Learning Puppet 4

Introduction

This book will teach you how to install and use Puppet for managing computer systems. It will introduce you to how Puppet works, and how it provides value. To better understand Puppet and learn the basics, you’ll set up a testing environment, which will evolve as your Puppet knowledge grows. You’ll learn how to declare and evaluate configuration policy for hundreds of nodes.

This book covers modern best practices for Puppet. You’ll find tips throughout the book labeled Best Practice.

You’ll learn how to update Puppet 2 or Puppet 3 puppet code for the increased features and improved parser of Puppet 4. You’ll learn how to deploy the new Puppet Server. You’ll have a clear strategy for upgrading older servers to Puppet 4 standards. You’ll learn how to run Puppet services over IPv6 protocol.

Most important of all, this book will cover how to scale your Puppet installation to handle thousands of nodes. You’ll learn multiple strategies for handling diverse and heterogenous environments, and reasons why each of these approaches may or may not be appropriate for your needs.

What Is Puppet?

Puppet manages configuration data, including users, packages, processes, and services—in other words, any resource of the node you can define. Puppet can manage complex and distributed components to ensure service consistency and availability. In short, Puppet brings computer systems into compliance with a configuration policy.

Puppet can ensure configuration consistency across servers, ...