$configdata and parameters - powershell

Question

Is there any option to pass values to $configdata block (use for -ConfigurationData) as a parameter/variable?
Something like:
Configuration Config1
{
...
...
...
}
$configdata = #{
AllNodes = #(
#{
NodeName = servername
CertificateFile = "$path\CertFile.cer"
Thumbprint = $CertThumb
}

Answer 1

The Configuration Data is the way to pass values to the Configuration.
On the other hand, the configuration data itself is nothing more, but a Hash Table. You can edit it in any way you like.
Consider the following example.
You are in Push mode and have the following configuration:
Configuration MyFileCreator
{
Import-DscResource –ModuleName 'PSDesiredStateConfiguration'
Node localhost
{
File sampleFile
{
Ensure = $ConfigurationData.fileEnsure
Type = 'File'
DestinationPath = 'c:\temp\file.txt'
Force = $true
}
# Configure LCM
LocalConfigurationManager
{
ConfigurationMode = 'ApplyAndAutoCorrect'
RefreshMode = 'PUSH'
RebootNodeIfNeeded = $False
}
}
}
You see that I have used $ConfigurationData.fileEnsure. This variable refers to a value I set in the ConfigurationData.
My ConfigurationData could look like this:
$myConfigurationData = #{
AllNodes = #()
fileEnsure = 'absent'
}
If I want to apply my configuration with the configuration data, I can run the following commands:
MyFileCreator -ConfigurationData $myConfigurationData
Start-DscConfiguration -ComputerName localhost .\MyFileCreator
If I want to change the configuration data, I can simply modify the Hash Table and apply my configuration again:
$myConfigurationData.fileEnsure = 'present'
MyFileCreator -ConfigurationData $myConfigurationData
Start-DscConfiguration -ComputerName localhost .\MyFileCreator -Force
You can read more about the idea behind Configuration and Environment Data in the official MSDN Documentation.