Merge pull request #250 from stpierre/blanket-except-plugins-lint

Remove blanket excepts from plugins and lint

37 files changed, 260 insertions, 271 deletions

diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/GroupPatterns.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/GroupPatterns.py
index deb91020d..e9813b7e9 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/GroupPatterns.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/GroupPatterns.py
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 import sys
 
 from Bcfg2.Server.Lint import ServerPlugin
-from Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.GroupPatterns import PatternMap
+from Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.GroupPatterns import PatternMap, \
+    PatternInitializationError
 
 
 class GroupPatterns(ServerPlugin):
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ class GroupPatterns(ServerPlugin):
                     PatternMap(pat, None, groups)
                 else:
                     PatternMap(None, pat, groups)
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+            except PatternInitializationError:
                 err = sys.exc_info()[1]
                 self.LintError("pattern-fails-to-initialize",
                                "Failed to initialize %s %s for %s: %s" %
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/__init__.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/__init__.py
index 903ee6326..61f704206 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/__init__.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Lint/__init__.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def _ioctl_GWINSZ(fd):  # pylint: disable=C0103
     from the given file descriptor """
     try:
         return struct.unpack('hh', fcntl.ioctl(fd, termios.TIOCGWINSZ, '1234'))
-    except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+    except (IOError, struct.error):
         return None
 
 
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def get_termsize():
             fd = os.open(os.ctermid(), os.O_RDONLY)
             dims = _ioctl_GWINSZ(fd)
             os.close(fd)
-        except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+        except IOError:
             pass
     if not dims:
         try:
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/helpers.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/helpers.py
index 2aab231c6..5cfc8998c 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/helpers.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/helpers.py
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ class FileBacked(Debuggable):
         self.fam = Bcfg2.Server.FileMonitor.get_fam()
 
     def HandleEvent(self, event=None):
-        """ HandleEvent is called whenever the FAM registers an event.
+        """HandleEvent is called whenever the FAM registers an event.
 
         :param event: The event object
         :type event: Bcfg2.Server.FileMonitor.Event
@@ -276,13 +276,11 @@ class FileBacked(Debuggable):
             return
         try:
             self.data = open(self.name).read()
-            self.Index()
         except IOError:
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             self.logger.error("Failed to read file %s: %s" % (self.name, err))
-        except:
-            err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-            self.logger.error("Failed to parse file %s: %s" % (self.name, err))
+
+        self.Index()
 
     def Index(self):
         """ Index() is called by :func:`HandleEvent` every time the
@@ -1196,7 +1194,7 @@ class SpecificData(Debuggable):
             self.data = open(self.name).read()
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             self.data = open(self.name, mode='rb').read()
-        except:  # pylint: disable=W0201
+        except IOError:
             self.logger.error("Failed to read file %s" % self.name)
 
 
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/interfaces.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/interfaces.py
index c45d6fa84..da39ac77a 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/interfaces.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugin/interfaces.py
@@ -445,8 +445,14 @@ class ThreadedStatistics(Statistics, Threaded, threading.Thread):
             except Empty:
                 continue
             except:
-                err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-                self.logger.error("ThreadedStatistics: %s" % err)
+                # we want to catch all exceptions here so that a stray
+                # error doesn't kill the entire statistics thread. For
+                # instance, if a bad value gets pushed onto the queue
+                # and the assignment above raises TypeError, we want
+                # to report the error, ignore the bad value, and
+                # continue processing statistics.
+                self.logger.error("Unknown error processing statistics: %s" %
+                                  sys.exc_info()[1])
                 continue
             self.handle_statistic(client, xdata)
         if self.work_queue is not None and not self.work_queue.empty():
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/AWSTags.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/AWSTags.py
index 3f92542e7..0d6eefaaa 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/AWSTags.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/AWSTags.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-""" Query tags from AWS via boto, optionally setting group membership """
+"""Query tags from AWS via boto, optionally setting group membership."""
 
 import os
 import re
@@ -82,22 +82,17 @@ class PatternFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
                 self.tags.append(AWSTagPattern(entry.get("name"),
                                                entry.get("value"),
                                                groups))
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+            except re.error:
                 self.logger.error("AWSTags: Failed to initialize pattern %s: "
                                   "%s" % (entry.get("name"),
                                           sys.exc_info()[1]))
 
