Configuration Reference

Complete reference for every key in ranger-config.yml.

Looking for a full example to copy? See Example ranger.yml — the complete annotated config with minimal, scheduled, and cloud-publishing variants.

For the practical how-to, see Configuration. For the formal schema spec, see Configuration Model.

`environment`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`environment.name`	string	Yes	—	Short label used in output folder names and report filenames. Alphanumeric and hyphens recommended.
`environment.clusterName`	string	No	Same as `name`	Display name shown in report headers and diagrams.
`environment.description`	string	No	—	Free-text description included in report metadata.

yaml

environment:
  name: tplabs-prod-01
  clusterName: tplabs-prod-01
  description: "4-node Dell AX-760 production cluster"

`targets.cluster`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`targets.cluster.fqdn`	string	One of `fqdn` / `nodes`	—	Cluster FQDN or NetBIOS name. Resolved at runtime for WinRM connections.
`targets.cluster.nodes`	string[]	One of `fqdn` / `nodes`	Resolved from Arc	List of individual node FQDNs. Used when the cluster name does not resolve or when direct node addressing is preferred.

yaml

targets:
  cluster:
    fqdn: tplabs-clus01.contoso.com
    nodes:
      - tplabs-01-n01.contoso.com
      - tplabs-01-n02.contoso.com

If both are omitted, Ranger attempts to resolve nodes from Azure Arc resource properties. This requires an active Az context and valid Azure target metadata.

`targets.azure`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`targets.azure.subscriptionId`	string (GUID)	No	—	Azure subscription containing the cluster's Arc and resource group. Required for Azure-side collectors.
`targets.azure.tenantId`	string (GUID)	No	—	Azure AD tenant. Required when the subscription is in a different tenant than the default Az context.
`targets.azure.resourceGroup`	string	No	—	Resource group name containing the Arc cluster and related resources.

yaml

targets:
  azure:
    subscriptionId: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
    tenantId: 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111
    resourceGroup: rg-azlocal-prod-01

Omitting the entire targets.azure section skips all Azure-side collectors gracefully.

`targets.bmc`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`targets.bmc.endpoints`	object[]	No	`[]`	List of BMC/Redfish endpoint objects. Required for hardware domain discovery.
`targets.bmc.endpoints[].host`	string	Yes (per entry)	—	BMC hostname or IP address (e.g., `idrac-node-01.contoso.com`).

yaml

targets:
  bmc:
    endpoints:
      - host: idrac-node-01.contoso.com
      - host: idrac-node-02.contoso.com
      - host: idrac-node-03.contoso.com
      - host: idrac-node-04.contoso.com

Omitting targets.bmc or providing an empty endpoints list means hardware discovery runs without Redfish data. The hardware collector will still collect what it can over WinRM.

`credentials`

`credentials.azure`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`credentials.azure.method`	string	No	`existing-context`	How Ranger authenticates to Azure. See values below.

Valid values for method:

Value	Behaviour
`existing-context`	Uses the current `Get-AzContext` session. Requires `Connect-AzAccount` before running.
`managed-identity`	Uses the managed identity of the execution host. For Azure-hosted runners.
`device-code`	Prompts for device-code interactive authentication.
`service-principal`	Uses `credentials.azure.clientId` + `credentials.azure.clientSecretRef`.
`azure-cli`	Falls back to Azure CLI (`az login`) context.

For service principal:

yaml

credentials:
  azure:
    method: service-principal
    clientId: 22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222
    clientSecretRef: keyvault://kv-ranger/sp-secret
    tenantId: 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111

NOTE

kv-ranger in these examples is a placeholder vault name, not a vault Ranger creates or requires. Substitute your actual Key Vault. v2.6.3 (#292) removed the fake keyvault://kv-ranger/* placeholders from the default config so a bare invocation no longer dies resolving a vault the operator never configured.

