Puppet users - Dec 2013 - using multiple facter values with hiera

I''ve got a custom fact that spits out a list of server types (web, app,
db,
etc). I''d like to do classification on this fact, but when I try using
one
of the server types in my hiera config, it doesn''t work. 

For simplicity, I''ve tested with another fact (filesystems) that also 
returns multiple values.


*# this is a typical facter output for filesystems*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# facter filesystems
ext4,iso9660

*# my hiera.yaml, to show the first entry in my hierarchy is for the 
filesystems fact*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# cat /etc/hiera.yaml
---
:backends:
  - yaml

:hierarchy:
    - "%{filesystems}"
    - global
    - "nodes/%{clientcert}"
    - "groups/%{server_groups}"
    - "environment_%{environment}"
    - "os/%{osfamily}"
    - "os/%{osfamily}/%{operatingsystemmajrelease}"
    - "virtual_%{::virtual}"
    - defaults
    - credentials

:yaml:
  :datadir: /etc/puppet/hieradata


*# my yaml file has a an entry for motd::banner (my ''play
with'' data)*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# cat 
/etc/puppet/hieradata/ext4.yaml 
---

motd::banner: this is for the ext4 filesystem


*# without any facts, I get the default*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner
Hi there! This system is managed by puppet. (defaults.yaml)


*# with the filesystem fact set to ext4, I get the right value*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner filesystems=ext4
this is for the ext4 filesystem

*# with the filesystem fact set to exactly what I get from facter, I''m
back
to the default*
root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner 
filesystems=ext4,iso9660
Hi there! This system is managed by puppet. (defaults.yaml)


Is it possible to use a fact that contains multiple values within hiera? If 
so, what am I missing? If not, what''s the point of having facts with 
multiple values in the first place?


Paul

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On Thursday, December 12, 2013 7:33:26 AM UTC+9, Paul Archer
wrote:
>
> *# this is a typical facter output for filesystems*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# facter filesystems
> ext4,iso9660
>
> *# my hiera.yaml, to show the first entry in my hierarchy is for the 
> filesystems fact*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# cat /etc/hiera.yaml
> ---
> :backends:
>   - yaml
>
> :hierarchy:
>     - "%{filesystems}"
>     - global
>     - "nodes/%{clientcert}"
>     - "groups/%{server_groups}"
>     - "environment_%{environment}"
>     - "os/%{osfamily}"
>     - "os/%{osfamily}/%{operatingsystemmajrelease}"
>     - "virtual_%{::virtual}"
>     - defaults
>     - credentials
>
> :yaml:
>   :datadir: /etc/puppet/hieradata
>
>
> *# my yaml file has a an entry for motd::banner (my ''play
with'' data)*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# cat 
> /etc/puppet/hieradata/ext4.yaml 
> ---
>
> motd::banner: this is for the ext4 filesystem
>
>
> *# without any facts, I get the default*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner
> Hi there! This system is managed by puppet. (defaults.yaml)
>
>
> *# with the filesystem fact set to ext4, I get the right value*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner 
> filesystems=ext4
> this is for the ext4 filesystem
>
> *# with the filesystem fact set to exactly what I get from facter,
I''m
> back to the default*
> root@puppetmaster:/etc/puppet/hieradata# hiera motd::banner 
> filesystems=ext4,iso9660
> Hi there! This system is managed by puppet. (defaults.yaml)
>
>
> Is it possible to use a fact that contains multiple values within hiera? 
> If so, what am I missing? If not, what''s the point of having facts
with
> multiple values in the first place?
>

Facter was designed before hiera. It serves a larger purpose than just 
usage as hiera hierarchy conditionals.

Do I understand correctly that your custom fact which "spits out a list of 
server types" returns more than 1 item in a comma separated list like the 
filesystems example you provided?

Looking at the nature of this custom fact would it not be better if it 
provided a single ''server type''? If this is impossible, you
could split the
fact into X facts and (servertype1,servertype2 and servertype3) which could 
then be used nicely in hiera.

If your custom fact is outputting a highly variable string (that looks like 
multiple values due to a comma), then it''s not really suitable to use
in
hiera.yaml I believe.


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On Wednesday, December 11, 2013 11:03:33 PM UTC-6, William Leese
wrote:
>
>
>
> Facter was designed before hiera. It serves a larger purpose than just 
> usage as hiera hierarchy conditionals.
>
> I get that. 
 
> Do I understand correctly that your custom fact which "spits out a
list of
> server types" returns more than 1 item in a comma separated list like
the
> filesystems example you provided?
>
> Exactly. I used the filesystems example for simplicity (you can try it 
without setting up a custom fact), and because it has exactly the same 
behavior as my target fact.

 
> Looking at the nature of this custom fact would it not be better if it 
> provided a single ''server type''? If this is impossible,
you could split the
> fact into X facts and (servertype1,servertype2 and servertype3) which could
> then be used nicely in hiera.
>
> To make this work in hiera I''d need a hierarchy like:
  - "groups/%{servertype1}" 
  - "groups/%{servertype2}" 
  - "groups/%{servertype3}" 

It''s clunky, but the more I think about it, the more I think
that''s the
only way to do this. I just realized that hiera doesn''t have any way to
iterate over the list handed to it from facter. So if my servertype fact is 
equal to git,ntp,ldap (for example), then I can''t expect hiera to do a 
lookup with the fact servertype set to git, then another lookup with the 
fact servertype set to ntp, etc. I think it''s reasonable to *want* this
behavior, but it''s not what it does (for now, at least).

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