Final answer:
Setting up Puppet involves installing a Puppet master server and agent nodes, with a certification authority for secure communication.
Step-by-step explanation:
The initial setup of Puppet is relatively straightforward. It requires the installation of a Puppet master server and one or more Puppet agent nodes. The master server manages the configuration information, which is distributed to the agent nodes. On the master server, you need to install the Puppet server software, and the Puppet agent, which runs as a daemon on the agent nodes. Additionally, you need to configure a certification authority for secure communication between the master and the agents. The agents regularly pull configuration catalogs from the master and apply them to ensure the system is in the desired state.