⚙️ Rundeck Automation Platform on AlmaLinux: Enterprise Job Scheduling Made Easy

Welcome to enterprise automation without complexity! 🎉 Ready to orchestrate your operations with a powerful web interface? Rundeck is the open-source automation platform that makes job scheduling and workflow orchestration visual and collaborative! It’s the platform that turns scripts into self-service operations! Think of it as your operations command center with enterprise features for free! 🚀✨

🤔 Why is Rundeck Important?

Rundeck transforms operations from scripts to self-service! 🚀 Here’s why it’s amazing:

• ⚙️ Job Scheduling - Visual cron replacement!
• 🔄 Workflow Orchestration - Chain tasks together!
• 👥 Self-Service Operations - Delegate safely!
• 📊 Execution History - Track everything!
• 🔌 REST API - Integrate with anything!
• 🛡️ Access Control - Fine-grained permissions!

It’s like having enterprise automation without the price tag! 💰

🎯 What You Need

Before building your automation platform, ensure you have:

• ✅ AlmaLinux 9 server
• ✅ Root or sudo access
• ✅ At least 4GB RAM (8GB recommended)
• ✅ 2 CPU cores minimum
• ✅ 20GB free disk space
• ✅ Java 11 or newer
• ✅ Love for automation! ⚙️

📝 Step 1: System Preparation - Building the Foundation!

Let’s prepare AlmaLinux 9 for Rundeck! 🏗️

# Update system
sudo dnf update -y

# Install Java 11 (required for Rundeck)
sudo dnf install -y java-11-openjdk java-11-openjdk-devel

# Verify Java installation
java -version
# Should show: openjdk version "11.x.x"

# Set JAVA_HOME environment variable
echo 'export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Install required packages
sudo dnf install -y wget curl git unzip

# Install database (MariaDB)
sudo dnf install -y mariadb-server mariadb

# Start and enable MariaDB
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

# Secure MariaDB installation
sudo mysql_secure_installation
# Follow prompts to set root password and secure installation

Configure firewall for Rundeck:

# Open required ports
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=4440/tcp   # Rundeck HTTP
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=4443/tcp   # Rundeck HTTPS
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# Verify ports
sudo firewall-cmd --list-ports
# Should show: 4440/tcp 4443/tcp

Perfect! System is ready! 🎯

🔧 Step 2: Installing Rundeck - The Professional Way!

Let’s install Rundeck using the official RPM! 🚀

Install Rundeck from Repository:

# Add Rundeck repository
sudo rpm --import https://packages.rundeck.com/pagerduty/rundeck/gpgkey

# Create repository file
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/rundeck.repo << 'EOF'
[rundeck]
name=Rundeck
baseurl=https://packages.rundeck.com/pagerduty/rundeck/rpm_any/rpm_any/$basearch
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://packages.rundeck.com/pagerduty/rundeck/gpgkey
EOF

# Install Rundeck
sudo dnf install -y rundeck

# Check installation
rpm -qa | grep rundeck
# Should show: rundeck-x.x.x

Configure Database:

# Create Rundeck database
sudo mysql -u root -p << 'EOF'
CREATE DATABASE rundeck;
CREATE USER 'rundeck'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'RundeckPass123!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON rundeck.* TO 'rundeck'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
EOF

# Configure Rundeck to use MariaDB
sudo vi /etc/rundeck/rundeck-config.properties

# Update these lines:
# dataSource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost/rundeck?autoReconnect=true&useSSL=false
# dataSource.username=rundeck
# dataSource.password=RundeckPass123!
# dataSource.driverClassName=org.mariadb.jdbc.Driver

Configure Rundeck Properties:

# Edit framework properties
sudo vi /etc/rundeck/framework.properties

# Update server URL (replace with your IP)
# framework.server.name = your-server-ip
# framework.server.hostname = your-server-ip
# framework.server.port = 4440
# framework.server.url = http://your-server-ip:4440

# Edit Rundeck configuration
sudo vi /etc/rundeck/rundeck-config.properties

# Set your server URL
# grails.serverURL=http://your-server-ip:4440

Start Rundeck:

# Start Rundeck service
sudo systemctl start rundeckd
sudo systemctl enable rundeckd

# Check status
sudo systemctl status rundeckd
# Should show: active (running)

# Watch logs for startup
sudo tail -f /var/log/rundeck/service.log
# Wait for "Grails application running at http://..."

🌟 Step 3: Accessing Rundeck - Your Operations Dashboard!

