Rundeck lets you create simple to complex tasks on either a local machine or on a remote server, making your admin job much easier. This ebook looks at how to install Rundeck, add remote nodes, run commands, save a search filter, and create Rundeck jobs.

From the ebook:

Your data center has been populated with Linux servers, and you need them to run tasks. Sometimes you need to automate ad-hoc or routine services on those machines, or even on remote machines. When that’s the case, what do you do?

You could create bash scripts and cron jobs for those tasks. Although for many well-versed Linux admins that’s a simple task, for others it’s a bit above their pay grade. That’s when a tool like Rundeck comes in handy. With Rundeck, you can create tasks on either the local machine or on a remote server. In other words, set Rundeck up on one machine and control all your data center Linux servers from a single point of entry. What’s best, Rundeck isn’t terribly hard to install.

I’m going to demonstrate how to get this powerful tool installed on Ubuntu Server 18.04. All you need is a running Ubuntu Server and an account with sudo privileges.

Let’s get to work.

Update/upgrade
Installing Rundeck is fairly straightforward. First, you need to install a couple of dependencies. But even before that, it’s wise to make sure your server is up to date. The one caveat to this is that should the kernel be upgraded, the server will need to reboot. In other words, run the update/upgrade at a time when a reboot is viable.

To update/upgrade Ubuntu Server, open a terminal window and issue the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Note whether the kernel is upgraded. If so, reboot when the process completes. If not, continue.