Red Hat Satellite 6.

1
Puppet Guide

A guide to building your own Puppet module and importing it into

Satellite 6
Edition 1

Red Hat Satellite Documentation

Team
Red Hat Satellite 6.1 Puppet Guide

A guide to building your own Puppet module and importing it into

Satellite 6
Edition 1

Red Hat Satellite Documentation Team

Red Hat Customer Content Services
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Abstract
Puppet is a system configuration tool used in Red Hat Satellite 6. This book runs
through the creation of a basic Puppet Module and how to use this module in your Red
Hat Satellite 6 infrastructure.
 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
.Chapter
. . . . . . 1.
. . Overview
.............................................................2
.........
1.1. Defining the Puppet Workflow 2
1.2. Using Puppet on Satellite 6 2

.Chapter
. . . . . . 2.
. . Building
. . . . . . .Puppet
. . . . . .Modules
. . . . . . .from
. . . . Scratch
.....................................3
.........
2.1. Examining the Anatomy of a Puppet Module 3
2.2. Setting up a Puppet Development System 4
2.3. Generating a New Module Boilerplate 4
2.4. Installing a HTTP Server 5
2.5. Running the HTTP Server 6
2.6. Configuring the HTTP Server 7
2.7. Configuring the Firewall 9
2.8. Configuring SELinux 11
2.9. Copying a HTML file to the Web Host 12
2.10. Finalizing the Module 13

. . . . . . . 3.
Chapter . . Adding
. . . . . .Puppet
. . . . . . Modules
. . . . . . .to
. . Red
. . . .Hat
. . .Satellite
. . . . . . .6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
..........
3.1. Creating a Custom Product 14
3.2. Creating a Puppet Repository in a Custom Product 14
3.3. Uploading a Puppet Module to a Repository 15
3.4. Removing a Puppet Module from a Repository 15
3.5. Adding Puppet Modules from a Git Repository 15
3.6. Publishing a Content View 17
3.7. Configuring Smart Variables from Puppet Classes 17

.Chapter
. . . . . . 4.
. . Client
. . . . . and
. . . Server
. . . . . .Settings
. . . . . . .for
. . .Configuration
. . . . . . . . . . .Management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
..........
4.1. Configuring Puppet on the Red Hat Satellite Server 21
4.2. Configuring Puppet agent on Provisioned Systems 21

.Chapter
. . . . . . 5.
. . Applying
. . . . . . . Configuration
. . . . . . . . . . . .on
. .Clients
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
..........
5.1. Applying Configuration on Clients During Provisioning 23
5.2. Applying Configuration to Existing Clients 24

. . . . . . . 6.
Chapter . . Reviewing
. . . . . . . . .Puppet
. . . . . .Reports
. . . . . . in
. . Red
. . . .Hat
. . .Satellite
. . . . . . .6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
..........

. . . . . . . . A.
Appendix . . Revision
. . . . . . . History
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
..........

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Puppet Guide

Chapter 1. Overview
Puppet is a tool for applying and managing system configurations. Puppet collects system
information, or facts, and uses this information to create a customized system configuration
using a set of modules. These modules contain parameters, conditional arguments, actions, and
templates. Puppet is used as either a local system command line tool or in a client-server
relationship where the server acts as the Puppet master and applies configuration to multiple
client systems using a Puppet agent. This provides a way to automatically configure newly
provisioned systems, either individually or simultaneously to create a specific infrastructure.

1.1. Defining the Puppet Workflow

Puppet uses the following workflow to apply configuration to a system.

1. Collect facts about each system. These facts can include hardware, operating systems,
package versions, and other information. The Puppet agent on each system collects this
information and sends it to the Puppet master.

2. The Puppet master generates a custom configuration for each system and sends it to
the Puppet agent. This custom configuration is called a catalog.

3. The Puppet agent applies the configuration to the system.

4. The Puppet agent sends a report back to the Puppet master that indicates the changes
applied and if any changes were unsuccessful.

5. Third-party applications can collect these reports using Puppet's API.

1.2. Using Puppet on Satellite 6

Satellite 6 uses Puppet in several ways:

Satellite 6 imports Puppet modules used to define the system configuration. This includes
control over module versions and their environments.

Satellite 6 imports sets of parameters, also known as Puppet class parameters, from Puppet
modules. Users can accept the default values from Puppet classes or provide their own at a
global or system-specific level.

Satellite 6 triggers the execution of Puppet between the master and the respective agents
on each system. Puppet runs can occur either:

Automatically, such as after the provisioning process completes or as a daemon that

checks and manages the machine's configuration over its lifecycle.

Manually, such as needing to trigger an immediate Puppet run.

Satellite 6 collects reports from Puppet after the configuration workflow completes. This
helps with auditing and archiving system configuration over long term periods.

These functions provide an easy way for users to control system configuration aspects of the
application lifecycle using Puppet.

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

This chapter explores how to build and test your own Puppet modules. This includes a basic
tutorial on creating a Puppet module that deploys a simple web server configuration.

2.1. Examining the Anatomy of a Puppet Module

Before creating our module, we need to understand the components that create a Puppet
module.

