Ansible-Bootstrap

An Ansible playbook for automating system bootstrap processes in an Infrastructure-as-Code manner.

Info

• For RHEL 8 and RHEL 9, repository access requires the rhel_iso variable. This variable specifies a local ISO or proxy repository.
• RHEL systems do not support btrfs. Use ext4 or xfs as alternatives.
• For RHEL 8, xfs may cause installation issues; ext4 is recommended.

Supported Distributions

os	Distribution
rhel8	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
rhel9	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Documentation

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Global Variables
3. Inventory Variables
4. How to Use the Playbook
   • 4.1 Prerequisites
   • 4.2 Running the Playbook
   • 4.3 Example Usage

1. Overview

The playbook uses the RHEL ISO to configure and bootstrap an RHEL system from the ground up.

2. Global Variables

Global variables apply across your Ansible project and are loaded from vars.yml by default. These variables define common settings such as hypervisor connection details and the boot ISO path. They can be overridden by inventory variables for specific hosts or VMs if needed.

Variable	Description	Example Value
boot_iso	Path to the boot ISO image.	local-btrfs:iso/archlinux-x86_64.iso
rhel_iso	Path to the RHEL ISO file, required for RHEL 8 and RHEL 9.	local-btrfs:iso/rhel-9.4-x86_64-dvd.iso
hypervisor	Type of hypervisor.	vmware
hypervisor_cluster	Name of the hypervisor cluster.	default-cluster
hypervisor_node	Hypervisor node name.	node01
hypervisor_password	Password for hypervisor authentication.	123456
hypervisor_storage	Storage identifier for VM disks.	local-btrfs
hypervisor_url	URL/IP address for the hypervisor interface.	192.168.0.2
hypervisor_username	Username for hypervisor authentication.	root@pam
install_drive	Drive where the system will be installed.	/dev/sda
install_type	Type of installation.	virtual
vlan_name (optional)	VLAN for the VM's network interface.	vlan100

To protect sensitive information, such as passwords, API keys, and other confidential variables (e.g., hypervisor_password), it is recommended to use Ansible Vault.

3. Inventory Variables

Inventory variables are defined for individual hosts or VMs in the inventory file, allowing customization of settings such as the operating system, filesystem, and compliance with CIS benchmarks. These variables can be set globally and overridden for specific hosts or VMs.

Variable	Description	Example Value
cis (optional)	Adjusts the installation to be CIS level 3 conformant.	true, false
filesystem	Filesystem type for the VM's primary storage.	ext4, xfs
hostname	The hostname assigned to the virtual machine or system.	vm01
os	Operating system to be installed on the VM.	rhel8, rhel9
root_password	Root password for the VM or system, used for initial setup or secure access.	SecurePass123
user_name	Username for a user account within the VM, often used with cloud-init.	adminuser
user_password	Password for the user account within the VM.	UserPass123
vm_ballo (optional)	Ballooning memory size for the VM, used to adjust memory allocation dynamically.	2048
vm_cpus	Number of CPU cores assigned to the virtual machine.	4
vm_dns	DNS server IP address(es) for the virtual machine's network configuration.	1.0.0.1, 1.1.1.1
vm_gw	Default gateway IP address for the virtual machine's network configuration.	192.168.0.1
vm_id	Unique identifier for the virtual machine.	101
vm_ip	IP address assigned to the virtual machine.	192.168.0.10
vm_nm (optional)	IP address netmask assigned to the virtual machine.	255.255.255.0
vm_nms (optional)	IP address netmask assigned to the virtual machine.	24
vm_memory	Amount of memory (in MB) allocated to the virtual machine.	2048
vm_nif	Network interface type or identifier for the VM's network connection.	vmbr0
vm_path (optional)	Path or folder where the VM configuration or related files will be stored.	/var/lib/libvirt/images/
vm_size	Disk size allocated for the VM's primary storage (in GB).	20

4. How to Use the Playbook

4.1 Prerequisites

Before running the playbook, ensure you have Ansible installed and configured correctly, and your inventory file is set up with the target systems defined.

4.2 Running the Playbook

Execute the playbook using the ansible-playbook command, ensuring that all necessary variables are defined, typically by specifying a vars.yml file containing the required configurations.

4.3 Example Usage

An effective way to use the playbook involves defining all necessary configurations within a vars.yml file. This file should include all relevant global variables tailored to your specific deployment requirements. Additionally, you should prepare an inventory file (inventory.yml) that lists all the hosts along with any specific inventory variables they might need. Then, you can run the playbook as follows:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml -e @vars.yml main.yml

This command prompts Ansible to execute the main.yml playbook, applying configurations defined in both vars.yml and the inventory file.