Don't struggle with ini, use YAML 
#!/usr/bin/perl --

use strict;
use warnings;

use YAML;
use Data::Dumper;

sub printdump {
    print Dump($_[0]),"\n\n";
    print Data::Dumper->new([$_[0]])->Indent(1)->Dump,"\n";
    print "---------- $_[0] ----------\n";
}

{
    my %ini;    
    $ini{performance}{pop1}{ip}  = q{192.168.1.1};
    $ini{performance}{pop1}{slots} = [
            {2 =>  123},
            {2 =>  345},
            {4 =>  125},
    ];
    $ini{performance}{pop2}  = {};
    $ini{performance}{pop2}{ip}  = q{192.168.1.2};
    $ini{performance}{pop2}{slots} = [
            {6 =>  503},
            {10 =>  444},
    ];
    printdump(\%ini);
}


{
    my %ini;
    $ini{performance}{pop1}=[
        q{192.168.1.1},
        {2 =>  123},
        {2 =>  345},
        {4 =>  125},
    ];
    $ini{performance}{pop2} = [
        q{192.168.1.2},
        {6 =>  503},
        {10 =>  444},
    ];
    printdump(\%ini);
}

{
    my %ini;
    $ini{performance}{pop1}=[
        q{192.168.1.1},
        [2 =>  123],
        [2 =>  345],
        [4 =>  125],
    ];
    $ini{performance}{pop2} = [
        q{192.168.1.2},
        [6 =>  503],
        [10 =>  444],
    ];
    printdump(\%ini);    
}


{
    my %ini;
    $ini{performance}{pop1} = [qw[
        192.168.1.1
        2    123
        2    345
        4    125
    ]];


    $ini{performance}{pop2} = [qw[
        192.168.1.2
        6    503
        10   444 
    ]];
    printdump(\%ini);    
}


{
    my %ini;
    $ini{pop1} = [qw[
        192.168.1.1
        2    123
        2    345
        4    125
    ]];


    $ini{pop2} = [qw[
        192.168.1.2
        6    503
        10   444 
    ]];
    printdump(\%ini);    
}
__END__

[download]
---
performance:
  pop1:
    ip: 192.168.1.1
    slots:
      - 2: 123
      - 2: 345
      - 4: 125
  pop2:
    ip: 192.168.1.2
    slots:
      - 6: 503
      - 10: 444


$VAR1 = {
  'performance' => {
    'pop1' => {
      'ip' => '192.168.1.1',
      'slots' => [
        {
          '2' => 123
        },
        {
          '2' => 345
        },
        {
          '4' => 125
        }
      ]
    },
    'pop2' => {
      'ip' => '192.168.1.2',
      'slots' => [
        {
          '6' => 503
        },
        {
          '10' => 444
        }
      ]
    }
  }
};

---------- HASH(0x18bfd6c) ----------
---
performance:
  pop1:
    - 192.168.1.1
    - 2: 123
    - 2: 345
    - 4: 125
  pop2:
    - 192.168.1.2
    - 6: 503
    - 10: 444


$VAR1 = {
  'performance' => {
    'pop1' => [
      '192.168.1.1',
      {
        '2' => 123
      },
      {
        '2' => 345
      },
      {
        '4' => 125
      }
    ],
    'pop2' => [
      '192.168.1.2',
      {
        '6' => 503
      },
      {
        '10' => 444
      }
    ]
  }
};

---------- HASH(0x191e698) ----------
---
performance:
  pop1:
    - 192.168.1.1
    -
      - 2
      - 123
    -
      - 2
      - 345
    -
      - 4
      - 125
  pop2:
    - 192.168.1.2
    -
      - 6
      - 503
    -
      - 10
      - 444


$VAR1 = {
  'performance' => {
    'pop1' => [
      '192.168.1.1',
      [
        2,
        123
      ],
      [
        2,
        345
      ],
      [
        4,
        125
      ]
    ],
    'pop2' => [
      '192.168.1.2',
      [
        6,
        503
      ],
      [
        10,
        444
      ]
    ]
  }
};

---------- HASH(0x191e794) ----------
---
performance:
  pop1:
    - 192.168.1.1
    - 2
    - 123
    - 2
    - 345
    - 4
    - 125
  pop2:
    - 192.168.1.2
    - 6
    - 503
    - 10
    - 444


$VAR1 = {
  'performance' => {
    'pop1' => [
      '192.168.1.1',
      '2',
      '123',
      '2',
      '345',
      '4',
      '125'
    ],
    'pop2' => [
      '192.168.1.2',
      '6',
      '503',
      '10',
      '444'
    ]
  }
};

---------- HASH(0x191e890) ----------
---
pop1:
  - 192.168.1.1
  - 2
  - 123
  - 2
  - 345
  - 4
  - 125
pop2:
  - 192.168.1.2
  - 6
  - 503
  - 10
  - 444


$VAR1 = {
  'pop1' => [
    '192.168.1.1',
    '2',
    '123',
    '2',
    '345',
    '4',
    '125'
  ],
  'pop2' => [
    '192.168.1.2',
    '6',
    '503',
    '10',
    '444'
  ]
};

---------- HASH(0x191e98c) ----------

[download]
or even JSON

In reply to Re^3: Ini files by Anonymous Monk
in thread Ini files by Ravendark

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.