How to Create the Enable Presence Job in SaltStack

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

The Enable Presence job is not available in the SaltStack UI, preventing administrators from enabling Presence on Salt Minions.

Environment

Aria Config 8.x

Cause

The job is missing by default and must be created manually.

Resolution

Procedure

1. Create the init.sls File

1. Navigate to Configuration → File Server in the SaltStack UI.

2. Select the base Salt environment.

3. Create a new file at the following path:
   presence/init.sls

4. Paste the required content for the Presence feature into this file: refer attachment for the content to be pasted. 

2. Create the Salt Job

1. Navigate to Jobs → Create Job.

2. Create a new job referencing the presence/init.sls file.

3. Use the job configuration shown in your internal screenshot/documentation.

3. Add Required Pillar Override Parameter

When configuring the job, ensure that the following parameter is added under Pillar override:

{
    "status-beacon-interval": "600"
}

This parameter is required for successful Presence activation.

NOTE: The above value of 600 is the typical default, 3600 is recommended especially for larger environments or anything used in production. 

4. Validate Presence on Minions

1. Run the job on any Salt Minion.

2. Verify that Presence is successfully enabled by checking the Minion status in the SaltStack (RaaS) UI.