Lab 000 - Setup¶

• In this lab we will define and build docker containers which to be used in the next of labs.
• The lab structure consists of an Ansible controller & 3 Linux servers, all set inside docker containers.

01. Usage¶

• There are several ways to run the Ansible Labs.
• Choose the method that works best for you.
  • Killercoda (Recommended)
  • 🐳 Docker
  • 📜 From Source
  • Using Google Cloud Shell

Killercoda (Recommended)🐳 Docker📜 From Source Using Google Cloud Shell

• The easiest way to get started with the labs
• Learn Ansible in your browser without any local installation

🌐 Launch on Killercoda

Benefits:

• No installation required
• Pre-configured environment
• Works on any device with a web browser
• All tools pre-installed

Using Docker is the easiest way to get started locally with the labs:

# Change to the Labs directory
cd Labs/000-setup

# Run the setup lab using Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

Prerequisites:

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system
• No additional setup required

For those who prefer to run it directly on their machine:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/nirgeier/AnsibleLabs.git
# Change to the Labs directory
cd AnsibleLabs/Labs
# Start with the setup lab
cd 000-setup
# Follow the instructions in the README of each lab
cat README.md

Prerequisites:

• Ansible installed on your system
• A Unix-like operating system (Linux, macOS, or Windows with WSL)
• Basic command-line tools

• Google Cloud Shell provides a free, browser-based environment with all necessary tools pre-installed.
• Click on the Open in Google Cloud Shell button below:

• The repository will automatically be cloned into a free Cloud instance.
• Use CTRL + click to open it in a new window.
• Follow the instructions in the README of each lab.

Benefits:

• No local installation required
• Pre-configured environment
• Works on any device with a web browser
• All tools pre-installed
• Free tier available

02. Build From Source¶

• Clone the git repo: git clone https://github.com/nirgeier/AnsibleLabs.git
• Navigate to the Labs directory: cd AnsibleLabs/Labs/000-setup
• The lab contains the docker-compose file along with the Dockerfile(s) The containers are based upon ubuntu and are published to DockerHub as well.
• Build the demo containers
• The docker-compose will create ansible-controller which will server as our controller to execute ansible playbooks on our demo servers defined by the names linux-server-X

• For the demo we will also need a shared folder(s) where the certificates and the configuration will be stored
• The shared folder(s) will be mounted into the containers
• The containers will have access to the shared folder(s) for reading and writing files
• The shared folder(s) will be used to store the Ansible playbooks and inventory files
• The shared folder(s) will be mounted at /labs-scripts in the containers

03. Core Concepts¶

• Create Ansible Controller container, which will be used to manage the other containers
• SSH Keys - The SSH keys will be generated and mounted into the containers
• Initialize servers: Set up runtime directories, start demo containers via Docker Compose, verify Ansible installation, extract SSH keys from servers, configure known hosts, check SSH services, and test SSH connections to each Linux server

04. The setup script(s)¶

# Build the Ansible container & the Demo servers
# The `_setup.sh` will build all we will need for this lab
./_setup.sh

05. Setup Scripts Breakdown¶

06. Verify Containers¶

$ docker ps -a


# Expected output

IMAGE                       PORTS                                                                  NAMES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nirgeier/ansible-controller 22/tcp                                                                 ansible-controller
nirgeier/linux-server       0.0.0.0:3001->22/tcp, 0.0.0.0:5001->5000/tcp, 0.0.0.0:8081->8080/tcp   linux-server-1
nirgeier/linux-server       0.0.0.0:3002->22/tcp, 0.0.0.0:5002->5000/tcp, 0.0.0.0:8082->8080/tcp   linux-server-2
nirgeier/linux-server       0.0.0.0:3003->22/tcp, 0.0.0.0:5003->5000/tcp, 0.0.0.0:8083->8080/tcp   linux-server-3

07. Next Steps¶

• Proceed to Lab 001 - Verify Ansible configuration to start using Ansible with the configured environment.
• Don’t forget to check the logs for any errors or issues during the setup process.
• If you encounter any problems, refer to the troubleshooting section or open an issue on the GitHub repository.
• Enjoy learning Ansible!