Manifests

Manifests are files that contain code to define a set of resource and their attributes. A
resource is any configurable part of a system. Examples of resources include
packages, services, files, users and groups, SELinux configuration, SSH key
authentication, cron jobs, and more. A manifest defines each required resource using
a set of key-value pairs for their attributes. For example:

package { 'httpd':
ensure => installed,
}

This declaration checks if the httpd package is installed. If not, the manifest executes
yum and installs it.

Manifests are located in the manifest directory of a module.

Puppet modules also use a test directory for test manifests. These manifests are used
to test certain classes contained in your official manifests.

Static Files

Modules can contain static files that Puppet can copy to certain locations on your
system. These locations, and other attributes such as permissions, are defined through
file resource declarations in manifests.

Static files are located in the files directory of a module.

Templates

Sometimes configuration files require custom content. In this situation, users would
create a template instead of a static file. Like static files, templates are defined in
manifests and copied to locations on a system. The difference is that templates allow
Ruby expressions to define customized content and variable input. For example, if you
wanted to configure httpd with a customizable port then the template for the
configuration file would include:

Listen <%= @httpd_port %>

The httpd_port variable in this case is defined in the manifest that references this
template.

Templates are located in the templates directory of a module.

Plugins

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Puppet Guide

Plugins allow for aspects that extend beyond the core functionality of Puppet. For
example, you can use plugins to define custom facts, custom resources, or new
functions. For example, a database administrator might need a resource type for
PostgreSQL databases. This could help the database administrator populate
PostgreSQL with a set of new databases after installing PostgreSQL. As a result, the
database administrator need only create a Puppet manifest that ensures PostgreSQL
installs and the databases are created afterwards.

Plugins are located in the lib directory of a module. This includes a set of
subdirectories depending on the plugin type. For example:

/lib/facter - Location for custom facts.

/lib/puppet/type - Location for custom resource type definitions, which outline

the key-value pairs for attributes.

/lib/puppet/provider - Location for custom resource providers, which are used

in conjunction with resource type definitions to control resources.

/lib/puppet/parser/functions - Location for custom functions.

2.2. Setting up a Puppet Development System

A Puppet development system is useful for creating and testing your own modules. It is
recommended to use a new system with a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7 subscription.

After installing the new system and registering your version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, enable
the Red Hat Satellite 6 Tools repository. For example, for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:

# subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-7-server-satellite-tools-6.1-rpms

After enabling the repository, install the puppet package:

# yum install puppet

2.3. Generating a New Module Boilerplate

The first step in creating a new module is to change to the Puppet module directory and create
a basic module structure. Either create this structure manually or use Puppet to create a
boilerplate for your module:

# cd /etc/puppet/modules
# puppet module generate [module-name]

An interactive wizard appears and guides you through populating the module's metadata.json
file with metadata.

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

Important

The puppet module generate command requires module-name take the format of
[username]-[module] to comply with Puppet Forge specifications. However, to test our
tutorial module and use it with Satellite 6 we need to rename the module directory
without the [username]. For example, for dmacpher-mymodule you would run:

# puppet module generate dmacpher-mymodule

# mv dmacpher-mymodule mymodule

When the module generation process completes, the new modules contains some basic files,
including a manifests directory. This directory already contains a manifest file calledinit.pp,
which is the module's main manifest file. View the file to see the empty class declaration for
the module:

class mymodule {

The module also contains a tests directory containing a manifest also namedinit.pp. This
test manifest contains a reference to the mymodule class within manifests/init.pp:

include mymodule

Puppet will use this test manifest to test our module.

We are now ready to add our system configuration to our module.

2.4. Installing a HTTP Server

Our Puppet module will install the packages necessary to run a HTTP server. This requires a
resource definition that defines configurations for the httpd package.

In the module's manifests directory, create a new manifest file called httpd.pp:

# touch mymodule/manifests/httpd.pp

This manifest will contain all HTTP configuration for our module. For organizational purposes,
we will keep this manifest separate from the init.pp manifest.

Add the following content to the new httpd.pp manifest:

class mymodule::httpd {
package { 'httpd':
ensure => installed,
}
}

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Puppet Guide

This code defines a subclass of mymodule called httpd, then defines a package resource
declaration for the httpd package. The ensure => installed attribute tells Puppet to check if
the package is installed. If it is not installed, Puppet executes yum to install it.

We also need to include this subclass in our main manifest file. Edit the init.pp manifest:

class mymodule {
include mymodule::httpd
}

It is now time to test the module. Run the following command:

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

The puppet apply command applies the configuration in the manifest to your system. We use
the test init.pp manifest, which refers to the maininit.pp manifest. The --noop performs a
dry-run of the configuration, which shows only the output but does not actually apply the
configuration. The output should resemble the following:

Notice: Compiled catalog for puppet.example.com in environment production in

0.59 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[httpd]/ensure: current_value
absent, should be present (noop)
Notice: Class[Mymodule::Httpd]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: Stage[main]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: Finished catalog run in 0.67 seconds

The highlighted line is the result of the ensure => installed attribute. The current_value
absent means that Puppet has detected thehttpd package is not installed. Without the --noop
option, Puppet would install the httpd package.

2.5. Running the HTTP Server

After installing the httpd package, we start the service using another resource declaration:
service.

