Foundations of Ansible
Introduction to Automation

• Definition and importance of automation in IT environments.
• Benefits of implementing automation with Ansible.
• Overview of Ansible's architecture and components.

Setting Up Ansible

• Installing Ansible on Linux and Windows systems.
• Configuring inventory files and SSH connections.

Interactive Session

• Hands-on exercise: Run a simple Ansible playbook.

Building Playbooks
Understanding Playbook Syntax

• YAML basics and Ansible playbook structure.
• Writing and debugging Ansible playbooks.

Managing Tasks

• Defining tasks, handlers, and templates.
• Using variables and conditionals in playbooks.

Practical Exercise

• Create a playbook to configure a web server.

Inventory and Roles

• Inventory Management
• Organizing hosts and groups in inventory files.
• Using dynamic inventories for cloud environments.
• Role-Based Automation
• Creating reusable Ansible roles.
• Organizing roles for scalability.
• Role Play
• Build an Ansible role and apply it to multiple hosts.

Integrating Ansible with CI/CD
Automating Workflows

• Integrating Ansible with Jenkins, GitLab, and GitHub Actions.
• Automating server provisioning and configuration.

Multi-Environment Deployments

• Deploying configurations across development, staging, and production.
• Managing environment-specific variables.

Group Activity

• Automate server provisioning using Ansible and a CI/CD pipeline.

Advanced Topics and Best Practices
Securing Ansible

• Protecting sensitive data with Ansible Vault.
• Enforcing access controls for playbooks.

Scaling Ansible

• Optimizing performance with parallel execution.
• Handling large-scale automation workflows.

Best Practices and Real-World Examples

• Reviewing best practices for Ansible usage.
• Discussing real-world case studies and success stories.

Final Project Presentation: Comprehensive Ansible Automation Workflow

• Closing Remarks