Deploy Infrastructure using Ansible 📌

Project Overview.

First things first, we kickstarted our infrastructure setup by using shell scripts to install Ansible on an EC2 instance. Additionally, we fine-tuned our automation process by configuring automate_ssh_pub.sh. This script ensured that our public key was copied to all other instances, and it seamlessly appended the public key to the authorized_keys files. This step was crucial to automate and for secure and efficient communication between our Ansible control node and the managed servers.

Leveraging the power of Ansible.

we orchestrated the deployment of our entire stack:

1- Web Servers:

• We set up two web servers, with the same website configuration. Ansible allowed us to define these configurations declaratively.
• Our web servers were ready to handle incoming HTTP requests, thanks to Ansible’s streamlined management.

2- MySQL Databases:

• For our data storage needs, we deployed two MySQL databases. These databases were essential for our applications to store and retrieve data efficiently.
• Ansible took care of configuring MySQL, setting up users, and securing the databases.

3- NTP (Network Time Protocol) Setup:

• Time synchronization across our infrastructure was critical. To achieve this, we set up an NTP server on our Ansible control node.
• Additionally, we configured NTP clients on all our web servers and databases. This ensured that they synced their clocks with our central NTP server.
• Accurate timekeeping is essential for various tasks, including logging, security certificates, and coordinated system operations.

How we get the job done!

Using Modules

• apt: It allows you to install, update, or remove packages using the system’s package manager.
• replace: You can use it to search for a specific pattern (e.g., a string or regular expression) and replace it with another value, and with replace: '' we deleted this pattern.
• lineinfile: The lineinfile module allows you to manage lines within a file.
• service: The service module controls system services (starting, stopping, enabling, or disabling services).
• shell: The shell module runs shell commands directly on the target system.
• get_url: The get_url module downloads files from a URL and saves them locally.
• unarchive: The unarchive module extracts compressed archives (e.g., .tar.gz, .zip) on the target system.
• copy: The copy module copies files or directories from the control machine to the target system.
• file: The file module manages files and directories, The absent state ensures that a file or directory does not exist.
• mysql_user and mysql_db: These modules manage MySQL users and databases.
• notify: The notify module triggers handlers (tasks defined elsewhere in the playbook) when notified.

Ansible Roles for Organization:

• To keep our playbook organized and modular, we configured Ansible roles.
• Each role encapsulated a specific functionality (e.g., web server setup, database configuration, NTP management).
• Roles allowed us to reuse code, maintain consistency, and simplify playbook maintenance.
• This feature helps us to write our project in a single simple playbook.yml file, This playbook orchestrated the entire deployment process.