Using the Minions workspace

The Minions workspace is used to view minion details, run ad-hoc jobs or commands, and create new targets.

The Minions workspace is also used to:

• Edit target criteria
• Attach pillars
• Run jobs
• Accept or reject keys
• Assign roles to pillars and targets

The Minions workspace includes a list of all Salt minions that are running the minion service and that are currently managed by SaltStack Config. Minions are nodes running the minion service, which can listen to commands from a Salt master and perform the requested tasks. Salt masters can themselves run the minion service, which makes it possible to configure and manage the node running the Salt contoller service as needed.

The side panel of the workspace includes a list of targets. A target is the group of minions, that a job’s Salt command applies to. For more information, see How does SaltStack Config work.

By default, when you open the workspace, the All Minions target is active. The All Minions target lists all the minions you have permission to access.

For information on targets, see How do I create targets.

Beacons are used to monitor non-Salt processes. When monitored activity occurs, an event is sent that can be configured to trigger a reactor.

Note: You can check which beacons are installed and active on a minion by running a job with beacons.list on a minion’s respective target. See How do I create jobs for more information.

Ad-hoc jobs or commands

The Minions workspace also includes a Run Command control that allows you to run a single, ad-hoc command on one or more minions without creating a reusable job. This feature is useful for executing commands quickly or for running one-off jobs that are not part of your everyday workflow, such as when troubleshooting, or during initial configuration.

In the Minions workspace, you can run an ad-hoc job or command on:

• A single minion
• One or more minions
• A Salt master or all Salt masters (using salt-run)
• A target

Note:

Targets are dynamic, and new minions are automatically added to any matching target definition. Make sure to review the minions included in a target before you run a job.

To use and view the Minions workspace, click Targets on the side menu. You can view a specific minion's details by selecting the Minion ID. To download data for all minions, click More actions and select a download format.

Minion presence

The Presence column indicates if SaltStack Config has received any job data from the minion recently, within a defined interval called raas_presence_expiration. By default, this interval is set to 3600 seconds. Presence can provide an indicator of machine health by using the Presence beacon installed on minions.

If the Presence beacon is in place, minions send periodic status payloads to their Salt masters, which SaltStack Config then retrieves, influencing the status displayed in the Presence column.

SaltStack Config provides the following Presence statuses.

Status	Description
Unknown	SaltStack Config has never seen a response from the minion. This is the default status for newly-connected minions. Once minions have received a command, the status updates to Present.
Present	SaltStack Config has seen responses from the minion within the last raas_presence_expiration interval, set to 3600 seconds by default.
Disconnected	SaltStack Config has seen a response from the minion, but not within the last raas_presence_expiration interval.