Ansible-NAS

Ansible‑NAS is a modular, Ansible‑driven automation layer that orchestrates the deployment of a wide spectrum of self‑hosted services on a bare Ubuntu host. Rather than installing each application manually, developers write or reuse Ansible roles that describe the desired state of containers, services, and network configuration. The system then applies these roles in a deterministic order, ensuring idempotent provisioning across reboots or host migrations. From a technical standpoint, Ansible‑NAS functions as an infrastructure‑as‑code platform that bundles Docker Compose, systemd unit generation, and dynamic DNS updates into a single declarative workflow.

Architecture

• Core Engine: Ansible 2.9+ orchestrates provisioning; roles are stored in a GitHub repository and pulled via ansible-galaxy or local playbooks.
• Container Runtime: Docker Engine (or Podman via a wrapper) hosts the application workloads. Each role generates a docker-compose.yml that defines services, volumes, and network aliases.
• Service Discovery: The cloudflare-ddns role or ddns-updater injects DNS records into Cloudflare, updating hostnames when the WAN IP changes.
• Database & Persistence: Roles typically mount host directories or Docker volumes for persistent data; no single database is required, giving developers freedom to choose SQLite, PostgreSQL, or external services.
• Networking: A dedicated traefik reverse proxy role exposes HTTP/HTTPS endpoints, automatically generating certificates via Let’s Encrypt and configuring hostnames derived from the domain name.

The architecture is intentionally stateless at the orchestrator level: Ansible only ensures that the desired configuration exists, while Docker manages container lifecycles. This separation allows developers to scale horizontally by adding new hosts and running the same playbook, or to roll back changes simply by re‑applying a previous role.

Core Capabilities

• Declarative Application Catalog: Each application (e.g., Airsonic, Bitwarden, Code Server) is represented by a reusable role that encapsulates Docker Compose definitions, environment variables, and optional systemd services.
• Dynamic DNS & HTTPS: Built‑in support for Cloudflare, DuckDNS, and other providers ensures that external access remains reachable even behind NAT.
• API Hooks: Many roles expose REST endpoints (e.g., Dashy, Cloud Commander) that can be consumed by custom scripts or external CI/CD pipelines.
• Event‑Driven Triggers: Ansible callbacks can fire after a role completes, enabling post‑deployment hooks such as notifying Slack or triggering a backup job.
• Version Control Friendly: All configuration lives in Git, so developers can audit changes, perform rollbacks, or cherry‑pick updates across environments.

Deployment & Infrastructure

Ansible‑NAS is designed for self‑hosted home or small‑office environments, but its modularity scales to larger clusters. The primary prerequisites are:

• Ubuntu 20.04+ (or any Debian‑based distro) with a minimal installation.
• Docker Engine and docker-compose (or the Ansible Docker modules).
• Optional Podman support for rootless containers.

Containerization is the default; each role builds its own images or pulls from Docker Hub, allowing zero‑touch upgrades. For high availability, developers can run multiple Ansible‑NAS instances behind a load balancer and synchronize the Git repository. The playbooks can be extended with custom roles to integrate new services or replace existing ones without touching the core infrastructure.

Integration & Extensibility

• Plugin System: Ansible roles act as plugins; developers can fork the repository, add new roles, and publish them back to a shared Git repo.
• Webhooks & Callbacks: Roles can be wired to external services via Ansible’s uri module, enabling CI pipelines to trigger deployments or configuration changes automatically.
• Custom Variables: Every role exposes a vars file; developers can override defaults via inventory files or extra variables, tailoring environments (dev, staging, prod) with minimal duplication.
• Community Contributions: The project encourages community‑maintained roles; contributors can submit PRs that add support for niche applications (e.g., Syncthing, Nextcloud).

Developer Experience

The documentation is structured around role‑by‑role tutorials, with clear sections for prerequisites, variable defaults, and example inventories. The GitHub repository includes CI workflows that lint playbooks and run unit tests against a containerized test environment, giving developers confidence in their changes. Community support is active via Gitter, and the project’s license (MIT) removes any legal barriers to modification or redistribution.

Use Cases

1. Homelab Automation – A developer can spin up a full media stack (Airsonic, Bazarr, Deluge) with a single playbook run.
2. Continuous Integration Server – Deploy Drone CI or GitLab Runner, expose via Traefik, and integrate with existing Git repositories.
3. Password Management – Install Vaultwarden in a secure container, expose via HTTPS, and update DNS automatically.
4. Custom IDE Hosting – Run Code Server behind Traefik, allowing developers to edit code from anywhere.
5. Backup & Disaster Recovery – Use Duplicacy or DokuWiki for documentation, with Cloudflare DDNS ensuring remote access.

Advantages

• Zero‑Touch Provisioning