Network Engineer here - Docker is required and helpful knowledge on this
end as well. I started as a PHP Developer/Web Admin 15+ years ago, moved to
networking for the stability. Docker lets me forget about a ton of the
setup of my LAMP/LEMP/Node/Django/FastAPI/etc, whatever I'm running on and
just worry about the development, the *thing* I'm building. All of my own
infra has been migrated to Docker, or even k8s which can be overkill, but
hey - when things fail, I care even less now, (unless it's the network)

Best Regards,
-Thomas Scott


On Dec 22, 2024 at 8:21:09 PM, "Snyder, Alexander J via PLUG-discuss" <
plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:

> Hello!
>
> >> You use Docker, from what I understand.
> --->> I do use Docker in my Homelab, yes. Currently, I have the following
> containers running:
> ------>> My internal "Dashboard" - "Homepage" (https://gethomepage.dev/)
> ------>> Docker Update utility - "What's Up Docker" (
> https://getwud.github.io/wud/)
> ------>> Plex Metrics (https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-tautulli/
> )
> ------>> TV Show NZB Client - Sonarr (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-sonarr/)
> ------>> NZB Download Agent - Sabnzb (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-sabnzbd/)
> ------>> Torrent Download Client - Transmission (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-transmission/)
> ------>> Movie NZB Client - Radarr (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-radarr/)
> ------>> Music NZB Client - Lidarr (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-lidarr/)
> ------>> Movie Download Client - Radarr << hallmark-radarr >>, this one
> setup specifically to download Hallmark Channel movies
> ------>> Plex Requests Client - OMBI (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-ombi/)
> ------>> Speedtest.net downloads client and DB trackr - Speedtest-Tracker (
> https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-speedtest-tracker/)
>
>
> >> You are a senior Linux admin, and I assume you are working with Ansible
> --->> I am a Senior Automation Engineer working at APS (Arizona Power
> Company). I work exclusively with Ansible and Python. I work within the
> "Ansible Automation Platform", and APS (as well as many (most?)
> Enterprises) are deeply entrenched in the RedHat ecosystem.
>
>
> >> to automate something that has to do with Linux servers.
> --->> Yes, currently, our entire VM provisioning process is handled
> entirely in Ansible Playbooks -- and for the entirety of 2024, I was the
> lead developer on our effort to Automate the VM Provisioning process in
> Azure. Before our work, it would take the Azure team (two people) "about an
> hour or so" to create a VM ready for production -- this was an entirely
> manual process that made consistency very difficult from VM to VM. I am
> very proud to say that we've taken this "About an hour" Unicorn process in
> Azure to a 15-20 minute process that creates a production-ready Azure VM
> (proud papa spouting!).
>
> >> I am a semi-retired old guy who is a PHP developer.  I use Ubuntu to
> >> create local web servers for testing and development of PHP. I'm a
> >> little rusty since I am just now taking the leap from CentOS to Ubuntu
> >> for LAMP web servers. This requires PHP-FPM. I'm also a little rusty
> >> with PHP since I have not done any real programming in several years.
>
> >> Given my station, please tell me several things:
>
> >> 1) How do I benefit from using Docker?
> --->> My intention to show the Nginx/PHP demo showed that you can "ignore"
> all the non-php-related stuff and still have a solid development
> environment. At a minimum, it would allow you to speed up your PHP
> development because you wouldn't need to "worry" about all the naggy L*MP
> stuff. You could easily spin up a Nginx/PHP container (as in my demo), but
> you could have several containers, each targeting a different version of
> PHP to ensure backward (and forward) compatibility, and maybe test
> different configurations to see what benefits your application the best.
>
> >> 2) How do I benefit from using Ansible?
> --->> I use Ansible for all* (most) of my homelab configurations. This
> includes an Ansible Playbook that uses a JINJA Template to configure Docker
> Compose files consistently.
> --->> The Docker Playbook does the following:
> ------>> name: Ensure the directory exists
> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}"
> ------>> name: Ensure the Data directory exists
> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}/data"
> ------>> name: Ensure the backup directory exists
> ------>>   path: "/opt/backup/containers/{{ container_name }}"
> ------>> name: Create the downloads directory
> ------>>   path: "/opt/apps/downloads/{{ container_name }}/"
> ------>> name: Create the Compose File (from a JINJA template)
> ------>>   dest: "/opt/apps/{{ container_name }}/{{ container_name
> }}-compose.yml"
> ------>> name: Insert block of text in the WhatsUpDocker file so it knows
> to monitor it for updates
>
>
> >> 3) How would I use Ansible as a PHP developer?
> --->> It could easily create a consistent development environment for you,
> execute a single playbook, and conjure docker containers with all your
> settings. Alternatively, you can set a bare VM and use Ansible to configure
> *EVERYTHING* to get started.
>
> >> 4) What is the learning curve for Docker for someone like me?
> --->> It is just another part of the technical puzzle, so if you struggle
> to onboard new technologies, much of Docker might be hard for you. Still,
> if you're the kind that can spend an afternoon reading a manual or watching
> some "NetworkChuck" videos on YouTube before you "get the gist," it'll
> probably come quickly.  I "forced" myself into docker in 2023 after being
> staunch VMWare "a-VM-for-every-appliction." I paid $7xx for my own
> vSphere/vCenter license and was doing that for many years. I bought a
> cheap-refurbished DELL r530 1U server specifically to be my "Docker Host"
> while I worked through the trenches of "Figuring out" Docker. It turned out
> to be extremely simple (for me), and within 30 days, I had completely
> converted from my "a-VM-for-every-appliction" mindset over to a
> "container-for-everything" approach.
>
> >> 5) What is the learning curve for Ansible for someone like me?
> --->> So, I think "Ansible" itself is the "easiest-to-onboard" automation
> technology I've worked with. I've worked with Puppet (yuk!), Chef (vomit!),
> and now Ansible (yum!). It is based on YAML, which is very simple to get
> the hang of. I knew nothing of YAML but had figured out the basics in a
> weekend. I've built on "the basics" since I started with it in 2020. At its
> core, Ansible is based on Python, which also makes it easy (*I'm a huge
> fan of Python, and I utterly despise and hate "Ruby"*).
>
> I'm happy to help anyone get on board with the basics of Docker and/or
> Ansible. Just let me know!
> --
> Thanks,
> Alex.
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Dec 22, 2024 at 1:13 PM Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss <
> plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
>
>> Alexander J Snyder,
>>
>> You use Docker from what I understand.
>>
>> You are a senior Linux admin and I assume you are working with Ansible
>> to automate something to do with Linux servers.
>>
>> I am a semi-retired old guy who is a PHP developer.  I use Ubuntu to
>> create local web servers for testing and development of PHP. I'm a
>> little rusty since I am just now taking the leap from CentOS to Ubuntu
>> for LAMP web servers. This requires PHP-FPM. I'm also a little rusty
>> with PHP since I have not done any real programming in several years.
>>
>> Given my station please tell me several things:
>>
>> 1) How do I benefit from using Docker?
>>
>> 2) How do I benefit from using Ansible?
>>
>> 3) How would I use Ansible as a PHP developer?
>>
>> 4) What is the learning curve for Docker for someone like me?
>>
>> 5) What is the learning curve for Ansible for someone like me?
>>
>> Thanks!!
>> Keith
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