Edit the httpd.pp manifest and add the highlighted lines:

class mymodule::httpd {
package { 'httpd':
ensure => installed,
}
service { 'httpd':
ensure => running,
enable => true,
require => Package["httpd"],
}
}

This achieves a couple of things:

The ensure => running attribute checks if the service if running. If not, Puppet enables it.

The enable => true attribute sets the service to run when the system boots.

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

The require => Package["httpd"] attribute defines an ordering relationship between one
resource declaration and another. In this case, it ensures the httpd service starts after the
httpd package installs. This creates a dependency between the service and its respective
package.

Run the puppet apply command again to test the changes to our module:

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

Notice: Compiled catalog for puppet.example.com in environment production in
0.56 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[httpd]/ensure: current_value
absent, should be present (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[httpd]/ensure: current_value
stopped, should be running (noop)
Notice: Class[Mymodule::Httpd]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 2 events
Notice: Stage[main]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: Finished catalog run in 0.41 seconds

The highlighted line is the result of our new resource definition for the httpd service.

2.6. Configuring the HTTP Server

The HTTP Server is now installed and enabled. The next step is to provide some configuration.
The HTTP server already provides some default configuration in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf,
which provides a web host on port 80. We will add some additional configuration to provide an
additional web host on a user-specified port.

We use a template file to store our configuration content because the user-defined port
requires variable input. In our module, create a directory called templates and add a file called
myserver.conf.erb in the new directory. Add the following contents to the file:

Listen <%= @httpd_port %>

NameVirtualHost *:<%= @httpd_port %>
<VirtualHost *:<%= @httpd_port %>>
DocumentRoot /var/www/myserver/
ServerName <%= @fqdn %>
<Directory "/var/www/myserver/">
Options All Indexes FollowSymLinks
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>

This template follows the standard syntax for Apache web server configuration. The only
difference is the inclusion of Ruby escape characters to inject variables from our module. For
example, httpd_port, which we use to specify the web server port.

Notice also the inclusion of fqdn, which is a variable that stores the fully qualified domain name
of the system. This is known as a system fact. System facts are collected from each system
prior to generating each respective system's Puppet catalog. Puppet uses the facter
command to gather these system facts and you can also run facter to view a list of these
facts.

Edit the httpd.pp manifest and add the highlighted lines:

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Puppet Guide

class mymodule::httpd {
package { 'httpd':
ensure => installed,
}
service { 'httpd':
ensure => running,
enable => true,
require => Package["httpd"],
}
file {'/etc/httpd/conf.d/myserver.conf':
notify => Service["httpd"],
ensure => file,
require => Package["httpd"],
content => template("mymodule/myserver.conf.erb"),
}
file { "/var/www/myserver":
ensure => "directory",
}
}

This achieves the following:

We add a file resource declaration for the server configuration file

(/etc/httpd/conf.d/myserver.conf). The content for this file is the myserver.conf.erb
template we created earlier. We also check the httpd package is installed before adding this
file.

We also add a second file resource declaration. This one creates a directory
(/var/www/myserver for our web server.

We also add a relationship between the configuration file and the httpd service using the
notify => Service["httpd"] attribute. This checks our configuration file for any changes.
If the file has changed, Puppet restarts the service.

We also need to include the httpd_port parameter in our main manifest file. Edit theinit.pp
manifest and add the following line:

class mymodule (
$http_port = 80
) {
include mymodule::httpd
}

This sets the httpd_port parameter to a default value of 80. You can override this value with
the Satellite Server.

Run the puppet apply command again to test the changes to our module:

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

Warning: Config file /etc/puppet/hiera.yaml not found, using Hiera defaults
Notice: Compiled catalog for puppet.example.com in environment production in
0.84 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/File[/var/www/myserver]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be directory (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[httpd]/ensure: current_value
absent, should be present (noop)

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

Notice:
/Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/File[/etc/httpd/conf.d/myserver.conf]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be file (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[httpd]/ensure: current_value
stopped, should be running (noop)
Notice: Class[Mymodule::Httpd]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 4 events
Notice: Stage[main]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: Finished catalog run in 0.51 seconds

Note

The warning for the hiera.yaml file is safe to ignore.

The highlighted lines show the creation of the configuration file and our web host directory

2.7. Configuring the Firewall

The web server requires an open port so people can access the pages hosted on our web
server. The open problem is that different versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses different
methods for controlling the firewall. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and below, we use
iptables. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, we usefirewalld.

This decision is something Puppet handles using conditional logic and system facts. For this
step, we add a statement to check the operating system and run the appropriate firewall
commands.

Add the following code inside your mymodule::http class:

if $operatingsystemmajrelease <= 6 {
exec { 'iptables':
command => "iptables -I INPUT 1 -p tcp -m multiport --ports
${httpd_port} -m comment --comment 'Custom HTTP Web Host' -j ACCEPT &&
iptables-save > /etc/sysconfig/iptables",
path => "/sbin",
refreshonly => true,
subscribe => Package['httpd'],
}
service { 'iptables':
ensure => running,
enable => true,
hasrestart => true,
subscribe => Exec['iptables'],
}
}
elsif $operatingsystemmajrelease == 7 {
exec { 'firewall-cmd':
command => "firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=${httpd_port}/tcp --
permanent",
path => "/usr/bin/",
refreshonly => true,
subscribe => Package['httpd'],
}
service { 'firewalld':

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Puppet Guide

ensure => running,

enable => true,
hasrestart => true,
subscribe => Exec['firewall-cmd'],
}
}

This code performs the following:

Use the operatingsystemmajrelease fact to determine whether the operating system is

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7.

