Hands-on Ansible Automation by Luca Berton [Paperback]

"Hands-on Ansible Automation" by Luca Berton is a practical guide aimed at system administrators, DevOps engineers, and IT professionals who want to streamline and automate IT infrastructure management using Ansible. Ansible is a popular open-source automation tool known for its simplicity and effectiveness in automating repetitive tasks, configuration management, and application deployment across multiple servers.

Key features and topics covered in the book include:

1. **Introduction to Ansible**: A comprehensive introduction to Ansible, including its architecture, components, and how it compares to other automation tools.

2. **Basic to Advanced Automation**: Step-by-step tutorials on automating tasks of varying complexity, from simple configurations to advanced automation workflows.

3. **Playbooks and Modules**: Guidance on writing Ansible playbooks, which are YAML files that define tasks to be executed on remote hosts, and leveraging Ansible modules for different automation tasks.

4. **Infrastructure as Code**: Practices for managing infrastructure as code (IaC) using Ansible, ensuring consistency and reproducibility across environments.

5. **Integration and Extensibility**: Techniques for integrating Ansible with other tools and systems, extending its capabilities through plugins, custom modules, and roles.

6. **Best Practices**: Best practices for organizing Ansible projects, handling secrets and sensitive data, optimizing playbook performance, and ensuring reliability and scalability.

7. **Real-World Use Cases**: Practical examples and case studies that demonstrate how Ansible can be applied to automate common IT operations, such as provisioning servers, configuring applications, and managing network devices.

8. **Monitoring and Logging**: Strategies for monitoring Ansible automation tasks, logging outputs, and troubleshooting common issues.

"Hands-on Ansible Automation" equips readers with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use Ansible for automating and managing IT infrastructure. Whether you are new to Ansible or looking to enhance your automation skills, this book provides a comprehensive and hands-on approach to mastering Ansible for efficient and scalable infrastructure management.