Ansible Automation and Configuration Management

What Will You Learn?

• 1. Understand Configuration Management & Automation
• What Ansible is and how it fits into DevOps
• Why automation matters for modern IT environments
• The difference between manual, script-based, and declarative management
• 2. Set Up Ansible and Your Environment
• Install Ansible on Linux/macOS/WSL
• Set up inventories of remote machines (static and dynamic)
• Use SSH keys and Ansible control nodes effectively
• 3. Write and Run Ansible Playbooks
• Create YAML-based playbooks to define tasks and configurations
• Manage services, install software, and push code
• Organize tasks with handlers, tags, and roles
• 4. Use Ansible Modules
• Use built-in modules for:
• Packages (apt, yum)
• Users and groups
• Files, directories, permissions
• Services (start, stop, enable)
• Commands and shell scripts
• Find and use third-party modules from Ansible Galaxy
• 5. Manage Multiple Systems at Once
• Configure dozens or hundreds of systems in parallel
• Group hosts by environment, location, or role
• Apply changes to only specific groups or tagged machines
• 6. Reuse and Structure Your Code with Roles
• Break large playbooks into reusable, modular roles
• Use Ansible Galaxy to download or share roles
• Manage role dependencies and defaults
• 7. Use Variables, Templates, and Facts
• Define and override variables (host, group, global)
• Use facts to get dynamic data about systems (e.g., OS, IP)
• Build dynamic config files with Jinja2 templates
• 8. Secure Sensitive Data with Ansible Vault
• Encrypt passwords, API keys, and secret files
• Use Vault IDs and password files securely in automation
• 9. Automate Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Provision and configure cloud servers with Ansible modules
• Use dynamic inventories to manage cloud resources
• Automate cloud app deployments
• 10. Debug, Test, and Validate Playbooks
• Use --check, --diff, debug, and register
• Dry-run tasks without making changes
• Test Ansible roles using tools like Molecule (advanced)
• 11. Use Ansible Tower or AWX (Optional)
• Manage playbooks via web UI and API
• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Job scheduling and audit logging
• 12. Deploy Real-World Projects
• By the end of the course, you’ll be able to automate tasks like:
• LAMP/LEMP stack deployment
• Docker or Kubernetes environment provisioning
• CI/CD pipeline integration
• Multi-tier app configuration and deployment
• By the End of the Course, You Will Be Able To:
• Automate repetitive admin tasks confidently
• Write reusable, secure, and scalable Ansible playbooks
• Manage infrastructure for multiple environments (dev, test, prod)
• Work with Ansible professionally in DevOps or SRE roles