Deploying new IRIS instances can be a time-consuming task, especially when setting up multiple environments with mirrored configurations.

I’ve encountered this issue many times and want to share my experience and recommendations for using Ansible to streamline the IRIS installation process. My approach also includes handling additional tasks typically performed before and after installing IRIS.

This guide assumes you have a basic understanding of how Ansible works, so I won’t go into much detail on its fundamentals. However, if you have questions about anything mentioned here, feel free to ask in the comments below.

The examples provided in this guide were tested using Ansible 3.6 on a Red Hat 8 server, with IRIS 2023.1.1 and Red Hat 8 as the client environment. Other versions of Ansible, Red Hat (or other UNIX flavors), and IRIS may also work, but your mileage may vary.

Ansible install

The Ansible server must be a Linux distribution. We use Red Hat 8 in this article, but other Linux distros and versions should work as well.

To install the Ansible packages, you must first install EPEL:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

Then install Ansible:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ yum install ansible

In addition to the packages, Ansible requires SSH access to remote servers. I recommend creating an SSH key pair, which is more secure than using traditional passwords. Also, the user used to connect to remote servers must have administrative privileges (i.e., be part of the wheel group).

Files and folders

To maintain an organized structure, I recommend the following files and folders under the ansible directory:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ ls -l
total 4
-rw-r--r--. 1 ansible ansible 247 Dec  5 00:57 ansible.cfg
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 files
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 inventory
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 library
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 playbooks
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 templates
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 vars
drwxrwxr-x. 2 ansible ansible   6 Dec  5 00:56 vault

After setting up this folder structure, copy the IRIS installer and IRIS license key into the files folder. It should look like this:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ ls -l files/
total 759976
-rw-rw-r--. 1 ansible ansible 778207913 Dec  5 14:32 IRISHealth-2023.1.1.380.0.22870-lnxrh8x64.tar.gz
-rw-rw-r--. 1 ansible ansible      1160 Sep  5 19:13 iris.key

The inventory

To run playbooks in Ansible, you must define your inventory of servers. There are several ways to do this, each with its own advantages. In this article, we’ll use a single file to define all servers.

The servers.yml file will contain the entire inventory, listing each server along with the variables required for the IRIS installation. Here’s an example:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ cat inventory/servers.yml 
---
all:
  hosts:
    test01.mydomain:
      iris_user: irisusr
      iris_group: irisgrp
      mgr_user: irisown
      mgr_group: irismgr
      platform: lnxrh8x64
      iris_cmd: iris
      iris_instances:
        - name: TEST01
          superserver_port: 51773
          webserver_port: 52773
          binary_file: IRISHealth-2023.1.1.380.0.22870-lnxrh8x64
          key_file: iris.key
          install_dir: /test/iris
          jrnpri_dir: /test/jrnpri
          jrnsec_dir: /test/jrnsec
          config_globals: 16384
          config_errlog: 10000
          config_routines: "0,128,0,128,0,1024"
          config_gmheap: 1048576
          config_locksiz: 128057344

The vault

To keep passwords secure, create a vault file containing the passwords for the IRIS SuperUser and CSPSystem accounts.

Use the following command to edit the default vault file:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ ansible-vault edit vault/defaults.yml
---
# Default passwords
iris_user_passwd: "Ch4ngeTh!s"

The playbook

To perform an IRIS installation, several tasks must be executed on the target server. These tasks are grouped and ordered in a file called a playbook.
A playbook is essentially a list of tasks that are executed sequentially on the remote hosts.

