Ansible-AWX

Prerequisites

Software Requirements

• 2 or 3 servers
• 10.5.5.20 Ansible AWX
• Ansible version 2.4+
• 10.5.5.21 lemp
• Docker and Docker python module
• Node 10.x LTS version
• Git version 1.8.4+
• Root privileges
• NPM 6.x LTS

System Requirements

Minimum 4 GB of RAM

Dual-core CPU with 3.4 GHz Clock Speed 

20 GB of free hard disk space

Configuration

Here are some instructions for deploying and running the Ansible playbook for a basic LEMP installation via the Ansible AWX dashboard.

Step 1: First Step is to install the EPEL service on CentOS 8

EPEL stands for Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux. It produces, maintains, and manages a high-quality set of extra Enterprise Linux packages required by AWX. Log in as root to your CentOS 8 node and perform the following command:

dnf install epel-release-y  

 

Step 2: We need to install additional packages and dependencies required for setting up the environment

Run the following command:

dnf install git gcc gcc-c++ nodejs gettext device-mapper-persistent-data lvm2 bzip2 python3-pip  

 

Step 3: Install Docker Community Edition on CentOS 8

Run the following command to install the Docker CE:

dnf config-manager --add-repo=https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo

 

Then run :

dnf install docker-ce --nobest -y

 

To check the installed docker version, use the following command:

docker --version

 

To start Docker, run the following command:

systemctl start docker
systemctl enable docker

 

Step 4: Install Docker Compose on CentOS 8

Compose is a Docker application that allows you to define and operate multi-container applications. Run the following command to install the Docker Compose:

pip3 install docker-compose

Installation of AWX

Now, we can begin with the installation of AWX.

First, Clone the ansible awx repo using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/ansible/awx.git  

 

Configure the PostgreSQL host and password:

pg_admin_password= “Put Your Username”
admin_password= “Put Your Password.”

 

Now for security purposes, encryption is used. Therefore to generate an encryption key, run the following command:

openssl rand -base64 30  

 

Copy and paste the secret key into the inventory file's secret key entry. Save and close the inventory file.

Now, run the following command to install AWX:

ansible-playbook -i inventory install.yml 

 

Now you can access the AWX GUI Portal.

Automation

To access the AWX web console, use a browser and enter the IP address of your Ansible AWX server.

Enter the admin username and password and hit ENTER. It shows you an AWX dashboard.

Now we will learn how to deploy an automation service in ansible awx.
 

Step 1: Add credentials 

It is utilized for authentication when initiating and running tasks against managed servers, syncing with inventory sources, and importing projects. To configure credentials, go to the 'Credentials' menu on the left and click the '+' button on the right.

Now you need to add credentials for AWX Dashboard.
 

 

Step 2: Add Project Directory

Make a new project directory on the host where AWX is installed. AWX is operating on Docker containers, which are controlled via docker-compose. Create this directory on the same host that the AWX is operating on.

Run the following command in the terminal. Replace directory name as per your configuration.

mkdir “directory_name”

 

Step 3: Setup Inventory

Ansible AWX manages inventories, which are collections of host servers. You can build a group with many host servers using the inventory. It also makes managing various servers with different environments easier.

To add new inventory, navigate to the 'Inventories' menu on the left, click the '+' button and select 'Inventory.'

 

Step 4: Setup Projects

On the AWX, projects are represented as Ansible Playbooks. It is a collection of Ansible Playbooks that we may manage using a local project directory or an SCM system like Git, Subversion, Mercurial, or RedHat Insights.

Click the 'Projects' menu on the left and then the '+' button to start a new project.

 

Step 5: Create a new Template

The job template is the definition of how to run Ansible playbooks. On the left, select the 'Templates' menu, the Add '+' button, and the 'Job template' option.

Step 6: Run the Template to start a Job

After generating a new job template, we will run it and deploy the Playbooks 'Projects' to target hosts in the 'Inventory.'

Click the 'Templates' option to see a list of possible job templates.

And that’s how to automate a Job using Ansible AWX.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ansible?

Ansible is a free and open-source IT automation technology that automates provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, orchestration, and other manual IT tasks.

What is AWX?

AWX stands for Ansible WorX. AWX is a web application that is open source and provides a user interface, REST API, and task engine for Ansible.

What are ansible playbooks?

Ansible Playbooks are collections of tasks that run automatically against hosts. Your Ansible inventory is made up of groups of hosts. Each module in an Ansible Playbook is responsible for a specific task.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has helped you enhance your Knowledge about Ansible AWX, how we can configure Ansible AWX, how to install it, and how to manage automation using the Ansible AWX dashboard.

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