Time to access your automation platform! 🎮

First Login:

# Default credentials
# URL: http://your-server-ip:4440
# Username: admin
# Password: admin

# IMPORTANT: Change admin password immediately!

Initial Setup Steps:

1. Open browser to http://your-server-ip:4440
2. Login with admin/admin
3. Change password in user profile
4. Create your first project! 🎉

Dashboard shows:

• 📊 Projects - Automation containers
• 💼 Jobs - Defined automations
• 📋 Nodes - Managed servers
• 📈 Activity - Execution history
• 👥 Access Control - User management

✅ Step 4: Creating Your First Project - Let’s Automate!

Time to create your automation project! 🎯

Create Project:

1. Click “New Project” button
2. Configure:
   • Project Name: Operations
   • Label: Operations Automation
   • Description: Production operations automation
3. Save

Add Nodes (Servers):

# Create nodes file
sudo mkdir -p /var/rundeck/projects/Operations
sudo vi /var/rundeck/projects/Operations/resources.xml

Add your servers:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project>
  <node name="localhost" 
        description="Rundeck server" 
        tags="rundeck,local" 
        hostname="localhost" 
        osArch="amd64" 
        osFamily="unix" 
        osName="Linux" 
        osVersion="9" 
        username="rundeck"/>
  
  <node name="web01" 
        description="Web Server 1" 
        tags="web,production" 
        hostname="192.168.1.10" 
        osArch="amd64" 
        osFamily="unix" 
        osName="Linux" 
        osVersion="9" 
        username="ansible" 
        ssh-keypath="/var/lib/rundeck/.ssh/id_rsa"/>
  
  <node name="db01" 
        description="Database Server" 
        tags="database,production" 
        hostname="192.168.1.20" 
        osArch="amd64" 
        osFamily="unix" 
        osName="Linux" 
        osVersion="9" 
        username="ansible" 
        ssh-keypath="/var/lib/rundeck/.ssh/id_rsa"/>
</project>

Setup SSH Keys:

# Generate SSH key for Rundeck
sudo -u rundeck ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -f /var/lib/rundeck/.ssh/id_rsa -N ""

# Copy to target servers
sudo -u rundeck ssh-copy-id [email protected]
sudo -u rundeck ssh-copy-id [email protected]

# Test connections
sudo -u rundeck ssh [email protected] "echo 'Connection successful!'"

🌟 Step 5: Creating Jobs - Automation Blueprints!

Let’s create reusable automation jobs! 🎯

Create Your First Job:

1. In Project, click “Jobs” → “New Job”
2. Configure Details:
   • Job Name: System Health Check
   • Group: monitoring
   • Description: Check system health metrics

Add Workflow Steps:

1. Click “Add a Step”
2. Choose “Command”:

   echo "=== System Health Check ==="
   echo "Hostname: $(hostname)"
   echo "Uptime: $(uptime)"
   echo "Memory Usage:"
   free -h
   echo "Disk Usage:"
   df -h
   echo "CPU Load:"
   top -bn1 | head -5

3. Node Filter: tags: production
4. Save Step

Add Notifications:

1. Click “Send Notification?”
2. On Success:
   • Type: Email
   • Recipients: [email protected]
   • Subject: Health Check Completed
3. On Failure:
   • Type: Email
   • Recipients: [email protected]
   • Subject: Health Check Failed!

