Puppet users - Dec 2012 - how to avoid duplicate types (i.e. users)

I have a defined type buildbot::slave::instance, which has a username as 
a parameter. The instance type has a "user" instance to create the 
specified user. This works fine, but each buildbot::slave::instance must 
use a different user. Passing the same user gives an error that the user 
is defined twice.

How do I automatically create a user (including home directory and cp of 
/etc/skel) as triggered by buildbot::slave::instance, and avoid the 
duplicate user errors?

The source of the problem files is at:
https://github.com/edgester/puppet-buildbot/blob/master/manifests/user_homedir.pp
https://github.com/edgester/puppet-buildbot/blob/master/manifests/slave/instance.pp

Thanks,
Jason

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> How do I automatically create a user (including home directory and cp of 
> /etc/skel) as triggered by buildbot::slave::instance, and avoid the 
> duplicate user errors? 
>
If I understand right you want all buildbot::slave::instance types to have 
the same user.  The special little flowers section of the defined types 
documentation addresses this.
http://docs.puppetlabs.com/learning/definedtypes.html#special-little-flowers

If I did not understand correctly please clarify what you want the final 
state to look like.

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On 12/31/2012 07:20 PM, Schofield wrote:
>
>> How do I automatically create a user (including home directory and cp
of
>> /etc/skel) as triggered by buildbot::slave::instance, and avoid the
>> duplicate user errors?
>>
> If I understand right you want all buildbot::slave::instance types to have
> the same user.  The special little flowers section of the defined types
> documentation addresses this.
>
http://docs.puppetlabs.com/learning/definedtypes.html#special-little-flowers
>
> If I did not understand correctly please clarify what you want the final
> state to look like.
correct, I want the option of having multiple buildbot::slave::instance 
types to use the same user by defining the buildbot::user_homedir { 
''username'': } type.

Either I don''t understand, or the ''special little
flowers'' document
doesn''t cover what I want.

in essence, I want something like the following:
=====define buildbot::slave::instance {
...
   require => Buildbot::User_homedir[''foo'']

if !defined buildbot::user_homedir{ ''foo'': } then
   userdir_homedir{ ''foo'': }
fi

} # end buildbot::slave::instance
=====
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You may find virtual resources useful for this. Define the user home 
directory resources as virtual resources (within a separate class), and 
then" realize" them in your buildbot::slave::instance type.

http://docs.puppetlabs.com/guides/virtual_resources.html


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On Monday, December 31, 2012 7:51:37 PM UTC-6, Jason Edgecombe
wrote:
>
> On 12/31/2012 07:20 PM, Schofield wrote: 
> > 
> >> How do I automatically create a user (including home directory and
cp
> of 
> >> /etc/skel) as triggered by buildbot::slave::instance, and avoid
the
> >> duplicate user errors? 
> >> 
> > If I understand right you want all buildbot::slave::instance types to 
> have 
> > the same user.  The special little flowers section of the defined
types
> > documentation addresses this. 
> > 
>
http://docs.puppetlabs.com/learning/definedtypes.html#special-little-flowers
> > 
> > If I did not understand correctly please clarify what you want the
final
> > state to look like. 
> correct, I want the option of having multiple buildbot::slave::instance 
> types to use the same user by defining the buildbot::user_homedir { 
> ''username'': } type. 
>

If multiple Buildbot::Slave::Instance resources may rely on the same 
buildbot::user_homedir resource, then it follows that the slave instances 
do not own the user resource.  Therefore, they should rely on the user 
being declared for them (once, centrally) instead of declaring the user 
themselves.

 
>
> in essence, I want something like the following: 
> ====== 
> define buildbot::slave::instance { 
> ... 
>    require => Buildbot::User_homedir[''foo''] 
>
> if !defined buildbot::user_homedir{ ''foo'': } then 
>    userdir_homedir{ ''foo'': } 
> fi 
>
> } # end buildbot::slave::instance 
> ====== 
>

That''s a bit confusing, but it looks like you want to declare slave 
instances like this:

buildbot::slave::instance { ''instance1'':
  # ...
  require => Buildbot::User_homedir[''foo'']
}

where Buildbot::User_homedir[''foo''] is to be declared by the
definition
body if it is not already declared.  That cannot work, because when it 
parses that declaration, the parser will reject the resource reference 
Buildbot::User_homedir[''foo''] if no declaration for that
resource has yet
been parsed.

Also, your proposed use of defined() is considered harmful (along with 
almost every other use of that function).

There are various robust ways that you might approach the situation, but 
you have presented too narrow a view of the problem for me really to advise 
you on which way to go.

This feels like a problem looking for a data-driven solution, but that 
might be overkill.

On the other hand, if all the Buildbot::User_homedir instances that might 
be needed can be enumerated, then perhaps it would be best to declare the 
all virtually, first, and realize the one needed at the point where you 
declare each buildbot::slave::instance.

There are other possibilities and variations.


John

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