If using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, declare an executable (exec) resource that runs
iptables and iptables-save to add a permanent firewall rule. Thehttpd_port variable is
used in-line to define the port to open. After the exec resource completes, we trigger a
refresh of the iptables service. To achieve this, we define a service resource that includes
the subscribe attribute. This attribute checks if any there are any changes to another
resource and, if so, performs a refresh. In this case, it checks the iptables executable
resource.

If using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, declare a similar executable resource that runs
firewall-cmd to add a permanent firewall rule. Thehttpd_port variable is also used in-line
to define the port to open. After the exec resource completes, we trigger a refresh of the
firewalld service but with a subscribe attribute pointing to the firewall-cmd executable
resource.

The code for both firewall executable resources contains refreshonly => true and
subscribe => Package['httpd'] attributes. This ensures the firewall commands only run
after the httpd installs. Without these attributes, subsequent runs will add multiple
instances of the same firewall rule.

Run the puppet apply command again to test the changes to our module. The following
example is a test of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6:

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

Warning: Config file /etc/puppet/hiera.yaml not found, using Hiera defaults
Notice: Compiled catalog for puppet.example.com in environment production in
0.82 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Exec[iptables]/returns: current_value
notrun, should be 0 (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[iptables]: Would have triggered
'refresh' from 1 events
...

The highlighted lines show the execution of the firewall rule creation and the subsequent
service refresh as a result of the subscribe attribute.

Important

This configuration serves only as an example of using conditional statements. If you aim
to manage multiple firewall rules for your system in the future, it is recommended to
create a custom resource for firewalls. It is inadvisable to use executable resources to
constantly chain many Bash commands.

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

2.8. Configuring SELinux

SELinux restricts non-standard access to the HTTP server by default. If we define a custom port,
we need to add configuration that allows SELinux to grant access.

Puppet contains resource types to manage some SELinux functions, such as Booleans and
modules. However, we need to execute the semanage command to manage port settings. This
tool is a part of the policycoreutils-python package, which is not installed on Red Hat
Enterprise Linux systems by default.

Add the following code inside your mymodule::http class:

exec { 'semanage-port':
command => "semanage port -a -t http_port_t -p tcp ${httpd_port}",
path => "/usr/sbin",
require => Package['policycoreutils-python'],
before => Service ['httpd'],
subscribe => Package['httpd'],
refreshonly => true,
}
package { 'policycoreutils-python':
ensure => installed,
}

This code performs the following:

The require => Package['policycoreutils-python'] attribute makes sure the

policycoreutils-python is installed prior to executing the command.

Puppet executes semanage to open a port using httpd_port as a variable.

The before => Service ['httpd'] makes sure to execute this command before thehttpd
service starts. If httpd starts before the SELinux command, SELinux denies access to the
port and the service fails to start.

The code for the SELinux executable resource contains refreshonly => true and
subscribe => Package['httpd'] attributes. This ensures the SELinux commands only run
after the httpd installs. Without these attributes, subsequent runs result in failure. This is
because SELinux detects the port is already enabled and reports an error.

Run the puppet apply command again to test the changes to our module.

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

...
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[policycoreutils-python]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be present (noop)
...
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Exec[semanage-port]/returns:
current_value notrun, should be 0 (noop)
...
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[httpd]/ensure: current_value
stopped, should be running (noop)
...

Puppet installs policycoreutils-python first, then configures port access before starting the
httpd service.

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Puppet Guide

2.9. Copying a HTML file to the Web Host

The HTTP server configuration is now complete. This provides a platform for installing a web-
based application, which Puppet can also configure. For this example, however, we will only
copy over a simple index webpage to our web host.

Create file named index.html in the files directory. Add the following content to this file:

<html>
<head>
<title>Congratulations</title>
<head>
<body>
<h1>Congratulations</h1>
<p>Your puppet module has correctly applied your configuration.</p>
</body>
</html>

Create manifest named app.pp in the manifests directory. Add the following content to this
file:

class mymodule::app {
file { "/var/www/myserver/index.html":
ensure => file,
mode => 755,
owner => root,
group => root,
source => "puppet:///modules/mymodule/index.html",
require => Class["mymodule::httpd"],
}
}

This new class contains a single resource declaration. This declaration copies a file from the
module's file directory from the Puppet server to the system and sets its permissions.
Additionally, the require attribute ensures the mymodule::http class completes configuration
successfully before we apply mymodule::app.

