windows_feature resource¶

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Use the windows_feature resource to add, remove or entirely delete Windows features and roles. This resource calls the windows_feature_dism or windows_feature_powershell resources depending on the specified installation method, and defaults to DISM, which is available on both Workstation and Server editions of Windows.

New in Chef Client 14.0.

Syntax¶

The windows_feature resource has the following syntax:

windows_feature 'name' do
  all                   true, false # default value: false
  feature_name          Array, String # default value: 'name' unless specified
  install_method        Symbol # default value: :windows_feature_dism
  management_tools      true, false # default value: false
  source                String
  timeout               Integer # default value: 600
  action                Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

windows_feature 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.
all, feature_name, install_method, management_tools, source, and timeout are the properties available to this resource.

Actions¶

The windows_feature resource has the following actions:

:install: Default. Install a Windows role / feature using PowerShell.
:remove: Remove a Windows role / feature using PowerShell.
:delete: Delete a Windows role / feature from the image using PowerShell.
: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.

Properties¶

The windows_feature resource has the following properties:

all

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Install all sub-features.

feature_name

Ruby Type: Array, String | Default Value: The resource block's name

The name of the feature(s) or role(s) to install if they differ from the resource block’s name. The same feature may have different names depending on the underlying installation method being used (ie DHCPServer vs DHCP; DNS-Server-Full-Role vs DNS).

install_method

Ruby Type: Symbol | Default Value: :windows_feature_dism

The underlying installation method to use for feature installation. Specify ‘:windows_feature_dism’ for DISM or ‘:windows_feature_powershell’ for PowerShell.

management_tools

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Install all applicable management tools for the roles, role services, or features (PowerShell-only).

source

Ruby Type: String

Specify a local repository for the feature install.

timeout

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 600

Specifies a timeout (in seconds) for the feature installation.

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 the DHCP Server feature

windows_feature 'DHCPServer' do
  action :install
end

Install the .Net 3.5.1 feature using repository files on DVD

windows_feature "NetFx3" do
  action :install
  source "d:\sources\sxs"
end

Remove Telnet Server and Client features

windows_feature ['TelnetServer', 'TelnetClient'] do
  action :remove
end

Add the SMTP Server feature using the PowerShell provider

windows_feature "smtp-server" do
  action :install
  all true
  install_method :windows_feature_powershell
end

Install multiple features using one resource with the PowerShell provider

windows_feature ['Web-Asp-Net45', 'Web-Net-Ext45'] do
  action :install
  install_method :windows_feature_powershell
end

Install the Network Policy and Access Service feature, including the management tools. Which, for this example, will automatically install RSAT-NPAS as well.

windows_feature 'NPAS' do
  action :install
  management_tools true
  install_method :windows_feature_powershell
end