Apache install playbook creation & launch: speedrun
Greg Sowell sets a two-minute timer and races to write an Ansible playbook from scratch that installs and enables Apache on a Rocky Linux 9 host, then commits it to Git and launches it from Ascender before the clock runs out. Along the way he switches the yum module to dnf, sets become to true, and creates a job template that ties his generic inventory, miscellaneous project, and lab server credential to the new playbook.
The run completes with about 14 seconds to spare, making this a quick, lighthearted look at how little ceremony a working piece of automation actually needs.
Key takeaways
- The playbook targets a Rocky Linux 9 demo host, disables fact gathering, sets become to true, and uses dnf to install Apache.
- After committing the playbook, the Ascender project needs a moment to sync before the new file appears in the job template picker.
- The job template combines a generic inventory, the miscellaneous project, and a lab server credential, and the launch finishes with roughly 14 seconds left.
Questions this video answers
How quickly can you write and run an Ansible playbook in Ascender?
In this speedrun the whole cycle takes under two minutes: writing a playbook that installs and enables Apache with dnf, committing it to Git, waiting for the Ascender project to sync, creating a job template with an inventory, project, and credential, and launching it. The job completes successfully with about 14 seconds remaining.
About this video
Recorded on December 17, 2024. Can Greg Sowell write a playbook from scratch that installs and enables Apache, then commit and launch it, all inside two minutes? Watch to find out.
This video is part of the Ascender Pro playlist. Browse every CIQ video by product and topic.
Transcript
hey everybody I'm Greg Sowell and as you can tell from the timer moving there I've given myself 2 minutes install Apache yml 2 minutes to create a piece of Automation and actually execute it so I'm going to try and do all this stuff in tandem let's see how it goes this is dumb because obviously uh install Apache we'll just go with that I'm going to change the host to be uh Greg rocky9 I think that's my demo host GA facts false I'm going to say become uh true don't say yes install aache yum we'll change this to dnf why not dnf uh Apache service enable
yeah all that looks fine I'm going to save that I'm going to come over here I'm going to commit it commit sync you got to give that just a second to synchronize now in my Ascender here I'm going to go to the projects they sender miscellaneous so that should have already committed this has to kind of refresh for a second before that Playbook will actually show up so I'm think I'm hitting the timing right you don't want to you don't want to say new uh there until you get it and this is going to be install Apache Speed Run inventory right this is going to
be the list of all the hosts I could operate against I'm going to do it out of my generic inventory my project is going to be the an miscellaneous ones where I keep all just my random junk in here it should be install Apache all right it did get there in time I'm going to do my credential is my lab servers route whatever who cares I click save I'm going to launch that all right as you can see it did successfully complete so the uh two-minute timer did work I mean we made it under the line I'm going to give myself 14 seconds I was
able to get it launch it and it completed shortly thereafter so if you have any questions or comments about automation you would love to see another speedrun of this sort do you find this amusing to see somebody sweat so profusely when trying to do automation let us know uh if nothing else thanks and uh we'll see you very quickly next time bye
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