🚀 AWX Platform Deployment & Multi-Team Automation Enablement
Objectives:
Design and deploy a scalable and maintainable AWX instance for centralized enterprise automation.
Standardize infrastructure, network, and application automation across IT departments.
Integrate enterprise authentication with RBAC to control access, visibility, and job execution.
Automate VM lifecycle tasks including provisioning, configuration, and system state enforcement.
Enable automation of network appliance deployments, IP management, and documentation updates.
- Architecture Design & Planning
- Deployed AWX using a containerized architecture with high availability and persistent storage
- Tuned system resources to support:
- Parallel job execution
- Large inventories and inventory synchronization
- Real-time job visibility and prompt handling
- Backend components included:
- PostgreSQL for job metadata
- Redis for distributed task queues
- Shared persistent storage for execution environments and output artifacts
- Ensured network access to datacenter systems, network appliances, and API endpoints
- Authentication & RBAC Integration
- Integrated with internal SSO provider via SAML
- Mapped directory groups into AWX Teams for access segmentation:
- Read-only (audit and compliance)
- Operators (job execution)
- Engineers (job/template development and project maintenance)
- Established environment-scoped credentials with strict RBAC enforcement and approval gating
- Playbook Management & Standardization
- Structured internal playbook libraries by domain:
- Infrastructure
- Network
- DevOps
- Support Tasks
- Developed shared roles for:
- Configuration compliance
- Scheduled tasks
- Reporting and inventory validation
- Established promotion workflow for new automation: Dev → Review → Controlled Rollout
- Job templates standardized with tagged ownership, inputs, and outputs
- Structured internal playbook libraries by domain:
- Automation Use Cases
- Infrastructure Automation
- Provisioning of Windows and Linux VMs from templates
- Execution of post-deployment configuration (hostname, networking, domain join)
- Batch operations for updates, patching, and policy enforcement
- Network Automation
- Automated deployment of Cisco ASA and CSR virtual appliances
- Execution of initial bootstrap configurations (management interface, SSH, ACLs, SNMP)
- Application of environment-specific configs based on location or zone
- IPAM Integration
- Automated IP reservation via IPAM API (e.g., NetBox, Infoblox, or custom platform)
- Dynamic population of hostnames, MACs, and assigned roles
- Playbook-driven updates to documentation and address assignments
- Operations & Compliance
- Role-based user and group provisioning
- Scheduled backups with validation
- Configuration drift detection and remediation
- Infrastructure Automation
- Validation & Operational Readiness
- Deployed test jobs for:
- Credential verification
- Inventory health
- VM template compatibility and post-deploy tasks
- Network appliance availability and config confirmation
- Embedded rollback documentation and remediation procedures within each automation set
- Conducted dry-runs and cross-team reviews before production rollout of new job templates
- Deployed test jobs for:
Result:
This project delivered a resilient and secure automation platform that enabled:
- Streamlined virtual infrastructure provisioning with full post-deploy customization
- Automated deployment of critical network appliances with baseline configurations
- Integration with IPAM to reduce manual errors and improve documentation accuracy
- Departmental autonomy with controlled, auditable access to shared automation workflows
- A strong foundation for long-term enterprise-wide DevOps maturity and automation scaling