Getting Started with Ansible for Infrastructure Automation

Ansible is one of the most popular tools for infrastructure automation, and for good reason. It’s agentless, uses simple YAML syntax, and has a massive library of modules for managing everything from servers to cloud resources.

Why Ansible?

Unlike Chef or Puppet, Ansible doesn’t require you to install agents on your managed nodes. It connects via SSH and executes tasks directly. This makes it:

• Easy to get started - No complex setup required
• Secure by default - Uses existing SSH infrastructure
• Lightweight - No daemon running on target systems

Your First Playbook

Here’s a simple playbook that ensures nginx is installed and running:

---
- name: Configure web server
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes

  tasks:
    - name: Install nginx
      apt:
        name: nginx
        state: present

    - name: Start nginx service
      service:
        name: nginx
        state: started
        enabled: yes

Key Concepts

Inventory

Your inventory defines which hosts Ansible manages. It can be a simple INI file or dynamic inventory from cloud providers.

Playbooks

Playbooks are YAML files that describe the desired state of your systems. They’re idempotent - running them multiple times produces the same result.

Roles

Roles let you organize playbooks into reusable components. They’re the building blocks of complex automation.

Next Steps

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, explore:

• Ansible Vault for managing secrets
• AWX/Tower for a web UI and scheduling
• Custom modules for specialized tasks

Need help with your Ansible implementation? Get in touch - we’d love to help.