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--- lab:ansible_virtualbox_autoboot_linux:deploy_a_fleet_of_vms [2024/01/31 19:34] – [Create fleet-user-data.js Jinja File] user
+++ lab:ansible_virtualbox_autoboot_linux:deploy_a_fleet_of_vms [2024/05/10 05:16] (current) – removed user
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-====== Deploy a Fleet of VMs ======
-In this step we will give the ''ansible'' account sudo privileges on our host and use playbooks to deploy and manager servers from an inventory of servers.
-Overview:
-  - Give sudo permissions to user ansible
-  - Set up the variables.yml file
-  - Set up up the server.yml file with the information about the servers we want
-  - Create jinja templates
-  - Create playbook to deploy servers
-  - Create playbook to update packages on the servers
-===== Grant sudo Permissions to the ansible User =====
-From your regular login account all the ''ansible'' user to the ''sudo'' group.
-<code>sudo usermod -aG sudo ansible</code>
-You can new test sudo access for the user ''ansible'':
-  * ''su - ansible''
-  * ''sudo apt update''
-For the remainder of the Lab you will be using the ''ansible'' user. You may conveniently ssh to your server as user ''ansible''.
-===== Create a New variables.yml File =====
-Create a new variables.yml file in the home directory (you are the user ''ansible'' now, so it's in /home/ansible).
-Replace the ssh key with the one you saved earlier. Also as before you need to replaced the bridge_interface_name value with the interface of your host machine.
-<file yaml variables.yml>
----
-Global:
-  bridge_interface_name: "enp8s0"
-  username: ansible
-  ssh_key: "ssh-rsa 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 autobox@autobox"
-  workingdir: "{{ lookup('env','HOME') }}/ubuntu-autoinstall"
-  inventory_file: "{{ lookup('env','HOME') }}/inventory"
-  vboxmanage_path: /usr/bin/vboxmanage
-  ubuntu_iso: https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-server/jammy/daily-live/current/jammy-live-server-amd64.iso
-  ubuntu_iso_filename: jammy-live-server-amd64.iso
-  new_iso_filename: ubuntu-22.04-autoinstall.iso
-</file>
-===== Create servers.yml File =====
-For this level of automation, we need to know the IP addresses of the servers. Therefore instead of relying on DHCP, we will build the servers with static IP addresses.
-These static IP addresses:
-  * are on the same subnet as your host machine
-  * need to be unique (no conflicts); assign IP addresses that are __not__ in your router's DHCP scope/range
-    * This is Linux, so static IP addresses are NOT in the DHCP scope; Windows fixed IP addresses are in the scope range
-  * are expressed in CIDR notation for the sake of the autoinstaller
-    * Ex. 192.168.1.25 with the subnet 255.255.255.0 = 192.168.1.25
-    * Ref. [[https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/subnet-cheat-sheet-24-subnet-mask-30-26-27-29-and-other-ip-address-cidr-network-references/]]
-Since we are doing static IP addresses you will also need to provide:
-  * IPv4Gateway: the IP address of your router
-    * on your host computer run ''route -n'' from Terminal/command line to set the gateway IP
-  * IPv4DNS: a DNS server
-    * on your host computer run ''nmcli device show''
-    * shows the IP4.DNS[1] address and the IP4.GATEWAY address
-    * you can always configure the Google DNS IP 8.8.8.8 here
-The Search domain should match the domain you configured on your router, if any. Or use ''lablocal'' for a safe value.
-You will also specify VM resources for each server:
-  * DiskSize in MB (10240 = 102240 MB = 10GB)
-  * MemorySize in MB (1024 = 1GB)
-  * CPUs in number of virtual cores
-You will also enter the Name (VM name), Hostname (VM's OS hostname), local sudoer username and password
-In the following example the Lab router (192.168.99.254) provides a DNS resolver to clients.
