Puppet Puppet agent run fails with 'Could not find ssh_authorized_key'

What is Puppet Puppet agent run fails with 'Could not find ssh_authorized_key'

Understanding Puppet and Its Purpose

Puppet is a powerful configuration management tool used to automate the provisioning, configuration, and management of servers and applications. It allows system administrators to define the desired state of their infrastructure using a declarative language, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors. Puppet is widely used in DevOps environments to streamline operations and maintain infrastructure as code.

Identifying the Symptom

When running a Puppet agent, you might encounter the error message: Could not find ssh_authorized_key. This error indicates that Puppet is unable to locate or apply the ssh_authorized_key resource, which is crucial for managing SSH keys on nodes.

What You Observe

The Puppet agent run fails, and the error message is logged, preventing the successful application of the desired configuration. This can lead to issues with SSH access management on the affected nodes.

Exploring the Issue

The error Could not find ssh_authorized_key typically arises when the ssh_authorized_key resource is either not declared in the Puppet manifest or is declared incorrectly. This resource is used to manage SSH keys in the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file, allowing or denying SSH access to users.

Common Causes

The ssh_authorized_key resource is missing from the manifest. Incorrect parameters are provided to the ssh_authorized_key resource. Typographical errors in the resource declaration.

Steps to Fix the Issue

To resolve the Could not find ssh_authorized_key error, follow these steps:

1. Verify Resource Declaration

Ensure that the ssh_authorized_key resource is declared in your Puppet manifest. Here is an example of how to declare it:

ssh_authorized_key { 'user@hostname': ensure => present, user => 'username', type => 'ssh-rsa', key => 'AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEArD1N...',}

Replace username and the key value with the appropriate user and SSH key.

2. Check for Typographical Errors

Review the manifest for any typographical errors in the resource declaration. Ensure that all parameters are correctly spelled and formatted.

3. Validate Parameters

Ensure that all parameters provided to the ssh_authorized_key resource are correct and valid. Refer to the official Puppet documentation for details on acceptable parameters.

4. Test the Configuration

After making the necessary corrections, run the Puppet agent again to test the configuration:

puppet agent --test

Check the logs to ensure that the error is resolved and the configuration is applied successfully.

Conclusion

By ensuring the correct declaration and parameters of the ssh_authorized_key resource, you can resolve the Could not find ssh_authorized_key error. Proper management of SSH keys is essential for secure and efficient access control in your infrastructure. For further reading, visit the Puppet documentation.