Some time ago we explained how to set up Puppet and Foreman on a Gentoo server. After much pain and tears, we managed to get it working, but the easiest way to install it is on Ubuntu Trusty.

In this guide, I explain the steps to follow to obtain the same result, but this time we will also install PuppetDB, which will allow us to use exported resources.

First, it should be clarified that we are going to use Ubuntu/Trusty since Xenial does not work as well as it should.

Update the OS:

Install some basic utilities:

Configure the time zone:

Generate the locales for Spain:

Make sure Ruby v2 is installed:

The selection of the default ruby version to use was attempted through update-alternatives but:

So we will do it manually:

Add the puppetlabs and foreman repos:

For PuppetDB, we will use PostgreSQL as a backend:

We proceed with the installation of the assistant that will make our life easier:

We make sure that both foreman, puppet, puppetmaster, and puppetdb resolve to the IP of the server in question:

A.B.C.D foreman.alfaexploit.com foreman puppet puppet.alfaexploit.com puppetmaster puppetmaster.alfaexploit.com puppetdb puppetdb.alfaexploit.com

We start the installer:

Ready to start? (y/n)
18. [n] Configure foreman_plugin_puppetdb

Module foreman_plugin_puppetdb configuration
1. Enable/disable foreman_plugin_puppetdb module, current value: false
2. Back to main menu
Choose an option from the menu... 1
Enable foreman_plugin_puppetdb module? (y/n) y

Module foreman_plugin_puppetdb configuration
1. Enable/disable foreman_plugin_puppetdb module, current value: true
2. Set package, current value: ruby-puppetdb-foreman
3. Set address, current value: https://localhost:8081/v2/commands
4. Set dashboard_address, current value: http://localhost:8080/dashboard
5. Back to main menu
Choose an option from the menu... 5

41. Save and run

 Success!
 * Foreman is running at https://foreman.alfaexploit.com
 Initial credentials are admin / XXXXXXXXXXXX
 * Foreman Proxy is running at https://foreman.alfaexploit.com:8443
 * Puppetmaster is running at port 8140
 The full log is at /var/log/foreman-installer/foreman.log

We enable foreman:

START=yes

We configure puppetdb:

classname = org.postgresql.Driver
subprotocol = postgresql
subname = //127.0.0.1:5432/puppetdb
username = puppetdb
password = XXXXXXXX
log-slow-statements = 10

[main]
server = foreman.alfaexploit.com
port = 8081

---
master:
  facts:
      terminus: puppetdb
      cache: yaml

We copy the Foreman certificates to the PuppetDB directories:

We restart services:

We check that PuppetDB is listening:

tcp6       0      0 127.0.0.1:8080          :::*                    LISTEN 5299/java       
tcp6       0      0 :::8081                 :::*                    LISTEN 5299/java     

We run Puppet and it should appear on the web interface:

NOTE: Warning messages may appear: Puppet 3+ will show a warning the first time that the node can’t be found, this can be ignored.

On the clients, we must modify the hosts file, install Puppet, and request the certificate signature:

emerge -av puppet

apt-get install puppet

In PuppetMaster, we sign the certificate:

Another interesting aspect of Foreman is the locations. This way, we can apply classes based on the server’s location:

:locations_enabled: true

https://foreman.alfaexploit.com/locations

As you may remember, we installed PuppetDB to have access to exported resources, which are basically configuration annotations in the database. This way, one server generates the configuration in the DB, and another server reads it when executing puppet agent. This is really useful for dynamic configurations.

[main]
    storeconfigs   = true
    storeconfigs_backend = puppetdb

We check that the configuration is correct:

async_storeconfigs = false
storeconfigs = true
storeconfigs_backend = puppetdb
thin_storeconfigs = false

We configure the access data to PuppetDB in the Foreman interface:
https://foreman.alfaexploit.com/settings

Puppetdb
puppetdb_address: https://foreman.alfaexploit.com:8081/v2/commands
puppetdb_dashboard_address: http://foreman.alfaexploit.com:8080/dashboard

A good example of dynamic configuration is Bacula. When we install a client, we want it to generate the client’s configuration in the Bacula director. For this, we can use the following code in the fd class:

  @@file { "/etc/bacula/client.d/${hostname}.conf":
    mode    => 0644,
    owner   => root,
    group   => root,
    ensure  => present,
    content => template("bacula/client.conf.erb"),
    tag     => "${bacula_server}-client",
  }

NOTE: We are tagging the file to be inserted into PuppetDB as an exported resource.

In the director class:

  File <<| tag == "${bacula_server}-client" |>> {
    require => File['/etc/bacula/client.d'],
    notify  => Service["$bacula_service_name"],
  }

With this, when a server is installed and the fd class is applied, the corresponding configuration will be saved in PuppetDB. When the director runs the puppet agent, it will detect that there is pending configuration, generate the configuration, and restart the bacula-dir service.

If you want to delve deeper, you can check the following links:
http://codingbee.net/tutorials/puppet/puppet-what-is-puppet/
http://puppetlunch.com/contents/
http://garylarizza.com/
http://puppetlabs.github.io/geppetto/faq.html#/2011/06/04/about-geppetto
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCo7AZ1oG6TbG0-dwjRqCmw

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