In this video we will learn to run Ansible consistently against a set of systems, we need to record a list in the format Ansible expects.

In this video we will learn to specify the list of tasks Ansible should automate, we need to understand playbook files.

In this video, we will see how Ansible can apply the same configuration and plays to multiple systems using groups.

Ansible has a lot of modules, and a new user needs to know which ones are most important and how they work.

To build our own roles, we need to understand how handlers, files, and templates are used in a role.

Ansible roles often have dependencies on other roles. By configuring these dependencies in a role, we can make our playbooks more concise.

We have sections within a configuration file that need to be turned on or off easily.

To make our templates more generic and reusable, we want to move hardcoded lists and data structures to variables.

Jinja2 blocks and inheritance provide us with a way to create many similar templates from a common base.

To create generic and reusable roles, we need to allow role users to configure the role behavior using variables.

Some configuration might be specific to the system we’re configuring. Ansible provides system-specific facts to help tailor configuration to a system.

By putting systems into groups in Ansible, we can apply configuration to multiple systems at the same time.

To decide whether or how to run a task, we might need to collect dynamic information from a host we’re controlling. Ansible allows us to register results in variables.

By driving tasks using YAML list and dictionary data structures, we can produce more compact and more configurable roles.

To use Ansible Vault to keep secrets secure, we need to know how to encrypt files. We also need to know how to edit and decrypt files we encrypted.

Running Ansible unattended while using Ansible Vault requires us to store our vault password in a file.

Some secret content, such as a private key file for a web server, is an entire file’s worth of content. We need to know how to store that content securely using Ansible Vault.

Adding new functionality to Ansible involves implementing a custom module in the Python language. We can easily add this custom module to a role.

To develop our module, we need to be able to run it in a realistic environment without having to create or run an Ansible playbook.

A quality module has extensive documentation to show users how to use it. This documentation is also used to generate the Ansible website.

Ansible can control not just physical and virtual machines, but also Docker containers. This creates new opportunities to use Ansible roles and playbooks in a containerized environment.

Vagrant is a useful tool for dynamically creating virtual machines for development and test in an integrated environment. Ansible lets us set up Vagrant virtual machines quickly and easily.

Vagrant is a tool for dynamic virtual machines, and when we’re using Ansible to provision Vagrant machines, we want to be able to pass information to Ansible dynamically as well.