Finally, include this new manifest in our main init.pp manifest:

class mymodule (
$http_port = 80
) {
include mymodule::httpd
include mymodule::app
}

Run the puppet apply command again to test the changes to our module. The output should
resemble the following:

# puppet apply mymodule/tests/init.pp --noop

Warning: Config file /etc/puppet/hiera.yaml not found, using Hiera defaults
Notice: Compiled catalog for puppet.example.com in environment production in
0.66 seconds
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Exec[iptables]/returns: current_value
notrun, should be 0 (noop)

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 Chapter 2. Building Puppet Modules from Scratch

Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[policycoreutils-python]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be present (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[iptables]: Would have triggered
'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/File[/var/www/myserver]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be directory (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Package[httpd]/ensure: current_value
absent, should be present (noop)
Notice:
/Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/File[/etc/httpd/conf.d/myserver.conf]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be file (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Exec[semanage-port]/returns:
current_value notrun, should be 0 (noop)
Notice: /Stage[main]/Mymodule::Httpd/Service[httpd]/ensure: current_value
stopped, should be running (noop)
Notice: Class[Mymodule::Httpd]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 8 events
Notice:
/Stage[main]/Mymodule::App/File[/var/www/myserver/index.html]/ensure:
current_value absent, should be file (noop)
Notice: Class[Mymodule::App]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 1 events
Notice: Stage[main]: Would have triggered 'refresh' from 2 events
Notice: Finished catalog run in 0.74 seconds

The highlighted line shows the result of the index.html file being copied to the webhost.

2.10. Finalizing the Module

Our module is ready for use. To export the module into an archive for Red Hat Satellite 6 to
use, run the following command:

# puppet module build mymodule

This creates an archive file at mymodule/pkg/mymodule-0.1.0.tar.gz, which contains the

contents of our mymodule directory. We upload this module to our Red Hat Satellite 6 server to
provision our own HTTP server.

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Puppet Guide

Chapter 3. Adding Puppet Modules to Red Hat Satellite

6
Puppet modules form a part of a product in Red Hat Satellite 6. This means you must create a
custom product and then upload the modules that form the basis of that product. For example,
a custom product might consist of a set of Puppet modules required to setup a HTTP server, a
database, and a custom application. Custom products can also include repositories with RPM
packages that apply to your application.

3.1. Creating a Custom Product

The first step to adding our Puppet module is to create a custom product.

Procedure 3.1. Creating a Custom Product

1. Login to your Red Hat Satellite 6 server.

2. Navigate to Content → Products.

3. Click + New Product.

4. Provide your custom product with a Name. In this example, useMyProduct as the name.

5. The Label field automatically populates with a label based on theName.

6. Provide a GPG Key, Sync Plan, and a Description if required. For our example, leave
those fields blank.

7. Click Save.

Satellite now has a new product called MyProduct.

3.2. Creating a Puppet Repository in a Custom Product

The next procedure creates a Puppet repository in our custom product.

Procedure 3.2. Creating a Custom Puppet Repository

1. On the Products page, click on the custom product created previously (MyProduct).

2. Navigate to the Repositories subtab.

3. Click Create Repository.

4. Provide the repository with a Name. This example uses the nameMyRepo.

5. The Label field automatically populates with a label based on theName.

6. Select puppet as the repository Type.

7. Leave the URL field blank. This field is used for remote repositories, but in our case
Satellite 6 creates its own repository.

8. Click Save.

The custom product now contains a repository to store our Puppet modules.

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 Chapter 3. Adding Puppet Modules to Red Hat Satellite 6

3.3. Uploading a Puppet Module to a Repository

Now we upload our mymodule module to the newly created repository, which adds it to our
custom product.

1. Click the Name of the newly created repository.

2. In the Upload Puppet Module section, click Browse and select the mymodule archive.

3. Click Upload.

You can upload more modules to this repository. For our example, we only need to upload the
mymodule module.

Our Puppet module is now a part of your Red Hat Satellite 6 environment. Next we publish the
module as part of a content view.

3.4. Removing a Puppet Module from a Repository

If you aim to remove redundant modules from custom repositories in the future, use the Manage
Puppet Modules feature.

1. On the Products page, click on the custom product containing the module to remove.

2. Click the Name of the repository containing the module to remove.

3. Click Manage Puppet Modules. The screen displays a list of Puppet modules contained
within the repository.

4. Select the modules to remove.

5. Click Remove Puppet Modules.

Satellite removes the chosen modules from your repository.

3.5. Adding Puppet Modules from a Git Repository

As an alternative to manually uploading modules, Red Hat Satellite 6 includes a utility called
pulp-puppet-module-builder. This tool checks out repositories containing a set of modules,
builds the modules, and publishes them in a structure for Satellite 6 to synchronize. This
provides an efficient way to manage module development in Git and include them in the
Satellite 6 workflow.

Note

You can also install the pulp-puppet-module-builder tool on other machines using the
pulp-puppet-tools package.

One common method is to run the utility on the Satellite 6 server itself and publish to a local
directory.

Procedure 3.3. Publishing Git Repository to a Local Directory

1. Create a directory on the Satellite server to synchronize the modules.

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Puppet Guide

# mkdir /modules
# chmod 755 /modules

2. Run the pulp-puppet-module-builder and checkout the Git repository.

# pulp-puppet-module-builder --output-dir=/modules --
[email protected]:mymodules.git --branch=develop

This checks out the develop branch of the Git repository from
[email protected]:mymodules.git and publishes the modules to /modules.

