System requirements

Puppet system requirements depend on your deployment type and size. Before installing Puppet, ensure your systems are compatible with infrastructure and agent requirements.

Restriction: Puppet primary servers must run on some variant of *nix. You can't run primary servers on Windows.

Hardware requirements

The primary server is fairly resource intensive, and must be installed on a robust, dedicated server. The agent service has few system requirements and can run on a less powerful server.

The Puppet agent has been run and tested on a various servers. The following table lists the minimum hardware specifications that have been successfully tested. In these tests, Intel Xeon processors were used.
CPUs GHz GiB memory OS
1 2.4 0.5 Amazon Linux 2 AMI
1 2.5 1 Windows Server 2019

The demands on the primary server vary widely between deployments. Resource needs are affected by the number of agents being served, how frequently agents check in, how many resources are being managed on each agent, and the complexity of the manifests and modules in use.

The following minimum hardware requirements are based on internal testing.
Node volume Cores Heap ReservedCodeCache
Dozens 2 1 GB Not applicable
1,000 2-4 4 GB 512m

Supported agent platforms

Puppet provides official packages for various operating systems and versions. Although you are not required to use official packages, their use helps to simplify installation and maintenance.

Packaged platforms

puppet-agent packages are available for the platforms listed in the table.

Restriction: In the following table, asterisks indicate that an operating system version is available only to developer users. In the Puppet Core 8.11 release, the Fedora 41 and macOS 15 operating systems are available only to developer users. For instructions about becoming a developer user, see Accessing Puppet Core for limited use.

For Puppet Server system requirements, see Supported operating systems.

Operating system Tested versions Untested versions
Debian 10, 11, 11 (aarch64), 12, 12 (aarch64, x86_64)
Fedora 36 (x86_64), 40 (x86_64), 41 (x86_64)*
macOS 11 Big Sur (x86_64), 12 Monterey (x86_64), 12 (M1), 13 Ventura (x86_64, ARM), 14 (x86_64, ARM), 15 (ARM)*
Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise, 11 Enterprise (x86_64) 8, 10
Microsoft Windows Server 2012R2, 2016, 2019, 2022 2012
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, including:

  • Amazon Linux v2 x86_64 (using RHEL 7 packages)

7 (x86_64), 8 (x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le), 9 (x86_64, ARM64, ppc64le)
Amazon Linux 2 (AARCH64), 2023 (x86_64, AARCH64)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 (x86_64), 15 (x86_64)
AlmaLinux 8 (x86_64), 9 (x86_64, AARCH64)
Rocky Linux 8 (x86_64), 9 (x86_64, AARCH64)
Oracle Linux 7 (x86_64), 8 (x86_64), 8 (aarch64), 8 (ppc64le)
Scientific Linux 7 (x86_64)
Ubuntu 18.04, 18.04 (AARCH), 20.04, 20.04 (aarch64), 22.04 (x86_64, aarch64), 24.04 (x86_64, ARM)

Dependencies

If you use the SELinux security module, you must grant a compliance exception for Puppet and the PXP agent in order for those services to effectively manage configuration.

Timekeeping and name resolution

Before you install Puppet, prepare to meet the network requirements. The most important requirements include syncing time and creating a plan for name resolution.

Timekeeping

Use NTP or an equivalent service to ensure that time is in sync between your primary server, which acts as the certificate authority, and any agent nodes. If time drifts out of sync in your infrastructure, you might encounter issues such as agents receiving outdated certificates. A service like NTP (available as a supported module) helps to ensure accurate timekeeping.

Name resolution

Decide on a preferred name or set of names that agent nodes can use to contact the primary server. Ensure that the primary server can be reached by domain name lookup by all future agent nodes.

You can simplify configuration of agent nodes by using a CNAME record to make the primary server reachable at the hostname puppet, which is the default primary server hostname that is suggested when installing an agent node.

Firewall configuration

In the agent-server architecture, your primary server must support incoming connections on port 8140, and agent nodes must be able to connect to the primary server on that port.

Purchasing Puppet Core

To use Puppet Core in a production environment and enjoy the full range of features and benefits, purchase the product.

Features and benefits

After purchasing Puppet Core, you can:
  • Implement the platform in a production environment across your global infrastructure on all licensed nodes.
  • Install Puppet agent on all supported operating systems (except for any new operating system versions introduced in the latest Puppet Enterprise release).
  • Schedule your Puppet Core introduction with the Professional Services team. If you require additional assistance or have specific project requirements, contact your customer account team to select the services that fit your needs.
  • Open Support tickets to report security vulnerabilities and defects, and request assistance from Support to address any high or critical CVEs, as guaranteed by your service-level agreement (SLA).
  • Download the Security Compliance Enforcement modules to provide an added layer of security to your infrastructure.

