Edition: Saturday, June 8th, 2024

Are you familiar with the terms DevOps and Platform Engineering?  DevOps is the process of consistently and reliably deploying applications into production environments.  Platform Engineering focuses on building and maintaining the foundational infrastructure and t...

Edition: Saturday, May 25th, 2024

Over the years, I've completed a lot of SQL Server installations.  Some of those resulted in having to move database files around afterward because I failed to ensure the disks were properly formatted and aligned.  I had to move files to a temporary location, refor...

I use Ansible in my virtual sandbox to configure and maintain Linux and Windows servers. I aim to set up my sandbox to match most of the production environments I've previously worked with.  Most require using Kerberos over NTLM or strongly encourage its use.  The sandbox I'm configuring already has...

Introduction:

Imagine you're walking into a job interview or taking on a new role. During the interview, the hiring manager asks, "What sets you apart from the other twenty candidates I've interviewed?" How would you respond? If you've mastered Ansible and efficient automation, your answer might un...

Introduction:

Inventory files lie at the core of Ansible.  They are a crucial component that organizes and categorizes the target hosts to which Ansible will apply configurations.  In this post, I'll walk you through the essentials of an Ansible inventory file, covering its basic structure and synt...

Introduction:

Setting up a Windows managed node is a crucial step in leveraging Ansible for managing your Windows infrastructure efficiently.  In this post, we'll walk through the process of setting up a Windows managed node using Ansible, enabling you to automate tasks on your Windows machines sea...

Introduction:

In continuing the "Getting Started With Ansible" series, I will cover the control node, how to install it, and end with a quick demo of the process.  In the next post, we'll cover how to set up an inventory and connect to both a Linux (RHEL) and Windows host.  Before we start, though,...

Introduction:

Ansible is a powerful automation tool that can simplify your IT configuration tasks and boost productivity.  If you've found yourself overwhelmed with repetitive manual tasks, Ansible might be your new best friend.  Let's look at some of Ansible's key concepts.  I'll dive into the det...

Imagine being a systems administrator and being asked to configure 100s of new servers or desktops due to a recent company merger.  This is a daunting task even for the most experienced admins.  Fortunately, there are tools that exist which make these types of tasks streamlined and repeatable. 

In ...