- add exeriments for:

  - roles
  - variables
  - inventory changes
  - config changes

1 files changed, 189 insertions, 8 deletions

diff --git a/ansible_stuff.org b/ansible_stuff.org
index 99f00db..04c860f 100644
--- a/ansible_stuff.org
+++ b/ansible_stuff.org
@@ -504,10 +504,18 @@ https://www.lifewire.com/download-free-books-3482754
 https://assets.digitalocean.com/books/how-to-manage-remote-servers-with-ansible.pdf
 
 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/cheatsheets/how-to-use-ansible-cheat-sheet-guide
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/command_guide/intro_adhoc.html
 
 
 To execute a command on a node, use the -a option followed by the
-command you want to run, in quotes.
+command you want to run, in quotes.  some of these don't use a -m
+<module_name> bcuz they're using the default 'command' module.  we'll
+want to be careful using the 'command' module cuz it DOES NOT SUPPORT
+extended shell syntaxes like piping and redirects (although shell
+variables will always work).  If your command requires shell-specific
+syntax, use the shell module instead.
+
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/command_module.html
 
 some more examples of an adhoc commands that can be run:
 
@@ -523,6 +531,14 @@ tmpfs          tmpfs     3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /dev/shm
 cgroup_root    tmpfs     8.0M     0  8.0M   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
 /dev/sda1      ext4       89M   82M   73K 100% /boot
 
+-- or --
+
+we could've run the above like so:
+
+  ansible all -m ansible.builtin.shell -a "df -Th"
+
+  https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/shell_module.html
+
 
 dpierre@boom2:~$ ansible all -a "uptime"
 
@@ -531,10 +547,10 @@ dpierre@boom2:~$ ansible all -a "uptime"
 
 
 - copying files that are owned by myself
-ansible all -m copy -a "src=./file.txt dest=~/myfile.txt"
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.copy -a "src=./file.txt dest=~/myfile.txt"
 
 - change file permissions
-ansible all -m file -a "dest=/var/www/file.txt mode=600 owner=sammy group=sammy" --become -K
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.file -a "dest=/var/www/file.txt mode=600 owner=sammy group=sammy" --become -K
 
 - invoking services
 ansible all -a "/sbin/reboot" --become -K
@@ -558,10 +574,14 @@ https://www.digitalocean.com/community/cheatsheets/how-to-manage-multiple-server
 we use the '-m' switch on ansible commands to reference a command via
 the 'command module' to execute that command on the remote server(s).
 
-ansible all -m setup
-ansible all -m setup -a "gather_subset=min"
-ansible all -m setup -a " filter=*ipv* "
-ansible all -m setup > ../bbox-system.json
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.setup
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.setup -a "gather_subset=min"
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.setup -a " filter=*ipv* "
+ansible all -m ansible.builtin.setup > ../bbox-system.json
+
+ansible localhost -m ansible.builtin.setup
+
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_vars_facts.html
 
