Deploy Puppet on Google Cloud C4A (Arm-based Axion VMs)

Signed-off-by: odidev <[email protected]>

Author: odidev

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/puppet-on-gcp/_index.md

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+---
+title: Deploy Puppet on Google Cloud C4A (Arm-based Axion VMs)
+
+minutes_to_complete: 30
+
+who_is_this_for: This learning path is intended for software developers deploying Puppet on Linux/Arm64 environments, specifically using Google Cloud C4A virtual machines powered by Axion processors.
+
+learning_objectives:
+  - Provision an Arm-based SUSE SLES virtual machine on Google Cloud (C4A with Axion processors)
+  - Install Puppet on a SUSE Arm64 (C4A) instance
+  - Verify Puppet by applying a test manifest and confirming successful resource creation on Arm64  
+  - Benchmark Puppet by measuring catalog compile time, apply speed, and resource usage on Arm64
+
+prerequisites:
+  - A [Google Cloud Platform (GCP)](https://cloud.google.com/free) account with billing enabled  
+  - Basic familiarity with [Puppet](https://www.puppet.com/)
+
+author: Pareena Verma
+
+##### Tags
+skilllevels: Introductory
+subjects: Performance and Architecture
+cloud_service_providers: Google Cloud
+
+armips:
+  - Neoverse
+
+tools_software_languages:
+  - Puppet
+  - Ruby
+  - Facter
+  - Hiera
+
+operatingsystems:
+  - Linux
+
+# ================================================================================
+#       FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+# ================================================================================
+further_reading:
+  - resource:
+      title: Google Cloud documentation
+      link: https://cloud.google.com/docs
+      type: documentation
+
+  - resource:
+      title: Puppet documentation
+      link: https://www.puppet.com/docs/index.html
+      type: documentation
+
+weight: 1
+layout: "learningpathall"
+learning_path_main_page: "yes"
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/puppet-on-gcp/_next-steps.md

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+---
+# ================================================================================
+#       FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE
+# ================================================================================
+weight: 21                  # Set to always be larger than the content in this path to be at the end of the navigation.
+title: "Next Steps"         # Always the same, html page title.
+layout: "learningpathall"   # All files under learning paths have this same wrapper for Hugo processing.
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/puppet-on-gcp/background.md

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+---
+title: Getting started with Puppet on Google Axion C4A (Arm Neoverse-V2)
+
+weight: 2
+
+layout: "learningpathall"
+---
+
+## Google Axion C4A Arm instances in Google Cloud
+
+Google Axion C4A is a family of Arm-based virtual machines built on Google’s custom Axion CPU, which is based on Arm Neoverse-V2 cores. Designed for high-performance and energy-efficient computing, these virtual machines offer strong performance for modern cloud workloads such as CI/CD pipelines, microservices, media processing, and general-purpose applications.
+
+The C4A series provides a cost-effective alternative to x86 virtual machines while leveraging the scalability and performance benefits of the Arm architecture in Google Cloud.
+
+To learn more about Google Axion, refer to the [Introducing Google Axion Processors, our new Arm-based CPUs](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/compute/introducing-googles-new-arm-based-cpu) blog.
+
+## Puppet
+
+[Puppet](https://puppet.com/) is an **open-source configuration management and automation tool** designed to help system administrators and DevOps teams **manage infrastructure as code**. Developed by [Puppet Labs](https://puppet.com/company/), it automates the provisioning, configuration, and management of servers and services across large-scale environments.
+
+Puppet uses a **declarative language** to define system configurations, ensuring that every machine’s state matches the desired setup described in its manifests. It supports both **agent-based** and **agentless** architectures, making it flexible for diverse deployment needs.
+
+Known for its **scalability**, **reliability**, and **idempotent behavior**, Puppet continuously enforces configurations, reducing manual effort and configuration drift. It integrates well with major platforms like **Linux**, **Windows**, **macOS**, and cloud providers such as **AWS**, **Azure**, and **GCP**.
+
+Common use cases include **automating server configuration**, **applying security policies**, **software installation**, and **infrastructure auditing**. Puppet is widely used in enterprises for managing **hybrid and multi-cloud environments** efficiently.
+
+To learn more, visit the [official Puppet website](https://puppet.com/).