-<file yaml server.yml>
----
-Server_List:
-  - Name: server1
-    Deploy: true
-    Configuration:
-      Storage:
-        DiskSize: 10240
-      Compute:
-        MemorySize: 1024
-        CPUs: 1
-      OS:
-        User: ubuntu
-        Password: "virtualbox1!"
-        Hostname: server1
-        IPv4Address: 192.168.99.201/24
-        IPv4Gateway: 192.168.99.254
-        IPv4DNS: 192.168.99.254
-        SearchDomain: lablocal
-  - Name: server2
-    Deploy: true
-    Configuration:
-      Storage:
-        DiskSize: 20480
-      Compute:
-        MemorySize: 2048
-        CPUs: 2
-      OS:
-        User: ubuntu
-        Password: "virtualbox1!"
-        Hostname: server2
-        IPv4Address: 192.168.99.202/24
-        IPv4Gateway: 192.168.99.254
-        IPv4DNS: 192.168.99.254
-        SearchDomain: lablocal
-  - Name: server3
-    Deploy: true
-    Configuration:
-      Storage:
-        DiskSize: 30960
-      Compute:
-        MemorySize: 3096
-        CPUs: 3
-      OS:
-        User: ubuntu
-        Password: "virtualbox1!"
-        Hostname: server3
-        IPv4Address: 192.168.99.203/24
-        IPv4Gateway: 192.168.99.254
-        IPv4DNS: 192.168.99.254
-        SearchDomain: lablocal
-</file>
-===== Create  fleet-user-data.j2 Jinja File =====
-Next create the jinja (j2) template used to create the user-data file for each server's automatic installer ISO image.
-<file yaml fleet-user-data.j2>
-#cloud-config
-autoinstall:
-  version: 1
-  ssh:
-    install-server: true
-    allow-pw: false
-  storage:
-    layout:
-      name: lvm
-      match:
-        size: largest
-  network:
-    network:
-      version: 2
-      ethernets:
-        zz-all-en:
-          match:
-            name: "en*"
-          dhcp4: no
-          addresses: [{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address }}]
-          gateway4: {{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Gateway }}
-          nameservers:
-              addresses: [{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4DNS }}]
-  user-data:
-    disable_root: true
-    timezone: America/New_York
-    package_upgrade: true
-    packages:
-    - network-manager
-    - lldpd
-    - git
-    - python3-pip
-    - ansible
-    - arp-scan
-    users:
-      - name: {{ Global.username }}
-        primary_group: users
-        groups: sudo
-        lock_passwd: true
-        shell: /bin/bash
-        ssh_authorized_keys:
-          - "{{ Global.ssh_key }}"
-        sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
-  ansible:
-    install_method: pip
-    package_name: ansible
-    galaxy:
-      actions:
-        - ["ansible-galaxy", "collection", "install", "community.general"]
-  late-commands:
-    - echo "{{ item.Configuration.OS.Hostname }}" > /target/etc/hostname
-    - echo "Ubuntu 22.04 LTS \nIP - $(hostname -I)\n" > /target/etc/issue
-</file>
-===== Deploy Servers =====
-The next playbook is the one that will do all the work.
