Glossary¶
- API server¶
- HTTP REST API service for heat. 
- CFN¶
- An abbreviated form of “AWS CloudFormation”. 
- constraint¶
- Defines valid input parameters for a template. 
- dependency¶
- When a resource must wait for another resource to finish creation before being created itself. Heat adds an implicit dependency when a resource references another resource or one of its attributes. An explicit dependency can also be created by the user in the template definition. 
- environment¶
- Used to affect the run-time behavior of the template. Provides a way to override the default resource implementation and parameters passed to Heat. See Environments. 
- Heat Orchestration Template¶
- A particular template format that is native to Heat. Heat Orchestration Templates are expressed in YAML and are not backwards-compatible with CloudFormation templates. 
- HOT¶
- An acronym for “Heat Orchestration Template”. 
- input parameters¶
- See parameters. 
- Metadata¶
- May refer to Resource Metadata, Nova Instance metadata, or the Metadata service. 
- Metadata service¶
- A Compute service that enables virtual machine instances to retrieve instance-specific data. See Nova Metadata service documentation. 
- multi-region¶
- A feature of Heat that supports deployment to multiple regions. 
- nested resource¶
- A resource instantiated as part of a nested stack. 
- nested stack¶
- A template referenced by URL inside of another template. Used to reduce redundant resource definitions and group complex architectures into logical groups. 
- Nova Instance metadata¶
- User-provided key:value pairs associated with a Compute Instance. See Instance-specific data (OpenStack Operations Guide). 
- OpenStack¶
- Open source software for building private and public clouds. 
- orchestrate¶
- Arrange or direct the elements of a situation to produce a desired effect. 
- outputs¶
- A top-level block in a template that defines what data will be returned by a stack after instantiation. 
- parameters¶
- A top-level block in a template that defines what data can be passed to customise a template when it is used to create or update a stack. 
- provider resource¶
- A resource implemented by a provider template. The parent resource’s properties become the nested stack’s parameters. 
- provider template¶
- Allows user-definable resource providers to be specified via nested stacks. The nested stack’s outputs become the parent stack’s attributes. 
- resource¶
- An element of OpenStack infrastructure instantiated from a particular resource provider. See also nested resource. 
- resource attribute¶
- Data that can be obtained from a resource, e.g. a server’s public IP or name. Usually passed to another resource’s properties or added to the stack’s outputs. 
- resource group¶
- A resource provider that creates one or more identically configured resources or nested resources. 
- Resource Metadata¶
- A resource property that contains CFN-style template metadata. See AWS::CloudFormation::Init (AWS CloudFormation User Guide) 
- resource plugin¶
- Python code that understands how to instantiate and manage a resource. See Heat Resource Plugins (OpenStack wiki). 
- resource property¶
- Data utilized for the instantiation of a resource. Can be defined statically in a template or passed in as input parameters. 
- resource provider¶
- The implementation of a particular resource type. May be a resource plugin or a provider template. 
- stack¶
- A collection of instantiated resources that are defined in a single template. 
- stack resource¶
- A resource provider that allows the management of a nested stack as a resource in a parent stack. 
- template¶
- An orchestration document that details everything needed to carry out an orchestration. 
- template resource¶
- See provider resource. 
- user data¶
- A resource property that contains a user-provided data blob. User data gets passed to cloud-init to automatically configure instances at boot time. See also Nova User data documentation. 
- wait condition¶
- A resource provider that provides a way to communicate data or events from servers back to the orchestration engine. Most commonly used to pause the creation of the stack while the server is being configured. 