Procedure

Complete the following steps:
  1. Ensure that you are, or your organization is, a registered user of Puppet Forge:
  2. If you are a Perforce customer, contact your sales representative and purchase Puppet Core.
  3. If you are not a Perforce customer, go to the New: Puppet Core webpage and complete the form to receive a call from the sales team. Purchase Puppet Core.
  4. If you purchased the software for your organization, to share the entitlement, ensure that the organization’s administrator links the organization to the Perforce customer account:
    1. In the organization’s profile, in the left navigation pane, click Settings.
    2. Click Link account.
    As a next step, to access the packages, multifactor authentication must be enabled, and an active API key is required.
  5. To ensure that you have multifactor authentication enabled, open your individual profile and click Settings. If Use Multifactor Authentication is not selected, select it and click Save settings.
  6. If you are purchasing the product as an individual, verify that you have an active API key. Create a key if necessary. Take the following actions:
    1. In your individual profile, click API Keys. If you have no active API keys, or your API key expires soon, create a key by clicking Create a new key and following the prompts.
    2. Copy and save the API key, which is necessary to download packages.
  7. If you are purchasing the product for your organization, ask the administrator to verify whether the organization has an active API key and create a key if necessary. The administrator must take the following actions:
    1. In the organization's profile, in the left navigation pane, click API Keys. If there is no active API key, or the API key expires soon, create a key by clicking Create a new key and following the prompts.
    2. Copy and save the API key, which is necessary to download packages.

What to do next

To download the Puppet Core packages, follow the instructions in Installing Puppet.

Tip: To use Puppet Core in a limited environment for testing or development, you can obtain a free version of the software. See Accessing Puppet Core for limited use.

Accessing Puppet Core for limited use

A free version of Puppet Core is available for use in a limited environment. For example, if you want to try out the product to evaluate whether it meets your organization’s requirements, or you want to use the product for development purposes, you can download the free version. After signing an end user license agreement (EULA), you can install Puppet Core on a maximum of 25 nodes.

Roles

When you request access to the free version of Puppet Core, you must specify your role:
  • Users can access Puppet Core to try out or test the product on a maximum of 25 nodes. These users can download the latest version of Puppet Core and install Puppet agent on all supported operating systems and versions (except for any new versions introduced in the latest Puppet Enterprise release).
  • Developers can access Puppet Core for development purposes on a maximum of 25 nodes. Developer users can access the latest version of Puppet Core and install Puppet agent on all supported operating systems and versions.

Comparison of roles

To get the big picture and understand how best to use Puppet Core in your environment, review the following table:
Table 1. Role comparison
Feature or benefit Free version: User role Free version: Developer role Paid version for production users
Installation on all licensed nodes checkmark
Installation on a maximum of 25 nodes checkmark checkmark
Professional Services training engagement checkmark
Guaranteed SLA checkmark
Ability to open Support tickets for vulnerabilities and defects checkmark
Entitlement to Security Compliance Enforcement checkmark
Ability to install Puppet agent on all operating system versions except for versions introduced in the latest Puppet Enterprise release checkmark checkmark
Ability to install Puppet agent on all supported operating systems checkmark

Procedure

To access the free version of Puppet Core, complete the following steps:
  1. Ensure that you are a registered user of Puppet Forge. For instructions, see Register as a user.
  2. Access and accept the end user license agreement (EULA):
    1. Open your individual profile on Forge.
    2. In the menu bar, click Puppet and Puppet Core EULA.
    3. In the User Acceptance Role list, click your selected plan:
      • To try out Puppet Core , click Puppet Core user.
      • To use Puppet Core for development purposes, click Puppet Core developer.
    4. Review and accept the EULA license.
    As a next step, to access the installation packages, multifactor authentication must be enabled, and an active API key is required.
  3. To ensure that you have multifactor authentication enabled, open your individual profile and click Settings. If Use Multifactor Authentication is not selected, select it and click Save settings.
  4. Verify whether you have an active API key and create a key if necessary. Take the following actions:
    1. In your individual profile, click API Keys. If you have no active API keys, or your API key expires soon, create a key by clicking Create a new key and following the prompts.
    2. Copy and save the API key, which is required to download packages.

What to do next

To download the Puppet Core packages, follow the instructions in Installing Puppet.