Docker and Ansible Questions

Mon Dec 23 16:46:42 MST 2024

Interesting - Thanks!!


On 2024-12-23 12:16, Thomas Scott via PLUG-discuss wrote:
> Network Engineer here - Docker is required and helpful knowledge on
> this end as well. I started as a PHP Developer/Web Admin 15+ years
> ago, moved to networking for the stability. Docker lets me forget
> about a ton of the setup of my LAMP/LEMP/Node/Django/FastAPI/etc,
> whatever I'm running on and just worry about the development, the
> _thing_ I'm building. All of my own infra has been migrated to Docker,
> or even k8s which can be overkill, but hey - when things fail, I care
> even less now, (unless it's the network)
> 
> Best Regards,
> -Thomas Scott
> 
> On Dec 22, 2024 at 8:21:09 PM, "Snyder, Alexander J via
> PLUG-discuss" <plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
> 
>> Hello!
>> 
>>>> You use Docker, from what I understand.
>> --->> I do use Docker in my Homelab, yes. Currently, I have the
>> following containers running:
>> ------>> My internal "Dashboard" - "Homepage"
>> (https://gethomepage.dev/)
>> ------>> Docker Update utility - "What's Up Docker"
>> (https://getwud.github.io/wud/)
>> ------>> Plex Metrics
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-tautulli/)
>> ------>> TV Show NZB Client - Sonarr
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-sonarr/)
>> ------>> NZB Download Agent - Sabnzb
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-sabnzbd/)
>> ------>> Torrent Download Client - Transmission
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-transmission/)
>> ------>> Movie NZB Client - Radarr
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-radarr/)
>> ------>> Music NZB Client - Lidarr
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-lidarr/)
>> ------>> Movie Download Client - Radarr << hallmark-radarr >>, this
>> one setup specifically to download Hallmark Channel movies
>> ------>> Plex Requests Client - OMBI
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-ombi/)
>> ------>> Speedtest.net downloads client and DB trackr -
>> Speedtest-Tracker
>> (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-speedtest-tracker/)
>> 
>>>> You are a senior Linux admin, and I assume you are working with
>> Ansible
>> --->> I am a Senior Automation Engineer working at APS (Arizona
>> Power Company). I work exclusively with Ansible and Python. I work
>> within the "Ansible Automation Platform", and APS (as well as many
>> (most?) Enterprises) are deeply entrenched in the RedHat ecosystem.
>> 
>>>> to automate something that has to do with Linux servers.
>> --->> Yes, currently, our entire VM provisioning process is handled
>> entirely in Ansible Playbooks -- and for the entirety of 2024, I was
>> the lead developer on our effort to Automate the VM Provisioning
>> process in Azure. Before our work, it would take the Azure team (two
>> people) "about an hour or so" to create a VM ready for production --
>> this was an entirely manual process that made consistency very
>> difficult from VM to VM. I am very proud to say that we've taken
>> this "About an hour" Unicorn process in Azure to a 15-20 minute
>> process that creates a production-ready Azure VM (proud papa
>> spouting!).
>> 
>>>> I am a semi-retired old guy who is a PHP developer.  I use Ubuntu
>> to
>>>> create local web servers for testing and development of PHP. I'm
>> a
>>>> little rusty since I am just now taking the leap from CentOS to
>> Ubuntu
>>>> for LAMP web servers. This requires PHP-FPM. I'm also a little
>> rusty
>>>> with PHP since I have not done any real programming in several
>> years.
>> 
>>>> Given my station, please tell me several things:
>> 
>>>> 1) How do I benefit from using Docker?
>> --->> My intention to show the Nginx/PHP demo showed that you can
>> "ignore" all the non-php-related stuff and still have a solid
>> development environment. At a minimum, it would allow you to speed
>> up your PHP development because you wouldn't need to "worry" about
>> all the naggy L*MP stuff. You could easily spin up a Nginx/PHP
>> container (as in my demo), but you could have several containers,
>> each targeting a different version of PHP to ensure backward (and
>> forward) compatibility, and maybe test different configurations to
>> see what benefits your application the best.