The same procedure applies to publishing modules to a HTTP server.

Procedure 3.4. Publishing Git Repository to a Web Server

1. Create a directory on the web server to synchronize the modules.

# mkdir /var/www/html/modules
# chmod 755 /var/www/html/modules/

2. Run the pulp-puppet-module-builder and checkout the Git repository.

# pulp-puppet-module-builder --output-dir=/var/www/html/modules/ --
[email protected]:mymodules.git --branch=develop

This checks out the develop branch of the Git repository from
[email protected]:mymodules.git and publishes the modules to /modules.

In the Satellite 6 Web UI, create a new repository with the URL set to the location of your
published modules.

Procedure 3.5. Creating a Repository for Puppet Modules from Git

1. On the Products page, click on the custom product created previously (MyProduct).

2. Navigate to the Repositories subtab.

3. Click Create Repository.

4. Provide the repository with a Name. This example uses the nameMyGitRepo.

5. The Label field automatically populates with a label based on theName.

6. Select puppet as the repository Type.

7. In the URL field, set the location you defined earlier. For example, local directories on
the Satellite 6 server use the file:// protocol:

file:///modules

A remote repository uses the http:// protocol:

http://webserver.example.com/modules/

8. Click Save.

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 Chapter 3. Adding Puppet Modules to Red Hat Satellite 6

9. Click Sync Now to synchronize the repository.

The Puppet modules in the Git repository are now included in your Satellite 6 server.

3.6. Publishing a Content View

The final step to getting our Puppet module ready for consumption is to publish it as part of a
content view. You can add this module to an existing view but for our example we will create a
new view.

Procedure 3.6. Publishing a Content View

1. Navigate to Content → Content Views.

2. Click + Create New View.

3. Provide your view with a Name. In this example, we useMyView as the name.

4. The Label field automatically populates with a label based on theName.

5. Make sure Composite View is not selected.

6. Click Save.

7. Select the Name of your newly created view.

8. Navigate to Content → Repositories.

9. Add the required Red Hat Enterprise Linux repositories, including a base Red Hat
Enterprise Linux Server RPM collection and a Red Hat Satellite Tools RPM collection for
the same version. The Tools RPM collection contains the packages to set up our remote
Puppet configuration on provisioned systems.

10. Navigate to Puppet Modules.

11. Click + Add New Module.

12. Scroll to your module and click Select a Version.

13. Scroll to the module version Use Latest and click Select Version.

14. Our module is now a part of the content view. Navigate to Versions to publish and
promote a new version of the content view.

15. Click Publish New Version. On the Publish New Version page, click Save. This
publishes the content view with our module.

16. Scroll to the new version of our view and click Promote. Choose a lifecycle environment
and click Promote Version. This makes the view a part of the chosen lifecycle
environment.

Our content view is now published. As a part of the content view creation, Red Hat Satellite 6
creates a new Puppet environment for use in the provisioning process. This puppet
environment contains our module. You can view this new Puppet environment on the
Configure → Environments page.

3.7. Configuring Smart Variables from Puppet Classes

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Puppet Guide

Some module classes contain variable parameters. Satellite 6 has the ability to import classes
and allow modification of such parameters. This is called a smart variable.

For example, mymodule contains a parameter for the HTTP port of our web server. This
parameter, httpd_port, is set to a default of 8120. However, a situation might occur where we
need to use a different port for a provisioned system. Satellite 6 can convert the httpd_port
parameter into a smart variable, override it, and send it back to the system during
configuration. This provides an easy way to change the HTTP port on our webserver.

This procedure requires the mymodule module uploaded to a product and added to a content
view. This is because we need to edit the classes in the resulting Puppet environment.

1. Navigate to Configure → Smart variables.

2. A table appears listing all smart variables from the classes in your Puppet modules. Click
on the httpd_port variable.

3. The options for the smart variable appears. To allow overriding this variable during
provisioning, select the Override option.

4. Selecting the Override option allows us to change theParameter type and Default
value. This is useful if we aim to globally change this value for all future configurations.

The following parameter types are available:

String

The value is interpreted as a plain text string. For example, if your smart
variable sets the hostname, the value is interpreted as a string:

myhost.example.com

Boolean

The value is interpreted and validated as a true or false value. Examples

include:

True
true
1

Integer

The value is interpreted and validated as an integer value. Examples include:

8120
-8120

Real

The value is interpreted and validated as a real number value. Examples

include:

8120
-8120
8.12

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 Chapter 3. Adding Puppet Modules to Red Hat Satellite 6

Array

The value is interpreted and validated as a JSON or YAML array. For example:

["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"]

Hash

The value is interpreted and validated as a JSON or YAML hash map. For
example:

{"Weekdays":
["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],
"Weekend": ["Saturday","Sunday"]}

YAML

The value is interpreted and validated as a YAML file. For example:

email:
delivery_method: smtp
smtp_settings:
address: smtp.example.com
port: 25
domain: example.com
authentication: none

JSON

The value is interpreted and validated as a JSON file. For example:

{
"email":[
{
"delivery_method": "smtp"
"smtp_settings": [
{
"address": "smtp.example.com",
"port": 25,
"domain": "example.com",
"authentication": "none"
}
]
}
]
}

For this example, leave the default as 8120.

