VM Bootstrap (Ubuntu / Debian)

This repository provides a simple, repeatable way to bootstrap new Ubuntu or Debian virtual machines using Ansible.

The goal is to eliminate manual “first 10 minutes” setup work by standardizing:

• SNMP configuration (LibreNMS-compatible)
• Checkmk agent installation
• NFS mounts
• Hostname resolution for NAS access

Once set up, onboarding a new VM is a single command.

---

What This Does

For each target VM, the bootstrap playbook:

• Ensures nas resolves to a fixed IP via /etc/hosts
• Installs baseline packages:
  • snmpd
  • nfs-common
  • git
• Deploys a known-good snmpd.conf
• Installs the LibreNMS distro helper script for SNMP
• Installs the LibreNMS / Checkmk agent:
  • Clones the LibreNMS agent repo to /opt/librenms-agent
  • Installs check_mk_agent to /usr/bin
  • Installs and enables the check_mk.socket systemd unit
• Creates and mounts a standard NFS mount:
  • nas:/pool → /vol1
  • Safe boot options (_netdev, nofail, x-systemd.automount)

All steps are idempotent and safe to re-run.

---

Repository Layout

vm-bootstrap/
├── bootstrap.yml        # Main Ansible playbook
├── enroll               # Convenience script to enroll a new VM
├── inventory.ini        # Optional static inventory
├── files/
│   └── snmpd.conf       # SNMP configuration deployed to target hosts
└── README.md

---

Requirements

Control Machine (your laptop)

• macOS
• Homebrew
• Ansible

Install Ansible:

brew install ansible

Verify:

ansible --version

Target VMs

• Ubuntu or Debian
• SSH access
• A user with sudo privileges
• SSH key-based authentication recommended

---

Installation

1. Clone or copy this repository to your laptop:

git clone <this-repo>
cd vm-bootstrap

2. Place your snmpd.conf in:

files/snmpd.conf

3. Ensure the enroll script is executable:

chmod +x enroll

---

Usage

Enroll a new VM (recommended)

./enroll <ip> <user>

Example:

./enroll 192.168.1.38 zinger

This will:

1. Verify SSH connectivity
2. Run the Ansible bootstrap playbook

If run with no arguments, the script prints usage instructions.

---

Using a static inventory (optional)

Edit inventory.ini:

[newvms]
192.168.1.38 ansible_user=zinger

Run manually:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini bootstrap.yml --ask-become-pass

---

Customization

Common variables are defined near the top of bootstrap.yml:

nas_ip: "192.168.1.250"
nas_host: "nas"
nfs_src: "nas:/pool"
nfs_path: "/vol1"

Adjust these if your environment changes.

---

Notes

• The playbook is hypervisor-agnostic (KVM, Proxmox, etc.)
• Safe to re-run at any time to converge systems to the desired state
• Designed for small homelab and infrastructure environments

---

Future Enhancements (Optional)

• Passwordless sudo in VM templates
• Cloud-init integration
• Conversion to Ansible roles
• Automatic enrollment via Proxmox or libvirt hooks

---

License

Internal / personal use. Modify freely.