has ever attempted to create some sort of automation code, whether via bash or Perl scripts, knows that being able to define variables is an essential component. Like other programming languages Ansible does contain features such as variable substitution.

Variables

To start, let's first define the meaning of variables and use in the event this is a new concept.

Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed

Using variables allows you to set a symbolic placeholder in your automation code that you can substitute values for on each execution. Ansible accommodates defining variables within your playbooks and roles in various ways. When dealing with OpenStack and/or cloud technologies in general, being able to adjust your execution parameters on the fly is critical.

We will step through a few ways of how you can set variable placeholders in your playbooks, how to define variable values, and how you can...

Defining the inventory

The process of defining a collection of hosts to Ansible is named the inventory. A host can be defined using its fully qualified domain name (FQDN), local hostname, and/or its IP address. Since Ansible uses SSH to connect to the hosts, you can provide any alias for the host that the machine where Ansible is installed can understand.

Ansible expects the inventory file to be in an INI-like format and named hosts. By default, the inventory file is usually located in the /etc/ansible directory and will look as follows:

athena.example.com 
 
[ocean] 
aegaeon.example.com 
ceto.example.com 
 
[air] 
aeolus.example.com 
zeus.example.com 
apollo.example.com

Tip

Personally, I have found the default inventory file to be located in different places depending on the operating system Ansible is installed on. With that point, I prefer to use the -i command-line option when executing a playbook. This allows me to designate the specific...

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Key benefits

  • • Automate real-world OpenStack cloud operator administrative tasks
  • • Construct a collection of the latest automation code to save time on managing your OpenStack cloud
  • • Manage containers on your cloud and check the health of your cloud using Nagios

Description

Most organizations are seeking methods to improve business agility because they have realized just having a cloud is not enough. Being able to improve application deployments, reduce infrastructure downtime, and eliminate daily manual tasks can only be accomplished through some sort of automation. We start with a brief overview of OpenStack and Ansible 2 and highlight some best practices. Each chapter will provide an introduction to handling various Cloud Operator administration tasks such as managing containers within your cloud; setting up/utilizing open source packages for monitoring; creating multiple users/tenants; taking instance snapshots; and customizing your cloud to run multiple active regions. Each chapter will also supply a step-by-step tutorial on how to automate these tasks with Ansible 2. Packed with real-world OpenStack administrative tasks, this book will walk you through working examples and explain how these tasks can be automated using one of the most popular open source automation tools on the market today.

Who is this book for?

This book is aimed at OpenStack-based cloud operators and infrastructure and sys administrators who have some knowledge of OpenStack and are seeking to automate taxing and manual tasks. This book is also for people new to automating cloud operations in general and the DevOps practice in particular.

What you will learn

  • •Efficiently execute OpenStack administrative tasks
  • •Familiarize yourself with how Ansible 2 works and assess the defined best practices
  • •Create Ansible 2 playbooks and roles
  • •Automate tasks to customize your OpenStack cloud
  • •Review OpenStack automation considerations when automating administrative tasks
  • •Examine and automate advanced OpenStack tasks and designated use cases
  • •Get a high-level overview of OpenStack and current production-ready projects
  • •Explore OpenStack CLI tools and learn how to use them

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Dec 26, 2016
Length: 230 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787120136
Vendor :
OpenStack
Category :
Cloud & Networking
Concepts :
Cloud Computing
Tools :
Ansible

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Product Details

Publication date : Dec 26, 2016
Length: 230 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787120136
Vendor :
OpenStack
Category :
Cloud & Networking
Concepts :
Cloud Computing
Tools :
Ansible

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OpenStack Administration with Ansible 2
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Table of Contents

10 Chapters
1. Introduction to OpenStack Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
1. Introduction to OpenStack
An overview of OpenStack
Reviewing the OpenStack services
OpenStack supporting components
Features and benefits
Working examples – listing the services
Summary
2. Introduction to Ansible Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Introduction to Ansible
Ansible 2.0 overview
What are playbooks, roles, and modules?
Setting up the environment
Variables and facts
Defining the inventory
Blocks
Strategies
Cloud integrations
Summary
3. Creating Multiple Users/Projects Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Creating Multiple Users/Projects
Creating users and projects
Automation considerations
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
4. Customizing Your Clouds Quotas Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Customizing Your Clouds Quotas
Defining and creating quotas
Automation considerations
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
5. Snapshot Your Cloud Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Snapshot Your Cloud
Defining backups and snapshots
Automation considerations
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
6. Migrating Instances Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Migrating Instances
Instance migration
Automation considerations
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbook and role
Summary
7. Managing Containers on Your Cloud Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Managing Containers on Your Cloud
The container concept explained
Building and deploying containers
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
8. Setting Up Active-Active Regions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Setting Up Active-Active Regions
Reviewing OpenStack high availability scenarios
Why to use Active-Active cloud regions?
Setting up Active-Active cloud regions
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
9. Inventory Your Cloud Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Inventory Your Cloud
Collecting cloud metrics
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbooks and roles
Summary
10. Health Check Your Cloud with Nagios Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Health Check Your Cloud with Nagios
Monitoring the cloud
Core OpenStack services
Setting up Nagios and import checks
Coding the playbooks and roles
Reviewing playbook and role
Summary

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About the author

Profile icon Walter Bentley
Walter Bentley
Walter Bentley is a Rackspace Private Cloud Technical Marketing Engineer and author with a diverse background in production systems administration and solutions architecture. He has more than 15 years of experience in sectors such as online marketing, financial, insurance, aviation, the food industry, education, and now in technology. In the past, he was typically the requestor, consumer, and advisor to companies in the use of technologies such as OpenStack. Today, hes an OpenStack promoter and cloud educator. In his current role, Walter helps customers build, design, and deploy private clouds built on OpenStack. That includes professional services engagements around operating OpenStack clouds and DevOps engagements creating playbooks/roles with Ansible. He presents and speaks regularly at OpenStack Summits, AnsibleFest, and other technology conferences, plus webinars, blog posts and technical reviews. His first book, OpenStack Administration with Ansible, was released in 2016.
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