One SLS file is powerful, but combining them together into multiple, connected SLS files can make for an infrastructure definition that is complex but not complicated. The key to combining states together is the include directive. Data that is included like this can be augmented using the extend directive.

Multiple environments can also be used to merge together state trees, combining multiple types of formulas into a cohesive infrastructure definition. Master tops can be further used to define those environments and the targets that go in them.

There are already a number of formulas available from the community, which are provided by the Salt Stack Formulas organization on GitHub. You can use these or your own formulas to build SPM packages, making the distribution of formulas as easy as using other package managers.

Next up, we'll take a deep dive into the hows, whys, and how-tos about Salt SSH.