yaml-zProperties.rst

zProperties

zProperties are one part of Zenoss' hierarchical configuration system. They are configuration properties that can be specified on any device class including the root /Devices class, and on any individual device.

zProperty Inheritance

The most-specific value for a zProperty within the hierarchy will be used for any given device. For instance, given a device linux1 in the /Server/Linux device class. The value for zSnmpMonitorIgnore will be checked first on the linux1 device. If it is not set locally on the device, the /Server/Linux device class will then be checked. If not set there, /Server will be checked. Finally the value at / (or /Devices) will be checked as a final resort. Since all zProperties must have a default values that is set at the root device class, there will always be a value for the zProperty. Even if it is an empty string.

Adding zProperties

To add a zProperty to your ZenPack you must include a zProperties section in your YAML file. The following example shows an example of adding two zProperties.

zProperties:
  zWidgeterEnable:
    category: ACME Widgeter
    type: boolean
    default: true

  zWidgeterInterval:
    category: ACME Widgeter
    type: string
    default: 300

Each of these zProperty entries specifies a category, type and default. These are the only valid fields of the a zProperty entry. However, each of these fields has a default value that will be used if the field isn't explicitly specified. For example, the default value for type is string. So the above example could be shortened slightly by omitting the explicit type on zWidgeterInterval.

zProperties:
  zWidgeterEnable:
    category: ACME Widgeter
    type: boolean
    default: true

  zWidgeterInterval:
    category: ACME Widgeter
    default: 300

There is a special zProperty entry named DEFAULT that can be used to further shorten definitions in cases where you're adding many zProperties. The following example shows how DEFAULT can be used to replace the duplicated category property.

zProperties:
  DEFAULT:
    category: ACME Widgeter

  zWidgeterEnable:
    type: boolean
    default: true

  zWidgeterInterval:
    default: 300

Each zProperty listed in zProperties will be created when the ZenPack is installed, and removed when the ZenPack is removed.

zProperty Fields

The following fields are valid for a zProperty entry.

name

Description:	Name (e.g. zWidgeterEnable). Must be begin with a lowercase "z".
Required:	Yes
Type:	string
Default Value:	implied from key in zProperties map

type

Description:	Type of property. Valid types: boolean date float int lines long password string selection
Required:	No
Type:	string
Default Value:	string

default

Description:	Default value for property. Default value depends on the type: boolean: false lines: [] password: "" (empty string) string: "" (empty string) all others: null (None)
Required:	No
Type:	varies
Default Value:	varies

category

Description:	Category name. (e.g. ACME Widgeter). Used to group related zProperties in the UI.
Required:	No
Type:	string
Default Value:	"" (empty string)