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/puppet-on-gcp/baseline.md

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+---
+title: Puppet Baseline Testing on Google Axion C4A Arm Virtual Machine
+weight: 5
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+## Puppet Baseline Testing on GCP SUSE VMs
+In this guide, you will perform baseline testing of Puppet on a GCP SUSE Arm64 VM to verify that the installation works correctly. You will check Puppet and Facter versions, run basic Puppet commands, apply a simple manifest, and confirm that system facts are collected accurately.
+
+### Verify Puppet Installation
+Check that Puppet and Facter are correctly installed and respond to version checks:
+
+```console
+puppet --version
+facter --version
+ruby -v
+```
+### Run a Simple Puppet Command
+Check that Puppet responds to commands by running puppet help. Seeing the help menu confirms that Puppet is working properly.
+
+```console
+puppet help
+```
+
+Output:
+
+```console
+Usage: puppet <subcommand> [options] <action> [options]
+
+Available subcommands:
+
+  Common:
+    agent             The puppet agent daemon
+    apply             Apply Puppet manifests locally
+    config            Interact with Puppet's settings.
+    help              Display Puppet help.
+    lookup            Interactive Hiera lookup
+    module            Creates, installs and searches for modules on the Puppet Forge.
+    resource          The resource abstraction layer shell
+
+
+  Specialized:
+    catalog           Compile, save, view, and convert catalogs.
+    describe          Display help about resource types
+    device            Manage remote network devices
+    doc               Generate Puppet references
+    epp               Interact directly with the EPP template parser/renderer.
+    facts             Retrieve and store facts.
+    filebucket        Store and retrieve files in a filebucket
+    generate          Generates Puppet code from Ruby definitions.
+    node              View and manage node definitions.
+    parser            Interact directly with the parser.
+    plugin            Interact with the Puppet plugin system.
+    script            Run a puppet manifests as a script without compiling a catalog
+    ssl               Manage SSL keys and certificates for puppet SSL clients
+
+See 'puppet help <subcommand> <action>' for help on a specific subcommand action.
+See 'puppet help <subcommand>' for help on a specific subcommand.
+Puppet v8.10.0
+```
+
+### Test a Simple Puppet Manifest
+Create and run a basic Puppet script to make sure Puppet can apply configurations. If it successfully creates the test file, your Puppet agent functions as expected.
+
+```bash
+cat <<EOF > test.pp
+file { '/tmp/puppet_test.txt':
+  ensure  => file,
+  content => "Hello from Puppet on SUSE ARM64!\n",
+}
+EOF
+```
+```console
+puppet apply test.pp
+```
+
+You should see an output similar to:
+```output
+Notice: Compiled catalog for lpprojectsusearm64.c.imperial-time-463411-q5.internal in environment production in 0.01 seconds
+Notice: Applied catalog in 0.01 seconds
+```
+
+**Then verify:**
+
+Open the file created by Puppet to confirm the content matches your script. This step validates that Puppet executed your manifest correctly.
+
+```console
+cat /tmp/puppet_test.txt
+```
+
+Output:
+```output
+Hello from Puppet on SUSE ARM64!
+```
+
+### Check Facter Integration
+Run `facter` commands to verify that it collects accurate system details like OS and CPU type. This ensures Puppet can gather the facts it needs for automation decisions.
+
+```console
+facter os
+facter architecture
+facter processors
+```
+
+Output:
+```output
+{
+  architecture => "aarch64",
+  distro => {
+    codename => "n/a",
+    description => "SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6",
+    id => "SUSE",
+    release => {
+      full => "15.6",
+      major => "15",
+      minor => "6"
+    }
+  },
+  family => "Suse",
+  hardware => "aarch64",
+  name => "SLES",
+  release => {
+    full => "15.6",
+    major => "15",
+    minor => "6"
+  },
+  selinux => {
+    enabled => false
+  }
+}
+$ facter architecture
+aarch64
+$facter processors
+{
+  cores => 4,
+  count => 4,
+  extensions => [
+    "aarch64"
+  ],
+  isa => "aarch64",
+  models => [
+
+  ],
+  physicalcount => 1,
+  threads => 1
+}
+```
+
+With these checks complete, proceed to the Puppet benchmarking section to run workload‑focused tests on the GCP SUSE VMs.

