Chapter 7. Puppet Migration Patterns

We're probably already working with Puppet or we are planning to use it in the near future. In any case, we have to face the daunting task of automating the configuration and reproducing the state of a variable number of different servers.

Using Puppet for server infrastructure involves analysis, planning, and decisions.

In this chapter, we will review the different steps to be considered in our journey towards infrastructure automation:

• The possible scenarios and approaches we might face: new setups, migrations and updates of existing systems, and Puppet code refactoring
• Patterns for Puppet deployments; a step-by-step approach divided in reiterated phases: information gathering, priorities definition, evaluation on how to proceed, coding, testing, applying the changes, and verifying the reports
• The cultural and procedural changes that configuration management involves