Ansible AWX is a free and open-source web application sponsored by Red Hat that allows you to manage Ansible playbooks and inventories. It provides a web-based interface that makes Ansible more comfortable to use in an IT environment. It also provides a REST API that helps you to control access, and graphically manage or sync inventory with a wide variety of cloud sources.
This tutorial will show you how to install Ansible AWX software on Debian 11.
Prerequisites
- A server running Debian 11.
- A root password is configured on the server.
Add Ansible Repository
The Ansible package is not included in the Debian 11 default repository by default. So you will need to add the Ansible repository on your server.
First, install all the required dependencies using the following command:
apt-get install apt-transport-https ca-certificates software-properties-common unzip gnupg2 curl git -y
Once all the dependencies are installed, edit the sources.list file and add the Ansible repository:
nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Add the following line:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ansible/ansible/ubuntu focal main
Save and close the file then add the GPG key with the following command:
apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 93C4A3FD7BB9C367
You will get the following output:
Warning: apt-key is deprecated. Manage keyring files in trusted.gpg.d instead (see apt-key(8)). Executing: /tmp/apt-key-gpghome.47eo2M3Kib/gpg.1.sh --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 93C4A3FD7BB9C367 gpg: key 93C4A3FD7BB9C367: public key "Launchpad PPA for Ansible, Inc." imported gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: imported: 1
Next, update the repository cache using the following command:
apt-get update -y
Install Ansible on Debian 11
Now, run the following command to install Ansible using the following command:
apt-get install ansible -y
Once the Ansible has been installed, verify the Ansible version with the following command:
ansible --version
You will get the following output:
ansible [core 2.11.6] config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg configured module search path = ['/root/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules'] ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible ansible collection location = /root/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections executable location = /usr/bin/ansible python version = 3.9.2 (default, Feb 28 2021, 17:03:44) [GCC 10.2.1 20210110] jinja version = 2.11.3 libyaml = True
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Install Docker CE
By default, the latest version of Docker CE is not included in the Debian 11 default repository. So you will need to add it to the APT.
First, download and add the Docker GPG key with the following command:
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
Next, add the Docker CE repository to the APT with the following command:
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
Next, update the repository and install the Docker CE with the following command:
apt-get update -y
apt-get install docker-ce -y
Once the installation is completed, verify the status of the Docker using the following command:
systemctl status docker
You will get the following output:
? docker.service - Docker Application Container Engine
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/docker.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2021-11-01 04:59:11 UTC; 26min ago
TriggeredBy: ? docker.socket
Docs: https://docs.docker.com
Main PID: 5066 (dockerd)
Tasks: 32
Memory: 1.0G
CPU: 1min 57.723s
CGroup: /system.slice/docker.service
?? 5066 /usr/bin/dockerd -H fd:// --containerd=/run/containerd/containerd.sock
??21970 /usr/bin/docker-proxy -proto tcp -host-ip 0.0.0.0 -host-port 80 -container-ip 172.18.0.2 -container-port 8052
??21994 /usr/bin/docker-proxy -proto tcp -host-ip :: -host-port 80 -container-ip 172.18.0.2 -container-port 8052
Nov 01 04:59:11 debian11 dockerd[5066]: time="2021-11-01T04:59:11.756163493Z" level=info msg="Docker daemon" commit=e2f740d graphdriver(s)=ove>
Nov 01 04:59:11 debian11 dockerd[5066]: time="2021-11-01T04:59:11.756303194Z" level=info msg="Daemon has completed initialization"
Nov 01 04:59:11 debian11 systemd[1]: Started Docker Application Container Engine.