>> 
>>>> 2) How do I benefit from using Ansible?
>> --->> I use Ansible for all* (most) of my homelab configurations.
>> This includes an Ansible Playbook that uses a JINJA Template to
>> configure Docker Compose files consistently.
>> --->> The Docker Playbook does the following:
>> ------>> name: Ensure the directory exists
>> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}"
>> ------>> name: Ensure the Data directory exists
>> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}/data"
>> ------>> name: Ensure the backup directory exists
>> ------>>   path: "/opt/backup/containers/{{ container_name }}"
>> ------>> name: Create the downloads directory
>> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/downloads/{{ container_name }}/"
>> ------>> name: Create the Compose File (from a JINJA template)
>> ------>>   dest: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}/{{ container_name
>> }}-compose.yml"
>> ------>> name: Insert block of text in the WhatsUpDocker file so it
>> knows to monitor it for updates
>> 
>>>> 3) How would I use Ansible as a PHP developer?
>> --->> It could easily create a consistent development environment
>> for you, execute a single playbook, and conjure docker containers
>> with all your settings. Alternatively, you can set a bare VM and use
>> Ansible to configure *EVERYTHING* to get started.
>> 
>>>> 4) What is the learning curve for Docker for someone like me?
>> --->> It is just another part of the technical puzzle, so if you
>> struggle to onboard new technologies, much of Docker might be hard
>> for you. Still, if you're the kind that can spend an afternoon
>> reading a manual or watching some "NetworkChuck" videos on YouTube
>> before you "get the gist," it'll probably come quickly.  I "forced"
>> myself into docker in 2023 after being staunch VMWare
>> "a-VM-for-every-appliction." I paid $7xx for my own vSphere/vCenter
>> license and was doing that for many years. I bought a
>> cheap-refurbished DELL r530 1U server specifically to be my "Docker
>> Host" while I worked through the trenches of "Figuring out" Docker.
>> It turned out to be extremely simple (for me), and within 30 days, I
>> had completely converted from my "a-VM-for-every-appliction" mindset
>> over to a "container-for-everything" approach.
>> 
>>>> 5) What is the learning curve for Ansible for someone like me?
>> --->> So, I think "Ansible" itself is the "easiest-to-onboard"
>> automation technology I've worked with. I've worked with Puppet
>> (yuk!), Chef (vomit!), and now Ansible (yum!). It is based on YAML,
>> which is very simple to get the hang of. I knew nothing of YAML but
>> had figured out the basics in a weekend. I've built on "the basics"
>> since I started with it in 2020. At its core, Ansible is based on
>> Python, which also makes it easy (_I'm a huge fan of Python, and I
>> utterly despise and hate "Ruby"_).
>> 
>> I'm happy to help anyone get on board with the basics of Docker
>> and/or Ansible. Just let me know!
>> 
>> --
>> Thanks,
>> Alex.
>> 
>> On Sun, Dec 22, 2024 at 1:13 PM Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss
>> <plug-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> Alexander J Snyder,
>>> 
>>> You use Docker from what I understand.
>>> 
>>> You are a senior Linux admin and I assume you are working with
>>> Ansible
>>> to automate something to do with Linux servers.
>>> 
>>> I am a semi-retired old guy who is a PHP developer.  I use Ubuntu
>>> to
>>> create local web servers for testing and development of PHP. I'm a
>>> 
>>> little rusty since I am just now taking the leap from CentOS to
>>> Ubuntu
>>> for LAMP web servers. This requires PHP-FPM. I'm also a little
>>> rusty
>>> with PHP since I have not done any real programming in several
>>> years.
>>> 
>>> Given my station please tell me several things:
>>> 
>>> 1) How do I benefit from using Docker?
>>> 
>>> 2) How do I benefit from using Ansible?
>>> 
>>> 3) How would I use Ansible as a PHP developer?
>>> 
>>> 4) What is the learning curve for Docker for someone like me?
>>> 
>>> 5) What is the learning curve for Ansible for someone like me?
>>> 
>>> Thanks!!
>>> Keith
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>>> https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
>> 
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