Installing PE

Installing PE begins with setting up a standard installation. From here, you can scale up to the large or extra-large installation as your infrastructure grows, or customize configuration as needed.

To install a FIPS-enabled PE primary server, install the appropriate FIPS-enabled PE tarball, for example puppet-enterprise-2019.8.12-redhatfips-7-x86_64.tar, on a third party supported platform with FIPS mode enabled. The node must be configured with sufficient available entropy for the installation process to succeed.

Verify the installation package

These steps are only required if your organization requires you to verify authenticity before installing packages. These steps explain how to use GnuPG (GPG) to verify the PE installation tarball.

Before you begin

You must have GnuPG (GPG) installed to be able to sign for the release key. GPG is an open source program that allows you to safely encrypt and sign digital communications. You can download GPG from the GnuPG website or use your package management system to install it by running something like: yum install gnupg

  1. Download the tarball appropriate to your operating system and architecture.
    Tip: To download packages from the command line, run wget --content-disposition <URL> or curl -JLO <URL>, using the URL for the tarball you want to download.
  2. To import the Puppet public key, run:
    uri='https://downloads.puppet.com/puppet-gpg-signing-key-20250406.pub'
    
    curl "$uri" | gpg --import

    See Usage notes for curl examples for information about forming curl commands.

  3. To print the key fingerprint, run:
    gpg --fingerprint 0x4528B6CD9E61EF26
    This command returns the primary key fingerprint, such as:
    D681 1ED3 ADEE B844 1AF5 AA8F 4528 B6CD 9E61 EF26
  4. Download the GPG SIGNATURE .asc file corresponding to your PE tarball. You can find links to these files on the PE Download page.
  5. To verify the installation package release signature, run:
    gpg --verify puppet-enterprise-<version>-<platform>.tar.gz.asc
Results
The gpg --verify command returns something similar to:
gpg: Signature made <DATE_AND_TIME>
gpg: using RSA key <KEY_ID>
gpg: Good signature from "Puppet, Inc. Release Key (Puppet, Inc. Release Key) <release@puppet.com>"
Tip:

If you receive a warning that a valid key path couldn't be found, this means you don't have a trusted path to one of the signatures on the release key.

If you receive a warning that the key is not certified with a trusted signature, this means you haven't told GPG to trust the imported key. Refer to the GPG documentation for more information.

What to do next
If you received the Good signature message, you can proceed to Install PE.

Install PE

Installation uses default settings to install PE infrastructure components on a single node. After installing, you can scale or customize your installation as needed.

Important: Perform these steps on your target primary server logged in as root. If you're installing on a system that doesn't allow root login, use the command sudo su - to switch to the root user.
  1. Download the tarball appropriate to your operating system and architecture.
    Tip: To download packages from the command line, run wget --content-disposition <URL> or curl -JLO <URL>, using the URL for the tarball you want to download.
  2. Unpack the installation tarball:
    tar -xf <TARBALL_FILENAME>              
  3. From the installer directory, run the installer and follow the CLI instructions to complete your installation:
    ./puppet-enterprise-installer
  4. Optional: Restart the shell in order to use client tool commands.

Configuration parameters and the pe.conf file

A pe.conf file is a HOCON formatted file that declares parameters and values used to install, upgrade, or configure PE. A default pe.conf file is available in the conf.d directory in the installer tarball.

Tip: You can install PE using a customized pe.conf file by running ./puppet-enterprise-installer -c <PATH_TO_pe.conf>.

The following are examples of valid parameter and value expressions:

Type Value
FQDNs "puppet_enterprise::puppet_master_host": "primary.example.com"
Strings "console_admin_password": "mypassword"
Arrays [ "puppet", "puppetlb-01.example.com" ]
Booleans "puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::run_service": true

Valid Boolean values are true or false (case sensitive, no quotation marks).

Note: Don't use Yes (y), No (n), 1, or 0.
JSON hashes "puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::java_args": {"Xmx": "256m", "Xms": "256m"}
Integer "puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_session_timeout": "60"
Important: Don't use single quotes on parameter values. Use double quotes as shown in the examples.

Installation parameters

These parameters are required for installation.

Tip: To simplify installation, you can keep the default value of %{::trusted.certname} for your primary server and provide a console administrator password after running the installer.
puppet_enterprise::puppet_master_host
The FQDN of the node hosting the primary server, for example primary.example.com.
Default: %{::trusted.certname}

Database configuration parameters

These are the default parameters and values supplied for the PE databases.

