Puppet users - Mar 2007 - Standalone puppet (i.e. no server) config

Hi,

I''m new to puppet and having difficultly setting it up the way I want
to
(which is a little different from the norm I''d say).

What I''m trying to achieve is to have a automatic build of debian (etch
at
the moment) using debian installer that installs a minimal system including
puppet using the debian package puppet (not puppetmaster). As part of the
initial setup the puppet config is configured (again using debian installer)
so that the manifest and facts repositories point to a cd hard copy
(actually a usb key at the moment while I develop the final soluation). The
debain installer stage works fine, however, the puppet configuration
doesn''t
seem to be working.

Once the raw system has booted for the first time (just after the debain
installer install stage) it will have the hostname ''
unknownhost.unknowndomain''. Within the site.pp the node definition for
''
unknownhost.unknowndomain'' will then use the machines mac address to
determine things such as it''s real hostname, domainname, required
packages
etc. Once puppet has applied the new configuration the machine will be
automatically rebooted with the real configuration and then puppet will
refresh the machines config every 5 mins using the manifests on the cd.

My idea of using the manifests stored on a cd is primarily for security
reasons (as the machines will be internet visible), it also enforces me to
use version release control procedures which is a good thing!.

Can puppet work like this as puppetd keeps on complaining about certificates
etc. as it can''t find the server puppet.

If so, what should my puppet configs look like? I''ve attached my basic
site.pp to hopefully give you a better idea of the puppet stages once puppet
is configured correctly.

site.pp:
import "classes/*"

# do preconfiguration work just after build
node ''unknownhost.unknowndomain'' {
    case $macaddress {
        ''00:20:43:db:f4:1a'' : {
                   $host = "svrA"
                   $domain = "mydomain.com"
                      }

        default : { err ( "Undefined macaddress value:
''$macaddress''" ) }
    }

    # this should be a class but for now (until it is working) lets keep it
simple
    file { "hostname":
        path => $operatingsystem ? {
                default => "/etc/hostname"
            },
        content => "$host.$domain",
        replace => yes,
        owner => root,
        group => root,
        mode => 644
    }

    # include hostname
    # update apt configuration
    # update apt cache
    # change lvm names
    # install wifi drivers
    # configure wifi network
    # install xen
    # configure xen
    include rebootnow
}

# now setup the real server
node ''svrA.mydomain.com'' {
    # do some more ''real'' stuff here
}


Any help and advice appreciated.

Regards,
Andrew


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On Mar 7, 2007, at 8:33 AM, Andrew Leach wrote:
> Can puppet work like this as puppetd keeps on complaining about  
> certificates etc. as it can''t find the server puppet.
Yes, Puppet can do this just fine, but you should use
''puppet'', not
''puppetd''.  ''puppetd'' is only meant to
function as a client to
''puppetmasterd''.  Just run ''puppet --use-nodes
<site.pp>'', pointing
it at your site.pp file.

I use this method to bootstrap my Puppet servers.

  --
  Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with
  themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.         -- Susan Ertz
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Luke Kanies | http://reductivelabs.com | http://madstop.com

>
>
> > Can puppet work like this as puppetd keeps on complaining about
> > certificates etc. as it can''t find the server puppet.
>
> Yes, Puppet can do this just fine, but you should use
''puppet'', not
> ''puppetd''.  ''puppetd'' is only meant to
function as a client to
> ''puppetmasterd''.  Just run ''puppet --use-nodes
<site.pp>'', pointing
> it at your site.pp file.
>
> I use this method to bootstrap my Puppet servers.

Presumably, then I''d just use a 5 minute cron job with the same command
to
ensure configs are kept up to date.


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On Mar 7, 2007, at 12:30 PM, Andrew Leach wrote:
>
> Presumably, then I''d just use a 5 minute cron job with the same  
> command to ensure configs are kept up to date.
If you wanted to do this in the long-term, then, yeah, although I''d  
not do it more than every 30 mins unless you have a lot of scheduling  
to make the more expensive checks (like package checks) happen far  
less often.

  --
  Hoare''s Law of Large Problems:
     Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get  
out.
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Luke Kanies | http://reductivelabs.com | http://madstop.com