Author: hosteons

Managing several VPS instances manually can be time-consuming and error-prone. With the power of Ansible, system administrators can automate repetitive tasks, deploy configurations, and maintain consistency across all their VPS servers — all from a single control node.

In this guide, we’ll explore how you can use Ansible to efficiently manage your VPS instances hosted with Hosteons.

🚀 What is Ansible?

Ansible is an open-source IT automation tool that allows you to manage systems using simple YAML-based playbooks. It doesn’t require any agent installation and communicates over SSH, making it ideal for managing Linux VPS environments.

✅ Benefits of Using Ansible with Hosteons VPS

• Agentless: No need to install additional software on your VPS.
• Scalable: Manage 2 or 200 servers with the same effort.
• Consistent: Standardized deployments ensure fewer mistakes.
• Efficient: Automate updates, security patches, and software installs.

🛠️ Prerequisites

To get started with Ansible, you’ll need:

• A local machine (control node) with Ansible installed (Ubuntu/Mac/Linux).
• SSH access to your Hosteons VPS instances.
• All VPS servers should have a common user with SSH key access (preferably with sudo privileges).

🔧 Step-by-Step Setup

1. Install Ansible on Your Local Machine

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ansible -y

For macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install ansible

2. Create an Inventory File

Ansible uses an inventory file to keep track of the VPS instances you want to manage.

Example: hosts.ini

[webservers]
vps1 ansible_host=192.0.2.1 ansible_user=root
vps2 ansible_host=192.0.2.2 ansible_user=root

Replace 192.0.2.x with the IPs of your VPS servers from Hosteons.

3. Test Connectivity

Use the ping module to verify connection:

ansible -i hosts.ini all -m ping

You should see a “pong” response if the connection is successful.

4. Create and Run a Playbook

Example: Install Apache on all VPS servers

---
- name: Install Apache on VPS
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Update apt packages
      apt:
        update_cache: yes

    - name: Install Apache
      apt:
        name: apache2
        state: present

Save this file as apache.yml, then run it:

ansible-playbook -i hosts.ini apache.yml

🔁 What Can You Automate?

• Initial server setup
• Firewall configuration
• Software installation
• Security updates
• Deploying web applications
• Monitoring tools setup (e.g., Fail2Ban, UFW, Zabbix)

📦 Combine with Hosteons Initial VPS Setup Script

Hosteons also offers an open-source initial VPS setup script on GitHub to secure and configure your new servers. You can run this once and then switch to Ansible for ongoing automation.

GitHub: https://github.com/hosteons/Initial-VPS-Setup-Script-for-Linux

Blog: https://blog.hosteons.com/2025/06/05/instantly-secure-and-set-up-your-vps-with-hosteons-initial-vps-setup-script/

🔒 Pro Tip: Use SSH Key Authentication

To avoid entering passwords for every VPS, use SSH key-based login and disable password authentication for improved security.

🏁 Final Thoughts

Ansible is a powerful way to save time and reduce errors when managing multiple VPS instances. Whether you’re running WordPress sites, managing Docker containers, or deploying custom apps — Ansible and Hosteons VPS make a powerful combination.

🖥️ Ready to scale your server management?

👉 Order a Hosteons VPS and start automating with Ansible today!