Ansible: Playbook

Ad-hoc commands are great for simple tasks. For more complex automation (like configuring servers, installing packages, or running multiple tasks), use an Ansible playbook.

1. Create a Simple Playbook (YAML file)

Create a file named site.yml:

- name: Example playbook to update and install Apache on webserver
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Update apt repo
      apt:
        update_cache: yes

    - name: Install Apache2
      apt:
        name: apache2
        state: present

2. Run the Playbook

ansible-playbook -i hosts.ini site.yml

• This runs the playbook tasks on all servers in the [webservers] group.

3. Extend Playbook for Other Servers

You can add more plays/tasks for dbservers, users, files, etc.

4. Folder Structure Example

project_folder/
├── hosts.ini
└── site.yml

5. Best Practices

• Use separate playbooks for different roles (web, db, monitoring, etc).
• Store passwords/secrets with Ansible Vault.
• Use variables for customization.