my @systems = qw( this_system_should_be_first system1 system2 system3 the_final_system ); my %systems = ( this_system_should_be_first => 'hostname_to_first_system', system1 => 'hostname_to_system1', system2 => 'hostname_to_system2', system3 => 'hostname_to_system3', the_final_system => 'hostname_to_final_system', );