AnsibleGuy ansibleguy

Introduction

I enjoy creating automation templates using the platform Ansible (by Red Hat).

Creating Ansible Roles and Modules/Collections should help others to get started faster.

Feedback is appreciated!

Keeping the user interaction clean and simple

Per example:

If a network admin wants to configure a WireGuard VPN-Infrastructure he/she/... should not need to think about the role - just the abstracted topology!
Each role should use as few 'top-level' variables as possible

Most roles will take ONE nested variable (dictionary)
Commonly redundant config is not accepable.

The role should work its magic ✨ and handle it using inheritance, scoping and/or defaults

Preferring opt-out on optional features

IT-Infrastructure is a very sensitive domain.

I hate it if some role/script does more than it should.

That can lead to unpredictable results!
The roles allow the user to choose the features they want to opt-in.

Good documentation

The best tool is useless if you can not handle it..

Documentation is the tools 'interface' and should be clean.

I can't tell how often I came across a tool with a nice feature-set but could not use it as of the lack of good documentation!
Transparency is key when getting to know a role.

Examples (config => result) are very vital for this.

Not everybody wants to run the role to see what it actually does do.

As security is very important in todays IT environment I'm checking my Roles and Modules/Collections for security best-practises.
Roles and Modules will at least warn you if unsecure settings are used or will not even fail on you if you use them in an unsecure way.
You should always use encrypted connectivity => Automation makes it very easy to add/generate certificates.

Automation can save time and nerves, enables infrastructure-as-code (with all it's benefits) and scales well.

What are you waiting on? Automate! 😄

Have a nice day!