In the rapidly evolving world of DevOps, Ansible has emerged as a frontrunner in the realm of infrastructure automation. Gone are the days when setting up servers was a tedious, manual task. With the advent of tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and Salt, the concept of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has revolutionized the way we approach server setup, offering scalability and version control benefits.
Understanding Ansible: A Brief Overview
Ansible is a powerful tool designed to automate server setup. If you've ever been involved in setting up UAT or production environments, you'd be familiar with the extensive effort required to prepare servers before deploying applications. This involves manually installing software such as Java, Tomcat, and Apache on each server, a process that can be time-consuming.
With Ansible, this entire process can be automated. By creating an Ansible playbook, which is akin to a script, Ansible handles the setup and software installation. Unlike other tools like Puppet, which necessitate a dedicated agent on each server, Ansible operates using SSH, making it a more straightforward choice for many.
The Ansible playbook, written in YAML (Yet Another Markup Language), is user-friendly and doesn't demand extensive learning. Furthermore, with backing from RedHat and the ability to be customized using Python plugins, Ansible is the ideal choice for server setup and automation.
Top Courses to Master Ansible for DevOps
1. Ansible for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide
For those new to Ansible, this course is the perfect starting point. It offers a comprehensive introduction, teaching you how to craft Ansible playbooks, construct Ansible inventory files, and deploy software across multiple hosts. The course includes hands-on exercises, allowing you to practice in real-time, and also provides an introduction to YAML, the language used for writing Ansible scripts.
2. Mastering Ansible: A Comprehensive Guide
This course, suitable for beginners, offers an exhaustive guide to configuration management and orchestration using Ansible. Designed as a journey, it guides you through configuring a realistic application stack from the ground up. Instead of merely skimming through Ansible documentation, the course aligns topics with the complexity of the application, ensuring a thorough understanding.
3. Ansible Automation Mastery: From Novice to Pro
Ideal for those aiming for a career in IT automation, this course covers Ansible from the basics to advanced topics. It delves deep into Ansible playbooks, YAML scripts, variables, scopes, modules, and inventories. With guided exercises for each section, it ensures hands-on learning, making it a top choice for comprehensive Ansible education.
4. Advanced Ansible Techniques and Best Practices
For those already familiar with Ansible basics, this course delves into advanced topics, including Roles, Jinja2 Lookups, and Filters. It's a continuation of the beginner courses and introduces real-life use cases, such as crafting custom modules.
5. Practical Ansible: Hands-on Learning
Available on Pluralsight, this course offers a practical approach to learning Ansible. It starts with the basics of orchestration and change management, gradually moving to the intricacies of Ansible. The course includes numerous hands-on demos, showcasing how to implement automation tasks effectively.
Conclusion
In the realm of DevOps, Ansible stands out as an invaluable tool, especially for engineers aiming for efficient server setup and automation. Whether you're a senior developer or someone aspiring for a career in DevOps, mastering Ansible is a worthwhile endeavor.
