Puppet 
Autosign Puppet certificates on AWS
Let's face it, Puppet's method of certificates is a pain and huge administration overkill if done manually. Thankfully, puppet has designed several methods of auto-signing certificates. One of which is via crafting a special certificate signing request and verifying the certificate signing request is genuine.
On th… Read more → Using Puppet to host a private RPM repository
A repository is a place where files are stored, indexed, and available through a package manager to anyone who has the repository information. With rpm based systems, a repository is created with a tool called createrepo. Most of the time, publicly available repositories already offer the packages your server needs. When y…
Read more →Deploying Puppet Open Source
Update: (5/28/17) yes, there is the puppet/r10k which supercedes the zack/r10k. While you are free to deviate from the article in your own environment, the below steps still work as intended. I will have to update this article as well as explain why having r10k and dynamic environments is a good idea.
In this guide we will g…
Read more →First puppet module published
I completed my first public module for puppet and submitted it to the puppet forge. It seems too simple to compile into a build and submit it to the forge; however, I made it public for these reasons:
- I needed experience with puppet code testing. This helped me at the most basic level.
- I felt like someone else could benefit fr… Read more →
Puppet with Mac and GNU/Linux
Puppet on Mac is a mixture of Puppet on Linux and Windows. Registry settings are called "secrets" and to make things easier, you need to install homebrew.
Enforcing a local admin is a little bit tedious. In the past few OSX releases, the have changed their password hashing algorithm several times. This causes a few case statements based on r…
Read more →Puppet with Windows
Using Puppet on Windows workstations can be a challenge. The different architectures (x86 and x86_64) can have an impact on declaring packages. I have decided to ignore 32 bit systems and treat all as 64 bit - after all, it is 2016 and 32 bit should not be deployed.
Since everything is stored in the registry (and I am no registry expert), I …
Read more →Puppet as a GPO replacement
When you have a mixed client workstation environment (Windows, Linux, Mac) using GPOs only covers a portion of the environment. Sure, there are some AD plugins for Mac and Linux to let them read and apply those settings, however, those tools cost an exuberant amount of money compared to the open source version Puppet.
I haven't scratched the…
Read more →Why I went with Puppet over other CMEs
Configuration management engines (CME) have increased in popularity over the past several years. When I evaluated all the potential options, I needed one to be free in cost, work on Mac and Windows, and be easy to set up and use. At the time, only Chef, CFEngine, and Puppet had Windows clients so I tested them all out. Puppet came the victor for se…
Read more →Installing fonts on Windows using Puppet
I was recently tasked to install a group of fonts on windows systems. In order to do it the Internet way, you have to:
- Install the font on a system
- Export the registry file
- Create a GPO
- Place the font in an accessible location (domain readable)
- Make sure the GPO has the .reg and the font file install… Read more →
Using Puppet to host a private RPM repository
A repository is a place where files are stored, indexed, and available through a package manager to anyone who has the repository information. With rpm based systems, a repository is created with a tool called createrepo. Most of the time, publicly available repositories already offer the packages your server needs. When y…
Deploying Puppet Open Source
Update: (5/28/17) yes, there is the puppet/r10k which supercedes the zack/r10k. While you are free to deviate from the article in your own environment, the below steps still work as intended. I will have to update this article as well as explain why having r10k and dynamic environments is a good idea.
In this guide we will g…
First puppet module published
I completed my first public module for puppet and submitted it to the puppet forge. It seems too simple to compile into a build and submit it to the forge; however, I made it public for these reasons:
- I needed experience with puppet code testing. This helped me at the most basic level.
- I felt like someone else could benefit fr… Read more →
Puppet with Mac and GNU/Linux
Read more →Puppet on Mac is a mixture of Puppet on Linux and Windows. Registry settings are called "secrets" and to make things easier, you need to install homebrew.
Enforcing a local admin is a little bit tedious. In the past few OSX releases, the have changed their password hashing algorithm several times. This causes a few case statements based on r…
Puppet with Windows
Read more →Using Puppet on Windows workstations can be a challenge. The different architectures (x86 and x86_64) can have an impact on declaring packages. I have decided to ignore 32 bit systems and treat all as 64 bit - after all, it is 2016 and 32 bit should not be deployed.
Since everything is stored in the registry (and I am no registry expert), I …
Puppet as a GPO replacement
Read more →When you have a mixed client workstation environment (Windows, Linux, Mac) using GPOs only covers a portion of the environment. Sure, there are some AD plugins for Mac and Linux to let them read and apply those settings, however, those tools cost an exuberant amount of money compared to the open source version Puppet.
I haven't scratched the…
Why I went with Puppet over other CMEs
Read more →Configuration management engines (CME) have increased in popularity over the past several years. When I evaluated all the potential options, I needed one to be free in cost, work on Mac and Windows, and be easy to set up and use. At the time, only Chef, CFEngine, and Puppet had Windows clients so I tested them all out. Puppet came the victor for se…
Installing fonts on Windows using Puppet
I was recently tasked to install a group of fonts on windows systems. In order to do it the Internet way, you have to:
- Install the font on a system
- Export the registry file
- Create a GPO
- Place the font in an accessible location (domain readable)
- Make sure the GPO has the .reg and the font file install… Read more →