hiera_resources

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Module Description - What the module does and why it is useful
3. Beginning with hiera_resources
4. Usage - Configuration options and additional functionality
5. Credit

Overview

Allow arbitrary definition of resources (classes and defined types) via hiera content while avoiding the hiera_hash/create_resources pattern.

Module Description

If applicable, this section should have a brief description of the technology the module integrates with and what that integration enables. This section should answer the questions: "What does this module do?" and "Why would I use it?"

If your module has a range of functionality (installation, configuration, management, etc.) this is the time to mention it.

Beginning with hiera_resources

hiera_resources() allows you to use arbitrary hiera data to create and manage classes and defined types. Provide a hash with a top level name followed by a second level resource type and subsequent levels containing the required resource parameters and values.

For instance, given the following hiera YAML file:

---
messages1:
  notify:
    title 1:
      message: this is the first message stored in YAML
    title 2:
      message: this is the second message stored in YAML

You may include hiera_resources('messages1') in a manifest to create two notify resources, 'title 1' and 'title 2'.

hiera_resources() does not verify the contents of the hash or referenced resource type. It does accept a second value as a default value if the lookup fails, following the same tiered hierarchy as the hiera hash.

Usage

Ensure that hiera_resources is in your $modulepath and that pluginsync is set to true on the master. You may then use hiera_resources() in your manifests.

Credits

This version of hiera_resources is based on this excellent blog post by Robin Bowes and a subsequent refactoring.