-Overview:
-  * set up working directory
-  * download the Ubuntu 20.20 server ISO (this may take some time depending on the Internet connection)
-  * create a customer bootable ISO for each server
-  * create a VM for each server with the required resources
-  * power on the new VMs in headless more
-  * add the static IP addresses assigned to the VMs to the inventory file ''inventory''
-  * wait for the servers to boot and be configured, and finally come online
-  * add the ssh keys to the known_hosts file to enable seamless control using Ansible
-<file yaml build_fleet.yml>
----
-- hosts: localhost  # Run actions on the local machine
-  name: build_fleet.yml
-  connection: local
-  gather_facts: false
-  vars_files:
-    - variables.yml
-    - servers.yml
-  tasks:
-    - name: Create working directory
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}"
-        state: directory
-        mode: "755"
-    - name: Download the latest ISO
-      get_url:
-        url: "{{ Global.ubuntu_iso }}"
-        dest: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/jammy-live-server-amd64.iso"
-        force: false
-    - name: Create source files directory
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files"
-        state: directory
-        mode: "755"
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-      when: item.Deploy
-    - name: Extract ISO
-      command: "7z -y x {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ Global.ubuntu_iso_filename }} -o{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files"
-      changed_when: false
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Add write permissions to extracted files
-      command: "chmod -R +w {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files"    # Using chmod as Ansible (Python) can't handle the recursion depth on the Ubuntu ISO
-      changed_when: false
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    ## Start workaround issue with Ubuntu autoinstall
-    ## Details of the issue and the workaround: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1394441/ubuntu-20-04-3-autoinstall-with-embedded-user-data-crashing-i-got-workaround
-    - name: Extract the Packages.gz file on Ubuntu ISO
-      command: "gunzip -f {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/dists/jammy/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz --keep"
-      changed_when: false
-    ## End workaround issue with Ubuntu autoinstall
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Rename [BOOT] directory
-      command:  "mv {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/'[BOOT]' {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name}}/BOOT"
-      changed_when: false
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Edit grub.cfg to modify menu
-      blockinfile:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/boot/grub/grub.cfg"
-        create: true
-        block: |
-          menuentry "Autoinstall Ubuntu Server" {
-             set gfxpayload=keep
-             linux   /casper/vmlinuz quiet autoinstall ds=nocloud\;s=/cdrom/server/  ---
-             initrd  /casper/initrd
-          }
-        insertbefore: 'menuentry "Try or Install Ubuntu Server" {'
-        state: present
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Edit grub.cfg to set timeout to 1 second
-      replace:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/boot/grub/grub.cfg"
-        regexp: '^(set timeout=30)$'
-        replace: 'set timeout=5'
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Create directory to store user-data and meta-data
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/server"
-        state: directory
-        mode: "755"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Create empty meta-data file in directory
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/server/meta-data"
-        state: touch
-        mode: "755"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Copy user-data file to directory using template
-      template:
-        src: ./fleet-user-data.j2
-        dest: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/server/user-data"
-        mode: "755"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Create custom ISO
-      command: "xorriso -as mkisofs -r \
-               -V 'Ubuntu 22.04 LTS AUTO (EFIBIOS)' \
-               -o {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/{{ Global.new_iso_filename }} \
-               --grub2-mbr ../BOOT/1-Boot-NoEmul.img \
-               -partition_offset 16 \
-               --mbr-force-bootable \
-               -append_partition 2 28732ac11ff8d211ba4b00a0c93ec93b ../BOOT/2-Boot-NoEmul.img \
-               -appended_part_as_gpt \
-               -iso_mbr_part_type a2a0d0ebe5b9334487c068b6b72699c7 \
-               -c '/boot.catalog' \
-               -b '/boot/grub/i386-pc/eltorito.img' \
-               -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table --grub2-boot-info \
-               -eltorito-alt-boot \
-               -e '--interval:appended_partition_2:::' \
-               -no-emul-boot \
-               ."
