How to Install Puppet on Ubuntu

Introduction

Puppet is an open-source configuration management tool used to perform administrative tasks and server management remotely. It automates infrastructure provisioning, ensures system consistency, reduces manual effort, and improves deployment efficiency across multiple servers.

The official Puppet Server packages are designed to support Linux distributions exclusively.

In this tutorial, you will learn to install Puppet on Ubuntu on master and client nodes.

Prerequisites

• Two systems running Ubuntu (one for the master node and one or more for client nodes).
• A user account with root privileges.
• Java installed (preferably Java 17).

How to Install Puppet on Ubuntu

The Puppet installation process for all Ubuntu versions is the same. This tutorial uses Ubuntu 24.04, currently the latest LTS Ubuntu version, but works for previous OS versions as well.

Follow the steps below to install Puppet on Ubuntu.

Step 1: Set up Hostname Resolution

Before starting the Puppet installation process, set up a unique hostname on each node. With Puppet, master and client nodes communicate using hostnames. Follow the steps below:

1. Open the hosts file on each node via a text editor. For example, use nano:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

2. Paste the following lines at the end of each hosts file on both machines:

[puppet client ip] puppetclient
[puppet master IP] puppetmaster

Replace [puppet client ip] with the client node IP address. Replace [puppet master ip] with the master node IP address.

For example:

To ensure you entered the right IP addresses, check them with the ifconfig command:

inconfig

3. Save and exit the file on both machines.

Step 2: Install Puppet Server (Master Node)

The master node, also known as the Puppet Server, manages configuration policies and distributes them to client nodes (agents). It compiles manifests into catalogs, which define the desired system state and ensure that agents apply the correct configurations.

Follow the steps below to install Puppet Server:

1. Update the package repository index:

sudo apt update

2. Install the Puppet server with the following command:

sudo apt install puppet-master -y

Wait for the process to complete.

3. Check the program version to verify it is installed correctly:

puppet --version

4. Next, open the puppetserver file in a text editor:

sudo nano /etc/default/puppetserver

5. Modify the Xms and Xmx values in the following line to change the memory settings to 1GB:

JAVA_ARGS="-Xms1g -Xmx1g -Djruby.logger.class=com.puppetlabs.jruby_utils.jruby.Slf4jLogger"

6. Save and exit the file.

7. Start the Puppet service.

sudo systemctl start puppetserver

8. Enable the Puppet service to start on boot with:

sudo systemctl enable puppetserver

9. Check if the Puppet service is running with:

sudo systemctl status puppetserver

The output should state that the service is active (running).

Step 3: Install and Configure Puppet Agent (Client Node)

The client node, or Puppet Agent, is a machine that retrieves configurations from the Puppet Server and applies them to maintain the desired system state.

Follow the steps below to install and configure the Puppet agent:

1. Update the package repository index:

sudo apt update

2. Install the Puppet agent with:

sudo apt install puppet-agent -y

3. Open the Puppet configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/puppet/puppet.conf

4. Add the following lines to the end of the Puppet configuration file to define the Puppet master information:

[main]
certname = puppetclient
server = puppetmaster

5. Save and exit the file.

6. Start the Puppet service with the following command :

sudo systemctl start puppet

7. Set Puppet to launch on system boot:

sudo systemctl enable puppet

8. Check if the Puppet service is running with:

sudo systemctl status puppet

The output should show active (running).

Step 4: Sign Puppet Agent Certificate

Sign the Puppet Agent certificate to establish a secure connection between the Puppet Agent and Puppet Master, which ensures trusted communication. It also verifies the identity of the agent to the master, preventing unauthorized nodes from connecting.

Using the Puppet master node:

1. List all the available certificates:

sudo /usr/bin/puppetserver ca list --all

2. Sign the certificates with:

sudo /usr/bin/puppetserver ca sign --all

The command either has no output or confirms the certificate is successfully signed.

Troubleshooting a Puppet Installation

Following the steps above generally results in a successful installation. However, users sometimes encounter issues while going through the installation process.

The sections below describe the two most common Puppet installation issues and their solutions.

Issue 1: DNS Misconfiguration

When installing Puppet, a common issue is misconfigured DNS. Correct DNS configuration is crucial for a successful installation.

Solution

Ensure DNS is configured correctly for the installation to fix this issue. Use tools like nslookup or dig to confirm DNS resolution.

Confirm the agent can reach the primary server using the designated hostname. To validate this, perform a network test from the agent machine.

Issue 2: Security Settings Misconfiguration

Another potential problem during Puppet installation is misconfigured security settings, including firewall configurations.

Solution

Ensure the firewall settings are correctly configured to allow Puppet-related traffic. Verify the primary server allows inbound traffic on ports 8140 and 443, which are crucial for Puppet communication.

If the primary server has multiple network interfaces, ensure it allows traffic via the IP address corresponding to the valid DNS names. Avoid restricting traffic only to internal interfaces.

Conclusion

After following this tutorial, you have fully set up Puppet master and client nodes on Ubuntu. This configuration management tool helps automate the server infrastructure management and configuration.

Next, learn how Puppet compares to Terraform or how to install Ansible on Ubuntu, a configuration management tool that uses SSH and YAML playbooks.