Timeout error connecting to PuppetDB in the Puppet Enterprise 2019.8.4 console

When you try to execute a PuppetDB query, load the Events tab, or use fact filtering in the console, you get the following error:

There was an error connecting to PuppetDB: 60,000 milliseconds timeout on connection http-outgoing-12345 [ACTIVE]

Version and installation information

PE version: 2019.8.4

Solution

This error was added in Puppet Enterprise 2019.8.4 to prevent resource starvation; sockets that do not receive data from PuppetDB are terminated after a default of 60000 milliseconds (60 seconds). This error is often an indicator of PuppetDB performance issues. If you have PuppetDB performance issues, resolve them before using this solution.

Resolve this error by setting the puppet_enterprise::console_services::socket_timeout parameter to an integer value larger than 60000 milliseconds. For example, 120000. You can set the parameter in the console on the PE Console node group via configuration data or via Hiera.

You must set this value in milliseconds. A value of 0 will render the timeout ineffective.