Do I need prior Ansible experience for this course?

Basic Linux command-line skills are recommended, but no prior Ansible experience is required. The course starts from Ansible fundamentals and builds up to advanced topics like custom modules and full infrastructure-as-code pipelines.

Is Ansible still relevant with tools like Terraform available?

Absolutely. Ansible and Terraform serve different purposes. Terraform excels at provisioning cloud resources, while Ansible is ideal for server configuration management, software installation, and rolling updates. Many teams use both together, and this course covers that integration.

What will I be able to automate after this course?

You'll be able to automate server provisioning, software installation, configuration management, rolling updates with zero downtime, secret management with Ansible Vault, and full infrastructure-as-code delivery pipelines.

Is the course delivered live or is it pre-recorded?

The course is delivered live and online. You can interact with the instructor in real-time, ask questions via chat or audio, and participate in hands-on exercises. Video recordings are provided after the course for review.

Will I receive a certificate after completing the course?

Yes, all participants receive a shareable online certificate of attendance. You can also take an optional 1-hour exam, with your score printed on the certificate.

Learn Ansible: The Definitive Guide to Managing Server Provisioning

About the Pragmatic Ansible Course

This is a two-day deep-dive into infrastructure automation and management with the help of Ansible. The simplicity, elegance and power of Ansible playbooks and roles will give you a head-start with any automation tasks: server provisioning, automated deployments, rolling updates, server state audit. Ansible can handle everything, starting from simple installation and configuration management to complex orchestrations of your server and network device mesh.

What You'll Learn in This workshop

Implement playbooks for installing and managing server software
Manage static and dynamic inventory of servers and network devices
Implement rolling updates and zero down-time strategies
Create reusable Ansible roles and custom modules for your infrastructure

Pragmatic Ansible Outline

1. Day 1

• Ansible terminology: play, playbook, control machine, inventory, module, role
• Ansible installation: minimal requirements, Python and Python modules, local and remote modes
• Implementing simple playbooks
• Handling logic in playbook: variables, facts and conditionals
• Configuration templating with Jinja2
• Using Ansible default facts and defining custom facts
• Complex interactions through tasks, handlers and tags
• Managing inventory: static vs dynamic
• Rolling updates and delegation
• Structuring playbooks: inclusions and roles

2. Day 2

• Working with Ansible Galaxy and externalizing dependencies
• Creating Ansible modules to handle complex abstractions
• Hiding secrets with Ansible Vault
• Debugging Ansible roles and playbooks
• Testing Ansible roles and playbooks
• Multi-host management with Tower and Foreman
• Managing containers with Ansible
• Implementing full infrastructure-as-code delivery pipeline with Ansible

What's Included

Unique content - real-life use cases, modern infrastructure, CI/CD/GitOps principles shown in practice.

Certificate of attendance - you will get a shareable online certificate.

Exam after the course - you may pass an optional 1-hour exam and get your score printed on the certificate.

Workshop happens online - join from the convenience of your office or home.

Video recordings will be available after the course - you can revisit some topics later.

Live and interactive - you can ask questions in the chat or over audio and get live clarifications.

Q&A session in the end of each day - you will to get answers to more complex questions in a 1-hour long Q&A session.

Quizzes and polls during the course - learning should be fun!

Practical exercises with solutions - lots of simple and not-so-simple tasks to practice with during the course; Solutions will be provided afterwards.

Additional home work - for those who want to practice more after the course; Homework will be reviewed and supplemented by constructive feedback.

Lifetime e-mail support - you can get answers on anything related to the course content as well as advice based on your company specific situation.