Schedule the Job:

1. Click “Schedule to run repeatedly?”
2. Configure:
   • Time: 0 */4 * * * (every 4 hours)
   • Time Zone: Your timezone
3. Save Job

Run the Job:

1. Click “Run Job Now” 🚀
2. Select nodes if prompted
3. Watch real-time output!
4. Job completes successfully! ✅

🎮 Quick Examples

Example 1: Deployment Workflow

Create a multi-step deployment job:

# Create job definition file
cat << 'EOF' > deployment-job.yaml
- defaultTab: nodes
  description: Deploy application to production
  executionEnabled: true
  group: deployments
  name: Deploy Application
  nodeFilterEditable: false
  scheduleEnabled: true
  sequence:
    commands:
    - description: Pull latest code
      exec: cd /var/www/app && git pull origin main
    - description: Install dependencies
      exec: cd /var/www/app && npm install
    - description: Run tests
      exec: cd /var/www/app && npm test
    - description: Build application
      exec: cd /var/www/app && npm run build
    - description: Restart service
      exec: sudo systemctl restart app.service
    - description: Health check
      exec: curl -f http://localhost:3000/health || exit 1
    keepgoing: false
    strategy: node-first
  nodefilters:
    dispatch:
      excludePrecedence: true
      keepgoing: false
      rankOrder: ascending
      successOnEmptyNodeFilter: false
      threadcount: '1'
    filter: 'tags: web'
  nodesSelectedByDefault: true
  plugins:
    ExecutionLifecycle: null
  scheduleEnabled: false
  timeZone: America/New_York
  uuid: deployment-job-001
EOF

# Import job
rd jobs load -p Operations -f deployment-job.yaml

Example 2: Self-Service Operations

Create safe delegated operations:

# Job for developers to restart services
# In Rundeck UI:
# 1. Create Job: "Restart Application"
# 2. Add option:
#    - Name: service_name
#    - Label: Service to Restart
#    - Values: app,api,worker
# 3. Add step:
#    Command: sudo systemctl restart ${option.service_name}
# 4. Set Access Control:
#    - Allow: developer group
#    - Deny: modify job

Example 3: Orchestrated Workflow

Create complex workflow with conditionals:

// Workflow with error handling
workflow {
    step("1", "Check disk space") {
        command {
            exec = "df -h / | awk 'NR==2 {print \$5}' | sed 's/%//'"
        }
    }
    
    step("2", "Clean if needed") {
        if("\${data.1.result} > 80") {
            command {
                exec = "sudo find /var/log -type f -name '*.log' -mtime +30 -delete"
            }
        }
    }
    
    step("3", "Backup database") {
        command {
            exec = "mysqldump -u backup myapp > /backup/myapp-\$(date +%Y%m%d).sql"
        }
        errorhandler {
            command {
                exec = "echo 'Backup failed!' | mail -s 'Backup Alert' [email protected]"
            }
        }
    }
}

🚨 Fix Common Problems

Problem 1: Cannot Access Web UI

Symptom: Connection refused on port 4440 😰

Fix:

# Check if Rundeck is running
sudo systemctl status rundeckd

# Check if port is listening
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep 4440

# Check logs for errors
sudo tail -n 100 /var/log/rundeck/service.log

# Verify Java is installed
java -version

# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart rundeckd

# Check firewall
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Problem 2: SSH Connection Fails

Symptom: Cannot execute on remote nodes 🔌

Fix:

# Test SSH as rundeck user
sudo -u rundeck ssh user@target-host

# Check SSH key permissions
sudo ls -la /var/lib/rundeck/.ssh/
# Should be 600 for private key

# Add host to known_hosts
sudo -u rundeck ssh-keyscan -H target-host >> /var/lib/rundeck/.ssh/known_hosts

# Verify node configuration
# Check /var/rundeck/projects/[project]/resources.xml

Problem 3: Database Connection Error

Symptom: Rundeck won’t start, database errors 🔴

Fix:

