Template types

Choose from three different template types to group your resources.

• Dynamic template

  This template automatically finds and updates multiple resource groups based on your criteria and how your applications and infrastructure change.

  A dynamic template builds multiple resource groups that are similar to the specified seed resource, and relationship or resource type criteria. Resource group creation and membership is dynamically maintained based on the available topology data and how it changes.

  For example, you can use a dynamic template to create dynamic resource groups, one for each of your virtual machines and the Kubernetes services they are running. Resource groups are then added, removed, and updated as you add or remove virtual machines or applications running on them.

• Tag-based template

  This template creates and updates a single resource group containing the resources that have a specified set of tags.

  Resource group membership is dynamically maintained to reflect changes in the topology for resources that gain or lose the specified tags.

  For example, you can use a tag-based template to create a dynamic resource group tagged with both 'red' and 'green'. Then, when you add new resources with both of those tags, the resource group will be updated to include them.

• Token template

  A token template applies rules to resources as they are received via observer jobs.

  Token templates are based on rules which use resource parameters as tokens, whose values then become group names for groups which will contain the resources to which each rule is applied. A distinct group is created for each token value.

  To form group names from multiple resource property values, you can construct rule tokens using variable substitution (as is possible with all rules).

• Exact template

  An exact template builds a single resource group that are centered on a specified seed resource, your criteria and how your applications and infrastructure change. The membership of the resulting resource group includes the seed resource and those matching the specified relationship or resource type criteria. Resource group membership is dynamically maintained for the resulting resource group provided the specified seed resource type remains unchanged.

  For example, you can use an exact template to create a resource group only for a specific Jenkins build pipeline and any new builds or physical server and its connected network switch.

  As a further refinement, you can adjust your layout by manually positioning the resources in the topology, and this layout is then replicated when you generate a resource group from any exact template that you build from this topology.