ISSUE:

From IDM 4.7, Linux users perform IDM installation/configuration/patching using shell scripts provided . User can choose between console mode/silent mode of installation/configuration/patching.

For IDM to be deployed on multiple servers, user has to perform various tasks like download,mount iso, generate properties/provide console input  on various servers etc.

Compared to a single server IDM deployment, distributed IDM deployment usually takes it sweet time.

Any Pre/Post tasks are to be performed manually by user.  

Any customization's that are to be passed to IDM configuration are to be copied manually to all IDM servers.

Some cases where public download of builds are not possible, user needs to set up private ftp server and access the builds.

For QA , setting up environments on a daily basis for different combinations is hectic and this could be a little distraction from focusing on actual test scenarios.

HOW TO STEPS:

To reduce the complexity of IDM deployment and patching, any pre/post tasks, customizations etc.., we have come up with a solution that makes uses of Red Hat Ansible .

Ansible is a radically simple IT automation engine that automates cloud provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, intra-service orchestration, and many other IT needs.

For details, please refer to https://www.ansible.com/overview/how-ansible-works.

We have made use of re-usable roles concept of ansible to develop IDM ansible-playbooks. 

Support for setting up Sentinel Log manager (SLM) is available.

These roles are available to enhancement for any customized user needs.

Where can we use??

Playbooks can be used in all the cases supported by IDM 4.8 Installer and Patch installer. For example,

-Single Server Deployment

-Distributed Server deployment

-Deploy apps/reporting with custom certificates

-Deploy apps/reporting with any DB type supported.

-Deploy Engine/Apps/Reporting with custom ldif file for custom containers

-Deploy Standalone SSPR.

-Deploy Engine also with existingtree remote/local etc.

Requirements:

-You will require a separate Linux Server with ansible installed as below( sles12sp3 is the control server in my case).. Steps vary with every Linux server.

-Install python

-get pip

 wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py

python get-pip.py

-install ansible

pip install ansible

- Install sshpass rpm like below on the control server or copy keys to known hosts for ssh to pass.

sshpass-1.06-7.4.x86_64.rpm

NOTE: User can prefer to use ssh key generation for authentication. 

- After you have ansible installed, copy the attached zip to the control server and unzip the contents.

- Follow the readme.md present in the content to proceed with deployment steps.