 
 - to list out the tasks of a playbook:
@@ -601,5 +621,166 @@ playbook: 12-playbook-copy-directory.yml
     and sometimes you want to limit the group or single server that
     should be the target for that setup.  You can use -l (limit) to set
     up the target group or server in that play.
+    - REMEMBER... the 'hosts' w/in the playbook must be using a group
+      of some kind for this to work...or else you'll receive a message
+      like "skipping: no hosts matched"
+
+        ansible-playbook -l dev-stations 12-playbook-copy-directory.yml
+
+** <2023-11-30 Thu>
+
+researching 'roles' and how to use them.
+
+the issue i have now is that i made a simple playbook that copies
+files on to the host as expected...but i want to change where those
+files are placed depending on the host type.  i think roles will help
+me w/ this.
+
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32101001/ansible-playbooks-vs-roles
+
+
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.html
+- the above URL shows an example of using a conditional on which tasks
+  to run on a host depending on the host os.  ansible grabs this info
+  by calling 'ansible_facts' (grabbing the 'setup') on the host.
+
+  - i grabbed the setup info on each host like so:
+
+      ansible localhost -m ansible.builtin.setup > ansible_setup_on_control_node.json
+      ansible dev -m ansible.builtin.setup > ansible_setup_on_dev_node.json
+
+  - the setup info looks very similar for both in that there's no real
+    way to discern a managed from a control host simply by reading the json
+    - there are differences in the ip address and machine name but not
+      much else
+
+- wtf are 'magic variables' (special variables)
+  https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_vars_facts.html#information-about-ansible-magic-variables
+
+  maybe this is my answer to finding something that describes the
+  control vs managed node
+
+  ansible docs are not very good at explaining this stuff very well !!!
+
+  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18839509/where-can-i-get-a-list-of-ansible-pre-defined-variables
+  - this is not a bad way of pulling these 'magic variables'
+
+    - these are what i need !!
+
+        ansible -m ansible.builtin.debug -a 'var=hostvars' localhost
+	ansible -m ansible.builtin.debug -a 'var=hostvars.localhost' localhost
+
+      - i'll get different values for different hosts w/ these
+        variables:
+
+	- via my one managed host i see:
+
+            "inventory_hostname": "192.168.0.220",
+            "inventory_hostname_short": "192.168.0.220",
+
+	- via my control host i see:
+
+	    "inventory_hostname": "localhost",
+	    "inventory_hostname_short": "localhost"
+
+      - so it appears i could use the above 'magic variables' in a
+        conditional statement
+
+- role
+  - bash_configs
+    - tasks
+      - main.yml
+      - localhost.yml
+      - other_hosts.yml
+
+** <2023-12-04 Mon>
+
+- experimented w/ using the 'inventory_hostname' above by using an
+  example from here:
+  https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/debug_module.html
+
+- grrr... ansible documentation from redhat is not really good if you
+  want a slight tutorial on how to work w/ roles.  it's great at push
+  out facts about 'roles' or other constructs but putting it together
+  it a good example is quite terrible IMHO.
+
+- this is a great example of a simple role
+  https://github.com/cesarvr/ansible-role-hello-world
+  - the inet needs more simple examples like this !!
+
+** <2023-12-05 Tue>
+
+- How to Use Ansible Roles to Abstract your Infrastructure Environment
+   https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-ansible-roles-to-abstract-your-infrastructure-environment
+
+- i decided im gonna create my roles directory like so: '~/.ansible/roles/'
+  - [X] i need to update 'roles_path' in '~/.ansible.cfg' to point to
+    this 'roles' directory
+- [X] create 'bash_config' role
+
+- had all sorts of issues w/ including files in roles.
+
+    The vars_files key is a play directive. It defines a list of files to
+    read from to load variable data. These files are read and parsed at
+    the time the playbook itself is parsed. Just as with including tasks
+    and handlers, the path is relative to the file referencing the file.
+
+- this is kind of what i want to do...
+  https://serverfault.com/questions/589734/ansible-can-i-use-vars-files-when-some-files-do-not-exist
+  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53253879/ansible-vars-files-vs-include-vars
+  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36134552/use-multiple-var-files-in-ansible-role
+
+** <2023-12-07 Thu>
+
+- worked w/ 'var_files' and that did not do what i expected
+- playing w/ 'group_vars' directory
+  https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_variables.html#id44
+  - this seemed to work nicely for me.  i created
+    '06-playbook-print-group-vars.yml' as an exmple
+  - i had to create the following files inside of '/home/dpierre/.ansible'
+
+    ├── group_vars
+    │   └── all
+    ├── host_vars
+    │   └── localhost
+
+    - with the following guts:
+
+      # /home/dpierre/.ansible/group_vars/all
+      prefix_dir: ~/
+
+      # /home/dpierre/.ansible/host_vars/localhost
+      prefix_dir: ~/tmp/temp_files/
+
+    - i also added the following at the top '/home/dpierre/.ansible/host'
+
+      # /home/dpierre/.ansible/hosts
+      ...
+      localhost ansible_connection=local
+ 
+
+- looking again at this:
+  https://www.middlewareinventory.com/blog/run-ansible-playbook-locally/
+  - i think i just need to employ one of these strategies for running
+    a playbook locally and stop fighting friction
+    - i believe i'm more interested in methods 3 and 4
+    - another link w/ some examples:
+      https://nixzie.com/run-ansible-playbook-locally/#Run_Ansible_Playbook_Locally_Using_Local_Action
+- this lil argument on SO states that idiomatic roles in ansible
+  should not possess roles:
+  https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36134552/use-multiple-var-files-in-ansible-role
+  - so...this explains why trying to add different variablse for the
+    hosts in roles was painful...its bcuz its in the wrong place
+
+** <2023-12-08 Fri>
+
+- continued my tests of copying files and found the correct way is to
+  use hosts and/or group vars that can be kept in the playbook or w/
+  the 'hosts'/'inventory' file.
+
+- made the correct changes and now copied the files to localhost in
+  the correct place
+
+- make copy of ~/.ansible into repo for reference:
 
-      ansible-playbook -l dev-stations 12-playbook-copy-directory.yml
+    rsync -avzhrP ~/.ansible* ~/repos/ansible_repo/home/