Not long ago Puppet released version 5 to the open source world so, naturally, it was time to start updating all my projects to be compatible with it. The first stop along the way was at the house of Vagrant… only, there’s a catch: it’s been relocated. That’s right, my Vagrant boxes got a shiny new home at app.vagrantup.com/genebean as part of some restructuring done by HashiCorp. After getting my new door key (aka account) I went next door to visit my friend Packer. I hung out in his workshop massaging my templates with the goal of updating and simplifying the boxes I build. The end result included combining all the versions of RVM into a single build and creating a new box for Puppet 5. Now, if you’ve ever hung around Mr. Packer for any length of time then you know he loves to create multiple versions of anything he helps assemble. Seeing as I want him to be happy I figured I should oblige and let him create some Docker images too.

After all the (Vagrant) boxes were packed up and all the (Docker) containers shipped out I figured it was time to head on down the road. You see, I’ve heard about this miracle worker rnelson0 who donated a gem to the Vox Pupuli community. It sounded awesome and I just had to know more. So, with this new destination in mind, I set out down a winding road. My GPS must have gotten switched to Apple Maps ‘cause it only got me part way to my destination. Going on the hope of actually finding my destination I decided to spend a weekend at a place right near two experienced travelers. Both were kind enough to let me rummage through their things (GitHub) and it tuned out if you inspect the foundations laid down by Puppet and Vox Pupuli and then you do some careful planning it really is possible to find the X on the treasure map. Following that map over the next two or three days lead to the best reusable shortcut I’ve come across in many moons… my very own module foundation: genebean/modulesync_configs.

Having gained this new insight I figured it was time to go and tend to my own house a bit. After returning home tonight I finish pouring the new foundation for each of my Puppet modules which means that now I can start the remodeling process. You see, these modules have served me and others well but they were built in the age of Puppet 3. A lots changed since then and many modern convince have been added. Also, like with any remodel, it’s also a great time to deal with those nagging issues you’ve been putting off but know you should do.

That’s all for now but stay tuned. I have a sneaking suspension that Jake and I will be on the road again soon.