bff_package resource

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Use the bff_package resource to manage packages for the AIX platform using the installp utility. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

Note

A Backup File Format (BFF) package may not have a .bff file extension. Chef Infra Client will still identify the correct provider to use based on the platform, regardless of the file extension.

Note

In many cases, it is better to use the package resource instead of this one. This is because when the package resource is used in a recipe, Chef Infra Client will use details that are collected by Ohai at the start of a Chef Infra Client run to determine the correct package application. Using the package resource allows a recipe to be authored in a way that allows it to be used across many platforms.

Syntax

A bff_package resource manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the bff_package resource is:

bff_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the bff_package resource is:

bff_package 'name' do
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

• bff_package is the resource.
• name is the name given to the resource block.
• action identifies which steps Chef Infra Client will take to bring the node into the desired state.
• options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The bff_package resource has the following actions:

:install

Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.

:nothing

This resource block does not act unless notified by another resource to take action. Once notified, this resource block either runs immediately or is queued up to run at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

:purge

Purge a package. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the package.

:remove

Remove a package.

Properties

The bff_package resource has the following properties:

options

Ruby Type: String, Array

One (or more) additional command options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

An optional property to set the package name if it differs from the resource block’s name.

source

Ruby Type: String

Required. The path to a package in the local file system. The AIX platform requires source to be a local file system path because installp does not retrieve packages using HTTP or FTP.

timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Common Resource Functionality

Chef resources include common properties, notifications, and resource guards.

Common Properties

The following properties are common to every resource:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of attempts to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

sensitive

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Ensure that sensitive resource data is not logged by Chef Infra Client.

Notifications

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during a Chef Infra Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before

Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.

:delayed

Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

:immediate, :immediately

Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
  mode '0600'
  owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
  subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during a Chef Infra Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before

Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.

:delayed

Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

:immediate, :immediately

Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

Guards

A guard property can be used to evaluate the state of a node during the execution phase of a Chef Infra Client run. Based on the results of this evaluation, a guard property is then used to tell Chef Infra Client if it should continue executing a resource. A guard property accepts either a string value or a Ruby block value:

• A string is executed as a shell command. If the command returns 0, the guard is applied. If the command returns any other value, then the guard property is not applied. String guards in a powershell_script run Windows PowerShell commands and may return true in addition to 0.
• A block is executed as Ruby code that must return either true or false. If the block returns true, the guard property is applied. If the block returns false, the guard property is not applied.

A guard property is useful for ensuring that a resource is idempotent by allowing that resource to test for the desired state as it is being executed, and then if the desired state is present, for Chef Infra Client to do nothing.

Properties

The following properties can be used to define a guard that is evaluated during the execution phase of a Chef Infra Client run:

not_if

Prevent a resource from executing when the condition returns true.

only_if

Allow a resource to execute only if the condition returns true.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate various approaches for using resources in recipes:

Install a package

The bff_package resource is the default package provider on the AIX platform. The base package resource may be used, and then when the platform is AIX, Chef Infra Client will identify the correct package provider. The following examples show how to install part of the IBM XL C/C++ compiler.

Using the base package resource:

package 'xlccmp.13.1.0' do
  source '/var/tmp/IBM_XL_C_13.1.0/usr/sys/inst.images/xlccmp.13.1.0'
  action :install
end

Using the bff_package resource:

bff_package 'xlccmp.13.1.0' do
  source '/var/tmp/IBM_XL_C_13.1.0/usr/sys/inst.images/xlccmp.13.1.0'
  action :install
end