Common Puppet Interview Questions (With Sample Answers)

Updated 2 January 2023

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Candidates can expect to answer questions about Puppet when attending interviews for positions that involve computer software and systems. Some professionals typically require significant knowledge of Puppet and its features to work in a technical role. By knowing more about interview questions involving Puppet, you can increase your chances of getting the job. In this article, we discuss some commonly asked Puppet interview questions along with their answers and provide answers to some FAQs.

General Puppet Interview Questions

Here is a list of general Puppet interview questions:

What is Puppet, and what do you enjoy about using it?
How can you explain Puppet to someone who has not used it?
What is the difference between manifests and modules?
Is a Puppet Catalog important? When can you use it?
What is the Puppet cache directory? How can it improve efficiency?
What language does Puppet use?
What are your favourite tools to combine with Puppet?
What do you consider to be most useful about Puppet?

Questions About Your Experience With Puppet

Here is a list of Puppet questions about your experience:

Have you ever used Puppet to create classes?
How can you upgrade your Puppet systems?
For which projects have you used Puppet?
How can you manage Puppet updates?
Is there a way to apply Ruby coding to Puppet?
Do you have any preferred documentation processes?
Which coding languages do you consider to be most compatible with Puppet?
Did you ever experience a situation where you implemented Puppet and the administrative tasks did not automate?
What is your process for reviewing requests of certificates from the Puppet agent to the server?
What happens after you sign an SLA, and how does it impact the ownership?
Does Puppet Enterprise differ from other types of Puppet?

In-Depth Interview Questions

Here is a list of in-depth Puppet questions:

How do you adjust your Puppet strategies when you work with different organisations? How do you decide which strategies to use?
What is your troubleshooting process when you do not sign an SLA?
How can you describe the difference between permanent and temporary testing environments? How do you use each of these environments?
What are the primary differences between Puppet's categories?
Have you ever used Puppet kick to match configurations for companies?
Which features can you use if you wanted to improve MCollective's functionality in Puppet? Why did you choose these features?
We already have Puppet installed on our systems. How do you plan to improve our existing setup?
Which steps do you complete before installing Puppet Open Source?
When can you use Puppet Relay? Why do you choose Puppet Relay over other features?
What do you think of Puppet's future? Are there features you hope Puppet releases?
Have you used Puppet to resolve conflicts in the workplace? If so, can you tell me more about that situation?

Sample Questions And Answers About Puppet

Here is a list of questions you can expect to answer about Puppet during interviews:

How would you apply Puppet to our existing systems?

Hiring managers may ask you this question to test your practical knowledge of both Puppet and the company to which you apply. It is beneficial to conduct research before the interview to help ensure you know about the hiring company's internal processes and have the information required to provide recommendations for the implementation of Puppet.

Example: 'Puppet is effective when I want to improve infrastructure organisation. When I reviewed your website, I saw that you are planning to expand the organisation by 50% within the next 10 years. I can apply my knowledge of Puppet to strengthen the systems' infrastructure. This can help both your IT and programming teams with the management of the company's servers.'

Tell me how you utilise virtual resources when using Puppet.

When a hiring manager asks you about Puppet's virtual resources, this tests your knowledge of the program and determines whether you previously used resources. When you answer this question, describe how you previously used Puppet's virtual resources and how you plan to use them for the hiring company. You can also expand upon your answer and list the reasons you want to use the specific resources.

Example: 'When working with Puppet, I use virtual resources to identify the state of resources. Puppet's virtual resources do not require the identification of a specific state. I wait until I complete all coding before I enter the classifications into Puppet. This typically reduces the amount of time I spent on inputs and helps ensure that I review errors before continuing.'

Describe a time when you applied Puppet to an organisation with unique servers.

When a hiring manager asks you this question, they typically want to know about specific situations in which you used Puppet. This can indicate that you may encounter these situations when working with the organisation. This question also provides the hiring company with information about your overall adaptability to new environments.

Example: 'In my previous employment, my primary duties included using Puppet for clients who had several servers. The company I worked for could not upgrade or change the servers to improve consistency. I developed a plan to apply Puppet to every server and collaborated with my peers to help ensure that every server communicated with others efficiently. Finally, the client was happy with the product and extended our project.'

Frequently Asked Questions About Puppet

It is essential to know about concepts and FAQs about Puppet to help ensure you can answer questions during interviews. Here is a list of answers to frequently asked questions about Puppet:

What are the benefits of Puppet?

A primary benefit of Puppet is that it is open-source, which allows users to extend it and build customised libraries. This helps ensure that professionals provide clients with individualised services. Puppet also uses Factor to obtain information about specific systems, like IP addresses. When companies use several servers that have a large database, Puppet prevents redundant transactions.

Puppet can also increase the productivity of organisations because the system automates many tasks otherwise completed by employees. By automating these tasks, Puppet allows teams to concentrate on more complex tasks and projects. The language used by Puppet is easy to learn, which increases accessibility among professionals.

What are the disadvantages of Puppet?

A primary disadvantage of using Puppet is that professionals who want to extend the tool typically require knowledge of Ruby. This is a dynamic programming language that is easy to learn. It is also an uncommon programming language, and finding resources for Ruby can be difficult.

Type Of Roles That Use Puppet

Here is a list of professionals who use Puppet:

1. Systems Administrator

National average salary: ₹20,318 per month

Primary duties: Systems administrators focus on installing and configuring both software and hardware. These professionals manage network servers and technology tools. They also manage accounts, company work stations and the performance of systems according to company requirements. Systems administrators help ensure a company's security through access controls and firewalls.

2. Systems Engineer

National average salary: ₹43,936 per month

Primary duties: Systems engineers help with the development, maintenance and support of a company's technical infrastructure. These professionals typically conduct the installation of programs and systems and provide user support when issues or obstacles arise. They also help conduct analyses to determine the cause of service interruptions. Systems engineers then develop preventative measures to avoid obstacles from occurring again.

3. Software Architect

National average salary: ₹1,09,408 per month

Primary duties: Software architects help with the design and development of software solutions, which helps professionals address individual issues within companies. These professionals typically develop architectural blueprints for their employer's IT department, and they provide technical leadership when required. They collaborate with other professionals to identify and solve issues within the company's software and help promote the quality of systems. Software architects consult with a company's leaders to discuss innovative software to implement.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.