`credentials.cluster`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`credentials.cluster.username`	string	No	—	WinRM username in `DOMAIN\user` or `user@domain` format.
`credentials.cluster.password`	string	No	—	Plaintext password. Not recommended — use `passwordRef` instead.
`credentials.cluster.passwordRef`	string	No	—	Key Vault secret URI. See Key Vault References.

`credentials.domain`

Same keys as credentials.cluster. Used for domain-joined operations when the domain credential differs from the cluster WinRM credential. Omit to use the cluster credential for both.

`credentials.bmc`

Same keys as credentials.cluster. Used for BMC/Redfish authentication. Required when targets.bmc.endpoints is populated.

yaml

credentials:
  azure:
    method: existing-context
  cluster:
    username: CONTOSO\ranger-read
    passwordRef: keyvault://kv-ranger/cluster-read
  domain:
    username: CONTOSO\ranger-read
    passwordRef: keyvault://kv-ranger/domain-read
  bmc:
    username: root
    passwordRef: keyvault://kv-ranger/idrac-root

`domains`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`domains.include`	string[]	No	All domains	Collect only these named domains. Overrides `exclude` when both are set.
`domains.exclude`	string[]	No	None	Skip these named domains from an otherwise full run.
`domains.hints`	object	No	—	Variant hints passed to collectors. See below.

Valid domain names:

Name	Aliases	Collects
`cluster`	`topology`	Cluster identity, nodes, quorum, update posture
`storage-networking`	`storage`, `networking`	S2D pools, CSVs, vSwitches, RDMA, ATC
`identity-security`	`identity`, `security`	AD/workgroup, BitLocker, WDAC, Defender, RBAC
`azure-integration`	`azure`	Arc, policy, monitoring, backup, ASR, AKS
`hardware`	`oem`	Redfish, firmware, disks, memory, GPUs, BMC posture
`management-performance`	`management`, `performance`	WAC, agents, counters, event digest
`waf-assessment`	—	WAF rule scoring, pillar results, roadmap, advisor recommendations

The following domains are computed by v2.5.0 analyzers after collection and do not require separate configuration — they are always included when the underlying collector data is available:

Analyzer domain	Source data	Output
`capacityAnalysis`	cluster + storage	Per-node + cluster vCPU/memory/storage/pool headroom with Healthy/Warning/Critical status
`vmUtilization`	virtualMachines	Idle/underutilized VM classification with rightsizing proposals and freed-resource savings
`storageEfficiency`	storage-networking	Per-volume dedup state, dedup ratio, saved GiB, thin-provisioning coverage, waste class tag
`licenseInventory`	azure-integration + virtualMachines	Guest SQL instances (edition, version, cores, license model, AHB eligibility) and Windows Server instances

yaml

domains:
  include: []    # empty = all
  exclude:
    - hardware   # skip if no BMC access

Variant Hints

yaml

domains:
  hints:
    topology: local-key-vault       # cluster uses local identity with Key Vault
    controlPlaneMode: disconnected  # cluster is in disconnected operations mode

Hints guide collector behaviour and report wording. They do not override observed facts.

`output`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`output.mode`	string	No	`current-state`	`current-state` for operational snapshots; `as-built` for formal handoff packages.
`output.formats`	string[]	No	`[html, markdown, json, svg]`	Report formats to render.
`output.rootPath`	string	No	`C:\AzureLocalRanger`	Root directory where Ranger creates the timestamped output folder.
`output.showProgress`	bool	No	`true`	Show a live per-collector progress display. Requires `PwshSpectreConsole`; falls back to `Write-Progress` if absent. Suppressed in CI and `-Unattended` mode.

