This document discusses integrating Ansible Tower with ManageIQ. It describes using the AnsibleTowerClient gem to model Ansible Tower objects in ManageIQ and implementing refresh to collect inventory, scripts, and configured systems. Custom buttons and service dialogs are added to allow launching Ansible Tower job templates from within ManageIQ. A demo is shown and future work discussed, including event-driven refreshes.

1. Ansible Tower Integration
Brandon Dunne, Drew Bomhof

2. Introductions
Brandon Dunne
Email: bdunne@redhat.com
Github: bdunne
Drew Bomhof
Email: dbomhof@redhat.com
Github: syncrou
Greg Mccullough
Email: gmccullough@redhat.com
Github: gmcculloug

3. Agenda
Introduction
Use Cases
Implementation
Demo
Future
Q&A

4. Intro - What is Ansible?
Ansible is a software platform for configuring and managing computers which
combines software deployment, ad-hoc task execution, and configuration
management.
- CLI Interface
- Uses SSH or WinRM to connect to host systems
- One-off or script based Playbook execution
- Automate IT infrastructure and system configurations

5. Intro - What is Ansible Tower?
- Web UI and REST API
- Jobs launched based on Job Templates (fewer details required from the user)
- Dynamic inventory from Inventory Sources (Cloud / Virt)
- User permission system to allow delegation to users without access to
credential properties
- Can dynamically update playbook on Job Template launch

6. Intro - Another Configuration Manager
Foreman:
- Bare-metal provisioning integration with ManageIQ
- Desired State configuration, relies on scheduled checkins
- Agent based, driven from the agent, uses Puppet
Ansible Tower:
- Used to configure new and existing systems
- One-off or Scheduled Jobs based on Job Templates
- Drives configuration through local Ansible installation

7. Implemented Use Cases
- Basic Inventory
- Ansible Tower as a service
- Custom Button
- Enhance provisioning state machines

8. Implementation - AnsibleTowerClient Gem
- Ansible Tower has a browsable API making development easy
- Simple API wrapper to provide Ruby classes for each object type
- Methods are dynamically built based on the API content for the object type
allowing the gem to adapt as new features are added
- Collection paging is implemented with lazy enumerators. Allows for quick
initial results without the hassle of users requesting the next page

9. Implementation in ManageIQ (Modeling)
ManageIQ AnsibleTower Foreman (Satellite 6)
Configured System Host Host
Configuration Profile N/A Host Group
Configuration Script Job Template Puppet Script? (Not
implemented in MIQ)
Orchestration Stack Job Reports? (Not
Implemented in MIQ)

10. Implementation in ManageIQ (Refresh)
Inventory (Root) Group
- name, ems_ref (id)
Configuration Scripts (Job Templates)
- description, inventory_root_group (inventory relation), manager_ref (id),
name, survey_spec, variables (extra_vars)
Configured Systems (Hosts)
- manager_ref (id), hostname (name), inventory_root_group (inventory
relation), virtual_instance_ref (Cloud / Infra Provider ID)
- Cross provider link to existing VM / Instance

11. Adding a new provider
Configuration Management menu
Adding a new provider

12. Adding a new provider
Type selection:
URL can be a URL or hostname, we’ll fill in
the missing pieces and save as a URL

13. Inventory
Provider
Inventory Group
Configured Systems

14. Inventory
Limited Inventory, based on what is required to support current use cases.
Configured System to VM link data collected, not exposed in the UI yet.

15. Inventory - Configuration Script Summary

16. Custom Buttons
Navigate to Automate / Customization
Select VM and Instance / [Unassigned Buttons]
Configuration / Add a new Button

17. Custom Buttons
Request Type is Ansible_Tower_Job
Here you can select the Job Template by name
Params prefixed by “dialog_param_” PR#8960

18. Custom Buttons
Add a new Button Group
Fill in the fields, add your button

19. Custom Buttons

20. Service Dialogs
A Service Dialog can be created from any Job
Template

21. Service Dialogs
Give the Dialog a name
Navigate to Services
Catalog Items
Add a new Catalog Item

22. Service Dialogs
Give the Service Catalog a name and
description
Select the Catalog
Select the just created dialog
Select the provider
Select the Job Template
The pre-populated entry point is the
default state machine

23. Service Dialogs
- Default creation includes all survey data, variables and limit
- Fields can be modified as below to match the desired needs of the delivered
service (from Automate, Customization, Service Dialogs)
‘Limit’ was pulled out for this
service dialog
Navigate to Service Catalogs - click Order

24. Demo
- Awesome Demo

25. Future
- Eventing, could poll Activity Stream for events to trigger refreshes
- More use cases to drive inventory collection

26. Q&A
Link to Talk topic:
http://talk.manageiq.org/t/launching-ansible-tower-job-templates-from-
manageiq/1394
Sprint 39 Demo (Ansible Tower features):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZYzX4ZqTEQ#t=44m07s
Minecraft Playbook:
https://github.com/syncrou/minecraft-pe-ec2-ansible