Multi-vm setup in vagrant (IAC) - Day 17/90

Virtualization has become an essential part of modern development and testing workflows. Vagrant, a powerful open-source tool, makes it easier to manage and deploy virtual machines. In this guide, we'll walk through the process of setting up multiple virtual machines using a Vagrantfile, making your development environment more scalable and efficient. 🌐💻

Prerequisites 🛠️

Before diving into the setup, ensure that you have Vagrant installed on your system. You can download it from the official website: Vagrant Downloads.

The Vagrantfile 🔧

Let's start by creating a Vagrantfile, the configuration file that defines the virtual machines. Copy and paste the following code into your Vagrantfile:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
    config.vm.define "web01" do |web01|
        web01.vm.box = "ubuntu/focal64"
        web01.vm.hostname = "web01"
        web01.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.38.49"
    end

    config.vm.define "web02" do |web02|
        web02.vm.box = "ubuntu/focal64"
        web02.vm.hostname = "web02"
        web02.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.38.50"
    end

    config.vm.define "web03" do |web03|
        web03.vm.box = "ubuntu/focal64"
        web03.vm.hostname = "web03"
        web03.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.38.51"
    end

    config.vm.define "db01" do |db01|
        db01.vm.box = "centos/7"
        db01.vm.hostname = "db01"
        db01.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.38.53"
        db01.vm.provision "shell", inline: <<-SHELL
            yum install -y wget unzip mariadb-server
            systemctl restart mariadb
            systemctl enable mariadb
        SHELL
    end
end

This Vagrantfile defines four virtual machines: web01, web02, web03 using Ubuntu 20.04, and db01 using CentOS 7 with a provisioned MariaDB server.

Explanation of the Vagrantfile 📝

• Each config.vm.define block defines a virtual machine with a specific name.

• config.vm.box sets the base box for the virtual machine.

• config.vm.hostname sets the hostname of the virtual machine.

• config.vm.network defines a private network with a specified IP address.

• For db01, a provision script is executed to install and configure MariaDB.

Bringing Up the Virtual Machines 🚀

Now that the Vagrantfile is ready, open a terminal and navigate to the directory containing the Vagrantfile. Run the following command:

vagrant up

This command will download the specified base boxes and create the virtual machines as per the configuration in the Vagrantfile.

Let us check vm in virtual box:

Accessing the Virtual Machines 🌐

You can access each virtual machine using the following commands:

vagrant ssh web01
vagrant ssh web02
vagrant ssh web03
vagrant ssh db01

Feel free to explore and customize each virtual machine according to your development needs.

Conclusion 🎉

Congratulations! You've successfully set up multiple virtual machines using Vagrant. This approach allows you to create a flexible and reproducible development environment. Experiment with different configurations and enhance your development workflow. Happy coding! 🚀👨‍💻