[ansible] How to copy files between two nodes using ansible

I need to copy file form machine A to machine B whereas my control machine from where i run all my ansible tasks is machine C(local machine)

I have tried the following:

Use scp command in shell module of ansible

hosts: machine2
user: user2
tasks:
  - name: Copy file from machine1 to machine2 
    shell: scp user1@machine1:/path-of-file/file1 /home/user2/file1

This approach just goes on and on never ends.

use fetch & copy modules

hosts: machine1
user: user1
tasks:
  - name: copy file from machine1 to local
    fetch: src=/path-of-file/file1 dest=/path-of-file/file1

hosts: machine2
user: user2
tasks:
  - name: copy file from local to machine2
    copy: src=/path-of-file/file1 dest=/path-of-file/file1

This approach throws me an error as follows:

error while accessing the file /Users/<myusername>/.ansible/cp/ansible-ssh-machine2-22-<myusername>, error was: [Errno 102] Operation not supported on socket: u'/Users/<myusername>/.ansible/cp/ansible-ssh-machine2-22-<myusername>'

Any suggestions would be helpful.

You can use deletgate with scp too:

- name: Copy file to another server
  become: true
  shell: "scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null admin@{{ inventory_hostname }}:/tmp/file.yml /tmp/file.yml"
  delegate_to: other.example.com

Because of delegate the command is run on the other server and it scp's the file to itself.

I was able to solve this using local_action to scp to file from machineA to machineC and then copying the file to machineB.

If you want to do rsync and use custom user and custom ssh key, you need to write this key in rsync options.

---
 - name: rsync
   hosts: serverA,serverB,serverC,serverD,serverE,serverF
   gather_facts: no
   vars:
     ansible_user: oracle
     ansible_ssh_private_key_file: ./mykey
     src_file: "/path/to/file.txt"
   tasks:
     - name: Copy Remote-To-Remote from serverA to server{B..F}
       synchronize:
           src:  "{{ src_file }}"
           dest: "{{ src_file }}"
           rsync_opts:
              - "-e ssh -i /remote/path/to/mykey"
       delegate_to: serverA

In 2021 you should install wrapper:

ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.posix

And use

- name: Synchronize two directories on one remote host.
  ansible.posix.synchronize:
    src: /first/absolute/path
    dest: /second/absolute/path
  delegate_to: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"

Read more:

https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/posix/synchronize_module.html

Checked on:

ansible --version                          
ansible 2.10.5
  config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg
  configured module search path = ['/home/daniel/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/ansible
  executable location = /sbin/ansible
  python version = 3.9.1 (default, Dec 13 2020, 11:55:53) [GCC 10.2.0]

A simple way to used copy module to transfer the file from one server to another

Here is playbook

---
- hosts: machine1 {from here file will be transferred to another remote machine}
  tasks:
  - name: transfer data from machine1 to machine2

    copy:
     src=/path/of/machine1

     dest=/path/of/machine2

    delegate_to: machine2 {file/data receiver machine}

If you need to sync files between two remote nodes via ansible you can use this:

- name: synchronize between nodes
  environment:
    RSYNC_PASSWORD: "{{ input_user_password_if_needed }}"
  synchronize:
    src: rsync://user@remote_server:/module/
    dest: /destination/directory/
    // if needed
    rsync_opts:
       - "--include=what_needed"
       - "--exclude=**/**"
    mode: pull
    delegate_to: "{{ inventory_hostname }}"

when on remote_server you need to startup rsync with daemon mode. Simple example:

pid file = /var/run/rsyncd.pid
lock file = /var/run/rsync.lock
log file = /var/log/rsync.log
port = port

[module]
path = /path/to/needed/directory/
uid = nobody
gid = nobody
read only = yes
list = yes
auth users = user
secrets file = /path/to/secret/file

To copy remote-to-remote files you can use the synchronize module with 'delegate_to: source-server' keyword:

- hosts: serverB
  tasks:    
   - name: Copy Remote-To-Remote (from serverA to serverB)
     synchronize: src=/copy/from_serverA dest=/copy/to_serverB
     delegate_to: serverA

This playbook can run from your machineC.

As ant31 already pointed out you can use the synchronize module to this. By default, the module transfers files between the control machine and the current remote host (inventory_host), however that can be changed using the task's delegate_to parameter (it's important to note that this is a parameter of the task, not of the module).

You can place the task on either ServerA or ServerB, but you have to adjust the direction of the transfer accordingly (using the mode parameter of synchronize).

Placing the task on ServerB

- hosts: ServerB
  tasks:
    - name: Transfer file from ServerA to ServerB
      synchronize:
        src: /path/on/server_a
        dest: /path/on/server_b
      delegate_to: ServerA

This uses the default mode: push, so the file gets transferred from the delegate (ServerA) to the current remote (ServerB).

This might sound like strange, since the task has been placed on ServerB (via hosts: ServerB). However, one has to keep in mind that the task is actually executed on the delegated host, which in this case is ServerA. So pushing (from ServerA to ServerB) is indeed the correct direction. Also remember that we cannot simply choose not to delegate at all, since that would mean that the transfer happens between the control machine and ServerB.

Placing the task on ServerA

- hosts: ServerA
  tasks:
    - name: Transfer file from ServerA to ServerB
      synchronize:
        src: /path/on/server_a
        dest: /path/on/server_b
        mode: pull
      delegate_to: ServerB

This uses mode: pull to invert the transfer direction. Again, keep in mind that the task is actually executed on ServerB, so pulling is the right choice.