Hypothetical deployment YAML for hypothetical CMDB/deployment tool.

gistfile1.txt

strategies:
  # deployment mechanisms
  -
    name: ec2-production
    # config for deploying to production
  -
    name: ec2-staging
    # config for deploying to staging
  -
    name: vagrant-local-development
    # config for spinning up a VM locally

sources:
  # define sources to pull config, actions, etc. from later (git repo, HTTP URL, run local command, etc.)

actions:
  # discrete steps to take during deployment ("configure SSH", "install mysql", "start nginx", etc.)
  # actions can be imported from shared repositories or local files
  -
    name: postgres
    commands:
      start:
        steps:
        # ... steps for starting postgres
      install:
        steps:
        # ... steps for installing postgres
      stop:
        steps:
        # ... steps for stopping postgres
  -
    name: nginx
    commands:
      start:
        steps:
          # ... steps for starting nginx
      stop:
        steps:
          # ... steps for stopping nginx

services:
  # actions
  -
    name: web
    config:
      # config hash for web nodes
    actions:
      # setup steps to take
      # must be declared in actions section
      # can pass parameters
  -
    name: api
    config:
      # config hash for API server nodes
    # actions, etc.
  -
    name: storm-node
    config:
      # config hash for Storm nodes
    # actions, etc.

Let's say the tool is called "deployer". The idea is that you could do things like this:

# create a new web node using the ec2-production strategy
deployer create --strategy=ec2-production --service=web

# scale up/down using the ec2-staging strategy
deployer scale --strategy=ec2-staging --service=web --num=+2 # add two nodes
deployer scale --strategy=ec2-staging --service=web --num=-3 # remove three nodes
deployer scale --strategy=ec2-staging --service=web --num=8 # set to eight nodes

(lots more handwaving here)