Bits, Bytes, & Radio Waves

A quiet journey through discovery and understanding.

  • How to Get Values from a Nested Ansible Dictionary

    The following block of code is used to get a list of files from a directory. It then registers a variable with the contents of any files that were found. This next block is used to display the contents of the registered variable. The result of the debug command is below. Notice that the “files”…

  • Prepare vRealize Operations for Ansible

    Adding an Ansible Service Account User to vRealize Operations Connect to the vRealize Operations appliance via the console. Out of the box on an 8.6.3 appliance, the /etc/ssh/sshd_conf file is set to PermitRootLogin yes (line 32, not commented out) and PermitRootLogin no (line 128, not commented out). Since the line disabling root login occurs further…

  • Ansible and VMware

    I recently started experimenting with Ansible. I am still learning the mechanics of how it works and if it can actually be benefiting. The motivation behind this is in learning how to more effectively perform certain tasks using Ansible. In particular, for me, I want to quickly, accurately, and efficiently apply DISA STIG to VMware…

Notes from practice

I use this site to document systems, configurations, and lessons learned as I work through real problems—both professionally and through personal experimentation. The goal is clarity: understand how something works, explain why it behaves the way it does, and make it reliable and repeatable.

These notes are written primarily for myself, but shared openly in case they help someone else avoid a dead end or reduce frustration. If you’d like to learn more, visit the About page.

If you have questions or comments, you’re always welcome to contact me.

Aaron Rombaut

Technologist & Writer