Automate Apache Deployment with Ansible: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

Deploy Apache with Ansible – Full Tutorial

Using Ansible to deploy the Apache service automates the installation process and guarantees consistent configuration across all servers. The following steps show how to set up Ansible, create a reusable role, write a playbook, run it, verify the deployment, and optionally uninstall Apache.

1. Install Ansible

On Debian‑based systems:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ansible

On RPM‑based systems:

sudo yum install ansible
# or on newer systems
sudo dnf install ansible

2. Configure Ansible

Edit the inventory file /etc/ansible/hosts to list the target hosts:

[tests]
192.168.178.222

[webservers]
192.168.178.100
192.168.178.101

[dbservers]
192.168.178.103
192.168.178.104

Optionally adjust the main configuration file /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg (example excerpt):

inventory = /path/to/your/inventory/file
forks = 5
remote_user = your_username
private_key_file = /path/to/your/private_key
host_key_checking = False
sudo_user = your_sudo_username
# sudo_pass = your_sudo_password  # not recommended
timeout = 10
log_path = /var/log/ansible.log

3. Create the Role Directory

mkdir -p /etc/ansible/roles/apache

4. Create Role Sub‑directories

Inside the apache role create the required folders (tasks, templates, etc.):

cd /etc/ansible/roles/apache
mkdir tasks templates files handlers vars meta defaults

5. Write tasks/main.yml

---
- name: Install httpd
  yum:
    name: httpd
    state: present

- name: Start httpd service
  service:
    name: httpd
    state: started
    enabled: yes

- name: Stop firewalld
  service:
    name: firewalld
    state: stopped
    enabled: no

- name: Create /site directory
  file:
    path: /var/www/html/site
    state: directory
    mode: '0755'

- name: Deploy index.html from template
  template:
    src: index.html.j2
    dest: /var/www/html/site/index.html
    mode: '0644'

6. Write templates/index.html.j2

Welcome to {{ ansible_fqdn }} On {{ ansible_default_ipv4.address }}

7. Create the Playbook ( apache.yml )

---
- name: Deploy Apache
  hosts: your_target_group  # replace with a group from your inventory
  become: yes
  roles:
    - apache

8. Run the Playbook

ansible-playbook apache.yml

9. Verify the Deployment

Check Apache service status:

sudo systemctl status httpd

Fetch the generated page:

curl http://localhost/site/index.html
# or
wget -qO- http://localhost/site/index.html

10. Uninstall Apache (Optional)

Create a playbook remove_httpd.yml to stop and remove the service:

---
- hosts: tests
  tasks:
    - name: stop httpd server
      service: name=httpd state=stopped
      notify:
        - remove httpd
  handlers:
    - name: remove httpd
      yum: name=httpd state=removed

ansible-playbook remove_httpd.yml

For more details, see the original article at https://www.cnblogs.com/ydswin/p/18195602 .