Introduction to Ansible and Configuration Management

Ansible is an open-source tool for configuration management, automation, and deployment. Developed by Red Hat, Ansible allows IT teams to manage infrastructure as code, ensuring systems are configured consistently and predictably.

Why configuration management matters: Manual configuration of servers is error-prone and time-consuming. Configuration management tools like Ansible automate this process, enabling reproducible setups and minimizing downtime.

How Ansible works:

  • Uses simple YAML files called playbooks to define tasks.
  • Communicates over SSH (no agent required).
  • Works on Linux, macOS, and even Windows (with additional setup).
  • Supports idempotency, ensuring the same task can run multiple times without side effects.

Ansible structure:

  • Inventory file: Lists managed hosts.
  • Modules: Perform tasks (e.g., install packages, start services).
  • Playbooks: Contain the logic and sequence of actions.

Example task:

yamlКопироватьРедактировать- name: Install NGINX
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Install nginx
      apt:
        name: nginx
        state: present

Use cases include:

  • Automating server provisioning.
  • Deploying web applications.
  • Setting up CI/CD pipelines.
  • Managing Docker containers and cloud environments.

Ansible is favored for its simplicity and low overhead. If you’re getting started with DevOps or infrastructure automation, Ansible is a great tool to begin with.

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