5. Selecting the Override option also exposes Optional Input Validator, which
provides validation for the overridden value. For example, we can include a regular
expression to make sure httpd_port is a numerical value. For our example, leave this
section blank.

6. Selecting the Override option also exposes Override Value For Specific Hosts,
which defines a hierarchical order of system facts and a set of matcher-value

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Puppet Guide

combinations. The matcher-value combinations determine the right parameter to use

depending on an evaluation of the system facts. For our example, leave this section with
the default settings.

7. Click Submit.

We now have a smart variable for httpd_port. We can set a value for this smart variable at
either a Host Group level or at a Host level.

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 Chapter 4. Client and Server Settings for Configuration Management

Chapter 4. Client and Server Settings for Configuration

Management
An important part of Red Hat Satellite 6's configuration process is making sure the Puppet
clients (called Puppet agents) can communicate with the Puppet server (called Puppet master)
on either the internal Satellite Capsule or an external Satellite Capsule. This chapter examines
how Red Hat Satellite 6 configures both the Puppet master and the Puppet agent.

4.1. Configuring Puppet on the Red Hat Satellite Server

Red Hat Satellite 6 controls the main configuration for the Puppet master on all Satellite
Capsules. No additional configuration is required and it is recommended to avoid manually
modify these configuration files. For example, the main /etc/puppet.conf configuration file
contains the following [master] section:

[master]
autosign = $confdir/autosign.conf { mode = 664 }
reports = foreman
external_nodes = /etc/puppet/node.rb
node_terminus = exec
ca = true
ssldir = /var/lib/puppet/ssl
certname = sat6.example.com
strict_variables = false

manifest = /etc/puppet/environments/$environment/manifests/site.pp
modulepath = /etc/puppet/environments/$environment/modules
config_version =

This section contains variables (such as $environment) that Satellite 6 uses to create
configuration for different environments.

Some Puppet configuration options appear in the Satellite 6 UI. Navigate to Administer →
Settings and choose the Puppet subtab. This page lists a set of Puppet configuration options
and a description of each.

4.2. Configuring Puppet agent on Provisioned Systems

As part of the provisioning process, Satellite 6 installs Puppet to the system. This process also
installs /etc/puppet/puppet.conf file that configures Puppet as an agent of the Puppet master
on a chosen Capsule. This configuration file is stored as a provisioning template snippet in
Satellite 6. Navigate to Hosts → Provisioning templates and click the puppet.conf snippet
to view it.

The default puppet.conf snippet contains the following agent configuration:

[agent]
pluginsync = true
report = true
ignoreschedules = true
daemon = false

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Puppet Guide

ca_server = <%= @host.puppet_ca_server %>

certname = <%= @host.certname %>
environment = <%= @host.environment %>
server = <%= @host.puppetmaster %>

This snippet contains some template variables, which are:

@host.puppet_ca_server and @host.certname - The certificate and certificate authority

for securing Puppet communication.

@host.environment - The Puppet environment on the Satellite 6 server to use for

configuration.

@host.puppetmaster - The host containing the Puppet master. This is either the Satellite 6
server's internal Capsule or an external Satellite Capsule.

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 Chapter 5. Applying Configuration on Clients

Chapter 5. Applying Configuration on Clients

At this point, Satellite 6 server's Puppet ecosystem is configured and contains the mymodule
module. We now aim to apply this module's configuration to a registered system.

5.1. Applying Configuration on Clients During Provisioning

We first define a new host's Puppet configuration using the following procedure. This procedure
uses the uploaded mymodule as an example.

Procedure 5.1. Applying Configuration on Clients During Provisioning

1. Navigate to Hosts → New host.

2. Click the Host tab. Enter a Name for the host and choose the organization and location
for the system. Choose the Lifecycle Environment and its promoted Content View.
This defines the Puppet environment to use for the configuration. Also choose a Puppet
CA and Puppet Master from the Capsule Settings. The chosen capsule acts as the
server that controls the configuration and communicates with the agent on the new
host.

3. Click the Puppet Classes tab and from the Available Classes section choose the
Puppet classes that contain the configuration to apply. In our example, choose:

mymodule

mymodule:httpd

mymodule:app

4. Choose the necessary options from the Network and Operating System tabs. These
options depend on your own Satellite 6 infrastructure. Make sure the Provisioning
templates option includes the Satellite Kickstart Default kickstart template. This
template contains installation commands for the Puppet agent on the new host.

5. Click the Parameters tab and provide any custom overrides to our Puppet class
parameters. For example, modify the httpd_port from the mymodule to set your own
custom port.

6. After completing all provisioning options, click Submit.

The provisioning process begins. Satellite 6 installs the required configuration tools as part of
the Satellite Kickstart Default provisioning template. This provisioning template contains
the following:

<% if puppet_enabled %>

# and add the puppet package
yum -t -y -e 0 install puppet

echo "Configuring puppet"

cat > /etc/puppet/puppet.conf << EOF
<%= snippet 'puppet.conf' %>
EOF

# Setup puppet to run on system reboot

/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 puppet on

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Puppet Guide

/usr/bin/puppet agent --config /etc/puppet/puppet.conf -o --tags no_such_tag

<%= @host.puppetmaster.blank? ? '' : "--server #{@host.puppetmaster}" %> --
no-daemonize
<% end -%>

This section performs the following:

Installs the puppet package from the Red Hat Satellite 6 Tools RPMs repository.

