Ansible and Ansible-Playbooks for Automation from Coursera

Unlock the power of automation with Ansible and Ansible Playbooks in this comprehensive course designed to elevate your IT infrastructure management skills. Through step-by-step guidance, you will master Ansible's agentless architecture, efficient task execution, and powerful automation capabilities to streamline your workflows.

Your journey begins with an introduction to Ansible, its core components, and environment setup, including configuring nodes and controllers. Progressively, you’ll dive into ad-hoc commands, modules for file management, and package installations across diverse OS families. Advanced sections cover playbook creation, debugging, and dynamic inventory handling, providing you with practical skills to automate real-world IT tasks.

You'll explore sophisticated playbook concepts, such as variables, loops, conditional statements, and templates, to create reusable, adaptable automation scripts. Additionally, delve into error handling, privilege escalation, and integrating third-party plugins for enhanced functionality. A dedicated section on security teaches you how to use Ansible Vault to encrypt sensitive information securely.

Ideal for system administrators, DevOps engineers, and IT professionals, this course equips you with the tools and knowledge to implement efficient automation practices. No prior experience with Ansible is required, but basic Linux command-line skills are recommended.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction

In this module, we will explore the foundational concepts of Ansible. You will gain insights into its capabilities, understand the differences between its core and community editions, and learn how its architecture facilitates secure and efficient automation.

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Covers Ansible Vault, which allows learners to encrypt sensitive information securely, a crucial aspect of modern IT infrastructure management and compliance

Explores dynamic inventory handling, which is essential for managing cloud resources and large-scale infrastructures in an automated fashion

Teaches playbook creation, debugging, and dynamic inventory handling, providing learners with practical skills to automate real-world IT tasks and streamline workflows

Requires basic Linux command-line skills, which may pose a barrier to entry for some learners without prior experience in Linux environments

Explores third-party collections and modules, which expands Ansible’s capabilities by integrating community-contributed resources effectively for diverse automation scenarios

Reviews summary

Practical automation with ansible playbooks

According to learners, this course provides a solid foundation in Ansible, focusing heavily on playbooks and their practical application. Students particularly highlight the clear explanations and hands-on examples, which make complex concepts accessible. Many found it highly relevant for DevOps and system administration tasks. While some felt the pace was fast or wished for deeper dives into advanced topics, the overall sentiment is largely positive, positioning it as a valuable resource for those looking to implement automation.

Strong coverage of Ansible playbooks.

"The course goes deep into playbooks, which is exactly what I needed for my job."

"Mastering playbook creation and debugging was a key takeaway for me."

"Really helped solidify my understanding of playbook structure and best practices."

"The sections on handlers, roles, and variables within playbooks were particularly useful."

Instructor explains complex topics clearly.

"The instructor explained the concepts very clearly and methodically."

"Complex topics like variables and loops were broken down into easy-to-understand segments."

"I found the lectures engaging and easy to follow, even for someone relatively new to automation."

"Clear and concise overview of core Ansible concepts."

Highly relevant for IT/DevOps careers.

"This course is highly relevant to my role as a DevOps engineer."

"Gave me practical skills I could immediately use in my system administration tasks."

"Ideal for system administrators, DevOps engineers, and IT professionals..."

"Provided a solid foundation for automating real-world IT tasks."

Strong emphasis on practical labs/examples.

"The hands-on coding and projects are the strongest part of the course for me..."

"I really appreciated the practical labs that allowed me to follow along and practice the concepts immediately."

"Plenty of real-world examples and guided exercises helped solidify my understanding."

"The course provides practical tools and strategies I could apply immediately."

Pace can be quick for beginners.

"Sometimes the pace felt a little fast, especially when introducing new concepts."

"As a beginner, I occasionally had to pause and rewatch segments to keep up."

"Could be improved with a slightly slower pace for initial sections."

"While comprehensive, the speed might be challenging for someone with zero automation background."

Environment setup can be challenging.

"Setting up the environment for the labs took me some time and troubleshooting."

"The initial setup module was helpful, but getting my own lab running smoothly required extra effort."

"I ran into a few issues during the environment setup phase..."

"Wish there were more detailed instructions or common troubleshooting tips for the setup."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Ansible and Ansible-Playbooks for Automation with these activities:

Review Linux Command Line Basics

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Reinforce your understanding of fundamental Linux commands. This will provide a solid foundation for using Ansible, which relies heavily on command-line operations.

Browse courses on Linux Command Line

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Review basic commands like ls, cd, mkdir, rm, and cp.
Practice using pipes and redirection.
Familiarize yourself with file permissions and ownership.

Read 'Ansible for DevOps' by Jeff Geerling

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Supplement your learning with a dedicated book on Ansible. This will provide a broader and deeper understanding of the tool and its applications.

View Ansible for DevOps: Server and configuration... on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of 'Ansible for DevOps'.
Read the book, focusing on chapters relevant to the course syllabus.
Experiment with the examples provided in the book.

