IAG Container Image

IAG Containerization

Itential Automation Gateway (IAG) can now be deployed using a containerized method of deployment.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, the following prerequisites must be met:

• OCI compliance
• Docker repository access
• AWS CLI on the host OS

Container Management Platform

IAG images are compliant with Open Container Initiative (OCI) specifications; however, this guide assumes the use of Docker. Specific instruction for using technologies that manage OCI containers, such as Docker Compose, falls outside the scope of this guide.

Docker Repository Access

IAG images are hosted on the Itential Docker repository. Contact your Itential Account Manager to obtain the credential information needed to download images from this repository, including your:

• Access key ID
• Secret access key

AWS Command Line Interface

Amazon Web Services Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) must be installed on your host operating system (OS).

Logging into the Itential Docker Repository

Before you can begin working with IAG containers, you must log into the Itential Docker repository. To do so, issue the following command.

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY=<access_key_id>
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<secret_access_key>

aws ecr get-login-password --region us-east-2 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin 497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com

Pulling Container Images

To download images from the container registry, issue a Docker Pull command.

bundle_name=config
docker pull 497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-platform-${bundle_name}:2023.3

Starting an IAG Container

To start an IAG container, issue the following commands.

Create Docker Network

docker network create itential-network

Start Container

docker run --name iag_2023_3 -d --network itential-network -p 127.0.0.1:8083:8083/tcp 497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-gateway:2023.3

IAG Dependencies

The following IAG Dependencies must be running in your environment. This guide assumes these dependencies will be hosted via containers. However, dependencies may also be hosted via stand-alone servers, as they would be in a non-containerized IAG application.

Using the IAG Image

To start an IAG container, issue the following command:

docker run --name some_IAG -d --network some_network \
-p host_machine_ip:host_port_number:container_port_number/tcp \
497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-gateway:<tag>

Default IAG Setup

Below is a list of the default environment settings for the IAG image.

Setup IAG Database Persistence

The default behavior of the IAG container is to reset the IAG database once the container is stopped using the docker-compose down command.

For the IAG database to persist so that it is still available if the container is restarted or stopped, a volume needs to be setup to host the database on the host machine.

1. Create the mount location on the host machine.

   mkdir -p ./volumes/iag/data
   

2. Setup the mount reference in the docker-compose file.

   docker run --name some_IAP -d --network some_network \
   -p host_machine_ip:host_port_number:container_port_number/tcp \
   --mount type=bind,source=./volumes/iag/data,target=/opt/itential/automation-gateway/data \
   497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-gateway:<tag>
   

Running Scripts to Install Packages and Configure IAG

Any scripts mounted to the /docker-entrypoint-init-iag.d/* location will run the first time the IAG image is started. The scripts will only run the first time the IAG image is started and only scripts with commands that do not require root access will work.

If you need to customize the container by making install packages that require root access then you will have to build a new image using a Dockerfile to install the packages.

Building a Customized IAG Image

The base IAG image does not have root access. Therefore scripts that run by being mounted to the /docker-entrypoint-init-iag.d/* location cannot run if they require root access.
If you need to customize the container by making changes that require root access you will have to create a Dockerfile that builds a new image that adds those changes.

Below is a Dockerfile example that builds a new IAG image that adds the git package to it.

## base the image on the automation gateway image
##
FROM 497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-gateway:<tag>
USER root
RUN mkdir -p /opt/ansible/logs && \
chown itential:itential /opt/ansible/logs && \
apk add git
USER itential

Adding Custom Ansible and Terraform Scripts to the Container

Custom Ansible and Terraform scripts can be loaded in IAG using the /opt/custom mount point.

1. Create the mount locations on the host machine.

   mkdir -p ./volumes/iag/automation-gateway-custom
   mkdir -p ./volumes/iag/install_scripts
   

2. Create the following folder structure based on the type of files being added in the ./volumes/iag/install_scripts location.

   - ansible
     - collections
     - playbooks
     - roles
   - terraform
   

3. Create a script to install Ansible and Terraform.

   cd ./volumes/iag/install_scripts
   touch install_scripts.sh
   

4. Open the install_scripts.sh file and add the code to install Ansible and Terraform.

   Example Code

   echo "Installing Ansible using pip"
   pip install ansible-core==2.15
   echo "Installing Terraform"
   wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/1.5.4/terraform_1.5.4_linux_386.zip
   unzip terraform_1.5.4_linux_386.zip
   rm terraform_1.5.4_linux_386.zip
   mv ./terraform ~/.local/bin
   

    Only non-root commands can be used in this file. If you need to run root command then create a new image and install the script in the dockerFile.

5. Update the script to have execute rights.

   chmod u+rwx ./volumes/iag/install_scripts/install_scripts.sh
   

6. Setup the mount references and environment variables for the Ansible, Terraform file locations.

   docker run --name some_IAG -d --network some_network \
   -p host_machine_ip:host_port_number:container_port_number/tcp \
   -e automation_gateway_ansible_enabled='true' \
   -e automation_gateway_playbook_pat="/opt/custom/ansible/playbooks" \
   -e automation_gateway_role_path="['/opt/custom/ansible/roles']" \
   -e automation_gateway_collection_path="['/opt/custom/ansible/collections']" \
   --mount type=bind,source=./volumes/iag/automation-gateway-custom,target=/opt/custom \
   --mount type=bind,source=./volumes/iag/install_scripts,target=/docker-entrypoint-init-iag.d/ \
   497639811223.dkr.ecr.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/automation-gateway:<tag>
   

IAG Properties

All the properties listed in properties.yml can be configured using environment variables.

For each property the text automation_gateway_ needs to be placed in front of the IAG property name.

Example

environment:
  ## configure logging
  automation_gateway_logging_level: 'INFO'
  ## enable ansible and provide the paths to the playbooks, collections, and roles
  automation_gateway_ansible_enabled: 'true'
  automation_gateway_terraform_enabled: 'true'

Related Reading

Example Docker Compose files can be found in the Itential Open Source GitLab repository. Documentation for these examples is provided in the README files located throughout the project.