Top 10 Windows Automation Tasks with Ansible

Automation has become a cornerstone in the world of IT, streamlining repetitive tasks and ensuring efficiency in managing systems. Ansible, an open-source automation tool, has gained popularity for its simplicity and effectiveness in orchestrating tasks across diverse environments. In this article, we'll delve into the realm of Windows automation with Ansible, exploring the top 10 tasks you can automate to enhance your system administration.

Ansible empowers administrators to automate complex workflows, enabling them to focus on strategic tasks rather than routine operations. Windows, being a prevalent operating system in enterprise environments, can greatly benefit from the automation capabilities offered by Ansible.

1. Installing Software Packages

Installing software across multiple Windows machines can be a time-consuming process. Ansible simplifies this by providing a straightforward method to deploy software packages on multiple systems simultaneously. Here's an example command:

- name: Install Notepad++
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Install Notepad++
      win_chocolatey:
        name: notepadplusplus
        state: present

This Ansible playbook installs Notepad++ on the specified Windows servers. Adjust the playbook to include other software packages as needed.

2. Configuring Windows Updates

Ensuring that systems are up to date with the latest security patches is crucial. Ansible facilitates the automation of Windows updates with the following playbook:

- name: Update Windows
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Install Windows updates
      win_updates:
        category_names:
          - SecurityUpdates
        state: installed

This playbook installs security updates on the designated Windows servers.

3. Managing User Accounts

Creating and managing user accounts on multiple machines is a repetitive administrative task. Ansible allows you to automate user management with ease:

- name: Create User Account
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Create user account
      win_user:
        name: jdoe
        password: "{{ 'secretpassword' | win_password_hash }}"
        state: present

This playbook creates a user account named 'jdoe' with a specified password.

4. Configuring Firewall Rules

Securing your Windows environment often involves configuring firewall rules. Ansible simplifies this process, ensuring consistent firewall settings across multiple servers:

- name: Configure Firewall Rules
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Allow incoming traffic on port 80
      win_firewall_rule:
        name: AllowHTTP
        localport: 80
        action: allow

This playbook allows incoming traffic on port 80 by creating a firewall rule named 'AllowHTTP'.

5. Managing Windows Services

Automate the management of Windows services using Ansible. Here's an example playbook that starts a specific service:

- name: Start Service
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Start Print Spooler service
      win_service:
        name: spooler
        state: started

This playbook starts the Print Spooler service on the designated Windows servers.

6. Disk Space Monitoring

Monitoring disk space is crucial for maintaining system health. Ansible allows you to automate disk space checks with the following playbook:

- name: Check Disk Space
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Check C: drive space
      win_shell: Get-WmiObject Win32_LogicalDisk | Where-Object { $_.DeviceID -eq 'C:' } | Select-Object FreeSpace

This playbook retrieves the free space on the C: drive of the specified Windows servers.

7. Configuring IIS

Automate the configuration of Internet Information Services (IIS) on Windows servers using Ansible. Here's an example playbook:

- name: Configure IIS
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Install IIS
      win_feature:
        name: Web-Server
        state: present

This playbook installs IIS on the designated Windows servers.

8. Managing Scheduled Tasks

Automate the creation and management of scheduled tasks with Ansible. Here's an example playbook:

- name: Schedule Backup Task
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Create backup scheduled task
      win_scheduled_task:
        name: BackupTask
        actions:
          - path: C:\BackupScript.ps1
        triggers:
          - daily: 
              at: "02:00"

This playbook creates a scheduled task named 'BackupTask' that runs a backup script daily at 2:00 AM.

9. Registry Configuration

Ansible can automate changes to the Windows Registry. Here's a playbook example:

- name: Configure Registry
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Set registry key
      win_regedit:
        path: HKLM:\SOFTWARE\MyApp
        name: MaxConnections
        data: 100

This playbook sets the 'MaxConnections' registry key under 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\MyApp' to the value 100.

10. Managing Active Directory Users

Automate the management of Active Directory users with Ansible. Here's an example playbook:

- name: Manage AD Users
  hosts: windows_servers
  tasks:
    - name: Create AD user
      win_domain_user:
        name: jsmith
        password: "{{ 'securepassword' | win_password_hash }}"
        state: present

This playbook creates an Active Directory user named 'jsmith' with a specified password.

Incorporate these Ansible playbooks into your Windows automation strategy to save time, reduce errors, and ensure consistency across your infrastructure. Ansible's simplicity and versatility make it a powerful tool for system administrators managing Windows environments.