Valid format values:

Value	Output
`html`	HTML report (all tiers)
`markdown`	Markdown report
`json`	Raw manifest export
`json-evidence`	Raw resource-only inventory JSON with `_metadata` envelope; no scoring or run metadata (v2.0.0)
`svg`	SVG diagrams
`drawio`	draw.io XML diagrams
`docx`	Word document
`xlsx`	Excel workbook (inventory + findings)
`pdf`	PDF (rendered from HTML)
`pptx`	PowerPoint executive presentation built via `System.IO.Packaging`; no Office dependency (v2.5.0)
`powerbi`	Power BI CSV star-schema exports under a `powerbi/` folder (v2.0.0)

yaml

output:
  mode: as-built
  formats: [html, markdown, docx, xlsx, pdf, svg]
  rootPath: C:\AzureLocalRanger
  showProgress: true

`behavior`

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
`behavior.transport`	string	No	`auto`	WinRM transport mode. `auto` tries WinRM first; falls back to Arc Run Command when nodes are unreachable. `winrm` forces WinRM only. `arc` forces Arc Run Command only.
`behavior.degradationMode`	string	No	`graceful`	How to handle collectors whose transport is confirmed unreachable. `graceful` skips with `status: skipped`. `strict` fails the entire run.
`behavior.promptForMissingCredentials`	bool	No	`true`	Prompt interactively for unresolved cluster, domain, or BMC credentials. This does not select the Azure authentication method.
`behavior.promptForMissingRequired`	bool	No	`true`	After auto-discovery, prompt interactively for structural values still required by the selected collectors.
`behavior.retryCount`	int	No	`2`	Number of WinRM retry attempts per operation before marking a collector as failed.
`behavior.timeoutSeconds`	int	No	`30`	WinRM operation timeout in seconds.
`behavior.skipUnavailableOptionalDomains`	bool	No	`true`	Skip optional collectors silently when their required resources are absent.

yaml

behavior:
  transport: auto
  degradationMode: graceful
  promptForMissingCredentials: true
  promptForMissingRequired: true
  retryCount: 2
  timeoutSeconds: 30

Key Vault References

Any password, clientSecret, or similar credential field can be replaced with a Key Vault reference URI:

text

keyvault://<vault-name>/<secret-name>

Ranger resolves the reference at runtime using the current Azure identity. The vault must be accessible from the execution machine.

yaml

credentials:
  cluster:
    username: CONTOSO\ranger-read
    passwordRef: keyvault://kv-ranger/cluster-read-password

Requirements:

An active Az context with Get-AzKeyVaultSecret access to the vault
The vault name must match an existing Key Vault in the configured subscription
The secret must exist and not be disabled or expired

What Happens When Keys Are Omitted

Omitted key	Behaviour
`targets.cluster.fqdn` and `targets.cluster.nodes`	Ranger attempts subscription-scoped Arc discovery, then local name resolution; local collectors may be skipped or validation may fail if no endpoint can be resolved
`targets.azure` (entire section)	All Azure-side collectors skip gracefully
`targets.bmc` (entire section)	Redfish hardware collection skipped; WinRM-based hardware facts still collected
`credentials.cluster`	Ranger uses current Windows identity; prompts if `promptForMissingCredentials: true`
`credentials.azure`	Defaults to `existing-context`
`domains.include` (empty)	All domains collected
`behavior` (entire section)	All defaults apply (`transport: auto`, `degradationMode: graceful`, etc.)
`output.showProgress`	Defaults to `true` (progress display on)

Configuration — practical how-to with examples
Configuration Model — formal schema specification
Authentication — credential methods in detail
Command Reference — runtime parameter overrides

Configuration Reference ​

environment ​

targets.cluster ​

targets.azure ​

targets.bmc ​

credentials ​

credentials.azure ​

credentials.cluster ​

credentials.domain ​

credentials.bmc ​

domains ​

Variant Hints ​

output ​

behavior ​

Key Vault References ​

What Happens When Keys Are Omitted ​

Related Pages ​

Configuration Reference

`environment`

`targets.cluster`

`targets.azure`

`targets.bmc`

`credentials`

`credentials.azure`

`credentials.cluster`

`credentials.domain`

`credentials.bmc`

`domains`

Variant Hints

`output`

`behavior`

Key Vault References

What Happens When Keys Are Omitted

Related Pages