Nov 01 04:59:11 debian11 dockerd[5066]: time="2021-11-01T04:59:11.796631663Z" level=info msg="API listen on /run/docker.sock"
To verify the Docker version, run the following command:
docker -v
You should see the following output:
Docker version 20.10.10, build b485636
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Install Docker Compose and Other Dependency
First, download the Docker Compose binary from the Git repository using the following command:
wget https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.29.0/docker-compose-Linux-x86_64
Next, move the downloaded binary to the /usr/bin/ directory:
mv docker-compose-Linux-x86_64 /usr/bin/docker-compose
Next, set the executable permission to the docker-compose binary:
chmod x /usr/bin/docker-compose
Next, verify the Docker Compose version using the command below:
docker-compose version
You will get the following output:
docker-compose version 1.29.0, build 07737305 docker-py version: 5.0.0 CPython version: 3.7.10 OpenSSL version: OpenSSL 1.1.0l 10 Sep 2019
Next, install Node.js and NPM with the following command:
apt-get install nodejs npm -y
npm install npm --global
Next, install the PIP and other dependencies using the following command:
apt-get install python3-pip git pwgen -y
Next, install the Python module for Docker Compose with the following command:
pip3 install docker-compose==1.29.0
Once you are finished, you can proceed to the next step.
Install Ansible AWX
First, download the Ansible AWX from the Git Hub repository using the following command:
wget https://github.com/ansible/awx/archive/17.1.0.zip
Once the download is completed, unzip the downloaded file with the following command:
unzip 17.1.0.zip
Next, change the directory to the extracted directory and generate a secrete key using the following command:
cd awx-17.1.0/installer/
pwgen -N 1 -s 30
You will get the following output:
dGF8eiFiTkzpaqpWyckxSLe57sZNfJ
Next, edit the inventory file and define your secrete key, admin username and password:
nano inventory
Change the following lines:
admin_user=admin admin_password=securepassword secret_key=dGF8eiFiTkzpaqpWyckxSLe57sZNfJ
Save and close the file then run the Ansible playbook to install the Ansible AWX:
ansible-playbook -i inventory install.yml
Once the Ansible AWX is installed, you will get the following output:
TASK [local_docker : Create Redis socket directory] *******************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Create Docker Compose Configuration] *************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost] => (item={'file': 'environment.sh', 'mode': '0600'})
changed: [localhost] => (item={'file': 'credentials.py', 'mode': '0600'})
changed: [localhost] => (item={'file': 'docker-compose.yml', 'mode': '0600'})
changed: [localhost] => (item={'file': 'nginx.conf', 'mode': '0600'})
changed: [localhost] => (item={'file': 'redis.conf', 'mode': '0664'})
TASK [local_docker : Render SECRET_KEY file] **************************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Remove AWX containers before migrating postgres so that the old postgres container does not get used] ********************
ok: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Run migrations in task container] ****************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Start the containers] ****************************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Update CA trust in awx_web container] ************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Update CA trust in awx_task container] ***********************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Wait for launch script to create user] ***********************************************************************************
ok: [localhost -> localhost]
TASK [local_docker : Create Preload data] *****************************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]
PLAY RECAP ************************************************************************************************************************************
localhost : ok=21 changed=12 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=73 rescued=0 ignored=1
The above playbook will download some Docker images and create an Ansible AWX container.
To verify all Docker images, run:
docker images
You should see the following output:
REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE postgres 12 108ccc7c5fa3 5 days ago 371MB redis latest 7faaec683238 2 weeks ago 113MB centos 8 5d0da3dc9764 6 weeks ago 231MB ansible/awx 17.1.0 599918776cf2 7 months ago 1.41GB
To verify all running containers, run:
docker ps
You should see the following output:
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES b6cd8d874b09 ansible/awx:17.1.0 "https://www.howtoforge.com/usr/bin/tini -- /u…" 2 minutes ago Up 2 minutes 8052/tcp awx_task 65dd0c36334a ansible/awx:17.1.0 "https://www.howtoforge.com/usr/bin/tini -- /b…" 5 minutes ago Up 2 minutes 0.0.0.0:80->8052/tcp, :::80->8052/tcp awx_web 4119ca4a1d24 postgres:12 "docker-entrypoint.s…" 5 minutes ago Up 2 minutes 5432/tcp awx_postgres 212b73bfe362 redis "docker-entrypoint.s…" 5 minutes ago Up 2 minutes 6379/tcp awx_redis
Access Ansible AWX
Now, open your web browser and access the Ansible AWX web interface using the URL http://your-server-ip. You should see the Ansible AWX login page:
Provide your admin username, password and click on the Login button. You should see the Ansible AWX dashboard on the following screen:
Congratulations! you have successfully installed Ansible AWX on Debian 11.