This list is intended for reference only; don't change or customize these parameters.
puppet_enterprise::activity_database_name
Name for the activity database.
Default: pe-activity
puppet_enterprise::activity_database_read_user
Activity database user that can perform only read functions.
Default: pe-activity-read
puppet_enterprise::activity_database_write_user
Activity database user that can perform only read and write functions.
Default: pe-activity-write
puppet_enterprise::activity_database_super_user
Activity database superuser.
Default: pe-activity
puppet_enterprise::activity_service_migration_db_user
Activity service database user used for migrations.
Default: pe-activity
puppet_enterprise::activity_service_regular_db_user
Activity service database user used for normal operations.
Default: pe-activity-write
puppet_enterprise::classifier_database_name
Name for the classifier database.
Default: pe-classifier
puppet_enterprise::classifier_database_read_user
Classifier database user that can perform only read functions.
Default: pe-classifier-read
puppet_enterprise::classifier_database_write_user
Classifier database user that can perform only read and write functions.
pe-classifier-write
puppet_enterprise::classifier_database_super_user
Classifier database superuser.
pe-classifier
puppet_enterprise::classifier_service_migration_db_user
Classifier service user used for migrations.
Default: pe-classifier
puppet_enterprise::classifier_service_regular_db_user
Classifier service user used for normal operations.
Default: pe-classifier-write
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_database_name
Name for the orchestrator database.
Default: pe-orchestrator
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_database_read_user
Orchestrator database user that can perform only read functions.
Default: pe-orchestrator-read
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_database_write_user
Orchestrator database user that can perform only read and write functions.
Default: pe-orchestrator-write
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_database_super_user
Orchestrator database superuser.
Default: pe-orchestrator
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_service_migration_db_user
Orchestrator service user used for migrations.
Default: pe-orchestrator
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_service_regular_db_user
Orchestrator service user used for normal operations.
Default: pe-orchestrator-write
puppet_enterprise::puppetdb_database_name
Name for the PuppetDB database.
Default: pe-puppetdb
puppet_enterprise::rbac_database_name
Name for the RBAC database.
Default: pe-rbac
puppet_enterprise::rbac_database_read_user
RBAC database user that can perform only read functions.
Default: pe-rbac-read
puppet_enterprise::rbac_database_write_user
RBAC database user that can perform only read and write functions.
Default: pe-rbac-write
puppet_enterprise::rbac_database_super_user
RBAC database superuser.
Default: pe-rbac
puppet_enterprise::rbac_service_migration_db_user
RBAC service user used for migrations.
pe-rbac
puppet_enterprise::rbac_service_regular_db_user
RBAC service user used for normal operations.
Default: pe-rbac-write

External PostgreSQL parameters

These parameters are required to install an external PostgreSQL instance. Password parameters can be added to standard installations if needed.

puppet_enterprise::database_host
Agent certname of the node hosting the database component. Don't use an alt name for this value.
puppet_enterprise::database_port
The port that the database is running on.
Default: 5432
puppet_enterprise::database_ssl
true or false. For unmanaged PostgreSQL installations don't use SSL security, set this parameter to false.
Default: true
puppet_enterprise::database_cert_auth
true or false.
Important: For unmanaged PostgreSQL installations don't use SSL security, set this parameter to false.
Default: true
puppet_enterprise::puppetdb_database_password
Password for the PuppetDB database user. Must be a string, such as "mypassword".
puppet_enterprise::classifier_database_password
Password for the classifier database user. Must be a string, such as "mypassword".
puppet_enterprise::classifier_service_regular_db_user
Database user the classifier service uses for normal operations.
Default: pe-classifier
puppet_enterprise::classifier_service_migration_db_user
Database user the classifier service uses for migrations.
Default: pe-classifier
puppet_enterprise::activity_database_password
Password for the activity database user. Must be a string, such as "mypassword".
puppet_enterprise::activity_service_regular_db_user
Database user the activity service uses for normal operations.
Default: "pe-activity"
puppet_enterprise::activity_service_migration_db_user
Database user the activity service uses for migrations.
Default: pe-activity"
puppet_enterprise::rbac_database_password
Password for the RBAC database user. Must be a string, such as "mypassword".
puppet_enterprise::rbac_service_regular_db_user
Database user the RBAC service uses for normal operations.
Default: "pe-rbac"
puppet_enterprise::rbac_service_migration_db_user
Database user the RBAC service uses for migrations.
Default: "pe-rbac"
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_database_password
Password for the orchestrator database user. Must be a string, such as "mypassword".
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_service_regular_db_user
Database user the orchestrator service uses for normal operations.
Default: pe-orchestrator
puppet_enterprise::orchestrator_service_migration_db_user
Database user the orchestrator service uses for migrations.
Default: "pe-orchestrator"

Primary server parameters

Use these parameters to configure and tune the primary server.