-      args:
-        chdir: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files/"
-      changed_when: false
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Remove BOOT directory
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/BOOT"
-        state: absent
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Delete source files
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/source-files"
-        state: absent
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Create VM
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} createvm --name {{ item.Name }} --ostype Ubuntu_64 --register"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Create VM storage
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} createmedium disk --filename {{ item.Name }}.vdi --size {{ item.Configuration.Storage.DiskSize }} --format=VDI"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Add IDE controller
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} storagectl {{ item.Name }} --name IDE --add IDE --controller PIIX4"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Attach DVD drive
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} storageattach {{ item.Name }} --storagectl IDE --port 0 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium {{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}/{{ Global.new_iso_filename }}"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Add SATA controller
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} storagectl {{ item.Name }} --name SATA --add SAS --controller LsiLogicSas"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Attach drive
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} storageattach {{ item.Name }} --storagectl SATA --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium {{ item.Name }}.vdi"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Boot order
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name }} --boot1 disk --boot2 DVD --boot3 none --boot4 none"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Set VM CPU, RAM, video RAM
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name }} --cpus {{ item.Configuration.Compute.CPUs }} --memory {{ item.Configuration.Compute.MemorySize }} --vram 16"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Settings 1
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name}} --graphicscontroller vmsvga --hwvirtex on --nested-hw-virt on"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Settings 2
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name}} --ioapic on --pae off --acpi on --paravirtprovider default"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Settings 3
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name}} --nestedpaging on --keyboard ps2 --uart1 0x03F8 4"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Settings 4
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name}} --uartmode1 disconnected --uarttype1 16550A --macaddress1 auto --cableconnected1 on"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Network adapter
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} modifyvm {{ item.Name }} --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 {{ Global.bridge_interface_name }}"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Start the virtual machine
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} startvm {{ item.Name }} --type headless"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Add to inventory file
-      lineinfile:
-        path: "{{ Global.inventory_file }}"
-        line: "{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }}"
-        create: true
-        regexp: "^{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }}$"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Wait for server availability on port 22
-      wait_for:
-        port: 22
-        host: "{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }}"
-        state: started
-        delay: 180
-        timeout: 600
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Make sure known_hosts exists
-      file:
-        path: "{{ lookup('env','HOME') }}/.ssh/known_hosts"
-        state: touch
-    - name: Add VM to known_hosts
-      shell: ssh-keyscan -H {{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }} >> {{ lookup('env','HOME') }}/.ssh/known_hosts
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-</file>
-Run the script: ''ansible-playbook build_fleet.yml''
-===== Configure Servers =====
-Now that the servers are built and online, we will configure the local user and update all packages.
-Overview
-  * Extend the disk partition(s) to use all of the available disk space
-  * Enable username & password login and add the local user specified in the ''servers.yml'' file
-  * Update and upgrade all packages (rebooting as needed)
-  * Disable the DNS stub listener to prevent later issues with failed DNS lookups
-<file yaml configure_servers.yml>
----
-- hosts: all
-  name: configure_fleet.yml
-  become: true
-  vars_files:
-    - variables.yml
-    - servers.yml
-  tasks:
-    - name: Look up information by IP
-      when: item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] == inventory_hostname
-      set_fact:
-        matching_system: "{{ item }}"
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Wait for server to be up
-      wait_for:
-        host: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"
-        state: started
-        port: 22
-        delay: 0
-        timeout: 60
-    - name: Extend logical volume
-      command: lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv
