datadog-hostplan-config

README documentation for datadog-hostplan-config

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6 min readUpdated Jul 24, 2026@observability-teamObservability

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Zoos Global — Datadog Host Plan Config

Windows · Linux · Ansible → DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE → Datadog Agent

Automates Infra Pro (full) and Infra Basic (basic) tier configuration
across Windows Server, RHEL 6/7/8, Ubuntu 14–20, SUSE, and Oracle Linux.
Single env var. Dry-run support. Idempotent. Auto-restarts Agent.

1. The Problem — Why This Exists

Datadog Infrastructure Monitoring licensing is controlled through the infrastructure mode assigned to each host. In enterprise environments with large Windows and Linux server fleets, manually managing these configurations can become complex, time-consuming, and error-prone.

Common challenges include:

Inconsistent infrastructure mode configuration across environments.
Manual host-by-host updates requiring significant operational effort.
Configuration drift caused by undocumented changes.
Difficulty maintaining Infra Basic and Infra Pro host classifications.
Increased risk of licensing inaccuracies and unexpected monitoring costs.
Lack of a standardized deployment process across multiple operating systems.
Additional overhead during server onboarding, migrations, and environment expansions.

Without automation, organizations often face operational inefficiencies, reduced governance, and challenges in maintaining consistent Datadog infrastructure monitoring standards.

2. The Solution — What We Built

Zoos Global developed a cross-platform automation framework that standardizes Datadog Infrastructure Mode configuration across Windows and Linux environments.

The solution provides:

Single Configuration Control through the DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE environment variable.
Windows and Linux Support using native operating system mechanisms.
Ansible-Based Fleet Automation for large-scale deployments.
Idempotent Execution to prevent unnecessary changes and service restarts.
Dry-Run Capability for change validation before implementation.
Automatic Datadog Agent Restart when configuration changes occur.
Built-in Verification to confirm successful deployment.
Reduced Configuration Drift through standardized automation.
Improved License Governance by ensuring hosts are assigned to the correct Datadog infrastructure tier.
Enterprise-Ready Operations suitable for production-scale environments.

By automating Datadog Infrastructure Mode management, organizations can reduce administrative effort, improve operational consistency, and maintain accurate infrastructure monitoring across their server fleet.

3. How It Works

A single Datadog Agent configuration value controls the infrastructure tier per host:

# /etc/datadog-agent/datadog.yaml  (Linux)
# or DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE env var (Windows / Linux)

infrastructure_mode: full            # → Infra Pro
infrastructure_mode: basic           # → Infra Basic
infrastructure_mode: none            # → Agent installed, no infra reporting
infrastructure_mode: end_user_device # → Laptops / employee endpoints

These scripts set DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE at the system level so it persists across reboots and Agent restarts — then restart the Agent to apply it immediately.

4. Supported Platforms

Platform	Versions	Init System	Script
Windows Server	2016, 2019, 2022	Windows SCM	`windows/`
RHEL	6	SysV	`linux/`
RHEL	7, 8, 7 Power	systemd	`linux/`
CentOS	7	systemd	`linux/`
Ubuntu	14.04	Upstart	`linux/`
Ubuntu	16.04, 18.04, 20.04	systemd	`linux/`
SUSE Ent / SLES	12, 15	systemd	`linux/`
OpenSUSE Leap	15	systemd	`linux/`
Oracle Linux	7, 8	systemd	`linux/`
Solaris	10/11 SPARC	SMF	⚠️ Manual — see Section 6

5. Repository Structure

datadog-hostplan-config/
│
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
│
├── windows/
│   ├── Set-DDInfraMode-Basic.ps1        # Sets DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE=basic
│   └── Set-DDInfraMode-Full.ps1         # Sets DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE=full
│
├── linux/
│   ├── set_dd_infra_mode_basic.sh       # Sets basic (RHEL/Ubuntu/SUSE/OL)
│   └── set_dd_infra_mode_full.sh        # Sets full  (Pro hosts)
│
└── ansible/
    ├── site.yml                         # Master playbook entry point
    ├── inventory/
    │   └── hosts.ini                    # Fleet inventory + tier groups
    ├── group_vars/
    │   └── all.yml                      # Global variables + defaults
    └── roles/
        └── dd_infra_mode/
            ├── tasks/
            │   ├── main.yml             # OS detection, routing, validation, verify
            │   ├── systemd.yml          # RHEL 7/8, Ubuntu 16–20, SUSE, OL 7/8
            │   ├── sysv.yml             # RHEL 6
            │   └── upstart.yml          # Ubuntu 14.04
            ├── handlers/
            │   └── main.yml             # Restart logic per init system
            └── templates/
                └── systemd_override.conf.j2

