100-Days-Of-DevOps-Challenge-KodeKloud

Ansible Ping Module Usage

The Nautilus DevOps team is planning to test several Ansible playbooks on different app servers in Stratos DC. Before that, some pre-requisites must be met. Essentially, the team needs to set up a password-less SSH connection between Ansible controller and Ansible managed nodes. One of the tickets is assigned to you; please complete the task as per details mentioned below:

a. Jump host is our Ansible controller, and we are going to run Ansible playbooks through thor user from jump host.

b. There is an inventory file /home/thor/ansible/inventory on jump host. Using that inventory file test Ansible ping from jump host to App Server 3, make sure ping works.

Steps

Update the inventory file with specific user:

 stapp01 ansible_host=172.16.238.10 ansible_user=tony ansible_ssh_pass=Ir0nM@n
 stapp02 ansible_host=172.16.238.11 ansible_user=steve ansible_ssh_pass=Am3ric@
 stapp03 ansible_host=172.16.238.12 ansible_user=banner ansible_ssh_pass=BigGr33n

 [all:vars]
 ansible_ssh_common_args='-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no'

Test ping module

To ping all servers:
```
  ansible all -i inventory -m ping
```
To ping specific server:
```
  ansible stapp03 -i inventory -m ping
```

Good to Know?

Ansible Ping Module

Purpose: Test connectivity and authentication
Not ICMP: Uses SSH connection, not network ping
Authentication Test: Verifies SSH credentials work
Python Check: Ensures Python is available on target

Connection Testing

SSH Connectivity: Verify network connectivity
Authentication: Test username/password or SSH keys
Python Availability: Ensure Python interpreter exists
Sudo Access: Test privilege escalation if needed

Inventory Variables

ansible_host: Override hostname/IP address
ansible_user: SSH username for connection
ansible_ssh_password: SSH password (use vault)
ansible_ssh_common_args: Additional SSH options

Troubleshooting Connectivity

Network Issues: Check firewall, routing, DNS
SSH Configuration: Verify SSH service and config
Authentication: Check credentials and SSH keys
Python: Ensure Python is installed on targets

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