Quickstart: Configure Linux virtual machines in Azure using Ansible
Using a declarative language, Ansible allows you to automate the creation, configuration, and deployment of Azure resources via Ansible playbooks. This article presents a sample Ansible playbook for configuring Linux virtual machines. The complete Ansible playbook is listed at the end of this article.
Prerequisites
- Azure subscription: If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a Trial Subscription before you begin.
Create a resource group
Ansible needs a resource group in which your resources are deployed. The following sample Ansible playbook section creates a resource group named myResourceGroup in the chinaeast location:
- name: Create resource group
azure_rm_resourcegroup:
name: myResourceGroup
location: chinaeast
Create a virtual network
When you create an Azure virtual machine, you must create a virtual network or use an existing virtual network. You also need to decide how your virtual machines are intended to be accessed on the virtual network. The following sample Ansible playbook section creates a virtual network named myVnet in the 10.0.0.0/16 address space:
- name: Create virtual network
azure_rm_virtualnetwork:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myVnet
address_prefixes: "10.0.0.0/16"
All Azure resources deployed into a virtual network are deployed into a subnet within a virtual network.
The following sample Ansible playbook section creates a subnet named mySubnet in the myVnet virtual network:
- name: Add subnet
azure_rm_subnet:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: mySubnet
address_prefix: "10.0.1.0/24"
virtual_network: myVnet
Create a public IP address
Public IP addresses allow Internet resources to communicate inbound to Azure resources. Public IP addresses also enable Azure resources to communicate outbound to public-facing Azure services. In both scenarios, an IP address assigned to the resource being accessed. The address is dedicated to the resource until you unassign it. If a public IP address isn't assigned to a resource, the resource can still communicate outbound to the Internet. The connection is made by Azure dynamically assigning an available IP address. The dynamically assigned address isn't dedicated to the resource.
The following sample Ansible playbook section creates a public IP address named myPublicIP:
- name: Create public IP address
azure_rm_publicipaddress:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
allocation_method: Static
name: myPublicIP
Create a network security group
Network security groups filter network traffic between Azure resources in a virtual network. Security Rules are defined that govern inbound and outbound traffic to and from Azure resources. For more information about Azure resources and network security groups, see Virtual network integration for Azure services
The following playbook creates a network security group named myNetworkSecurityGroup. The network security group includes a rule that allows SSH traffic on TCP port 22.
- name: Create Network Security Group that allows SSH
azure_rm_securitygroup:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myNetworkSecurityGroup
rules:
- name: SSH
protocol: Tcp
destination_port_range: 22
access: Allow
priority: 1001
direction: Inbound
Create a virtual network interface card
A virtual network interface card connects your virtual machine to a given virtual network, public IP address, and network security group.
The following section in a sample Ansible playbook section creates a virtual network interface card named myNIC connected to the virtual networking resources you've created:
- name: Create virtual network interface card
azure_rm_networkinterface:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myNIC
virtual_network: myVnet
subnet: mySubnet
public_ip_name: myPublicIP
security_group: myNetworkSecurityGroup
Create a virtual machine
The final step is to create a virtual machine that uses all the resources you've created in the previous sections of this article.
The sample Ansible playbook section presented in this section creates a virtual machine named myVM and attaches the virtual network interface card named myNIC. Replace the <your-ssh-public-key-data> placeholder with your own complete public key data.
- name: Create VM
azure_rm_virtualmachine:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myVM
vm_size: Standard_DS1_v2
admin_username: azureuser
ssh_password_enabled: false
ssh_public_keys:
- path: /home/azureuser/.ssh/authorized_keys
key_data: <your-ssh-public-key-data>
network_interfaces: myNIC
image:
offer: CentOS
publisher: OpenLogic
sku: '7.5'
version: latest
Complete sample Ansible playbook
This section lists the entire sample Ansible playbook that you've built up over the course of this article.
- name: Create Azure VM
hosts: localhost
connection: local
tasks:
- name: Create resource group
azure_rm_resourcegroup:
name: myResourceGroup
location: chinaeast
- name: Create virtual network
azure_rm_virtualnetwork:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myVnet
address_prefixes: "10.0.0.0/16"
- name: Add subnet
azure_rm_subnet:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: mySubnet
address_prefix: "10.0.1.0/24"
virtual_network: myVnet
- name: Create public IP address
azure_rm_publicipaddress:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
allocation_method: Static
name: myPublicIP
register: output_ip_address
- name: Dump public IP for VM which will be created
debug:
msg: "The public IP is {{ output_ip_address.state.ip_address }}."
- name: Create Network Security Group that allows SSH
azure_rm_securitygroup:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myNetworkSecurityGroup
rules:
- name: SSH
protocol: Tcp
destination_port_range: 22
access: Allow
priority: 1001
direction: Inbound
- name: Create virtual network interface card
azure_rm_networkinterface:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myNIC
virtual_network: myVnet
subnet: mySubnet
public_ip_name: myPublicIP
security_group: myNetworkSecurityGroup
- name: Create VM
azure_rm_virtualmachine:
resource_group: myResourceGroup
name: myVM
vm_size: Standard_DS1_v2
admin_username: azureuser
ssh_password_enabled: false
ssh_public_keys:
- path: /home/azureuser/.ssh/authorized_keys
key_data: <your-ssh-public-key-data>
network_interfaces: myNIC
image:
offer: CentOS
publisher: OpenLogic
sku: '7.5'
version: latest
Run the sample Ansible playbook
This section walks you through running the sample Ansible playbook presented in this article.
Sign in to the Azure portal.
Use SSH command to access the linux virtaul machine which the Ansible has been installed and configureed successfully on prerequisites section. Replace the <ip-address> placeholder with the actual IP address from the Linux VM.
ssh azureuser@<ip-address>Create a file (to contain your playbook) named
azure_create_complete_vm.yml, and open it in the VI editor, as follows:vi azure_create_complete_vm.ymlEnter insert mode by selecting the I key.
Paste the complete sample Ansible playbook into the editor.
Exit insert mode by selecting the Esc key.
Save the file and exit the vi editor by entering the following command:
:wqRun the sample Ansible playbook.
ansible-playbook azure_create_complete_vm.ymlThe output looks similar to the following where you can see that a virtual machine has been successfully created:
PLAY [Create Azure VM] **************************************************** TASK [Gathering Facts] **************************************************** ok: [localhost] TASK [Create resource group] ********************************************* changed: [localhost] TASK [Create virtual network] ********************************************* changed: [localhost] TASK [Add subnet] ********************************************************* changed: [localhost] TASK [Create public IP address] ******************************************* changed: [localhost] TASK [Dump public IP for VM which will be created] ******************************************************************** ok: [localhost] => { "msg": "The public IP is <ip-address>." } TASK [Create Network Security Group that allows SSH] ********************** changed: [localhost] TASK [Create virtual network interface card] ******************************* changed: [localhost] TASK [Create VM] ********************************************************** changed: [localhost] PLAY RECAP **************************************************************** localhost : ok=8 changed=7 unreachable=0 failed=0The SSH command is used to access your Linux VM. Replace the <ip-address> placeholder with the IP address from the previous step.
ssh azureuser@<ip-address>