🚀 How to Install and Configure Ansible on Linux 6.10 — Step-by-Step Guide

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Managing multiple servers manually can be slow, repetitive, and prone to errors. This is where Ansible helps — an automation tool that lets you configure and manage servers efficiently.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to install and configure Ansible on Linux 6.10, step by step, including master and slave setup.

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✅ Prerequisites

• One Master Server (Linux 6.10)

• One or more Slave Servers (Linux 6.10)

• SSH access between master and slaves

• Root user access on all servers

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🛠️ Step 1: Set Hostnames

On the Master Server:

hostnamectl set-hostname master
passwd root

On Each Slave Server:

hostnamectl set-hostname slave1   # Change slave1 to your desired name
passwd root

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🛠️ Step 2: Install Python3 and Pip on Master

Ansible requires Python to run. Install Python3 and Pip:

sudo yum install python3 -y
sudo yum install python3-pip -y
python3 --version
pip3 --version

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🛠️ Step 3: Install Ansible on Master

pip3 install --user ansible
ansible --version

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🛠️ Step 4: Setup Ansible Configuration

4.1 Navigate to Ansible directory:

cd /etc/ansible

If the directory does not exist:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/ansible
cd /etc/ansible

Execute below command inside the ansible folder it will create ansible.cfg

ansible-config init --disabled -t all > ansible.cfg

4.3 Edit the configuration file:

sudo nano ansible.cfg

Ensure this line is set:

If it is commented remove the comment

inventory = /etc/ansible/hosts

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🛠️ Step 5: Configure the Inventory File

Check if the hosts file exists:

ls /etc/ansible/hosts

If not, create it:

sudo nano /etc/ansible/hosts

Example content:

[dev]
192.168.1.101
192.168.1.102

[test]
192.168.1.103

Replace these IPs with your actual slave IP addresses.

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🛠️ Step 6: Enable SSH Root Access

Ansible connects to slaves via SSH. Update SSH settings on all servers (master and slaves):

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Set these values:

PermitRootLogin yes
PasswordAuthentication yes

Restart SSH:

sudo systemctl restart sshd

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🛠️ Step 7: Setup SSH Key Authentication from Master

7.1 Generate SSH Key:

ssh-keygen

7.2 Copy the SSH key to each slave:

ssh-copy-id root@<slave_ip>

This enables passwordless SSH access, which Ansible requires.

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🛠️ Step 8: Test Ansible Connection

Run this command on the master:

ansible all -m ping

If everything is set correctly, you should see:

pong

from each slave server.

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✅ Checks on Slaves

On each slave, make sure the root password is set:

hostnamectl set-hostname  slavename

passwd root

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

1.PermitRootLogin yes

2.PasswordAuthentication yes

After changeing the password authentication change then restart the sshd.

systemctl restart sshd

Also, confirm the SSH settings again and restart the SSH service:

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🎉 Conclusion

That’s it! You have successfully installed and configured Ansible on Linux 6.10. You are now ready to automate tasks and manage multiple servers easily.