It is important to consider the potential future for your infrastructure. Saving time by cutting corners can have disastrous consequences. Try to keep your directory structure simple and easy to browse. Consider how deep your code tree really needs to be, and design it accordingly.

Efficient SLS files makes for simpler and easier maintenance in the future. Using descriptive variable names will help you and others keep track of what data each variable represents.

There are two recurring themes that you will find when you explore the best practices of any project: making future-proof decisions and giving things names that are as descriptive as they need to be (no more, no less). When these practices are followed, the results will be easy to read and easy to maintain.

Following best practices is important in creating an environment that is easy to maintain. In the next chapter, we'll finish up by looking at various techniques to troubleshoot our Salt infrastructure.