Ansible Operating Procedures

Adding a host

Confirm DNS, SSH access, operating system, and Python availability. Add the host to the correct inventory groups, validate inventory, test connectivity, and deploy relevant roles to one host before a wider rollout.

Deployment checks

Inspect inventory with ansible-inventory --graph. Use playbook syntax checking and check mode where appropriate. Apply --limit to test on a small set of hosts, and verify affected services afterward.

Source control

The controller stores Ansible configuration under /etc/ansible. Review changes, commit and push tested configuration. Never commit Ansible Vault passwords, SSH private keys, or unencrypted service credentials.

Semaphore

Confirm the correct repository, inventory, credentials and task template before launching a job. Retain execution logs for troubleshooting.

Maintenance

Check Chrony source selection, Zabbix Agent 2 status and Postfix relay behavior after relevant role changes. Avoid restarting SSH remotely without validating configuration and retaining console access.