In the ever-evolving landscape of cloud computing, efficient infrastructure management is critical. Google Cloud (GC) is a pioneer in providing robust cloud services. However, continuous management of resources, configurations, and day-two operations can be a significant challenge. Here's where the new Ansible validated content collection for Google Cloud, cloud.gcp_ops — a curated suite of Ansible roles and playbooks designed specifically for streamlined GC resource management.

This blog post is your guide to not only simplifying the provisioning and setup, but also automating the day two operations that keep your GC infrastructure finely tuned.  We'll guide you through the steps of harnessing these Ansible roles and playbooks to enhance your workflow, so that your infrastructure on GC is not just powerful but controllable.

Let's embark on a journey to simplify your GC resource management and unleash the potential of automation with Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.

Ansible validated content roles and playbooks: A game changer

As companies increasingly adopt Ansible Automation Platform, the need for standardized and validated content becomes paramount. Ansible validated content comes into play, providing pre-tested and industry-recommended roles and playbooks that encapsulate best practices. These roles and playbooks are not just about automation, but represent collective wisdom distilled into reusable components that helps automation workflows align with industry standards.

The validated content can be used out-of-the-box, reducing the time and effort required to create custom Ansible content from scratch.

In the next section, we delve into practical use cases that highlight the capabilities of Ansible validated content collection for cloud.gcp_ops in automating complex tasks, solving real-world challenges, and achieving operational efficiency of GC resources.

Use case scenario: On-premises VM migration to GC with Ansible

In the midst of a strategic shift toward cloud adoption, suppose your organization identifies an on-premise virtual machine (VM) that plays a critical role in daily operations. Recognizing the benefits of GC in terms of scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, you have decided to migrate this VM to GC. The main goal is not only to migrate the on-premises virtual machine, but to do so with accuracy, automation, and minimal disruption.

To achieve this, the new Ansible validated content playbook cloud.gcp_ops.move_vm_from_on_prem_to_gcp comes into play, making the migration process efficient and repeatable. The playbook automates the following steps:

1. Export On-Premises VM

The initial phase shuts the VM down, captures the necessary information, and copies its disk image for further migration using the cloud.gcp_ops.clone_on_prem_vm role.

2. Transfer Disk Image to Google Cloud

With the VM's disk image securely stored, the next step utilizes the cloud.gcp_ops.import_image_and_run_gcp_instance role to transfer this image to GC's Storage service. This not only brings data integrity but also positions the disk image for easy accessibility during the import process.

3. Import VM on Google Cloud

The final leg of the migration journey entails the cloud.gcp_ops.import_image_and_run_gcp_instance role that orchestrates the import of the on-premise VM as a new instance within GC. This role leverages GC's compute capabilities, allowing for a smooth transition of the VM into the cloud environment.

Adjust the playbook variables based on your specific requirements as explained in this section and integrate it into your broader automation workflows.

In adopting this automated approach provided with the Ansible validated content playbook cloud.gcp_ops.move_vm_from_on_prem_to_gcp, you not only accomplish the immediate goal of VM migration but this sets the foundation for a more agile and responsive infrastructure in the cloud. The use of this playbook helps replicate these processes across different workloads, contributing to a robust and scalable cloud environment.

Use case scenario: Automated backup of VM instances using custom machine images

Imagine you are managing a critical application on GC that consists of several VM instances. For data integrity and system recovery, you want to implement a robust backup strategy. Custom machine images on GC provide a snapshot of a VM's disk, making them an ideal choice for creating backups.

This scenario showcases how the Ansible validated content role cloud.gcp_ops.manage_machine_image can enhance image management practices with a robust backup strategy. To support the flexibility of the organization's infrastructure, the role supports the creation of custom machine images from a variety of sources, whether existing disks, snapshots, images or raw disk configurations.

The following playbook highlights how the role can be used to create a custom machine image from an existing disk.

- hosts: localhost
 gather_facts: false
 vars:
   project: "{{ lookup('env', 'GCP_PROJECT') }}"
   auth_kind: "{{ lookup('env', 'GCP_AUTH_KIND') }}"
   service_account_file: "{{ lookup('env', 'GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE') }}"
   disk_name: your-disk-name
   image_name: your-new-image-name
   description: Just a simple description
   zone: "us-central1-a"
 tasks:
   - name: Create a new custom machine image
     ansible.builtin.include_role:
       name: cloud.gcp_ops.manage_machine_image
     vars:
       manage_machine_image_operation: create
       manage_machine_image_source_disk_name: "{{ disk_name }}"
       manage_machine_image_image_name: "{{ image_name }}"
       manage_machine_image_image_description: "{{ description }}"
       manage_machine_image_zone: "{{ zone }}"

The use case shows the flexibility of the cloud.gcp_ops.manage_machine_image role in automating the process of creating custom images based on specified source options, streamlining the workflow and promoting operational efficiency.

Use case scenario: Uploading a file to Google Cloud Storage with Ansible

Let's assume that your organization routinely generates critical on-premises reports and that you need to securely store these reports in Google Cloud Storage for future archiving and reference. To simplify this process and enable data consistency, the new Ansible validated content playbook cloud.gcp_ops.upload_file_to_cloud_storage helps you automate it.

By using this Ansible Playbook, your organization establishes a reliable and automated process for uploading critical files to Google Cloud Storage, contributing to a more efficient and organized data management strategy. Adjust the playbook variables based on your specific requirements as explained in this section and integrate it into your broader automation workflows.

By encapsulating the upload process in an Ansible Playbook, the operation becomes repeatable and can be audited for compliance or tracking purposes.

Ansible validated content for cloud.gcp_ops creates many opportunities for automating issue resolution, and observation of cloud computing environments.  It helps to easily automate, mitigate security issues, and maximize mastery of cloud environments.

Where to go next

• Check out Red Hat Summit 2024!
• For further reading and information, visit the other blogs related to Ansible.
• Check out the YouTube playlist for everything about Ansible Collections to know more.
• Are you new to Ansible automation and want to learn? Check out our getting started guide on developers.redhat.com