count not retrieve catalog from remove server error, could not intern from pson

[Andy B]

Hi,

I keep getting an error when I run puppet on my client machine:

err: Could not retrieve catalog from remote server: Could not intern from pson: unexpected token in object at <random text from template file>

If I run puppet agent on the client I get this error, but trying again it will work after maybe a couple of goes:

[root@svhm-linuxsoe puppet]# puppet agent --no-daemonize --server svhm-spacewalk.svhm.schs.org.au --onetime --verbose

err: Could not retrieve catalog from remote server: Could not intern from pson: expected value in object at '"\n#\n# This is the '!

info: Not using expired catalog for svhm-linuxsoe.svhm.schs.org.au from cache; expired at Wed Nov 12 06:21:07 +1100 2014

notice: Using cached catalog

err: Could not retrieve catalog; skipping run

[root@svhm-linuxsoe puppet]# puppet agent --no-daemonize --server svhm-spacewalk.svhm.schs.org.au --onetime --verbose

err: Could not retrieve catalog from remote server: Could not intern from pson: unexpected token in object at '"requir'!

info: Not using expired catalog for svhm-linuxsoe.svhm.schs.org.au from cache; expired at Wed Nov 12 06:21:07 +1100 2014

notice: Using cached catalog

err: Could not retrieve catalog; skipping run

[root@svhm-linuxsoe puppet]# puppet agent --no-daemonize --server svhm-spacewalk.svhm.schs.org.au --onetime --verbose

info: Caching catalog for svhm-linuxsoe.svhm.schs.org.au

info: Applying configuration version '1415713590'

notice: Finished catalog run in 1.06 seconds

I have done some searching on google and can find no info on this error.

What does it mean by "intern from pson" and what is "pson"

This looks to me like a glitch but is a very annoying glitch as it fills my logs will failures to get the catalog.

This is puppet 2.7.25-2 on Oracle Enterprise Linux 6.5.

Thanks

Andy

[Felix Frank]

Hi,

pson is a JSON variant that has been devised for Puppet's special needs. It's on the verge of being replaced by JSON proper.

But I disbelieve that pson is at the root of your issues. The erratic behavior seems to indicate that something is seriously wonky with your agent.

Do you experience this on multiple machines?
What Ruby are you running?
Was Puppet retrieved from Oracle Linux packages?

Thanks,
Felix