MariaDB Ansible Role

An Ansible role for installing and configuring MariaDB on Debian-based systems using the official MariaDB repositories.

Features

• ✅ Official MariaDB repository setup
• ✅ Flexible version management (major and minor versions)
• ✅ Automatic upgrade capabilities
• ✅ Database and user management
• ✅ Idempotent operations
• ✅ Support for MariaDB versions 10, 11, and 12
• ✅ Proper service management during upgrades

Requirements

• Target OS: Debian-based systems (Debian, Ubuntu)
• Ansible: >= 2.8
• Privileges: sudo/root access required

Role Variables

Required Variables

None. The role works with sensible defaults.

Optional Variables

Variable	Default	Description
mariadb_major_version	"12"	Major version for repository setup (10, 11, or 12)
mariadb_minor_version	undefined	Minor version for specific version install (e.g., "8" for 11.8.x)
mariadb_force_upgrade	false	Force repository update and package upgrade
mariadb_databases	[]	List of databases to create
mariadb_users	[]	List of users to create

Variable Details

mariadb_major_version

• Type: String
• Choices: "10", "11", "12"
• Purpose: Determines which MariaDB repository to configure

mariadb_minor_version

• Type: String (optional)
• Format: Just the minor number (e.g., "8" for version 11.8.x)
• Purpose: Installs specific minor version, gets latest patch automatically
• Behavior: When undefined, installs the latest available version

mariadb_force_upgrade

• Type: Boolean
• Purpose: Forces repository reconfiguration and package upgrades
• Use case: Required when upgrading between major versions

mariadb_databases

• Type: List of dictionaries
• Purpose: Databases to create automatically
• Structure:
  • name (required): Database name
  • encoding (optional): Character encoding (default: utf8mb4)
  • collation (optional): Collation (default: utf8mb4_unicode_ci)

mariadb_users

• Type: List of dictionaries
• Purpose: Users to create automatically
• Structure:
  • name (required): Username
  • password (optional): Plain text password
  • encrypted_password (optional): Pre-encrypted password hash
  • host (required): List of allowed hosts/IPs
  • priv (optional): List of privileges

Dependencies

None.

Example Playbooks

Basic Installation (Latest MariaDB 12)

- hosts: servers
  roles:
    - mariadb

Install Specific Major Version

- hosts: servers
  roles:
    - role: mariadb
      vars:
        mariadb_major_version: "11"

Install Specific Minor Version

- hosts: servers
  roles:
    - role: mariadb
      vars:
        mariadb_major_version: "11"
        mariadb_minor_version: "8"  # Installs latest 11.8.x

Upgrade MariaDB Version

- hosts: servers
  roles:
    - role: mariadb
      vars:
        mariadb_major_version: "12"
        mariadb_force_upgrade: true

Complete Setup with Databases and Users

- hosts: servers
  roles:
    - role: mariadb
      vars:
        mariadb_major_version: "12"
        mariadb_databases:
          - name: myapp_prod
            encoding: utf8mb4
            collation: utf8mb4_unicode_ci
          - name: myapp_test
            encoding: utf8
            collation: utf8_general_ci
        mariadb_users:
          - name: app_user
            password: "secure_password"
            host:
              - "localhost"
              - "10.0.1.%"
            priv:
              - "myapp_prod.*:ALL"
              - "myapp_test.*:ALL"
          - name: backup_user
            encrypted_password: "*8566479B619631314D83F27113F840A82191AB82"
            host:
              - "127.0.0.1"
            priv:
              - "*.*:SELECT,LOCK TABLES,SHOW VIEW,EVENT,TRIGGER"

Usage Scenarios

Fresh Installation

# Install latest MariaDB 12
- role: mariadb

# Install latest MariaDB 11
- role: mariadb
  vars:
    mariadb_major_version: "11"

# Install MariaDB 11.8.x (latest patch)
- role: mariadb
  vars:
    mariadb_major_version: "11"
    mariadb_minor_version: "8"

Version Upgrades

# Upgrade from MariaDB 11 to 12
- role: mariadb
  vars:
    mariadb_major_version: "12"
    mariadb_force_upgrade: true

# Upgrade to specific minor version
- role: mariadb
  vars:
    mariadb_major_version: "12"
    mariadb_minor_version: "1"
    mariadb_force_upgrade: true

How It Works

Normal Installation Process

1. Install prerequisites (curl, ca-certificates)
2. Download and run official MariaDB repository setup script
3. Update apt cache
4. Install MariaDB packages
5. Start and enable MariaDB service

Upgrade Process (mariadb_force_upgrade: true)

1. Stop MariaDB service
2. Remove existing repository configuration
3. Setup new repository with target version
4. Update apt cache
5. Upgrade packages to new version
6. Run mysql_upgrade for schema compatibility
7. Restart MariaDB service

Version Resolution Logic

• Repository: Uses major version only (e.g., mariadb-11.rolling)
• Packages:
  • Without minor version: mariadb-server (latest available)
  • With minor version: mariadb-server=1:11.8* (latest patch in minor series)

File Structure

mariadb/
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── meta/
│   └── main.yml          # Role metadata
├── defaults/
│   └── main.yml          # Default variables
├── tasks/
│   ├── main.yml          # Main task inclusion
│   ├── install.yml       # Installation tasks
│   ├── upgrade.yml       # Upgrade-specific tasks
│   └── database.yml      # Database and user management
└── handlers/
    └── main.yml          # Service handlers

Handlers

The role includes handlers for MariaDB service management:

• restart mariadb: Restarts the MariaDB service

Examples with Command Line

Install with specific version

ansible-playbook playbook.yml -e "mariadb_major_version=11"

Upgrade to new version

ansible-playbook playbook.yml -e "mariadb_major_version=12 mariadb_force_upgrade=true"

Install specific minor version

ansible-playbook playbook.yml -e "mariadb_major_version=11 mariadb_minor_version=8"

Troubleshooting

Repository Issues

If you encounter repository-related issues, try forcing a repository update:

mariadb_force_upgrade: true

Version Conflicts

When upgrading between major versions, always use:

mariadb_force_upgrade: true

Service Issues

The role automatically handles service management, but you can manually check:

systemctl status mariadb

License

MIT

Author Information

This role was created by Ludovic Cartier at brainsys.

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Repository: https://git.brainsys.io/ansible-roles/mariadb
Issues: https://git.brainsys.io/ansible-roles/mariadb/issues