How to use the NTT MCP Ansible Modules

Overview

To simplify the consumption of the NTT MCP CloudControl API and more easily allow automation using Ansible, NTT CIS has developed Ansible modules to integrate with the CloudControl API. This allows a user to quickly and easily deploy infrastructure within the MCP and keep the configuration synchronized with a template or baseline configuration. While the CloudControl API can be consumed in Ansible Playbooks using the uri module, the native Ansible modules offer a number of key enhancements that improve the user experience:

• Check Mode
  • The NTT MCP Ansible modules support check mode which provides the user with the ability to do a "dry run" of a task and observe the changes that will occur (if any)
• Idempotency
  • Ansible allows a user to define a desired state of the end system. Running an Ansible task or Playbook multiple times without any input changes should result in no changes because the state of the end system matches the desired state specified in the Ansible task and/or Playbook. This is the basic concept of idempotency as it relates to Ansible. The NTT MCP Ansible modules support idempotency and will only make changes when necessary.
• Inbuilt intelligence
  • Use of object names instead of IDs. The CloudControl API requires long IDs to identify various objects (e.g. a server). The NTT MCP Ansible modules allow the user to specify the object by its display name.
  • The NTT MCP modules simplify tasks that would usually require multiple API calls into single Ansible plays/tasks
  • The inclusion of default values to reduce user input

Why Ansible?

Ansible was chosen as the supported automation/configuration management platform for the NTT MCPs due to the simplicity of Ansible and its widespread adoption. In addition, selecting Ansible as the platform to support the NTT MCP allows the user to automate the full deployment of an application stack in a single Playbook - from the infrastructure to system and application provisioning and configuration (rather than requiring multiple automation tools).

Ansible Collections

The Ansible development team is looking at removing 3rd party modules from Ansible Core and moving them to Ansible Collections, distributed through the Ansible Galaxy content distribution system (https://galaxy.ansible.com). Currently most 3rd party modules are included in the core Ansible distribution however from Ansible 3 modules contributors will be forced to migrate modules out of Ansible Core and into Collections. One of the major benefits of using Collections is that a module author can update the module(s), add features or include bug fixes in a timeframe that suits the author rather than waiting for a new release of Ansible Core.

Resources

• NTT MCP Ansible Galaxy page: https://galaxy.ansible.com/nttmcp/mcp
• NTT MCP Ansible Modules GitHub repository: https://github.com/nttmcp/mcp_ansible_collection
• Logging Issues/Bugs: https://github.com/nttmcp/mcp_ansible_collection/issues

Prerequisites

• Unix host or Mac with Internet access
• Ansible >=2.9
• Python modules
  • requests
  • configparser
  • pyOpenSSL
  • netaddr

Using the MCP Ansible Modules

• Installing the NTT MCP Ansible Modules
• Setting up Authentication for NTT MCP Ansible Modules
• Using the Ansible Modules

Supported MCP Infrastructure

The NTT MCP Ansible modules support almost all infrastructure and features within the MCP. With over 50 modules allow a user to create/modify/delete or report on infrastructure. The table below outlines the infrastructure supported by the NTT MCP Ansible modules.

Module Name	Purpose	Idempotency	Check_Mode
ansible_gw	Ansible module to deploy and configure an Ansible bastion host to facilitate connectivity into newly created networks and hosts for post-deployment configuration
server	Ansible module to create, update, delete and get compute resources
server_info	List/Get server information	N/A
server_monitoring	Configure/Update/Remove monitoring on a server
server_nic	Add a NIC, exchange VLANs, modify the adapter type and remove a NIC
server_disk	Add/Update server disk configuration
server_controller	Add/Update server SCSI controller configuration	N/A
firewall	Create, update and delete ACLs
firewall_info	List/Get Firewall information	N/A
ip_list	Create, update and delete IP Address Lists
ip_list_info	List/Get IP address list information	N/A
port_list	Create, update and delete Port Lists
port_list_info	List/Get Port List information	N/A
vip_node	Create, update and delete VIP Nodes
vip_node_info	List/Get VIP Node information	N/A
vip_pool	Create, update and delete VIP Pools. Supports adding members.
vip_pool_info	List/Get VIP Pool information	N/A
vip_listener	Create, update and delete VIP Listener
vip_listener_info	List/Get VIP Listener information	N/A
vip_function_info	List VIP support functions (e.g. Health Monitors, iRules and Persistence Profiles)	N/A
ssl	Create, update and delete SSL Offload Profiles, certificates and chains
ssl_certificate	Import or remove SSL certificates and chains independent of SSL Offload Profiles
ssl_info	List/Get SSL certificate and or chain information	N/A
nat	Create, update and delete NAT rules
nat_info	List/Get NAT information	N/A
ipam_public	Allocate the next free public IPv4 address	N/A
ipam_reserve	Reserve an IP Address in IP Address Management	N/A
ipam_info	List/Get Public IPv4 blocks or IPv4/IPv6 reservations	N/A
network	Create, update and delete a Cloud Network Domain
network_info	List/Get Cloud Network Domain information	N/A
vlan	Create, update, and delete a VLAN
vlan_info	List/Get VLAN information	N/A
static_route	Create, update and delete Cloud Network Domain static routes
static_route_info	List/Get static route information
snat	Create and delete SNAT exclusions
snat_info	List/Get SNAT exclusion information
image_import	Import a custom OVF into CloudControl	N/A
image_export	Export a custom image from CloudControl to an OVF	N/A
geo_info	List/Get NTTC CIS Cloud Geo Information	N/A
mcp_info	List/Get NTTC CIS MCP datacenter Information	N/A
os_info	List/Get OS information	N/A
image_info	List/Get OS image information (including customer imported images)	N/A
snapshot_info	List/Get Snapshot Information	N/A
snapshot_service	Enable/Disable the Snapshot Service on a server (including replication)
snapshot	Take a snapshot or delete a snapshot	N/A
snapshot_restore	Restore file/directory from a snapshot	N/A
snapshot_scripts	Configure Snapshot Pre/Post scripts on a server
snapshot_preview	Deploy Preview Servers (including remote)	N/A
snapshot_migrate	Migrate a server currently in preview mode	N/A
server_antiaffinity	Configure affinity groups for servers
server_antiaffinity_info	List/Get affinity groups information for servers	N/A
sec_group	Configure security groups
sec_group_member	Add/Remove Servers/NICs from a security group
sec_group_info	Security group information	N/A
server_clone	Clone a server to a customer image	N/A
server_vapp	Enable/Set/Update/Delete/Disable vApp and vApp properties on a server

Recently Updated

• Page:
  How to use the NTT MCP Ansible Modules
• Page:
  Setting up Authentication for NTT MCP Ansible Modules
• Page:
  Using the Ansible Modules
• Page:
  Installing the NTT MCP Ansible Modules