Installs the Puppet configuration snippet to the system at /etc/puppet/puppet.conf.

Enables the Puppet service to run on the system.

Run Puppet for the first time and apply the system configuration.

After the provisioning and configuration processes complete on the new host, access the host
and user-defined port in your web browser. For example, navigate to
http://newhost.example.com:8120/ and the following message appears in your browser:

Congratulations

Your puppet module has correctly applied your configuration.

5.2. Applying Configuration to Existing Clients

You might aim to have Puppet configuration applied to an existing client not provisioned
through Red Hat Satellite 6. In this situation, install and configure Puppet on the existing client
after registering it to Red Hat Satellite 6.

Register your existing system to Red Hat Satellite 6. For information on registering existing
hosts, see 12.3.1. Registering a Host in the Red Hat Satellite 6.1 User Guide.

Important

The puppet package is part of the Red Hat Satellite 6 Tools repository. Ensure you enable
this repository before you proceed.

Procedure 5.2. To Install and Enable the Puppet Agent:

1. Open a terminal console and log in as root.

2. Install the Puppet agent:

# yum install puppet

3. Configure the puppet agent to start at boot:

A. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6:

# chkconfig puppet on

B. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7:

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 Chapter 5. Applying Configuration on Clients

# systemctl enable puppet

Procedure 5.3. Configuring the Puppet Agent

1. Configure the Puppet agent by changing the /etc/puppet/puppet.conf file:

# vi /etc/puppet/puppet.conf

[main]
# The Puppet log directory.
# The default value is '$vardir/log'.
logdir = /var/log/puppet

# Where Puppet PID files are kept.

# The default value is '$vardir/run'.
rundir = /var/run/puppet

# Where SSL certificates are kept.

# The default value is '$confdir/ssl'.
ssldir = $vardir/ssl

[agent]
# The file in which puppetd stores a list of the classes
# associated with the retrieved configuratiion. Can be loaded in
# the separate ``puppet`` executable using the ``--loadclasses``
# option.
# The default value is '$confdir/classes.txt'.
classfile = $vardir/classes.txt
pluginsync = true
report = true
ignoreschedules = true
daemon = false
ca_server = satellite.example.com
server = satellite.example.com
environment = KT_Example_Org_Library_RHEL6Server_3

# Where puppetd caches the local configuration. An

# extension indicating the cache format is added automatically.
# The default value is '$confdir/localconfig'.
localconfig = $vardir/localconfig

Important

Set the environment parameter to the host's Puppet environment from the
Satellite server. The Puppet environment label contains the organization label,
lifecycle environment, content view name, and the content view ID. To see a list
of Puppet environments in the Satellite 6 web UI, navigate to Configure →
Environments.

2. Run the Puppet agent on the host:

# puppet agent -t --server satellite.example.com

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Puppet Guide

3. Sign the SSL certificate for the puppet client through the Satellite Server web interface:

a. Log in to the Satellite Server through the web interface.

b. Select Infrastructure → Capsules.

c. Click Certificates to the right of the required host.

d. Click Sign.

e. Rerun the puppet agent command:

# puppet agent -t --server satellite.example.com

Note

When the Puppet agent is configured on the host it will be listed under All Hosts but
only when Any Context is selected as the host will not be assigned to an organization or
location.

26
 Chapter 6. Reviewing Puppet Reports in Red Hat Satellite 6

Chapter 6. Reviewing Puppet Reports in Red Hat

Satellite 6
Puppet generates a report each time it applies configuration. Provisioned hosts send this report
to the Red Hat Satellite 6 server. View these reports on the hosts details page.

Procedure 6.1. Reviewing Puppet Reports in Red Hat Satellite 6

1. Navigate to Hosts → All hosts.

2. Click the Name of your desired host.

3. Click the Reports button.

4. Select a report to view.

Each report shows the status of each Puppet resource and its configuration applied to the host.

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Puppet Guide

Appendix A. Revision History

Revision 1.3-3 Tue Sep 6 2016 Dan Macpherson
BZ#1290076 - Adding missing httpd port.

Revision 1.3-2 Wed May 11 2016 Peter Ondrejka

BZ#1334868 - Updated the syntax for ServerName in the HTTP server example.

Revision 1.3-1 Mon Oct 12 2015 Hayley Hudgeons

BZ 1253895: Typo in puppet guide
Building for async 1

Revision 1.1-1 Wed Aug 26 2015 Dan Macpherson

Added Puppet Module Removal instructions
Added Puppet Agent installation and configuration for existing hosts

Revision 1.0-2 Tue Jul 14 2015 David O'Brien

Rebuild for technical review.

Revision 1.0-1 Sun Jun 14 2015 David O'Brien

6.1 Public Beta release.

Revision 1.0-0 Fri Jun 12 2015 Dan Macpherson

Initial creation of book

28