Installing And Configuring NGINX As A Reverse Proxy Via An Ansible Playbook

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 ~ Geek_Dude

Today I am looking at installing and configuring NGINX with an Ansible playbook. In my previous blog posts I have looked at using an Ansible playbook to install the ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) stack across three different computers, and then how Ansible roles can be used to organise a playbook. Note: The files for this … Continue reading Installing And Configuring NGINX As A Reverse Proxy Via An Ansible Playbook

Using Ansible Roles, aka ELK Stack Ansible Playbook (V2)

May 4, 2020May 4, 2020 ~ Geek_Dude ~ 2 Comments

I have a working Ansible Playbook that installs the ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana and for this example, Filebeat) across three different computers. I have tested the playbook several times and it works each time which is a great sign, however the playbook itself is a little messy. Note: All the files for my ELK … Continue reading Using Ansible Roles, aka ELK Stack Ansible Playbook (V2)

Creating An ELK Stack Via An Ansible Playbook (V1)

May 1, 2020 ~ Geek_Dude ~ 4 Comments

I’m currently spending time learning more about the ELK stack, which is made up of ElasticSearch, Logstash, Kibana (ELK) and Beats. The ELK stack can be created and run within containers (e.g. Docker) but I am going to use an Ansible Playbook to install and configure the ELK stack. You may ask why? Well I’m … Continue reading Creating An ELK Stack Via An Ansible Playbook (V1)

Encrypting Files With Ansible Vault (Linux)

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020 ~ Geek_Dude

Ansible is a piece of configuration management software that can be used to manage a few computers or a lot of computers and as it does not install a client on the end device it (it’s configuration, playbooks and settings) can all be maintained on one computer which acts as the Ansible controller. But how … Continue reading Encrypting Files With Ansible Vault (Linux)

Ansible In A Docker Container

February 10, 2020March 31, 2020 ~ Geek_Dude

Ansible and Docker are both powerful tools and in this blog post I aim to look at putting Ansible in a Docker container. I’m building on the work of https://hub.docker.com/r/philm/ansible_playbook/dockerfile/ Run Commands: docker run -v “$(pwd)”:/ansible/playbooks geektechstuff/ansible_container:latest playbook.yml -i inventory_file_name Switches: -v maps a directory into the container (in above example current working directory of … Continue reading Ansible In A Docker Container

Using Ansible To Create And Manage Users (Linux / Raspberry Pi)

November 3, 2019November 4, 2019 ~ Geek_Dude

If you have multiple Linux devices (e.g. multiple Raspberry Pi computers) and multiple user accounts that need access to those devices (i.e. maybe a Code Club of pupils) and want their own user accounts on the devices it could be a lengthy process managing the accounts and devices. Which is where Ansible (https://www.ansible.com/) comes into … Continue reading Using Ansible To Create And Manage Users (Linux / Raspberry Pi)

Ansible – Updating Multiple Pis Hosts Files (Raspberry Pi)

Using Ansible to change the host file on multiple Pis

August 7, 2019 ~ Geek_Dude

In my “test” environment I currently have 4 Raspberry Pis that all have an IP address reservation on the network but there is no local DNS. Without DNS the devices cannot find each other by device name, i.e. they cannot resolve the names to IP addresses. This could be resolved by making one of the … Continue reading Ansible – Updating Multiple Pis Hosts Files (Raspberry Pi)

Ansible – Looking At Basic Security (Raspberry Pi)

June 28, 2019 ~ Geek_Dude

Ansible is allowing me to control some devices, so what can I do with it to improve security on my Pi network? Note: This post forms part of the my collection of posts on Ansible including installation; SSH set-up and the basics of a playbook/commands. Chage Raspbian has a function called chage that lets you see … Continue reading Ansible – Looking At Basic Security (Raspberry Pi)

Ansible – Looking at commands & Playbooks (Raspberry Pi)

June 27, 2019 ~ Geek_Dude ~ 3 Comments

With Ansible installed and connections to other devices set up, it is now time to have some fun and start using Ansible. For this project I am using a Raspberry Pi 3 running Raspbian OS (Buster) with Ansible installed and two Raspberry Pi Zero Ws running Raspbian OS (Buster). The two previous blog entries discussed … Continue reading Ansible – Looking at commands & Playbooks (Raspberry Pi)

Ansible Setting Up SSH (Raspberry Pi)

June 27, 2019 ~ Geek_Dude ~ 2 Comments

In the previous post I walked through installing Ansible on a Raspberry Pi and finished at the point of the Ansible inventory being set up but needing some SSH. For this part of the project I am using: A Raspberry Pi 3 with Ansible installed, running Raspbian OS (Buster). This is my controller. 2x Raspberry Pi … Continue reading Ansible Setting Up SSH (Raspberry Pi)