Automating your infrastructure is a benefit for the company. Learn how to deliver stable functionality, reduce repetitive work, and enable swift recovery through declarative automation of operations using ansible playbooks .Ansible is one of the greatest automation tools, with its modular system it supports a wide range of cloud, network, and operating systems. This makes it usable for almost any task in any team. Ansible playbooks are written in YAML in a declarative format, making it easy to write and read.

In this two-day class filled with Hands-on labs you will learn

• How to use the tools for creating playbooks
• How to use Git and GitHub to manage and collaborate with others
• How to manage Linux and Windows Server with playbooks
• How to write advanced playbooks with variables, loops, facts, conditions and more
• How to create roles to split the tasks into reusable bits
• How to secure passwords and secrets with ansible vault
• How to manage Microsoft Azure with playbooks
• How to use the Rest API and GUI in AWX (Automation Platform)

After the class you will have the skills to automate your infrastructure

Knowledge about general IT administration in Windows Server, Linux, Virtualization, Network and Cloud

Software used in the course can run on Windows, Linux or Mac OSX

Software used in the course

• Microsoft VS-Code
• Git
• SSH Client
• Browser

Lab 1 – Install Lab

Deploy Lap in Azure

Configure Workstation

• VSCode

• Extensions: Ansible, Indent by One, Indent Rainbow

• Git
• WSL2

Lab 2 – Install Ansible

Install ansible in a python virtual environment.

Connect to linux hosts with ssh

Connect to Windows hosts with WinRM

Explore Ansible Collections

Lab 3 – Ansible Playbooks

Clone Git Repository

Create the first playbook.

Use ansible-lint in VSCode

Lab 4 – Ansible Vault

Use ansible vault to encrypt secrets and passwords.

Use a yaml based inventory with encrypted data.

Lab 5 – Work with playbooks

Use advanced features in your playbook.

• Variables and lists
• Register and conditions.
• Handlers
• Facts and debug
• Loops
• Loops Async

Lab 6 – Work with playbooks part 2

Continue with the advanced features.

• Stat module
• Shell module
• Task delegation
• Lookup
• Block
• Tags

Lab 7 – Ansible Roles

How to use and create roles

Lab 8 – Ansible Windows

Create host groups in the inventory.

Create an Active Directory Domain controller.

Create users and groups in Active Directory

Add a member server to Active Directory

Lab 9 – Ansible Cloud

Manage Microsoft Azure with ansible.

Install prerequisites.

Create credentials for Azure.

Create resources in Azure.

• Resource group
• Network
• Public Ip
• Nic
• Security group
• Virtual Machines

Create a dynamic Inventory.

Install webserver on a virtual machine targeted from the dynamic inventory

Lab 10 – Ansible AWX

Configure and manage AWX.

• Modify AWX from a playbook.
• Create Inventory and Credentials.
• Create templates.
• Create Workflow templates.
• Create Dynamic inventory.
• Create an online survey.
• Run the workflow from the UI.

Software used:

Windows 11

Redhat Enterprise Linux 8

Windows Server 2019

Visual Studio Code

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2)

Git

SSH

Docker

VI

Ansible

Ansible AWX

Redhat Enterprise Linux 8

Windows Server 2019