pe_install::puppet_master_dnsaltnames
An array of strings representing the DNS altnames to be added to the primary server's SSL certificate.
Default: ["puppet"]
pe_install::install::classification::pe_node_group_environment
String indicating the environment that infrastructure nodes are running in. Specify this parameter if you moved your primary server and other infrastructure nodes from the default production environment after install. With non-default environments, this setting ensures that your configuration settings are backed up.
Default: "production"
puppet_enterprise::ip_version
Accepts either 4 or 6 to specify a preference for IPv4 or IPv6, but this does not restrict the non-preferred option.
The default is 4 (IPv4). You can set it to 6 if you prefer IPv6.
puppet_enterprise::ipv6_only
You can set it to true to force NGINX to listen on IPv6 only.
Default: false (allows both IPv4 and IPv6)
puppet_enterprise::master::recover_configuration::pe_environment
String indicating the environment that infrastructure nodes are running in. Specify this parameter if you moved your primary server and other infrastructure nodes from the default production environment after installation. With non-default environments, this setting ensures that your configuration settings are backed up.
Default: "production"
puppet_enterprise::profile::certificate_authority
Array of additional certificates to be allowed access to the /certificate_statusAPI endpoint. This list is added to the base certificate list.
puppet_enterprise::profile::master::check_for_updates
Indicates whether to check for updates when the pe-puppetserver service restarts.
The default is true (check for updates). You can set it to false to not check for updates.
puppet_enterprise::profile::master::code_manager_auto_configure
Set to true to automatically configure the Code Manager service; otherwise, set it to false.
puppet_enterprise::profile::master::r10k_remote
String representing the Git URL to be passed to the r10k.yaml file, for example "git@your.git.server.com:puppet/control.git". The URL can be any URL supported by r10k and Git. This parameter is only required if you want r10k configured when you install PE, and you must also specify puppet_enterprise::profile::master::r10k_private_key.
puppet_enterprise::profile::master::r10k_private_key
String representing the local file path on the primary server where the SSH private key can be found and used by r10k, for example "/etc/puppetlabs/puppetserver/ssh/id-control_repo.ed25519". This parameter is only required if you want r10k configured when you install PE, and you must also specify puppet_enterprise::profile::master::r10k_remote.

Console and console-services parameters

Use these parameters to customize the behavior of the console and console-services. Parameters that begin with puppet_enterprise::profile can be modified from the console itself. See the configuration methods documents for more information on how to change parameters in the console or Hiera.

puppet_enterprise::profile::console::classifier_synchronization_period
Integer representing, in seconds, the classifier synchronization period, which controls how long it takes the node classifier to retrieve classes from the primary server.
Default: 600 (seconds).
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_failed_attempts_lockout
Integer specifying how many failed login attempts are allowed on an account before that account is revoked.
Default: 10 (attempts).
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_password_reset_expiration
Integer representing, in hours, how long a user's generated token is valid for. An administrator generates this token for a user so that they can reset their password.
Default: 24 (hours).
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_session_timeout
Integer representing, in minutes, how long a user's session can last. The session length is the same for node classification, RBAC, and the console.
Default: 60 (minutes).
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::session_maximum_lifetime
Integer representing the maximum allowable period that a console session can be valid. To not expire before the maximum token lifetime, set to '0'.
Supported units are "s" (seconds), "m" (minutes), "h" (hours), "d" (days), "y" (years). Units are specified as a single letter following an integer, for example "1d"(1 day). If no units are specified, the integer is treated as seconds.
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_token_auth_lifetime
A value representing the default authentication lifetime for a token. It cannot exceed the rbac_token_maximum_lifetime. This is represented as a numeric value followed by "y" (years), "d" (days), "h" (hours), "m" (minutes), or "s" (seconds). The default is "1h".
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::rbac_token_maximum_lifetime
A value representing the maximum allowable lifetime for all tokens. This is represented as a numeric value followed by "y" (years), "d" (days), "h" (hours), "m" (minutes), or "s" (seconds). The default is "10y".
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::console_ssl_listen_port
Integer representing the port that the console is available on.
Default: 443.
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::ssl_listen_address
Nginx listen address for the console.
Default: "0.0.0.0"
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::classifier_prune_threshold
An integer representing the number of days to wait before pruning the node classifier database. The node classifier database contains node check-in history if classifier_node_check_in_storage is enabled.
Set the value to 0 to never prune the node classifier database.
Default: 7 (days), but only has data to prune if classifier_node_check_in_storage is true.
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::classifier_node_check_in_storage
A Boolean specifying whether to create records when nodes check in with the node classifier. These records describe how nodes match the node groups they're classified into.
Set to true to enable node check-in storage.
Set to false to disable node check-in storage.
Default: false
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::display_local_time
A Boolean indicating whether to show timestamps in the local time or UTC.
Set to true to display timestamps in local time with hover text showing the equivalent UTC time.
Set to false to show timestamps in UTC time with no hover text.
Default: false
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::display_local_time
true to display timestamps in local time, with hover text showing UTC time, or false to show timestamps in UTC time.
Default: false
Modify these configuration parameters in Hiera or pe.conf, not the console:
puppet_enterprise::api_port
SSL port that the node classifier is served on.
Default: 4433
puppet_enterprise::console_services::no_longer_reporting_cutoff
Length of time, in seconds, before a node is considered unresponsive.
Default: 3600 (seconds)
console_admin_password
The password to log into the console, for example "myconsolepassword".
Default: Specified during installation.

