Summary

Salt Cloud is designed to handle compute resources, though additional cloud functionality can be added as needed. A cloud module can be written using Libcloud, an SDK, or the direct REST API; each method has its pros and cons. Modern REST APIs tend to be very similar and easy to work with. There are several functions that are required for a cohesive cloud module, but most are not complex. Actions are performed against individual VMs while functions are performed against cloud providers themselves.

Now that we've gone over cloud modules, it's time to start monitoring our resources. Next up: beacons.