Day-03 | Write Your First Ansible Playbook | For Absolute Beginners

Summary

In this episode of the 'Ansible Zero to Hero' series, Abishek introduces viewers to Ansible Playbooks, emphasizing the importance of YAML for data serialization. He explains the basics of YAML syntax, including strings, numbers, lists, and dictionaries, and demonstrates writing a YAML file. Abishek then delves into the structure of an Ansible Playbook, detailing how to create plays with hosts, tasks, and modules. He guides through a practical example, showing how to install an Apache server and deploy a static application on an EC2 instance. The tutorial also covers how to execute an Ansible Playbook and verify its success on an AWS instance.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video is part of the 'Ansible Zero to Hero' series, focusing on day three where the basics of YAML and Ansible Playbooks are covered.
• 🔑 The speaker introduces YAML as a human-readable data serialization language, emphasizing its use over text files for structured data input to applications like Ansible.
• 📝 YAML's advantages include its simplicity and readability, making it easier for humans to read and write compared to other data formats like JSON.
• 👨‍🏫 The tutorial covers the basics of YAML syntax, including how to write strings, numbers, booleans, lists, and dictionaries, which are fundamental to understanding YAML files.
• 📘 The video explains how to create a YAML file, starting with a three-hyphen indicator, followed by key-value pairs and list declarations.
• 🛠️ Ansible Playbooks are introduced as YAML files that contain a list of plays, each targeting specific hosts and executing a series of tasks.
• 🔧 The structure of an Ansible Playbook is detailed, with explanations of 'plays', 'tasks', and 'modules', highlighting the importance of modules for executing actions.
• 🔄 The 'gather facts' process is mentioned, which is the first task executed by Ansible to connect to the target host and gather necessary information.
• 🖥️ A practical example is given where the speaker demonstrates creating an Ansible Playbook to install an Apache server and deploy a static application on an EC2 instance.
• 📝 The video script provides a step-by-step guide on writing YAML files and Ansible Playbooks, including the use of built-in modules such as 'apt' for package management and 'copy' for file transfer.
• 🔄 The execution of the Ansible Playbook is shown, including troubleshooting steps like checking for successful installation of services and deploying files to the correct directories.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the 'Anible Zero to Hero' series by Abishek?

The 'Anible Zero to Hero' series focuses on teaching viewers how to use Ansible, starting from the basics and progressively moving towards more advanced concepts and practical implementations.

What topics were covered in the first two episodes of the series?

In the first two episodes, Abishek covered an introduction to Ansible and getting started with it, as well as passwordless authentication in the entry file in Ansible and Ansible ad hoc commands.

Why is YAML covered before Ansible Playbooks in episode three?

YAML is covered before Ansible Playbooks because many subscribers asked for the basics of YAML, and Ansible Playbooks are written in YAML, which is a human-readable data serialization language.

What is the significance of YAML in the context of Ansible?

YAML is significant in the context of Ansible because it is used to write Ansible Playbooks. It provides a standardized format for defining configurations, tasks, and data structures that Ansible can execute.

Why are templating languages like JSON or YAML preferred over text files for passing data to applications?

Templating languages like JSON or YAML are preferred because they offer standardized formats with a set structure, ensuring that data is passed in a consistent and error-free manner, unlike text files which can vary in format and may lead to syntax errors.

What are the basic elements one needs to know to write YAML files?

To write YAML files, one needs to know how to write strings, numbers, and booleans, understand when to use lists and their syntax, and when to use dictionaries (key-value pairs) and their syntax.

What is the main difference between a list and a dictionary in YAML syntax?

In YAML syntax, a list is defined using a hyphen for each item, while a dictionary uses key-value pairs without the hyphen, with each key directly followed by its value.

What does the 'become true' statement do in an Ansible Playbook?

The 'become true' statement in an Ansible Playbook allows the play to be executed with elevated privileges, typically as the root user, which is necessary for tasks that require administrative rights.

How does the 'gather facts' task in Ansible work?

The 'gather facts' task is the first task executed by every Ansible play, which checks if Ansible can connect to the target host and collects all the required information from it to proceed with the execution of the play.

What is the purpose of the 'copy' module in Ansible?

The 'copy' module in Ansible is used to copy files from the local system to the remote locations on the target hosts, which is useful for tasks like deploying applications or configuration files.