Ansible synchronize Module: Rsync Files & Directories Between Hosts

How to backing up with rsync with Ansible?

I'm going to show you a live Playbook and some simple Ansible code. I'm Luca Berton and welcome to today's episode of Ansible Pilot.

See also: Ansible Backup Windows 10/11/2019/2022: win_robocopy Playbook (Guide)

Ansible backup with rsync

> ansible.posix.synchronize: synchronize is a wrapper around rsync to make common tasks in your playbooks quick and easy.

Today we're talking about the Ansible module synchronize. The full name is ansible.posix.synchronize, which means that is part of the collection targeting POSIX platforms. A wrapper around rsync to make common tasks in your playbooks quick and easy. rsync is a utility for efficiently transferring and synchronizing files between a computer and a storage drive and across networked computers by comparing the modification times and sizes of files. rsync must be installed on both the local and remote host. Currently, there are only a few connection types that support synchronize (ssh, paramiko, local, and docker) because a sync strategy has been determined for those connection types.

Main Parameters

• src _string_ - source path - absolute or relative • dest _string_ - destination path - absolute or relative • archive _boolean_ - mirrors the Rsync archive flag, enables recursive, links, perms, times, owner, group flags, and -D • rsync_opts _string_ - no/yes

The parameter list is pretty wide but these are the most important options of synchronize module. The only mandatory parameters are "src" and "dest" parameters. The "src" parameter is mandatory and specifies the path on the source host that will be synchronized to the destination. The path can be absolute or relative. Same story for the dest parameter that specifies the path on the destination host that will be synchronized from the source. Paths could be Local or Remote according to your needs. The most useful parameter is "archive", which mirrors the Rsync archive flag, enables recursive, links, perms, times, owner, group flags, and -D. It's enabled by default so in the majority of use-cases you don't need to specify anything else. Please refer to the manual to enable/disable some specific settings. It's possible to specify more Rsync parameters via the "rsync_opts" parameter.

See also: Automate Dell EMC DNOS 10 Backups with Ansible Playbook

Links

• rsync • ansible.posix.synchronize

## Playbook

How to backup with rsync with Ansible Playbook. I’m going to show you how to replicate some directory tree in a Linux machine using the rsync utility via syncronize module.

code

---
- name: synchronize module Playbook
  hosts: all
  become: false
  vars:
    source: '~/prj/github/ansible-pilot/copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/examples'
    destination: 'example-backup'
  tasks:
    - name: rsync installed
      ansible.builtin.package:
        name: rsync
        state: present
      become: true
- name: data synchronization
      ansible.posix.synchronize:
        src: '{{ source }}'
        dest: '{{ destination }}'

execution

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/rsync.yml
PLAY [synchronize module Playbook] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [rsync installed] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [data synchronization] ***********************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=3    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $
idempotency
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/rsync.yml
PLAY [synchronize module Playbook] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [rsync installed] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [data synchronization] ***********************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=3    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $

before execution

ansible-pilot $ ls -al copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/examples 
total 16
drwxr-xr-x  4 lberton  staff  128 Jan 17 11:54 .
drwxr-xr-x  9 lberton  staff  288 Mar 28 14:13 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 lberton  staff   16 Sep  4  2021 report.txt
-rw-r--r--  1 lberton  staff   16 Jan 17 11:52 report2.txt
ansible-pilot $ cat copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/examples/report.txt 
test report.txt
ansible-pilot $ cat copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/examples/report2.txt
test report.txt
ansible-pilot $ ssh devops@demo.example.com
Last login: Mon Mar 28 12:22:14 2022 from 192.168.0.59
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 20
drwx------. 4 devops wheel  127 Mar 28 12:22 .
drwxr-xr-x. 4 root   root    35 Mar 24 17:44 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Mar 24 17:44 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel  178 Mar 28 12:21 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Jul 26  2021 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Jul 26  2021 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Jul 26  2021 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   29 Mar 24 17:44 .ssh
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 1756 Mar 28 10:38 .viminfo
[devops@demo ~]$ rpm -qa | grep rsync
rsync-3.1.3-12.el8.x86_64
[devops@demo ~]$

after execution

ansible-pilot $ ssh devops@demo.example.com
Last login: Mon Mar 28 12:24:57 2022 from 192.168.0.59
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al 
total 20
drwx------. 5 devops wheel  149 Mar 28 12:24 .
drwxr-xr-x. 4 root   root    35 Mar 24 17:44 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Mar 24 17:44 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel  211 Mar 28 12:24 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Jul 26  2021 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Jul 26  2021 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Jul 26  2021 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   29 Mar 24 17:44 .ssh
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 1756 Mar 28 10:38 .viminfo
drwxr-xr-x. 3 devops wheel   22 Mar 28 12:24 example-backup
[devops@demo ~]$ tree example-backup/
example-backup/
`-- examples
    |-- report2.txt
    `-- report.txt
1 directory, 2 files
[devops@demo ~]$ cat example-backup/examples/report.txt 
test report.txt
[devops@demo ~]$ cat example-backup/examples/report2.txt 
test report.txt
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al example-backup/examples/
total 8
drwxr-xr-x. 2 devops wheel 43 Jan 17 10:54 .
drwxr-xr-x. 3 devops wheel 22 Mar 28 12:24 ..
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel 16 Sep  4  2021 report.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel 16 Jan 17 10:52 report2.txt
[devops@demo ~]$

changes in the source directory

ansible-pilot $ touch copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/examples/report3.txt
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory copy\ files\ to\ remote\ hosts/rsync.yml
PLAY [synchronize module Playbook] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [rsync installed] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [data synchronization] ***********************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=3    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $ ssh devops@demo.example.com                              
Last login: Mon Mar 28 18:44:10 2022 from 192.168.0.59
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al example-backup/
total 0
drwxr-xr-x. 3 devops wheel  22 Mar 28 12:24 .
drwx------. 5 devops wheel 149 Mar 28 12:24 ..
drwxr-xr-x. 2 devops wheel  62 Mar 28 12:44 examples
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al example-backup/examples/
total 8
drwxr-xr-x. 2 devops wheel 62 Mar 28 12:44 .
drwxr-xr-x. 3 devops wheel 22 Mar 28 12:24 ..
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel 16 Sep  4  2021 report.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel 16 Jan 17 10:52 report2.txt
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  0 Mar 28 18:44 report3.txt
[devops@demo ~]$

code with ❤️ in GitHub

Conclusion

Now you know how to Backup with rsync with Ansible.

See also: Backup Dell EMC DNOS 6 Configs with Ansible Playbook

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