Ansible Raspi Playbooks

Abstract

1. Introduction

The first step now for all devices is setting up the sd card basics with PiBakery a code blocks pi sd card setup app which is available on Windows, Mac and Linux. This lets you configure wifi, a public ssh key, locale, keyboard and hostname without having to connect or power on the pi. My settings for PiBakery are available at here. If your project is not too complex, you may be able to save all the required settings to xml using PiBakery and not even have to use Ansible.

Semaphore is an open source web ui for ansible that is an alternative to the Ansible Tower product offered by redhat. I run it in a container and find it a better fit for my home network than tower which needs a more powerful server and has device limits. Semaphore has a simple ui that maps nicely to the structures in Ansible and tracks playbook runs and groups inventory in sensible ways.

All of my playbooks run fine with or without a Semaphore server, I use it because it lets me keep better track of when playbooks run on what devices.

2. Objective

Playbooks for setup and updating of raspberry pi projects.

This project demonstrates how Shell, Raspberry Pi, Ansible can be applied to a real-world Internet of Things (IoT) problem.

4. Technology Stack

5. System Requirements

General requirements for this technology stack — check the README for exact versions.

• Linux / macOS terminal or WSL on Windows
• Git (to clone the repository)

6. Installation & Setup

git clone https://github.com/garthvh/ansible-raspi-playbooks.git
cd ansible-raspi-playbooks

Full setup instructions are in the project README.

7. Future Enhancements

Suggested extensions you can add to make this your own project.

• Add a mobile dashboard using Blynk or Firebase
• Store readings in a cloud database for history charts
• Add alerts via SMS / Telegram when thresholds are crossed

8. Viva / Review Questions

Common questions examiners ask for projects in this domain.

1. Which microcontroller / board and sensors are used and why?
2. How does the device send data (Wi-Fi, MQTT, HTTP, Bluetooth)?
3. Where is the sensor data stored and visualised?
4. How is power consumption managed?
5. How would you secure the device and its communication?

9. Source Code & License

This project is developed by garthvh and published on GitHub under the MIT License. Please follow the license terms and credit the original author when you use or modify this code.