How to Setup Ansible Control Node on Azure/AWS/GCP
To setup and install an Ansible Control Node on any of the cloud platforms, the recommended way is to setup a VM using the image available from the marketplace. Ansible is an agentless automation tool that you install on a control node. From the control node, Ansible manages machines and other devices remotely (by default, over the SSH protocol). Unlike Puppet or Chef, you dont have to set up a client-server environment before using Ansible. You can manage multiple hosts from a central location. Details below on how to deploy to the cloud:
Install Ansible Control Node
Setup Ansible Server on Azure
Deploy Ansible on Ubuntu Server 20.04
Deploy Ansible on CentOS Server 8
Setup Ansible Server on GCP
Deploy Ansible on Ubuntu Server 20.04
Deploy Ansible on CentOS Server 8.4
Getting Started
Once your Ansible server has been deployed, the following links explain how to connect to a Linux VM:
- How to connect to a Linux VM on Azure
- How to connect to a Linux VM on AWS
- How to connect to a Linux VM on GCP
Once connected and logged in, you’re ready to start configuring Ansible
Using Ansible
Once logged in, to check the version of Ansible, run the following command:
Create a basic inventory
Ansible reads information about which machines you want to manage from your inventory. Although you can pass an IP address to an ad hoc command, you need inventory to take advantage of the full flexibility and repeatability of Ansible.
Documentation on how to create an inventory, connecting to remote nodes, copying and executing modules and creating playbooks, refer to:
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/user_guide/intro_getting_started.html
Ansible Firewall Ports
Ansible uses the following ports to manage your servers (remote nodes):
TCP 22 – SSH connections to remote nodes (Linux Servers)
TCP 5986 – HTTPS WinRM connections to remote nodes (Windows Servers)
If you are using any of the cloud security groups and need to change / add ports refer to the following guides:
To setup AWS firewall rules refer to – AWS Security Groups
To setup Azure firewall rules refer to – Azure Network Security Groups
To setup Google GCP firewall rules refer to – Creating GCP Firewalls
Ansible Documentation / Support
Documentation on using Ansible and setting up playbooks and managing nodes etc can be found on:
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/user_guide/index.html
If you are experiencing any issues with getting this server working in your environment, contact us and we will get you up and running
Disclaimer: Ansible® is a registered trademark owned by RED HAT, INC. and is licensed under GNU General Public license v3.0. No warrantee of any kind, express or implied, is included with this software. Use at your risk, responsibility for damages (if any) to anyone resulting from the use of this software rest entirely with the user. The author is not responsible for any damage that its use could cause.