Orchestrator and orchestration services parameters

Use these parameters to configure and tune the orchestrator and orchestration services.

puppet_enterprise::profile::agent::pxp_enabled
true to enable the Puppet Execution Protocol service, which is required to use the orchestrator and run Puppet from the console, or false.
Default: true
puppet_enterprise::profile::bolt_server::concurrency
An integer that determines the maximum number of concurrent requests orchestrator can make to bolt-server.
CAUTION: Do not set a concurrency limit that is higher than the bolt-server limit. This can cause timeouts that lead to failed task runs.
Default: The default value is set to the current value stored for bolt-server.
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::global_concurrent_compiles
Integer representing how many concurrent compile requests can be outstanding to the primary server, across all orchestrator jobs.
Default: 8 requests
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::job_prune_threshold
An integer of 2 or greater, which specifies the number of days to retain job reports.
This parameter sets the corresponding parameter job-prune-days-threshold.
While job_prune_threshold itself has no default value, job-prune-days-threshold has a default of 30 (30 days).
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::pcp_timeout
Integer representing the length of time, in seconds, before timeout when agents attempt to connect to the Puppet Communications Protocol broker in a Puppet run triggered by the orchestrator.
Default: 30 seconds
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::run_service
true to enable orchestration services, or false.
Default: true
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::task_concurrency
Integer representing the number of simultaneous task or plan actions that can run at the same time in the orchestrator. All task and plan actions are limited by this concurrency limit regardless of transport type (WinRM, SSH, PCP).
If a task or plan action runs on multiple nodes, each node consumes one action. For example, if a task needs to run on 300 nodes, and your task_concurrency is set to 200, then the task can run on 200 nodes while the remaining 100 nodes wait in queue.
Default: 250 (actions)
puppet_enterprise::pxp_agent::ping_interval
Integer representing the interval, in seconds, between agents' attempts to ping Puppet Communications Protocol brokers.
Default: 120 seconds
puppet_enterprise::pxp_agent::pxp_logfile
String representing the path to the Puppet Execution Protocol agent log file. Change as needed.
Default: /var/log/puppetlabs/pxp-agent/pxp-agent.log (*nix) or C:/ProgramData/PuppetLabs/pxp-agent/var/log/pxp-agent.log (Windows)

PuppetDB parameters

Use these parameters to configure and tune PuppetDB.

puppet_enterprise::puppetdb::command_processing_threads
Integer representing how many command processing threads PuppetDB uses to sort incoming data. Each thread can process a single command at a time.
Default: Half the number of cores in your system, for example 8.
puppet_enterprise::profile::master::puppetdb_report_processor_ensure
present to generate agent run reports and submit them to PuppetDB, or absent
Default: present
puppet_enterprise::puppetdb_port
Integer in brackets representing the SSL port that PuppetDB listens on.
Default: 8081
puppet_enterprise::profile::puppetdb::node_purge_ttl
“Time-to-live” value before deactivated or expired nodes are deleted, along with all facts, catalogs, and reports for the node. For example, a value of "14d" sets the time-to-live to 14 days.
Default: "14d"

Java parameters

Use these parameters to configure and tune Java.

puppet_enterprise::profile::master::java_args
JVM (Java Virtual Machine) memory, specified as a JSON hash, that is allocated to the Puppet Server service, for example {"Xmx": "4096m", "Xms": "4096m"}.
puppet_enterprise::profile::puppetdb::java_args
JVM memory, specified as a JSON hash, that is allocated to the PuppetDB service, for example {"Xmx": "512m", "Xms": "512m"}.
puppet_enterprise::profile::console::java_args
JVM memory, specified as a JSON hash, that is allocated to console services, for example {"Xmx": "512m", "Xms": "512m"}.
puppet_enterprise::profile::orchestrator::java_args
JVM memory, set as a JSON hash, that is allocated to orchestration services, for example, {"Xmx": "256m", "Xms": "256m"}.