-      when: matching_system.Configuration.Storage.DiskSize > 20470
-    - name: Resize filesystem
-      command: resize2fs /dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-ubuntu--lv
-      when: matching_system.Configuration.Storage.DiskSize > 20470
-    - name: Add user
-      user:
-        name: "{{ matching_system.Configuration.OS.User }}"
-        shell: /bin/bash
-        home: "/home/{{ matching_system.Configuration.OS.User }}"
-        password: "{{ matching_system.Configuration.OS.Password | password_hash('sha512') }}"
-        groups: sudo
-        append: true
-    - name: Enable ssh password authentication step 1
-      lineinfile:
-        path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-        line: "PasswordAuthentication yes"
-        state: present
-        create: true
-    - name: Enable ssh password authentication step 2
-      replace:
-        path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-        regexp: '^\s*#+PasswordAuthentication.*$'
-        replace: "PasswordAuthentication yes"
-    - name: Enable ssh password authentication step 3
-      replace:
-        path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
-        regexp: '^\s*#*KbdInteractiveAuthentication.*$'
-        replace: "KbdInteractiveAuthentication yes"
-    - name: restart ssh
-      service:
-        name: ssh
-        state: restarted
-    - name: Update and upgrade all apt packages
-      apt: update_cache=true force_apt_get=true state=latest
-    - name: Check if reboot is required
-      register: file
-      stat: path=/var/run/reboot-required get_md5=no
-    - name: Reboot the server if required
-      reboot:
-        reboot_timeout: 180
-      when: file.stat.exists == true
-    - name: Disable DNS stub listener
-      ini_file: dest=/etc/systemd/resolved.conf section=Resolve option=DNSStubListener value=no backup=yes
-      tags: configuration
-    - name: Restart NetworkManager
-      systemd:
-        name: NetworkManager
-        state: restarted
-    - name: Restart systemd-resolved
-      systemd:
-        name: systemd-resolved
-        state: restarted
-    - name: daemon-reload
-      systemd:
-        daemon_reload: true
-</file>
-Run the script: ''ansible-playbook -i inventory configure_fleet.yml''
-===== Test Servers =====
-Do a quick ansible ping:
-  * ''ansible -i inventory all -m ping''
-Log in to servers and confirm everything is working with the correct user account & password, CPUs, storage, RAM
-  * ssh to the IP address of the server (password-less login as ansible using key)
-  * ssh to the IP address of the server as the user you specified in servers.yml
-    * Ex. ''ssh myuser@192.168.99.201''
-    * You should be prompted for the password
-  * Test sudo access for each user
-  * Check the amount of disk space: ''df -h''
-  * Check the amount of RAM: ''free -h''
-  * Check the number of CPUs: ''grep processor /proc/cpuinfo | wc -l''
-Can you write a playbook to display this information?
-====== Destroy and Rebuild ======
-Destroy all the VMs using the playbook below. Notice that it removes the working directory and even cleans up the known_hosts and inventory file.
-<file yaml destroy_fleet.yml>
----
-- hosts: localhost  # Run actions on the local machine
-  name: destroy_fleet.yml
-  connection: local
-  gather_facts: false
-  vars_files:
-    - variables.yml
-    - servers.yml
-  tasks:
-    - name: Shut down VM
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} controlvm {{ item.Name }} poweroff --type emergency"
-      ignore_errors: true
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Remove VM
-      command: "{{ Global.vboxmanage_path }} unregistervm --delete {{ item.Name }}"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Remove from inventory file
-      lineinfile:
-        path: "{{ Global.inventory_file }}"
-        line: "{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }}"
-        state: absent
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Remove Ansible controller server directories
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}/{{ item.Name }}"
-        state: absent
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-    - name: Remove Ansible controller fleet working directory
-      file:
-        path: "{{ Global.workingdir }}"
-        state: absent
-    - name: Remove from known_hosts file
-      command: ssh-keygen -f "{{ lookup('env','HOME') }}/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "{{ item.Configuration.OS.IPv4Address.split('/')[0] }}"
-      when: item.Deploy
-      loop: "{{ Server_List }}"
-</file>
-Run the script: ''ansible-playbook destroy_fleet.yml''
-Be amazed at how quickly everything cleaned up and destroyed, then recreate the environment. Optionally add an additional server or two to server.yml. Watch out you don't run out of RAM, CPU cores, or disk.
-Run the script: ''ansible-playbook -i inventory configure_fleet.yml''
-====== Next Step ======
-continue to.... [[Deploy an Application to our fleet of VMs]]
-Or back to [[Delete the First Ubuntu VM using Ansible]]
-====== Optional ======
-Explore using CSV files from Excel. Let's fact it, many times we use Excel to collect the data and don't want to bother converting it to YML (or JSON for that matter).
-Save the spreadsheet as a CSV (comma separated value) file so ansible can read it.
-[[https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/general/read_csv_module.html]]
-IMPORTANT If the CSV file is created directly from Excel, you many need to look at the "dialect" option. Yes, this makes a difference to the underlying Python methods.