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

Using Ansible to deploy Apache is a reliable way to automate the installation and ensure consistent configuration across servers.

Table of Contents

1 Install Ansible

2 Ansible Configuration

3 Create Role Directory

4 Create Role Sub‑directories

5 Write tasks/main.yml

6 Write templates/index.html.j2

7 Create Playbook

8 Run Playbook

9 Verify Result

10 Uninstall Apache After Verification

1 Install Ansible

On Debian‑based systems run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ansible

On RPM‑based systems run:

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

2 Ansible Configuration

Edit the inventory file /etc/ansible/hosts to list target hosts, e.g.:

[tests]
192.168.178.222

[webservers]
192.168.178.100
192.168.178.101

[dbservers]
192.168.178.103
192.168.178.104

Adjust the main configuration /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg as needed. Example settings:

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
timeout = 10
log_path = /var/log/ansible.log

3 Create Role Directory

Create the role directory under /etc/ansible/roles/apache:

mkdir -p /etc/ansible/roles/apache

4 Create Role Sub‑directories

Inside the role create the standard sub‑directories (tasks, templates, files, handlers, vars, meta, defaults). At minimum tasks and templates are required:

cd /etc/ansible/roles/apache
mkdir tasks templates

5 Write tasks/main.yml

Define the steps to install and configure Apache:

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

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

- name: Stop firewalld service
  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

Template content using Jinja2 variables:

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

7 Create Playbook

Create a playbook file, e.g. apache.yml, that applies the apache role:

---
- name: Deploy Apache
  hosts: your_target_group
  become: yes
  roles:
    - apache

8 Run Playbook

Execute the playbook with: ansible-playbook apache.yml If sudo password is required, Ansible will prompt unless configured otherwise.

9 Verify Result

Check Apache status:

sudo systemctl status httpd

Test the created page with curl or wget:

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

10 Uninstall Apache After Verification

Playbook to stop and remove Apache:

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

Run with:

ansible-playbook remove_httpd.yml