In which scenario would you expect $server to have the value of "localhost"?

The correct scenario for $server to have the value of "localhost" is when executed in the notify resource. In Puppet, the notify function is used to trigger an action without directly altering the resource's state. Typically, the notify resource is used in conjunction with other resources to control the order of execution or to signal a refreshing action when its related resource is modified.

When used within a notify resource, the context establishes the default value of $server as "localhost" because it is often utilized to indicate the local machine where Puppet is being run. This aligns with the expectation that any resources executed in the Puppet manifest that do not have an explicit value for the $server variable would fall back to this default, particularly in situations where local communication is needed, such as configurations that do not have network dependencies.

In other contexts, such as within a class definition, the value might vary depending on how it is being set or overridden. Similarly, in the node declaration, while you can define what $server should be, it does not automatically default to "localhost." The same applies to calling the ntp class; unless explicitly defined, $server may not inherit "localhost."

Thus, the behavior of using the notify resource consistently leads to the default assumption that it