3-Day1-3-inventory

Lab Exercise: Managing Ansible Inventories Effectively (INI Format)

This lab exercise focuses on managing and testing Ansible inventories in INI format. Exercises are designed with core and optional tasks, focusing on practical commands like uptime, date, checking the OS version, release, and kernel version. The text editor is updated to use vi for file management.

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Core Exercises (Mandatory)

Exercise 1: Create a Basic Static Inventory

1. Create an Inventory File:

   • Create a file named inventory.ini using vi:

     vi ~/inventory.ini

   • Add the following content and save the file:

     [web]
     web1 ansible_host=192.168.1.10 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     web2 ansible_host=192.168.1.11 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     
     [db]
     db1 ansible_host=192.168.1.20 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     db2 ansible_host=192.168.1.21 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password

2. Ping All Hosts in the Inventory: Test connectivity to all hosts:

   ansible all -i ~/inventory.ini -m ping

   • Expected Output: Success messages confirming connectivity to all hosts.

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Exercise 2: Group Hosts and Use Patterns

1. Group Inventory by Environment:

   • Edit inventory.ini using vi:

     vi ~/inventory.ini

   • Modify the content to include groups:

     [web]
     web1 ansible_host=192.168.1.10
     web2 ansible_host=192.168.1.11
     
     [db]
     db1 ansible_host=192.168.1.20
     db2 ansible_host=192.168.1.21
     
     [prod:children]
     web
     db

2. Run Commands Using Group Names:

   • Test the prod group:

     ansible prod -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "uptime"

3. Run Commands Using Patterns:

   • Ping only the first host in each group:

     ansible web[0] -i ~/inventory.ini -m ping

   • Run a command on all hosts except those in the web group:

     ansible all:!web -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "date"

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Exercise 3: Check System Information

1. Check OS Version and Release:

   • Use the command module to check OS version:

     ansible all -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "cat /etc/os-release"

2. Check Kernel Version:

   • Run the following command to retrieve the kernel version:

     ansible all -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "uname -r"

3. Verify Disk Space Usage:

   • Use the command module to check disk space:

     ansible all -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "df -h"

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Exercise 4: Use Variables in Inventory

1. Add Variables to Groups:

   • Edit inventory.ini using vi:

     vi ~/inventory.ini

   • Add group-specific variables:

     [web]
     web1 ansible_host=192.168.1.10 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     web2 ansible_host=192.168.1.11 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     
     [db]
     db1 ansible_host=192.168.1.20 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     db2 ansible_host=192.168.1.21 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     
     [web:vars]
     http_home=/var/www/html
     max_connections=100
     
     [db:vars]
     db_name=inventory
     db_timeout=30

2. Verify Variables:

   • Use the setup module to check variables:

     ansible web -i ~/inventory.ini -m setup -a "filter=ansible_local"

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Optional Exercises (For Fast Learners)

Exercise 5: Add Nested Groups

1. Enhance the Inventory:

   • Add more groups to inventory.ini:

     [dev]
     dev1 ansible_host=192.168.2.10 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     dev2 ansible_host=192.168.2.11 ansible_user=userxx ansible_ssh_pass=password
     
     [all:children]
     prod
     dev

2. Run Commands on Nested Groups:

   • Test the all group:

     ansible all -i ~/inventory.ini -m ping

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Exercise 6: Validate Inventory Syntax

• Use the ansible-inventory command to validate the inventory file:

  ansible-inventory -i ~/inventory.ini --list

  • Expected Output: JSON-formatted inventory details.

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Exercise 7: Combine Patterns

1. Run Commands Using Advanced Patterns:

   • Check kernel version for all hosts in the prod group except db2:

     ansible prod:!db2 -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "uname -r"

2. Limit Execution to Specific Hosts:

   • Check the OS release for a specific host (web1):

     ansible web1 -i ~/inventory.ini -m command -a "cat /etc/os-release"

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Expected Outcomes

• Participants will be able to:

  • Create and manage inventory files using vi.

  • Test connectivity and execute various system commands like checking uptime, date, OS version, kernel version, and disk space.

  • Organize hosts into groups and manage variables effectively.

  • Use patterns and advanced inventory techniques to target specific hosts or groups.

• Optional exercises enable participants to explore nested groups, validate inventory syntax, and use advanced patterns for dynamic host targeting.