{"id":3081,"date":"2023-11-17T11:14:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T10:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cloudwerkstatt.com\/?p=3081"},"modified":"2023-11-28T09:22:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T08:22:25","slug":"automate-reporting-with-ansible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cloudwerkstatt.com\/en\/automate-reporting-with-ansible\/","title":{"rendered":"Automate Reporting with Ansible"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"automate_reporting_with_ansible\"<\/p>\n

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Automate Reporting with Ansible<\/h1>\n

Ansible is a powerful tool known for its capabilities in configuration management and application deployment.
\nHowever, it can be extended to handle another essential task: automated reporting. Leveraging Ansible’s modules and automation capabilities, you can simplify the process of generating reports.
\nIn this post, I will guide you on how to create a simple report and have it delivered directly via mail.<\/p>\n

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Understand the Need for Reporting<\/h2>\n

In this section, we’ll explore the logic behind automated reporting with Ansible. Ansible is a versatile tool that allows us to manage virtually everything in our environment, making it an ideal candidate for streamlining reporting tasks. When you already use tools like AAP (Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform)<\/a> or AWX<\/a>, you likely schedule playbooks within them. It’s equally efficient to schedule reporting in the same tool, eliminating the need for additional reporting-specific solutions.<\/p>\n

While Grafana does offer a reporting feature<\/a>, it’s restricted to the enterprise version, which may not be accessible to everyone. However, with Ansible, you have the freedom to design reports that align perfectly with your specific needs<\/p>\n

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Creating a Practical Example<\/h2>\n

To illustrate the power of Ansible in reporting, let’s walk through an example that can be adapted to various use cases. We’ll use Prometheus as the data source, but you can use databases, API endpoints, or any data source relevant to your needs.<\/p>\n

In this example, we’ll fulfill a manager’s request for a monthly report on the number of Kubernetes worker nodes per cluster<\/strong> and the total number of worker nodes across all clusters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The manager expects a report with the following structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Cluster Name<\/th>\nNumber of Worker Nodes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
europe-north1-a-k8s-1<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
europe-north1-a-k8s-2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
europe-central2-a-k8s-1<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
europe-central2-a-k8s-2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
europe-west1-c-k8s-1<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
europe-west1-c-k8s-2<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
us-west1-a-k8s-1<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
us-west1-a-k8s-2<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
us-central1-a-k8s-1<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
us-central1-a-k8s-2<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
asia-east1-a-k8s-1<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
asia-east1-a-k8s-2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Total worker nodes: 50<\/code><\/pre>\n
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Collecting Data for Reporting<\/h2>\n
To gather the data required for reporting, we can take advantage of Prometheus, which is deployed to monitor each Kubernetes cluster.
\nIn this setup, metrics from individual Kubernetes clusters are federated<\/a> into a central Prometheus instance. This central Prometheus instance serves as a unified endpoint for central view, allowing us to easily query and collect data for our reporting needs.<\/p>\n
The process of collecting this data and using it in Ansible is straightforward. We can run queries using the ansible.builtin.uri<\/a> module in Ansible to access the central Prometheus instance’s API. The results of these queries, which are in JSON format, are registered and can be utilized in Ansible Jinja2 templating for report generation.<\/p>\n
If you are already familiar with the Prometheus Query Language (PromQL<\/code>), you can write custom queries to extract the exact information you need. For instance, you can use a query like this to obtain the number of worker nodes per cluster. The query is stored in the Ansible inventory as a variable.<\/p>\n
reporter_prometheus_worker_nodes_per_cluster: 'sum by (cluster_name) (kube_node_role{role="worker"})'<\/code><\/pre>\n
Additionally, you can calculate the total number of worker nodes across all clusters with a query like this:<\/p>\n
reporter_prometheus_worker_nodes_total: 'sum(kube_node_role{role="worker"})'<\/code><\/pre>\n
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Ansible Reporting Automation<\/h2>\n
Let’s dive into the automation process. To keep this blog concise and focused, I’ll provide an overview of the key components. In practice, you can expand and customize this process according to your specific reporting needs.<\/p>\n
First, we’ll create an Ansible role, which I’ve named reporter_prometheus<\/code>. This role serves as a modular solution that can be easily extended with multiple templates for different queries and reports. Using tags<\/a>, you can even call specific reports when needed.<\/p>\n
Here’s an overview of how this reporting automation works:<\/p>\n
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  1. Create the reporter_prometheus<\/code> Ansible role, which retrieves data from Prometheus and sends the report to the manager.<\/li>\n
  2. Schedule the playbook execution in either AAP (Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform) or AWX. If you’re not using AAP or AWX, you can schedule the playbook to run directly on the controller node using a cron job, depending on your preference.<\/li>\n
  3. Extend the scheduling workflow in AAP or AWX with conditions to handle scenarios where the report fails to run. This allows you to incorporate additional logic and notifications.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    Within the reporter_prometheus<\/code> role, we have two key components:<\/p>\n
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    1. Task Play: This part of the role is responsible for extracting data from Prometheus and generating the report.<\/li>\n
    2. Template: Jinja2 templates are used to format the collected data into the desired report structure. These templates can be customized to meet your specific reporting requirements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      Ansible Task Play<\/h3>\n