Answer File Reference
Answer files are used for automated installations of PE. See the chapter on automated installation for more details.
Answer File Syntax
Answer files consist of normal shell script variable assignments:
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_port=3306
Boolean answers should use Y or N (case-insensitive) rather than true, false, 1, or 0.
A variable can be omitted if another answer ensures that it won’t be used (i.e. q_puppetmaster_certname can be left blank if q_puppetmaster_install = n).
Answer files can include arbitrary bash control logic, and can assign variables with commands in subshells ($(command)). For example, to set an agent node’s certname to its fqdn:
q_puppetagent_certname=$(hostname -f)
To set it to a UUID:
q_puppetagent_certname=$(uuidgen)
Sample Answer Files
PE includes a collection of sample answer files in the answers directory of your distribution tarball. A successful installation will also save an answer file called answers.lastrun, which can be used as a foundation for later installations. Finally, you can generate a new answer file without installing by running the installer with the -s option and a filename argument.
Installer Answers
Global Answers
These answers are always needed.
q_install- Y or N — Whether to install. Answer files must set this to Y.
q_vendor_packages_install- Y or N — Whether the installer has permission to install additional packages from the OS’s repositories. If this is set to N, the installation will fail if the installer detects missing dependencies.
q_puppet_symlinks_install- Y or N — Whether to make the Puppet tools more visible to all users by installing symlinks in
/usr/local/bin.
Roles
These answers are always needed.
q_puppetmaster_install- Y or N — Whether to install the puppet master role.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_install- Y or N — Whether to install the console role.
q_puppetagent_install- Y or N — Whether to install the puppet agent role.
q_puppet_cloud_install- Y or N — Whether to install the cloud provisioner role.
Puppet Agent Answers
These answers are always needed.
q_puppetagent_certname- String — An identifying string for this agent node. This per-node ID must be unique across your entire site. Fully qualified domain names are often used as agent certnames.
q_puppetagent_server- String — The hostname of the puppet master server. For the agent to trust the master’s certificate, this must be one of the valid DNS names you chose when installing the puppet master.
q_fail_on_unsuccessful_master_lookup- Y or N — Whether to quit the install if the puppet master cannot be reached.
Puppet Master Answers
These answers are only needed if you are installing the puppet master role.
q_puppetmaster_certname- String — An identifying string for the puppet master. This ID must be unique across your entire site. The server’s fully qualified domain name is often used as the puppet master’s certname.
q_puppetmaster_dnsaltnames- String — Valid DNS names at which the puppet master can be reached. Must be a comma-separated list. In a normal installation, defaults to
<hostname>,<hostname.domain>,puppet,puppet.<domain>. q_puppetmaster_enterpriseconsole_hostname- String — The hostname of the server running the console role. Only needed if you are not installing the console role on the puppet master server.
q_puppetmaster_enterpriseconsole_port- Integer — The port on which to contact the console server. Only needed if you are not installing the console role on the puppet master server.
