Data Engineering 1

TD2 - Ansible & Packer

4 min de lecture

TD2 - Managing Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Author: Badr TAJINI - DevOps Data for SWE - ESIEE - 2025

Overview

TD2 focuses on Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles and tools. You’ll learn to automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management using industry-standard tools: Bash scripts, Ansible, Packer, and OpenTofu (Terraform-compatible).

This lab covers exercises 3 through 12 from the course, progressing from basic scripting to advanced IaC patterns including modules and version control.

Lab Exercises

Exercises 3-4: Bash Scripting

  • Deploying EC2 instances via AWS CLI
  • Understanding idempotency in infrastructure automation
  • User data scripts for instance initialization

Exercises 5-6: Packer

  • Building Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) with Packer
  • Pre-installing applications in images for faster deployments
  • Image versioning and management

Exercises 7-8: OpenTofu Basics

  • Declarative infrastructure configuration
  • Managing EC2 instances with OpenTofu
  • Understanding state management

Exercises 9-10: Ansible

  • Configuration management with playbooks
  • Dynamic inventory with AWS
  • Role-based organization for the sample-app

Exercises 11-12: Advanced OpenTofu

  • Refactoring to reusable modules
  • Multi-instance deployments with for_each
  • Using modules from GitHub with version control

Directory Structure

td2/
├── README.md                              # This file
├── scripts/
│   ├── bash/                              # Exercises 3-4: Bash deployment scripts
│   │   ├── deploy-ec2-instance.sh
│   │   └── user-data.sh
│   ├── packer/                            # Exercises 5-6: AMI building
│   │   └── sample-app.pkr.hcl
│   ├── ansible/                           # Exercises 9-10: Configuration management
│   │   ├── create_ec2_instance_playbook.yml
│   │   ├── configure_sample_app_playbook.yml
│   │   ├── inventory.aws_ec2.yml
│   │   └── roles/sample-app/
│   └── tofu/                              # Exercises 7-8, 11-12: IaC
│       ├── ec2-instance/                  # Single instance
│       ├── ec2-multi/                     # Multi-instance with for_each
│       ├── modules/ec2-instance/          # Reusable module
│       └── live/
│           ├── sample-app/                # Static: 2 module instances
│           ├── sample-app-scalable/       # Dynamic: 3 instances with for_each
│           └── github-modules/            # Using versioned GitHub modules
├── SECTION_6_SUMMARY.md                   # Module refactoring details
├── SECTION_7_SUMMARY.md                   # GitHub modules usage guide
└── Others/                                # Additional documentation and references

Prerequisites

  • AWS Account with credentials configured
  • AWS CLI installed and configured
  • Ansible with amazon.aws collection
  • Packer installed
  • OpenTofu/Terraform installed
  • Node.js (for local testing)

Quick Start Commands

Bash Scripts (Exercises 3-4)

chmod +x td2/scripts/bash/deploy-ec2-instance.sh
chmod +x td2/scripts/bash/user-data.sh
./td2/scripts/bash/deploy-ec2-instance.sh

Packer (Exercises 5-6)

cd td2/scripts/packer
packer init sample-app.pkr.hcl
packer build sample-app.pkr.hcl

Ansible (Exercises 9-10)

ansible-galaxy collection install amazon.aws
cd td2/scripts/ansible
ansible-playbook -v create_ec2_instance_playbook.yml
ansible-playbook -v -i inventory.aws_ec2.yml configure_sample_app_playbook.yml

OpenTofu (Exercises 7-8, 11-12)

cd td2/scripts/tofu/ec2-instance
tofu init
tofu apply -var="ami_id=ami-xxxx"
tofu destroy  # Clean up when done

Key Concepts

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

  • Declarative Configuration: Define desired state, let tools handle implementation
  • Version Control: Infrastructure changes tracked in Git
  • Reproducibility: Same configuration produces same infrastructure
  • Automation: Reduce manual processes and human error

Tool Comparison

  • Bash: Quick scripts, procedural approach, limited idempotency
  • Packer: Image building, immutable infrastructure patterns
  • Ansible: Configuration management, good for mutable infrastructure
  • OpenTofu: Full IaC lifecycle, strong state management, modular design

Module Benefits (Exercises 11-12)

  • Code reuse across projects
  • Standardized infrastructure patterns
  • Version control for infrastructure components
  • Easier testing and maintenance

Security Best Practices

  • Never commit AWS credentials to Git
  • Use ~/.aws/credentials or environment variables
  • Add sensitive files to .gitignore
  • Regularly rotate access keys
  • Use IAM roles when possible

Resource Cleanup

Always destroy AWS resources after testing to avoid unnecessary costs:

# EC2 instances
aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids <INSTANCE_ID>
 
# OpenTofu-managed resources
cd td2/scripts/tofu/ec2-instance
tofu destroy
 
# Packer AMIs (via AWS Console or CLI)
aws ec2 deregister-image --image-id <AMI_ID>
aws ec2 delete-snapshot --snapshot-id <SNAPSHOT_ID>

Additional Resources

Detailed documentation for specific exercises can be found in:

  • SECTION_6_SUMMARY.md - OpenTofu modules refactoring
  • SECTION_7_SUMMARY.md - Using GitHub modules with versioning
  • scripts/*/EXERCISE_*.md - Exercise-specific implementation notes
  • Others/ - Comprehensive references and summaries

Notes

This lab builds the foundation for advanced IaC concepts covered in TD3, including Auto Scaling Groups, Lambda functions, and production-grade infrastructure patterns.

Fichiers Configuration Ansible

Les fichiers de configuration Ansible pour ce TD :

Analyses et Résumés

9 éléments sous ce dossier.