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/puppet-on-gcp/benchmarking.md

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+---
+title: Puppet Benchmarking
+weight: 6
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+
+##  Puppet Benchmark on GCP SUSE Arm64 VM
+
+This guide explains how to perform a **Puppet standalone benchmark** on a **Google Cloud Platform (GCP) SUSE Linux Arm64 VM**.  
+It measures Puppet’s local execution performance without requiring a Puppet Master.
+
+
+### Prerequisites
+Ensure Puppet is installed and working:
+
+```console
+puppet --version
+```
+
+### Create a Benchmark Manifest
+Create a directory and a simple manifest file:
+
+```console
+mkdir -p ~/puppet-benchmark
+cd ~/puppet-benchmark
+vi benchmark.pp
+```
+
+Add the following content to the `benchmark.pp`:
+
+```puppet
+notify { 'Benchmark Test':
+  message => 'Running Puppet standalone benchmark.',
+}
+```
+
+- **notify** is a built-in Puppet resource type that displays a message during catalog application (like a print or log message).
+- **'Benchmark Test'** is the title of the resource — a unique identifier for this notify action.
+- **message => 'Running Puppet standalone benchmark.'** specifies the text message Puppet will print when applying the manifest.
+
+### Run the Benchmark Command
+This step runs Puppet in standalone mode using the `apply` command to execute the benchmark manifest locally while measuring execution time and performance statistics.
+
+```console
+time puppet apply benchmark.pp --verbose
+```
+This executes the manifest locally and outputs timing statistics.
+
+You should see an output similar to:
+```output
+Notice: Compiled catalog for ########arm64.c.imperial-time-463411-q5.internal in environment production in 0.01 seconds
+Info: Using environment 'production'
+Info: Applying configuration version '1762160712'
+Notice: Running Puppet standalone benchmark.
+Notice: /Stage[main]/Main/Notify[Benchmark Test]/message: defined 'message' as 'Running Puppet standalone benchmark.'
+Notice: Applied catalog in 0.01 seconds
+
+real    0m1.175s
+user    0m0.779s
+sys     0m0.385s
+```
+
+### Benchmark Metrics Explanation
+
+- **Compiled catalog** → Puppet compiled your manifest into an execution plan.  
+- **Applied catalog** → Puppet executed the plan on your system.  
+- **real** → Total elapsed wall time (includes CPU + I/O).  
+- **user** → CPU time spent in user-space.  
+- **sys** → CPU time spent in system calls.  
+
+### Benchmark summary on x86_64
+To compare the benchmark results, the following results were collected by running the same benchmark on a `x86 - c4-standard-4` (4 vCPUs, 15 GB Memory) x86_64 VM in GCP, running SUSE:
+
+| Metric | Result |
+|---------|---------|
+| Compiled catalog | 0.01 seconds |
+| Environment | production |
+| Configuration version | 1762165786 |
+| Applied catalog | 0.01 seconds |
+| real | 0m1.072s |
+| user | 0m0.834s |
+| sys | 0m0.213s |
+
+### Benchmark summary on Arm64
+Results from the earlier run on the `c4a-standard-4` (4 vCPU, 16 GB memory) Arm64 VM in GCP (SUSE):
+
+| **Metric / Log** | **Output** |
+|-------------------|------------|
+| Compiled catalog | 0.01 seconds |
+| Environment | production |
+| Configuration version | 1762160712 |
+| Applied catalog | 0.01 seconds |
+| real | 0m1.175s |
+| user | 0m0.779s |
+| sys | 0m0.385s |
+
+### Puppet benchmarking comparison on Arm64 and x86_64
+
+- **Catalog compilation:** Completed in just **0.01 seconds**, showing excellent processing speed on **Arm64**.
+- **Environment:** Executed smoothly under the **production** environment.
+- **Configuration version:** Recorded as **1762160712**, confirming successful version tracking.
+- **Catalog application:** Finished in **0.01 seconds**, demonstrating very low execution latency.
+- **Real time:** Total runtime of **1.175 seconds**, reflecting efficient end.