Ansible Setup for AWS

Overview

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to set up Ansible for AWS infrastructure automation. It covers installing Python 3.12, setting up a virtual environment, installing Ansible and its dependencies, configuring necessary Ansible Galaxy collections, and authenticating to AWS.

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Why Use Ansible for AWS Infrastructure?

Ansible is a powerful automation tool that simplifies cloud infrastructure management. Here are some key advantages of using Ansible for AWS:

• Agentless Architecture: Ansible does not require an agent to be installed on remote machines, reducing overhead.

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Automate AWS resource provisioning with YAML-based playbooks.

• Scalability: Easily manage multiple AWS instances and services.

• Idempotency: Ensures that running a playbook multiple times produces the same result without unintended changes.

• Integration with AWS Services: Supports AWS modules for EC2, S3, RDS, IAM, and more.

• Security & Compliance: Enforce security best practices with Ansible playbooks.

By using Ansible, organizations can streamline AWS infrastructure deployment, configuration, and management while ensuring repeatability and consistency.

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have a system with dnf package manager (e.g., RHEL, CentOS, Fedora) and sufficient privileges to install software.

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Step 1: Install Python 3.12

Create the installation script

Create a shell script requirements.sh to install the necessary dependencies and Python 3.12.

$ vim requirements.sh

Add the following content to requirements.sh:

#!/bin/bash # Install required packages for ANSIBLE for AWS # Installing Python 3.12 # Install dependency packages for Python 3.12 installation from source sudo dnf install epel-release -y sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools" -y sudo dnf install curl wget gcc gcc-c++ make zlib-devel bzip2 bzip2-devel readline-devel sqlite sqlite-devel openssl-devel xz xz-devel libffi-devel -y # Download Python 3.12 source code echo "Downloading Python3.12 Source Code" sudo wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.12.0/Python-3.12.0.tgz -O /tmp/Python-3.12.0.tgz # Extract Python source code echo "Extracting Python source code" cd /tmp/ sudo tar -xvf /tmp/Python-3.12.0.tgz cd /tmp/Python-3.12.0 sudo make clean sudo ./configure --enable-optimizations sudo make -j$(nproc) sudo make altinstall

Grant execution permissions and run the script

$ chmod +x requirements.sh                                                $ ./requirements.sh

Verify Python installation:

$ /usr/local/bin/python3.12 --version

Step 2: Set Up a Python Virtual Environment

Once Python 3.12 is installed, create a virtual environment to manage dependencies:

$ /usr/local/bin/python3.12 -m venv venv $ source venv/bin/activate

Step 3: Install Ansible and Required Python Packages

Create a requirements.txt file:

$ vim requirements.txt

Add the following content:

ansible                                                                    ansible-core boto3 botocore

Install the required packages:

$ pip install -r requirements.txt

Verify Ansible installation:

$ ansible --version

Step 4: Install Ansible Galaxy Collections

Create a requirements.yml file:

$ vim requirements.yml

Add the following content:

collections:   - amazon.aws   - ansible.posix   - community.general   - community.aws

Install the required collections:

$ ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml

Step 5: Authenticating to AWS

Using AWS Access and Secret Keys on Localhost

If using AWS credentials directly on your localhost, configure them using the AWS CLI:

$ aws configure

You will be prompted to enter:

• AWS Access Key ID

• AWS Secret Access Key

• Default region

• Output format (json, table, text)

Alternatively, export the credentials as environment variables:

$ export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key" $ export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-key" $ export AWS_REGION="your-region"

Using IAM Role on AWS EC2 Instances

If running Ansible from an AWS EC2 instance, use an IAM role attached to the instance instead of access keys.

1. Create an IAM role with necessary permissions (e.g., AmazonEC2FullAccess, AmazonS3FullAccess).

2. Attach the IAM role to the EC2 instance.

3. Verify the IAM role is being used:

$ curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/

4. AWS SDKs and Ansible will automatically use the IAM role credentials.

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Conclusion

You have successfully set up Ansible for AWS automation and configured authentication methods. With Ansible, you can efficiently manage AWS infrastructure while ensuring security, scalability, and repeatability.