Using Ansible Playbooks to Automate MySQL Installation and Cron Job Creation

Ansible Playbooks are defined using YAML files, which support lists, maps, and scalar values and are identified by the .yaml extension. Playbooks enable the automation of repetitive and complex tasks by allowing variables, conditions, loops, templates, roles, and includes.

Example 1: Batch Install MySQL Database

Write the following YAML Playbook:

- hosts: webserver
   remote_user: root
   tasks:
     - name: mysql-server install
       yum: name=mysql-server state=present

Key parameters:

hosts: webserver – target host or group.

remote_user: root – user for remote execution.

tasks – list of actions.

- name: mysql-server install – descriptive task name.

yum: name=mysql-server state=present – installs the MySQL package.

state=absent – would remove the package.

Execute and verify:

ansible all -a "/bin/rpm -q mysql-server"
ansible-playbook mysql-server.yaml

The output shows ok=2 changed=1 , confirming successful installation. Additional checks can be run with:

ansible all -a "/bin/rpm -q mysql-server"
ansible all -a "/sbin/service mysqld start"

Example 2: Create a Cron Job via Playbook

Write the following YAML Playbook:

- hosts: webserver
   remote_user: root
   tasks:
     - name: crontab
       cron: name="testjob" day='10' job="sh /opt/backup.sh"

Run the playbook:

ansible-playbook crond.yaml

The result ok=2 changed=1 indicates the cron job was created successfully. Verify with:

ansible all -a 'crontab -l'   # list crontab entries on each node

Additional notes: use ansible-doc -l to list built‑in modules and ansible-doc to view detailed usage of a specific module.

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