Below is the playbook I developed to install IRIS:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ cat playbooks/install_iris.yml
#
# Playbook to install Iris
#
- hosts: all
  become: yes
  gather_facts: no
  tasks:
  - name: "Load default passwords"
    include_vars: "../vault/defaults.yml"
  ### PRE-INSTALL TASKS:
  - name: "Install required packets"
    yum:
      name: "{{ item }}"
      state: latest
    loop:
      - "httpd"
      - "java-1.8.0-openjdk"
      - "mod_auth_mellon"
      - "mod_ssl"
  - name: "Create iris group"
    group:
      name: "{{ iris_group }}"
      gid: 5005
  - name: "Create iris mgr group"
    group:
      name: "{{ mgr_group }}"
      gid: 5006
  - name: "Create iris owner user"
    user:
      name: "{{ mgr_user }}"
      uid: 5006
      group: "{{ iris_group }}"
      groups: "{{ mgr_group }}"
  - name: "Create iris user"
    user:
      name: "{{ iris_user }}"
      uid: 5005
      group: "{{ iris_group }}"
  - name: "Create mgr folder"
    file:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/mgr"
      state: directory
      owner: "{{ iris_user }}"
      group: "{{ iris_group }}"
      mode: 0775
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Copy license key"
    copy:
      src: "../files/{{ item.key_file }}"
      dest: "{{ item.install_dir }}/mgr/iris.key"
      owner: "{{ iris_user }}"
      group: "{{ iris_group }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Create /install folder"
    file:
      path: "/install"
      state: directory
      mode: 0777
  - name: "Create Instances install folders"
    file:
      path: "/install/{{ item.name }}"
      state: directory
      mode: 0777
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Copy IRIS installer"
    copy:
      src: "../files/{{ item.binary_file }}.tar.gz"
      dest: "/install/{{ item.name }}/"
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Untar IRIS installer"
    command:
      cmd: "tar -xzf /install/{{ item.name }}/{{ item.binary_file }}.tar.gz"
      chdir: "/install/{{ item.name }}/"
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  ### IRIS INSTALL:
  - name: "Install Iris"
    command:
      cmd: "./irisinstall_silent"
      chdir: "/install/{{ item.name }}/{{ item.binary_file }}"
    environment:
      ISC_PACKAGE_INSTANCENAME: "{{ item.name }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_INSTALLDIR: "{{ item.install_dir }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_PLATFORM: "{{ platform }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_UNICODE: "Y"
      ISC_PACKAGE_INITIAL_SECURITY: "Normal"
      ISC_PACKAGE_MGRUSER: "{{ mgr_user }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_MGRGROUP: "{{ mgr_group }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_USER_PASSWORD: "{{ iris_user_passwd }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_CSPSYSTEM_PASSWORD: "{{ iris_user_passwd }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_IRISUSER: "{{ iris_user }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_IRISGROUP: "{{ iris_group }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_SUPERSERVER_PORT: "{{ item.superserver_port }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_WEBSERVER_PORT: "{{ item.webserver_port }}"
      ISC_PACKAGE_CLIENT_COMPONENTS: "standard_install"
      ISC_PACKAGE_STARTIRIS: "N"
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Remove installers"
    file:
      path: "/install/{{ item.name }}"
      state: absent
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  ### IRIS CUSTOMIZATIONS:
  - name: "Change iris.cpf"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item[0].install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "{{ item[1].from }}"
      line: "{{ item[1].to }}"
      backup: yes
    with_nested:
      - "{{ iris_instances }}"
      - [ { from: "^TerminalPrompt=.*", to: "TerminalPrompt=8,3,2" },
          { from: "^FreezeOnError=0", to: "FreezeOnError=1" },
          { from: "^AutoParallel=.*", to: "AutoParallel=0" },
          { from: "^FastDistinct=.*", to: "FastDistinct=0" },
          { from: "^LockThreshold=.*", to: "LockThreshold=10000" },
          { from: "^EnsembleAutoStart=.*", to: "EnsembleAutoStart=1" },
          { from: "^MaxIRISTempSizeAtStart=.*", to: "MaxIRISTempSizeAtStart=300" } ]
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item[0].name }}: {{ item[1].to }}"
  - name: "Change Journal Current Dir"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^CurrentDirectory=.*"
      line: "CurrentDirectory={{ item.jrnpri_dir }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change Journal Alternate Dir"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^AlternateDirectory=.*"
      line: "AlternateDirectory={{ item.jrnsec_dir }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change Journal Prefix name"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^JournalFilePrefix=.*"
      line: "JournalFilePrefix={{ item.name }}_"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change Globals memory"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^globals=.*"
      line: "globals=0,0,{{ item.config_globals }},0,0,0"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change errlog memory"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^errlog=.*"
      line: "errlog={{ item.config_errlog }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change routines memory"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^routines=.*"
      line: "routines={{ item.config_routines }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change gmheap memory"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^gmheap=.*"
      line: "gmheap={{ item.config_gmheap }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  - name: "Change locksiz memory"
    lineinfile:
      path: "{{ item.install_dir }}/iris.cpf"
      regexp: "^locksiz=.*"
      line: "locksiz={{ item.config_locksiz }}"
      backup: yes
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
  ### START IRIS:
  - name: "Start Iris"
    command: "iris start {{ item.name }}"
    loop: "{{ iris_instances }}"
    loop_control:
      label: "{{ item.name }}"
...

As you can see, there are multiple tasks in this playbook—most of them self-explanatory by name. The comments indicate pre-install tasks, installation, and post-install customizations. After executing this playbook, you will have a new IRIS instance installed on the target system, customized with memory and other settings.

Run the installation!

After configuring the inventory, vault, and playbooks, you’re ready to execute the IRIS installation using Ansible.
To do so, run the following command:

[ansible@auto01 ansible]$ ansible-playbook -K --ask-vault-pass -i inventory/servers.yml playbooks/install_iris.yml
BECOME password: 
Vault password: 

PLAY [all] **************************************************************************************************************************************************
. . .

Once the playbook execution finishes, you’ll receive a summary of task statuses where you can verify that everything completed successfully.

And that’s it — you’ve just installed IRIS using Ansible! 😁