In addition, by default the puppet master will check for available PE software updates whenever the pe-httpd service restarts. To help ensure the correct update is retrieved, the master will pass some basic, anonymous info to Puppet Labs’ servers. Specifically, it will transmit:
* the IP address of the client
* the type and version of the client’s OS
* the Installed version of PE
If you wish to disable manual update checks, or if your company policy forbids transmitting this information, you will need to add the following line to the answer file: q_pe_check_for_updates=n
Console Answers
These answers are only needed if you are installing the console role.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_httpd_port- Integer — The port on which to serve the console. If this is set to 443, you can access the console from a web browser without manually specifying a port.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_user_email- String — The email address with which the console’s admin user will log in. Note that this answer has changed from PE 2.0.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_password- String — The password for the console’s admin user. Must be longer than eight characters.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_smtp_host- String – The SMTP server with which to email account activation codes to new console users.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_inventory_certname- String — An identifying string for the inventory service. This ID must be unique across your entire site. Only needed if you are not installing the puppet master role on the console server.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_inventory_dnsaltnames- String — Valid DNS names at which the console server can be reached. Only needed if you are not installing the puppet master role on the console server. Must be a comma-separated list. In a normal installation, defaults to
<hostname>,<hostname.domain>,puppetinventory,puppetinventory.<domain>. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_install- Y or N — Whether to install and configure a new MySQL database from the OS’s package repositories. If set to Y, the installer will also create a new database and user with the
..._name, ..._user,and..._passwordanswers below. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_setup_db- Y or N — Whether to automatically configure the console and inventory service databases. Only used when
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_installis N. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_root_password- String — The password for MySQL’s root user. When
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_installis Y, this will set the root user’s password; whenq_puppet_enterpriseconsole_setup_dbis Y, it will be used to log in and automatically configure the necessary databases. If neither of these answers is Y, this answer is not used. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_remote- Y or N — Whether the pre-existing database is on a remote MySQL server. Only used when
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_installis N. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_host- String — The hostname of the remote MySQL server. Only used when
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_remoteis Y. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_port- String — The port used by the remote MySQL server. Only used when
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_remoteis Y. In a normal installation, defaults to3306. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_name- String — The database the console will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the databases, this database must already exist on the MySQL server.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_user- String — The MySQL user the console will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the databases, this user must already exist on the MySQL server and must be able to edit the console’s database.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_password- String — The password for the console’s MySQL user.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_setup_auth_db- Y or N — Whether to automatically configure the console authentication database.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_name- String — The database the console authentication will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the auth database, this database must already exist on the MySQL server.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_user- String — The MySQL user the console authentication will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the databases, this user must already exist on the MySQL server and must be able to edit the auth database.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_password- String — The password for the auth database’s MySQL user.
Upgrader Answers
q_upgrade_installation- Y or N — Whether to upgrade. Answer files must set this to Y.
q_puppet_cloud_install- Y or N — Whether to install the cloud provisioner tools on this node during the upgrade. Previous versions of PE did not include the cloud provisioner tools.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_setup_auth_db- Y or N — Whether to automatically configure the console’s authentication database.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_database_root_password- String — The password for the root user on the console’s database server. Only required if
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_setup_auth_dbis true. q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_user_email- String — The email address with which the console’s admin user will log in. Note that this answer has changed from PE 2.0. Only required if this node has the console role installed.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_password- String — A password for accessing the console. Previous versions of PE did not secure the Dashboard with a username and password. Only required if this node has the console role (previously Puppet Dashboard) installed.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_name- String — The database the console authentication will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the auth database, this database must already exist on the MySQL server.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_user- String — The MySQL user the console authentication will use. Note that if you are not automatically configuring the databases, this user must already exist on the MySQL server and must be able to edit the auth database.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_auth_database_password- String — The password for the auth database’s MySQL user.
q_puppet_enterpriseconsole_smtp_host- String – The SMTP server with which to email account activation codes to new console users.
q_vendor_packages_install- Y or N — Whether to install additional packages from your OS vendor’s repository, if the upgrader determines any are needed.
q_upgrade_remove_mco_homedir- Y or N — Whether to delete the mco user’s home directory. (The mco user from PE 1.2 was replaced with the peadmin user in PE 2.0.)
q_upgrade_install_wrapper_modules- Y or N — Whether to install wrapper modules, so that you can continue to use the Puppet modules provided with PE 1.2 under their previous names as well as their new names. (The
accounts, baselines,andmcollectivepemodules from PE 1.2 were renamed tope_accounts, pe_compliance,andpe_mcollectivein PE 2.0.)
Uninstaller Answers
q_pe_uninstall- Y or N — Whether to uninstall. Answer files must set this to Y.
q_pe_purge- Y or N — Whether to purge additional files when uninstalling, including all configuration files, modules, manifests, certificates, and the home directories of any users created by the PE installer.
q_pe_remove_db- Y or N — Whether to remove any PE-specific databases when uninstalling.
q_pe_db_root_pass- String — The MySQL root user’s password, to be used when deleting
databases. Only used when
q_pe_remove_dbis Y.