Ansible Akash Cloud Provider Deployment (Work In Progress)

Project Overview

This Ansible project automates the deployment of an Akash Cloud Provider on Kubernetes, implementing best practices for blockchain node management, cluster orchestration, and provider services. The infrastructure-as-code solution ensures repeatable, secure deployments across environments.

Note: This playbook is still in the testing phases and is not production ready.

Key Features

✅ Full-stack deployment of Akash blockchain components

✅ Production-grade Kubernetes cluster provisioning

✅ Integrated TLS certificate management

✅ Persistent storage configuration

✅ IP leasing enablement

✅ Idempotent operations for reliable updates

Directory Structure

ansible-akash-provider/
├── ansible.cfg
├── inventories/
│   └── production/
│       ├── group_vars/
│       │   ├── akash_nodes.yml
│       │   ├── k8s_cluster.yml
│       │   └── providers.yml
│       └── hosts
├── roles/
│   ├── chrony/               # Time synchronization
│   ├── akash-node/           # Blockchain node deployment
│   ├── kubernetes/           # K8s cluster provisioning
│   ├── akash-provider/       # Core provider services
│   ├── tls-certs/            # Let’s Encrypt integration
│   ├── ip-leases/            # MetalLB configuration
│   └── persistent-storage/   # Ceph/Rook storage
├── playbooks/
│   ├── 01-akash-node.yml
│   ├── 02-k8s-cluster.yml
│   ├── 03-provider-core.yml
│   └── 04-provider-extensions.yml
└── vault/
    └── secrets.yml           # Encrypted credentials

Prerequisites

1. Ansible 2.15+ with Python 3.11+
2. SSH access to target nodes with sudo privileges
3. DNS control for TLS certificate management
4. Kubernetes-ready infrastructure (VMs/Bare Metal)

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/yourrepo/ansible-akash-provider
cd ansible-akash-provider

# Install collections
ansible-galaxy collection install kubernetes.core community.kubernetes

# Initialize vault
ansible-vault create vault/secrets.yml

## Inventory Configuration
inventories/production/hosts

[akash_nodes]
akash-node-01 ansible_host=192.168.1.50

[k8s_control_plane]
k8s-cp-01 ansible_host=10.0.0.10

[k8s_workers]
k8s-worker-01 ansible_host=10.0.0.11
k8s-worker-02 ansible_host=10.0.0.12
k8s-worker-03 ansible_host=10.0.0.13

[providers]
akash-provider-01 ansible_host=provider.example.com

Group Variables Examples

inventories/production/group_vars/akash_nodes.yml

akash_version: "0.19.7"
chain_id: "akashnet-2"
node_moniker: "akash-node-01"

Playbook Execution Order

1. Blockchain Infrastructure

ansible-playbook -i production playbooks/01-akash-node.yml --vault-id @prompt

2. Kubernetes Cluster

ansible-playbook -i production playbooks/02-k8s-cluster.yml

3. Core Provider Services

ansible-playbook -i production playbooks/03-provider-core.yml --vault-id @prompt

4. Advanced Features

ansible-playbook -i production playbooks/04-provider-extensions.yml

Playbook/Role Breakdown

1. 01-akash-node.yml

Purpose: Deploys Akash blockchain node

Roles:

• chrony: Ensures microsecond time synchronization
• akash-node: Installs & configures blockchain softwar

Key Tasks:

• NTP configuration with Chrony
• Akash binary installation
• Genesis file validation
• Systemd service creation

02-k8s-cluster.yml

Purpose: Provisions production Kubernetes cluster

Role:

• kubernetes: Base cluster installation

Key Features:

• Control plane initialization
• Worker node joining
• Network plugin (Calico) deployment
• Kernel parameter optimization

3. 03-provider-core.yml

Purpose: Deploys Akash provider services

Role:

• akash-provider: Main provider components

Components:

• Helm chart deployment
• Wallet key management
• Provider YAML configuration
• Health checks

4. 04-provider-extensions.yml

Purpose: Enhances provider capabilities

Roles:

• tls-certs: Automated Let’s Encrypt certificates
• ip-leases: MetalLB IP address management
• persistent-storage: Ceph/Rook storage

Security:

• TLS 1.3 encryption
• Certificate auto-renewal
• Storage class RBAC

Role Function Matrix

Role	Key Functionality	Dependencies
chrony	NTP time sync (μs precision)	None
akash-node	Blockchain node operations	Chrony
kubernetes	Cluster provisioning & hardening	Ansible.posix
akash-provider	Helm-based provider deployment	Kubernetes.core
tls-certs	TLS certificate management	cert-manager
ip-leases	IP address allocation	MetalLB
persistent-storage	Storage class configuration	Rook Ceph

Verification

# Check node sync status
akash status --node http://akash-node:26657

# Verify provider registration
akash query provider get $(akash keys show provider -a)

# Test deployment capability
akash market lease list

Additional Notes

• Security: Always use Ansible Vault for sensitive data
• Customization: Modify group_vars for environment specifics
• Monitoring: Integrate Prometheus/Grafana post-deployment

Support

Pull requests welcome. Please follow Ansible best practices and include documentation updates.

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Contributing

Pull requests welcome. Please follow Ansible best practices and include documentation updates.