# Check MariaDB is running
sudo systemctl status mariadb

# Test database connection
mysql -u rundeck -p rundeck

# Verify configuration
grep dataSource /etc/rundeck/rundeck-config.properties

# Check JDBC driver
ls -la /var/lib/rundeck/lib/ | grep mariadb

# Reset database if needed
mysql -u root -p
DROP DATABASE rundeck;
CREATE DATABASE rundeck;
GRANT ALL ON rundeck.* TO 'rundeck'@'localhost';

📋 Simple Commands Summary

💡 Tips for Success

🚀 Performance Optimization

Make Rundeck super fast:

# Increase JVM memory
sudo vi /etc/sysconfig/rundeckd
# Modify: RDECK_JVM_SETTINGS="-Xmx4096m -Xms1024m"

# Enable execution cleanup
sudo vi /etc/rundeck/rundeck-config.properties
# Add:
# rundeck.execution.logs.fileStoragePlugin=db
# rundeck.execution.logs.cleanup.enabled=true
# rundeck.execution.logs.cleanup.retention.days=30

# Optimize database
mysql -u root -p rundeck
OPTIMIZE TABLE execution;
OPTIMIZE TABLE base_report;

# Restart for changes
sudo systemctl restart rundeckd

🔒 Security Best Practices

Keep Rundeck secure:

1. Enable HTTPS - Configure SSL certificates! 🔐
2. LDAP/AD Integration - Central authentication! 👥
3. ACL Policies - Fine-grained permissions! 🛡️
4. API Tokens - Secure automation! 🔑
5. Audit Logging - Track everything! 📝

# Enable HTTPS
sudo vi /etc/rundeck/ssl/ssl.properties
# Configure SSL settings

# Create ACL policy
cat << 'EOF' > /etc/rundeck/developer.aclpolicy
description: Developer access policy
context:
  project: 'Operations'
for:
  resource:
    - allow: [read]
  job:
    - allow: [read,run]
by:
  group: developer
EOF

📊 Monitoring and Backup

Keep Rundeck healthy:

# Backup script
cat << 'EOF' > /usr/local/bin/backup-rundeck.sh
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/rundeck"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup database
mysqldump -u rundeck -p rundeck > $BACKUP_DIR/rundeck-db-$DATE.sql

# Backup configuration
tar czf $BACKUP_DIR/rundeck-config-$DATE.tar.gz /etc/rundeck/

# Backup projects
tar czf $BACKUP_DIR/rundeck-projects-$DATE.tar.gz /var/rundeck/projects/

# Export all jobs
for project in $(rd projects list); do
  rd jobs list -p $project -f $BACKUP_DIR/jobs-$project-$DATE.yaml
done

# Cleanup old backups (keep 30 days)
find $BACKUP_DIR -type f -mtime +30 -delete
EOF

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/backup-rundeck.sh
# Add to cron: 0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/backup-rundeck.sh

🏆 What You Learned

You’re now a Rundeck automation expert! 🎓 You’ve successfully:

• ✅ Installed Rundeck on AlmaLinux 9
• ✅ Configured database and properties
• ✅ Created projects and nodes
• ✅ Built automation jobs
• ✅ Scheduled workflows
• ✅ Set up self-service operations
• ✅ Mastered job orchestration

Your automation platform is enterprise-ready! ⚙️

🎯 Why This Matters

Rundeck transforms operations automation! With your platform, you can:

• 🚀 Automate everything - From simple to complex!
• 👥 Delegate safely - Self-service operations!
• 📅 Schedule reliably - Better than cron!
• 📊 Track completely - Full audit trail!
• 💰 Save money - Enterprise features free!

You’re not just running scripts - you’re orchestrating enterprise operations at scale! Every job is tracked, every execution is logged! 🎭

Keep automating, keep orchestrating, and remember - with Rundeck, operations automation is visual and powerful! ⭐

May your jobs run smoothly and your workflows never fail! 🚀⚙️🙌