Read 'Effective DevOps' by Jennifer Davis and Ryn Daniels

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Gain a broader understanding of the DevOps context in which Ansible is used. This will help you appreciate the value of automation and collaboration.

View Effective DevOps on Amazon

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Obtain a copy of 'Effective DevOps'.
Read the book, focusing on chapters relevant to automation and infrastructure management.
Reflect on how the concepts in the book relate to your Ansible projects.

Four other activities

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Practice Writing Playbooks for Common Tasks

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Solidify your playbook writing skills through repetitive exercises. This will improve your fluency and confidence in automating tasks with Ansible.

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Write playbooks to install and configure web servers.
Create playbooks to manage user accounts and permissions.
Develop playbooks to deploy applications.

Document Your Ansible Projects

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Improve your understanding by documenting your Ansible projects. This will force you to think critically about your code and explain it clearly.

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Choose an Ansible project you've worked on.
Write a detailed explanation of the project's purpose and functionality.
Document the steps required to set up and run the project.

Contribute to an Ansible Role on Ansible Galaxy

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Deepen your knowledge by contributing to an open-source Ansible role. This will expose you to real-world challenges and best practices.

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Find an Ansible role on Ansible Galaxy that you're interested in.
Identify a bug or missing feature in the role.
Submit a pull request with your fix or enhancement.

Automate Server Provisioning with Ansible

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Apply your Ansible skills to a real-world project. This will solidify your understanding and give you practical experience.

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Choose a cloud provider or virtualization platform.
Write an Ansible playbook to provision servers with your desired configuration.
Test your playbook thoroughly and document your process.

Career center

Learners who complete Ansible and Ansible-Playbooks for Automation will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Automation Engineer

An Automation Engineer designs, develops, and implements automation solutions to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort in various IT processes. This course on Ansible and Ansible Playbooks plays a crucial role in mastering the skills necessary for this career. Automation Engineers use tools like Ansible to automate tasks such as configuration management, application deployment, and system updates. The course covers essential concepts like ad-hoc commands, playbook creation, and dynamic inventory handling, which are invaluable for streamlining IT workflows. Learning about variables, loops, conditional statements, and templates within playbooks significantly enhances the ability of an Automation Engineer to create reusable and adaptable automation scripts. By learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

See salaries and explore the career path for Automation Engineer

DevOps Engineer

A DevOps Engineer is responsible for bridging the gap between development and operations, automating infrastructure, and streamlining software releases. This course focusing on Ansible provides the knowledge of a critical tool for automating infrastructure management, a key responsibility of DevOps Engineers. The course teaches how to use Ansible's agentless architecture and powerful automation capabilities to manage configurations, deploy applications, and orchestrate complex systems. The focus on playbook creation, debugging, and dynamic inventory handling helps DevOps Engineers automate real-world IT tasks, ensuring faster and more reliable software delivery pipelines. Understanding concepts like variables, loops, conditional statements, and error handling within Ansible playbooks allows a DevOps Engineer to create robust and efficient automation scripts, leading to improved collaboration and faster time to market. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

See salaries and explore the career path for DevOps Engineer

Systems Administrator

A Systems Administrator manages and maintains computer systems and servers, ensuring they run efficiently and reliably. This course is highly relevant to Systems Administrators, as it provides hands-on experience with Ansible, a powerful tool for automating system administration tasks. The course covers essential topics such as environment setup, ad-hoc commands, and package installations, enabling Systems Administrators to streamline their workflows and reduce manual effort. The ability to create playbooks, handle dynamic inventories, and implement error handling strategies learned from the course equips Systems Administrators with the skills to automate complex IT tasks and ensure consistent system configurations across diverse environments. This skillset helps improve system uptime and reduces the risk of human error. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

See salaries and explore the career path for Systems Administrator

Cloud Engineer

A Cloud Engineer designs, implements, and manages cloud computing infrastructure and services. This course on Ansible and Ansible Playbooks can be very helpful for Cloud Engineers, as Ansible is frequently used to automate the deployment, configuration, and management of cloud resources. The course imparts knowledge on how to use Ansible's automation capabilities to streamline tasks such as provisioning virtual machines, configuring networks, and deploying applications in the cloud. The coverage of dynamic inventory handling and integration with third-party plugins is particularly valuable for managing cloud environments that are constantly changing. The skills acquired in playbook creation, variable usage, and conditional statements empower Cloud Engineers to create reusable and adaptable automation scripts, improving efficiency and reducing the complexity of cloud infrastructure management. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Infrastructure Engineer

An Infrastructure Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the IT infrastructure that supports an organization's operations. This course on Ansible is directly applicable to the work of an Infrastructure Engineer, as it teaches how to automate the management and configuration of infrastructure components. The course provides the ability to use Ansible's core components and agentless architecture to streamline tasks such as server provisioning, network configuration, and application deployment. The focus on playbook creation, debugging, and dynamic inventory handling enables Infrastructure Engineers to automate real-world IT tasks and ensure consistent configurations across the infrastructure. By mastering concepts like variables, loops, conditional statements, and templates, Infrastructure Engineers can create reusable and adaptable automation scripts, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of human error. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Release Engineer

