Ansible Role: Tomcat 10 (Debian & RedHat Support)

This role installs and configures Apache Tomcat 10 on both Debian-based and RedHat-based Linux distributions using Ansible facts (ansible_os_family).

---

Role Structure

roles/
└── tomcat10/
    ├── defaults/
    │   └── main.yml
    ├── handlers/
    │   └── main.yml
    ├── tasks/
    │   ├── main.yml
    │   ├── install_debian.yml
    │   ├── install_redhat.yml
    │   └── configure.yml
    ├── templates/
    │   └── tomcat.service.j2
    ├── vars/
    │   ├── Debian.yml
    │   └── RedHat.yml
    └── meta/
        └── main.yml

---

defaults/main.yml

---
tomcat_version: "10.1.42"

tomcat_user: tomcat
tomcat_group: tomcat

tomcat_install_dir: /opt/tomcat

tomcat_url: "https://downloads.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-10/v{{ tomcat_version }}/bin/apache-tomcat-{{ tomcat_version }}.tar.gz"

---

vars/Debian.yml

---
java_package: openjdk-17-jdk

---

vars/RedHat.yml

---
java_package: java-17-openjdk-devel

---

tasks/main.yml

---
- name: Load OS specific variables
  include_vars: "{{ ansible_os_family }}.yml"

- name: Install packages for Debian family
  include_tasks: install_debian.yml
  when: ansible_os_family == "Debian"

- name: Install packages for RedHat family
  include_tasks: install_redhat.yml
  when: ansible_os_family == "RedHat"

- name: Configure Tomcat
  include_tasks: configure.yml

---

tasks/install_debian.yml

---
- name: Update apt cache
  apt:
    update_cache: yes

- name: Install Java
  apt:
    name: "{{ java_package }}"
    state: present

---

tasks/install_redhat.yml

---
- name: Install Java
  dnf:
    name: "{{ java_package }}"
    state: present

For CentOS 7 replace dnf with yum.

---

tasks/configure.yml

---
- name: Create group
  group:
    name: "{{ tomcat_group }}"
    state: present

- name: Create user
  user:
    name: "{{ tomcat_user }}"
    group: "{{ tomcat_group }}"
    shell: /sbin/nologin
    home: "{{ tomcat_install_dir }}"
    state: present

- name: Download Tomcat
  get_url:
    url: "{{ tomcat_url }}"
    dest: /tmp/tomcat.tar.gz
    mode: "0644"

- name: Create installation directory
  file:
    path: "{{ tomcat_install_dir }}"
    state: directory
    owner: "{{ tomcat_user }}"
    group: "{{ tomcat_group }}"
    mode: "0755"

- name: Extract Tomcat archive
  unarchive:
    src: /tmp/tomcat.tar.gz
    dest: "{{ tomcat_install_dir }}"
    remote_src: yes
    extra_opts:
      - --strip-components=1
  notify: restart tomcat

- name: Set ownership
  file:
    path: "{{ tomcat_install_dir }}"
    owner: "{{ tomcat_user }}"
    group: "{{ tomcat_group }}"
    recurse: yes

- name: Deploy systemd service
  template:
    src: tomcat.service.j2
    dest: /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service
    mode: "0644"
  notify: restart tomcat

- name: Enable and start Tomcat
  systemd:
    name: tomcat
    enabled: yes
    state: started
    daemon_reload: yes

---

templates/tomcat.service.j2

[Unit]
Description=Apache Tomcat 10
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking

User={{ tomcat_user }}
Group={{ tomcat_group }}

Environment=CATALINA_HOME={{ tomcat_install_dir }}
Environment=CATALINA_BASE={{ tomcat_install_dir }}

ExecStart={{ tomcat_install_dir }}/bin/startup.sh
ExecStop={{ tomcat_install_dir }}/bin/shutdown.sh

Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

---

handlers/main.yml

---
- name: restart tomcat
  systemd:
    name: tomcat
    state: restarted
    daemon_reload: yes

---

Example Playbook

---
- hosts: appservers
  become: yes

  roles:
    - tomcat10

---

Supported Operating Systems

Distribution	ansible_os_family
Ubuntu	Debian
Debian	Debian
RHEL	RedHat
Rocky Linux	RedHat
AlmaLinux	RedHat
CentOS	RedHat

---

Facts Used

The role automatically determines the operating system family using:

ansible_os_family

This allows a single role to support both Debian and RedHat families without hardcoding package managers or distribution names.

Task:

• Create a Java role
• Create a Tomcat role
• Support Ubuntu and Red Hat-based systems

Prompt:

Create an Ansible role for installing Java and another role for installing and configuring Tomcat. Both roles should support Ubuntu (Debian family) and Red Hat-based systems (RHEL, CentOS, Rocky, AlmaLinux) using Ansible facts (ansible_os_family) for OS detection.

2. Ansible Galaxy Roles

Ansible Galaxy is the public hub for sharing Ansible roles and collections.

2.1 Install a Role from Galaxy

ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.nginx

Installed to ~/.ansible/roles/ by default.

2.2 Install to a Custom Path

ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.nginx -p roles/

2.3 Install Specific Version

ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.nginx,3.2.0

2.4 Install from requirements.yml

Create requirements.yml:

---
roles:
  - name: geerlingguy.nginx
    version: "3.2.0"
  - name: geerlingguy.java
    version: "2.1.0"

collections:
  - name: community.general
    version: ">=7.0.0"
  - name: ansible.posix

Install all at once:

ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml
ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml

2.5 Create a New Role Skeleton

ansible-galaxy role init myrole

Generated structure:

myrole/
├── defaults/
│   └── main.yml        # default variables (lowest priority)
├── files/              # static files to copy
├── handlers/
│   └── main.yml        # handlers (e.g., restart nginx)
├── meta/
│   └── main.yml        # role metadata, dependencies
├── tasks/
│   └── main.yml        # main task list
├── templates/          # Jinja2 templates (.j2)
├── tests/
│   ├── inventory
│   └── test.yml
└── vars/
    └── main.yml        # variables (higher priority than defaults)

2.6 Using a Role in a Playbook

- name: Setup Web Server
  hosts: webservers
  roles:
    - geerlingguy.nginx
    - geerlingguy.java

2.7 Pass Variables to a Role

- name: Setup Web Server
  hosts: webservers
  roles:
    - role: geerlingguy.nginx
      vars:
        nginx_listen_port: 8080

2.8 Include Role in Tasks (Dynamic)

tasks:
  - name: Apply nginx role
    include_role:
      name: geerlingguy.nginx

2.9 Role Dependencies (meta/main.yml)

# roles/myapp/meta/main.yml
dependencies:
  - role: geerlingguy.java
    vars:
      java_packages:
        - java-17-openjdk
  - role: geerlingguy.nginx

2.10 List Installed Roles

ansible-galaxy role list

2.11 Remove a Role

ansible-galaxy role remove geerlingguy.nginx

2.12 Install & Use a Collection

# Install collection
ansible-galaxy collection install community.general

# Use a module from the collection in a playbook
- name: Use community.general module
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/app.conf
    section: database
    option: host
    value: "localhost"

Galaxy CLI Quick-Reference

Command	Purpose
ansible-galaxy role install <name>	Install role
ansible-galaxy role init <name>	Scaffold new role
ansible-galaxy role list	List installed roles
ansible-galaxy role remove <name>	Remove role
ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml	Bulk install from file
ansible-galaxy collection install <ns.col>	Install collection

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