Deploy NXLog Agent with Puppet Bolt

Puppet Bolt is an agentless and masterless remote task runner that you can utilize with your existing server administration scripts. It connects with Windows nodes using WinRM and Linux nodes using SSH, eliminating the need to install agents on remote hosts.

To install Puppet Bolt, refer to the Puppet Bolt installation guide, where you can find platform-specific instructions for Windows and Linux systems.

To install NXLog Agent using Puppet Bolt, follow the instructions below:

First, create a project directory by issuing the following command:
```
$ mkdir -p nxlog_bolt; cd nxlog_bolt; bolt project init
```
It should result in the creation of three new files:
- bolt-project.yaml
- inventory.yaml
- .gitignore (a hidden file)
Next, create a module containing the NXLog Agent directory and two subdirectories, plans and files.

Execute the following command to create the directories needed:
```
$ mkdir -p modules/nxlog/{files,plans}
```
Edit the bolt-project.yaml file:
Example 1. Puppet Bolt project file
bolt-project.yaml is created when you execute the bolt project init command. Edit the file as follows to declare the plan definition, in this case, nxlog::nxlog_install.
bolt-project.yaml
--- name: nxlog_bolt modules: [] color: true plans: - nxlog::nxlog_install

Update the inventory.yaml file:

Example 2. Puppet Bolt inventory file

Puppet Bolt uses this file to connect to the remote host and execute the specified plan.

inventory.yaml

groups:
  - name: linux
    targets:
      - uri: 192.168.1.10
        name: ubuntu
    config:
      transport: ssh
      ssh:
        user: root
        password: your_root_password
        host-key-check: false

NXLog Agent configuration

Example 3. NXLog Agent Puppet Bolt configuration example

This configuration example will set up NXLog Agent with a basic connection to NXLog Platform. The basic configuration can be downloaded by navigating to Agents > Agents in NXLog Platform and clicking on Add new Agent. The downloaded config will include the correct YOUR_PLATFORM_ADDRESS define.

managed.conf

define HOST YOUR_PLATFORM_ADDRESS:5514
LogLevel              INFO
LogFile               %MYLOGFILE%
<Extension admin>
    Module            xm_admin
    Host              %HOST%
    SocketType        SSL
    AllowUntrusted    True
    RequireCert       False
    <ACL conf>
        Directory     %CONFDIR%
        AllowRead     TRUE
        AllowWrite    TRUE
    </ACL>
    <ACL cert>
        Directory     %CERTDIR%
        AllowRead     TRUE
        AllowWrite    TRUE
    </ACL>
</Extension>

managed.conf has to exist inside the files directory. The same applies to the downloaded NXLog Agent installation file. It is Puppet Bolt’s default technique for uploading files to remote hosts.

Next, log in to your NXLog account, click on Your Account > Downloads, and from the Version drop-down menu select NXLog Agent v6, then download nxlog-6.5.9781_debian10_amd64.tar.bz2.

Place the NXLog Agent tar archive in the modules/nxlog/files directory you created in step 2. Puppet Bolt will upload the tar archive, unpack it, and install the Debian packages when the plan is executed.

The Plan below executes four tasks:

Upload the compressed archive.
Unpack and install the NXLog Agent and various additional .deb files.
Upload the NXLog Agent configuration file to /opt/nxlog/etc/nxlog.d.

Restart NXLog Agent for the new changes to take effect.

Example 4. nxlog_install.yaml

---
parameters:
  targets:
    type: TargetSpec

steps:
  - name: upload_ubuntu_nxlog_executable
    upload: nxlog/files/nxlog-5.4.7313_ubuntu20_amd64.tar.bz2
    destination: /root/
    targets: ubuntu
    description: Uploaded NXLog Archive

  - name: nxlog_ubuntu_install
    command: apt install -y libapr1 libdbi1 curl openjdk-8-jdk;
      mkdir -p nxlog; tar -xvf nxlog-5.4.7313_ubuntu20_amd64.tar.bz2 -C nxlog;
      dpkg -i nxlog/nxlog-5.4.7313_ubuntu20_amd64.deb;
      dpkg -i nxlog/*.deb;
      apt install -y -f;
    catch_errors: true
    targets: ubuntu
    description: "Install NXLog On Ubuntu using the .deb package"

  - name: nxlog_ubuntu_configure
    upload: nxlog/files/managed.conf
    destination: /opt/nxlog/etc/nxlog.d/managed.conf
    targets: ubuntu
    description: Uploaded Ubuntu Configuration File

  - name: restart_nxlog_ubuntu
    command: systemctl restart nxlog
    targets: ubuntu
    description: Restarting NXLog Service

Plan execution

To execute the plan, run the following command:

$ bolt plan run nxlog::nxlog_install -t all

Description of each component that comprises the command above

bolt: The executable located in /usr/local/bin
plan: Instructs Puppet Bolt to execute a plan
nxlog::nxlog_install: The plan reference definition consists of two parts, nxlog is the module name and corresponds to the name of the directory we created earlier, and nxlog_install is the file’s name in the plans directory.
-t: The target servers. We used the all option, but you can specify linux to target only Linux hosts or windows to target only Windows hosts.