6. Windows

Prerequisites

Run as Administrator
Datadog Agent installed and running (Get-Service datadogagent)
PowerShell 5.1+

Usage

# Dry run — preview changes without applying
.\windows\Set-DDInfraMode-Basic.ps1 -DryRun

# Apply basic
.\windows\Set-DDInfraMode-Basic.ps1

# Apply full (Pro)
.\windows\Set-DDInfraMode-Full.ps1

# Override value at runtime
.\windows\Set-DDInfraMode-Basic.ps1 -VarValue "none"

What It Does

Reads current DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE from Machine-scope registry (HKLM)
Already correct → skips, no restart
Wrong value or not set → replaces/sets the value
Restarts datadogagent service only if a change was made
Verifies the value after restart and reports status

7. Linux

Prerequisites

Run as root or with sudo
Datadog Agent installed and running (systemctl status datadog-agent)

Usage

# Make executable (one-time)
chmod +x linux/set_dd_infra_mode_basic.sh linux/set_dd_infra_mode_full.sh

# Dry run — preview what will change
sudo ./linux/set_dd_infra_mode_basic.sh basic --dry-run

# Apply basic
sudo ./linux/set_dd_infra_mode_basic.sh

# Apply full (Pro)
sudo ./linux/set_dd_infra_mode_full.sh

# Override value at runtime
sudo ./linux/set_dd_infra_mode_basic.sh full

What It Does

Auto-detects the init system and writes to the correct location:

Init System	Hosts	Config File
systemd	RHEL 7/8, Ubuntu 16–20, SUSE, OL	`/etc/systemd/system/datadog-agent.service.d/override.conf`
SysV	RHEL 6	`/etc/sysconfig/datadog-agent`
Upstart	Ubuntu 14.04	`/etc/default/datadog-agent`

Detects OS and init system automatically
Reads current value — skips if already correct
Replaces any existing value with the target
Restarts Agent via the correct init command
Verifies via /proc/<pid>/environ post-restart

8. Ansible

Prerequisites

Ansible 2.12+
SSH access to target hosts
Python 3 on target hosts
Update ansible/inventory/hosts.ini with actual IPs

Usage

# Dry run with full diff
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini --check --diff

# Apply to Basic tier hosts
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -l infra_basic

# Apply to Pro tier hosts
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -l infra_pro

# Target a single host
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -l rhel7-host1

# Override mode at runtime
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini \
  -l infra_basic -e "dd_infrastructure_mode=full"

# Phased rollout — 50 hosts per batch
ansible-playbook ansible/site.yml -i ansible/inventory/hosts.ini \
  -l infra_basic --forks 50

9. Solaris (Manual — SMF)

Datadog Agent does not officially support Solaris. If agents are running via a custom install on Solaris 10/11 SPARC, set the env var via SMF:

svccfg -s datadog-agent setenv DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE basic
svcadm restart datadog-agent

# Verify
svcs -lp datadog-agent | grep DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE

10. Verification

After applying on any platform, confirm the Agent picked up the new value:

Linux:

sudo datadog-agent config show | grep infrastructure_mode
# or
sudo systemctl show datadog-agent | grep DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE

Windows:

[System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("DD_INFRASTRUCTURE_MODE", "Machine")

Ansible:

# Verification is handled automatically in tasks/main.yml
# Check playbook output for ✅ Datadog Agent is running on <host>

11. References

👤 Author


Name	Shivam Anand
Title	Sr. DevOps Engineer \| Engineering
Organisation	Zoos Global
Email	[email protected]
Web	www.zoosglobal.com
Address	Violena, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai - 400050