A Release Engineer manages the process of releasing software updates and new applications to production environments. This course is beneficial for Release Engineers, as Ansible is a powerful tool for automating the deployment and configuration of software releases. The course teaches how to use Ansible Playbooks to orchestrate complex deployment pipelines, ensuring that software is released consistently and reliably. The skills to use variables, loops, and conditional statements to create dynamic and adaptable deployment scripts is very useful. The knowledge of error handling and privilege escalation is critical for ensuring the success of software releases. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Network Engineer

A Network Engineer designs, implements, and maintains computer networks, ensuring they operate efficiently and securely. This course can be helpful for Network Engineers, as Ansible can be used to automate network configuration and management tasks. The course may teach how to use Ansible to configure network devices, manage network policies, and automate network troubleshooting. The focus on playbook creation and dynamic inventory handling might enable Network Engineers to automate complex network tasks and ensure consistent configurations across the network infrastructure. This can improve network performance, reduce downtime, and enhance security. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Security Engineer

A Security Engineer is responsible for protecting an organization's computer systems and networks from cyber threats. This course is relevant for Security Engineers, as Ansible can be used to automate security tasks such as vulnerability remediation, security patching, and compliance enforcement. The course may teach how to use Ansible to configure security settings, deploy security tools, and automate security incident response. The focus on playbook creation and error handling, as well as learning how to use Ansible Vault, may enable Security Engineers to automate complex security tasks and ensure consistent security configurations across the infrastructure. This can improve security posture, reduce the risk of cyberattacks, and ensure compliance with security regulations.

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IT Consultant

An IT Consultant advises organizations on how to use technology to meet their business objectives, often involving automation and efficiency improvements. This course may be useful as it provides expertise in Ansible, a tool widely used for IT automation. IT Consultants can leverage Ansible to help clients automate infrastructure management, application deployment, and other IT processes. The knowledge of playbook creation, dynamic inventory handling, and integration with third-party plugins might enable IT Consultants to design and implement customized automation solutions for their clients. This can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall effectiveness of IT operations. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Software Developer

A Software Developer designs, develops, and tests software applications. This course may be useful for a Software Developer, especially those involved in automating deployment processes and managing infrastructure as code. While not directly a development course, the ability to utilize Ansible for automating the deployment and configuration of applications as they move from development to staging to production environments might be useful. The focus on playbook creation and variable usage could enable Software Developers to streamline the deployment process and ensure consistent environments across the software development lifecycle. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Database Administrator

A Database Administrator (DBA) manages and maintains database systems, ensuring data is stored securely and is accessible to users. This course may be useful for Database Administrators, as Ansible can automate tasks such as database provisioning, configuration, and backup. The course may provide hands-on experience with using Ansible modules to manage databases and automate routine tasks. The focus on playbook creation and error handling could enable Database Administrators to streamline database administration tasks and ensure consistent database configurations across the environment. Learning how to use Ansible Vault for security, one can encrypt sensitive information for security.

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Technical Support Engineer

A Technical Support Engineer provides technical assistance to customers, resolving hardware and software issues. This course may be useful for Technical Support Engineers, especially those who support systems where automation plays a role in issue resolution and maintenance. While the primary role is support, understanding how Ansible is used to automate tasks like system updates and configuration management can provide valuable context for troubleshooting and resolving customer issues. Learning how to interpret Ansible logs and understand playbook execution details may help in diagnosing and resolving system problems efficiently.

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Data Center Technician

A Data Center Technician maintains the physical infrastructure of data centers, including servers, networking equipment, and power systems. This course may be useful for Data Center Technicians, as Ansible can be used to automate some aspects of data center management, such as server provisioning and configuration. While their work primarily involves physical maintenance, understanding how Ansible impacts the systems they support can be beneficial. The knowledge of Ansible's automation capabilities may provide a better understanding of how the servers and systems in the data center are managed and configured.

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Business Analyst

A Business Analyst identifies business needs and determines solutions to business problems. They elicit, analyze, and document requirements. This course may be useful for Business Analysts who work on projects involving IT automation or DevOps initiatives. While a Business Analyst may not directly use Ansible, understanding its capabilities can help them better understand the requirements and benefits of automation solutions. The course may provide a high-level understanding of how Ansible can be used to automate tasks and improve efficiency, enabling Business Analysts to communicate effectively with technical teams and stakeholders.

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Project Manager

A Project Manager is responsible for planning, executing, and closing projects. This course may provide Project Managers with a better understanding of the technologies involved in automation projects, which is beneficial if they are managing IT infrastructure or DevOps projects. While Project Managers do not need to be experts in Ansible, a basic understanding of its capabilities may help them manage project timelines, resources, and risks more effectively. This understanding could also help them communicate with technical teams.

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Ansible and Ansible-Playbooks for Automation

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What's inside

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Practical automation with ansible playbooks

Activities

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