Automation and Template-based Provisioning : Using Composite Templates : Understanding the Composite Template Definition : Actions
Actions
In the actions section, you can define shell actions that the composite template executes at the time of applying the template in both provisioning and migration mode. For example, if you want to ensure that you have the system resources required for a provisioning operation, you can define a shell action in the composite template definition that will check the system resources before starting the provisioning operation.
The actions defined in the template are executed as remote actions on the target hosts, using the details of the SSH connection defined for the target host in the bootstrapInfo section under nodes. The actions are executed on the Command Central server host as local actions only when:
*The actions are defined in the environments section.
*The actions are executed on the local node.
Each action is defined either inline in the composite template, or in an external file located on the Command Central server, the target node, or in the composite template archive. Based on the section in which you include an actions section, Command Central will execute the actions as follows:
The actions in this section...
are executed...
environment/default/actions
on the local node for all types of environments.
layers/default/actions
on the remote nodes for all layers, except for the layers that map to the local node.
templates/default/actions
on the remote nodes for all templates, except for the templates applied on the local node.
nodes/default/actions
on all nodes. If the action is executed for the local node, it is a local action.
environments/environment.type/actions
on the local node, only for this environment type.
layers/layerAlias /actions
when processing the layer with the specified alias. If the layer maps to the local node, the actions are executed as local actions.
templates/templateAlias /actions
when processing the inline template with the specified alias. If the template is applied on the local node, the actions are executed as local actions.
nodes/nodeAlias /actions
on the node with the specified alias.
Action Properties
The actions section includes the following properties:
Properties
Description
actionName:
Required. The name of the action. If the action is executed on Windows, the name of the action ends with ".bat", for example: actionName.bat:
description:
Optional. States the goal of the action.
phase: {pre | post}
Specifies whether to execute the actions before or after the operation defined in the composite template section. For example, in the nodes/default/actions section, if phase=pre, the actions are executed before bootstrapping Platform Manager. If phase=post, the actions are executed after bootstrapping Platform Manager.
The actions defined in the default sub-sections of top level sections are executed as follows:
*Default actions with the phase=pre parameters are executed before regular pre actions.
*Default actions with the phase=post parameters are executed after regular post actions.

failOnError: {true | false}
Indicates whether applying the composite template will fail if the action fails with an error. Valid values:
*true (default) - the composite template apply operation fails
*false - the composite template apply operation ignores the error and continues processing the composite template
script:
Required when you do not specify the file property. Includes script commands, defined inline.
When the shell scripts are included inline, the shell variables using the notation ${var} are evaluated against the properties defined in the composite template. The shell variables using the notation $var are not evaluated against the properties defined in the composite template and the script is executed as it stands.
If you include both script and file properties, Command Central uses the script property and ignores the file property.
file:
Required when you do not specify the script property. Specifies either the absolute, or the relative location path to an external script file. If you specify a relative location path to the composite template archive, the file is taken from the template archive. For example, file: scripts/main.sh
target: POSIX | WINDOWS
Optional. Indicates on which operating systems to execute the action. Valid values:
*POSIX (default) - the action is executed on POSIX-compliant operating systems.
*WINDOWS - the action is executed only on Windows operating systems. This value is not supported for remote actions.
Usage Notes
*The script code in the shell action can use any interpreter available on the system, such as Perl, Python, or Ruby.
*When you define actions under the templates section and you apply the template with environment.mode=provision, even if failOnError: true, the template does not fail if the action fails.
*When configuring the target property for an action, you must consider the following:
*For a local action, set target: WINDOWS if the operating system of the local node is Windows and you want to use a Windows script. If the local node has a Unix operating system and you want to use a Unix script, set target: POSIX.
*For a remote action executed on a target host with a Windows operating system, you must set target: POSIX, but ensure that the target host is configured for an SSH connection with a third-party too, for example Cygwin. For information about how to install Cygwin, go to https://cygwin.com/install.html.
Example
In the following example, the actions section defines a “cleanUpEnvDefault” action that the composite template will execute after the provisioning operation for all environment types. The composite template application will fail if the action fails with an error. The script command is specified inline in the “script” property.
The “${temporary.data}” variable in the “rm -r” argument of the inline script is evaluated against the properties defined in the composite template. If the composite template definition includes a property with name “temporary.data”, the script will use the value of that property. If the template does not include a “temporary.data” property, the script is executed as it stands.
environments:
    default:
      actions:
      cleanUpEnvDefault:
        description: “Default clean up of the environment after provisioning”
        phase:post
        failOnError: true
        script: | 
          #!/bin/sh
          rm -r${temporary.data}
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