Setup the Automation Hub ( Galaxy NG) using Ansible

Projects: c2platform/ansible, c2platform.mw

This step-by-step guide demonstrates how to create an instance of Ansible Galaxy on the c2d-galaxy1 node using the Pulp Operator  . The Pulp  platform is a recently developed open-source software that facilitates the management and distribution of software packages, similar to Sonatype Nexus Repository  . A Galaxy NG instance essentially refers to a Pulp instance with the Galaxy NextGen  Pulp plugin installed.

Prerequisites

Create the reverse and forward proxy c2d-rproxy1.

c2
unset PLAY  # ensure all plays run
vagrant up c2d-rproxy1

For more information about the various roles that c2d-rproxy1 performs in this project:

• Setup Reverse Proxy and CA server
• Setup SOCKS proxy
• Managing Server Certificates as a Certificate Authority
• Setup DNS for Kubernetes

Setup

To create the Kubernetes instance and deploy the Galaxy NG instance, execute the following command:

vagrant up c2d-galaxy1

Verify

You can now verify your AWX instance using the Kubernetes Dashboard and the AWX web interface via the forward proxy, as described in Getting Started.

Kubernetes Dashboard

To access the Kubernetes Dashboard, navigate to https://dashboard-galaxy.c2platform.org/  and log in using a token. Obtain the token by running the following command inside the c2d-galaxy1 node:

kubectl -n kube-system describe secret microk8s-dashboard-token

Using the dashboard, you can navigate to the awx  namespace. There, you should see running pods without any errors, such as galaxy-web and galaxy-content.

For more information about the token and dashboard setup, refer to Setup the Kubernetes Dashboard.

Galaxy NG

To access the Galaxy NG web interface, please visit https://galaxy.c2platform.org  . You can log in using the admin account with the password secret.

Thanks to Ansible’s configuration of the remote community repository along with its dependencies, you should be able to synchronize it. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Collections → Repository Management → Remote.
2. Click on the Sync button to initiate the synchronization process.

After initiating the sync, head over to the Task Management section. You’ll notice a job in progress. Be patient and wait for it to complete. Once it’s done, navigate to the Namespaces section. Here, you’ll find several namespaces housing Ansible collections, including the c2platform namespace.

Review

For a comprehensive understanding of the Galaxy NG instance creation process using Ansible, please consult the following components within the Ansible playbook project c2platform/ansible:

1. Vagrantfile.yml: This file configures the c2d_galaxy1 node with the mgmt/galaxy playbook.
2. plays/mgmt/awx_galaxy.yml: This playbook sets up Ansible roles for the galaxy Ansible group.
3. hosts-dev.ini: The inventory file assigns the c2d_galaxy1 node to the galaxy Ansible group.
4. group_vars/galaxy/main.yml: In this file, you’ll find the primary Kubernetes configuration, including the activation of add-ons such as dashboard and the metallb load balancer.
5. group_vars/galaxy/kubernetes.yml: This file contains configurations for setting up the Kubernetes cluster and installing Galaxy. It encompasses three critical settings: ansible_api_hostname, ansible_content_hostname, content_origin. These settings must be correctly configured to match the URL of the Galaxy NG instance at https://galaxy.c2platform.org  , as an incorrect configuration may hinder Galaxy NG’s correct operation outside the cluster. This setup is crucial for enabling the successful execution of the ansible-galaxy collection install command, as demonstrated in Utilizing the Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) from the Virtual Desktop.
6. group_vars/galaxy/hub.yml: This file contains configuration that is utilized by the galaxy.galaxy  to configure the remote community collection’s “requirements”. It’s important to note that this collection is currently undergoing active development and is known to have a multitude of issues.

Additionally, within the Ansible collection project c2platform.mw, you can explore:

1. The c2platform.mw.microk8s Ansible role.
2. The c2platform.mw.kubernetes Ansible role.

To access various resources within the c2d environment via the forward Proxy please use the following URLs:

• https://galaxy.c2platform.org  for the Automation Hub ( Galaxy NG ) web interface.
• https://dashboard-galaxy.c2platform.org/  for the Kubernetes Dashboard where Galaxy NG is deployed in the galaxy namespace.
• Django REST framework 
• Automation Hub API 

Links

• For guidance on using the Automation Hub (Galaxy NG) from the Virtual Desktop, consult Use the Automation Hub ( Galaxy NG) from the Virtual Desktop.
• End User Installation · ansible/galaxy_ng Wiki  . This document offers detailed instructions on installing Pulp and Galaxy NG from PyPi packages, along with an Ansible playbook. Although this method of installing Galaxy was initially considered, it has been surpassed by the preference for deploying Galaxy on Kubernetes through the utilization of the Pulp Operator.
• About Pulp 3 | software repository management 
• OperatorHub.io | The registry for Kubernetes Operators 
  • Pulp Project 
  • Ansible Galaxy 
• pulp/pulp-operator: Kubernetes Operator for Pulp 3. Under active development. 
• Galaxy NG 
  • Create the installer config file 
  • Installation Guide 
  • Collections Guide 
  • Execution Environment Guide 
  • RBAC and User Management Guide 
  • Galaxy V3 API 
• Welcome to Pulp Ansible’s documentation! 
  • Settings  various settings that can be passed to Galaxy Operator using pulp_settings.
• pulp/pulp-operator: Kubernetes Operator for Pulp 3. Under active development. 
• Red Hat Communities of Practice 
  • redhat-cop/controller_configuration: A collection of roles to manage Ansible Controller and previously Ansible Tower