How to do fast, repeatable Linux installations #3 — Ansible

In previous articles about my use of automation in performing post-install tasks for new Linux installations, Those approaches worked well for the times I used them, but as the requirements of my network and the hosts connected to it grew and became more complex, the capabilities of those tools couldn’t keep up.

I needed a new method for doing post-install tasks. I also needed new ways to perform other tasks, too. I started working with Ansible to first familiarize myself with it and then to perform more complex tasks such as Fedora updates and my post-install tasks.

Ansible #3: Finishing our Ansible playbook to manage workstation and server updates

In part two of this series on writing Ansible playbooks, “Ansible #2 How to create an Ansible Playbook,” we examined the task of installing updates for servers and workstations. This playbook is intended to manage updates differently depending on the role the systems play on the network. Last time we created the play designed to install updates on the Ansible hub. This time we add two more plays; one to install updates on the servers and another to install updates on the regular workstations.