-    def get_groups(self, hostname, tags):
+    def get_groups(self, tags):
         """ return a list of groups that should be added to the given
-        client based on patterns that match the hostname """
+        client based on patterns that match the tags """
         ret = []
         for pattern in self.tags:
-            try:
-                ret.extend(pattern.get_groups(tags))
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-                self.logger.error("AWSTags: Failed to process pattern %s for "
-                                  "%s" % (pattern, hostname),
-                                  exc_info=1)
+            ret.extend(pattern.get_groups(tags))
         return ret
 
 
@@ -182,5 +177,4 @@ class AWSTags(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin,
         return self.get_tags(metadata)
 
     def get_additional_groups(self, metadata):
-        return self.config.get_groups(metadata.hostname,
-                                      self.get_tags(metadata))
+        return self.config.get_groups(self.get_tags(metadata))
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Bundler.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Bundler.py
index 6c35ada59..e38eeea89 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Bundler.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Bundler.py
@@ -92,10 +92,6 @@ class Bundler(Plugin,
                 self.logger.error("Bundler: Failed to render templated bundle "
                                   "%s: %s" % (bundlename, err))
                 continue
-            except:
-                self.logger.error("Bundler: Unexpected bundler error for %s" %
-                                  bundlename, exc_info=1)
-                continue
 
             if data.get("independent", "false").lower() == "true":
                 data.tag = "Independent"
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgGenshiGenerator.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgGenshiGenerator.py
index ef4e6a656..c3bf9569b 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgGenshiGenerator.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgGenshiGenerator.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from Bcfg2.Server.Plugin import PluginExecutionError, removecomment, \
     DefaultTemplateDataProvider, get_template_data
 from Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.Cfg import CfgGenerator
 from genshi.template import TemplateLoader, NewTextTemplate
+from genshi.template.base import TemplateError
 from genshi.template.eval import UndefinedError, Suite
 
 
@@ -117,6 +118,8 @@ class CfgGenshiGenerator(CfgGenerator):
                                                 quad[2]))
             raise
         except:
+            # this needs to be a blanket except, since it can catch
+            # any error raised by the genshi template.
             self._handle_genshi_exception(sys.exc_info())
     get_data.__doc__ = CfgGenerator.get_data.__doc__
 
@@ -184,10 +187,10 @@ class CfgGenshiGenerator(CfgGenerator):
     def handle_event(self, event):
         CfgGenerator.handle_event(self, event)
         try:
-            self.template = \
-                self.loader.load(self.name, cls=NewTextTemplate,
-                                 encoding=Bcfg2.Options.setup.encoding)
-        except:
+            self.template = self.loader.load(
+                self.name, cls=NewTextTemplate,
+                encoding=Bcfg2.Options.setup.encoding)
+        except TemplateError:
             raise PluginExecutionError("Failed to load template: %s" %
                                        sys.exc_info()[1])
     handle_event.__doc__ = CfgGenerator.handle_event.__doc__
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgPrivateKeyCreator.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
index 8cc3f7b21..43035b410 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/CfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class CfgPrivateKeyCreator(XMLCfgCreator):
                      the given client metadata, and may be obtained by
                      doing ``self.XMLMatch(metadata)``
         :type spec: lxml.etree._Element
-        :returns: string - The filename of the private key
+        :returns: tuple - (private key data, public key data)
         """
         if spec is None:
             spec = self.XMLMatch(metadata)
@@ -91,10 +91,9 @@ class CfgPrivateKeyCreator(XMLCfgCreator):
                                     "with errors: %s" % (filename,
                                                          metadata.hostname,
                                                          result.stderr))
-            return filename
-        except:
+            return (open(filename).read(), open(filename + ".pub").read())
+        finally:
             shutil.rmtree(tempdir)
-            raise
 
     # pylint: disable=W0221
     def create_data(self, entry, metadata):
@@ -109,21 +108,17 @@ class CfgPrivateKeyCreator(XMLCfgCreator):
         """
         spec = self.XMLMatch(metadata)
         specificity = self.get_specificity(metadata)
-        filename = self._gen_keypair(metadata, spec)
+        privkey, pubkey = self._gen_keypair(metadata, spec)
 
-        try:
-            # write the public key, stripping the comment and
-            # replacing it with a comment that specifies the filename.
-            kdata = open(filename + ".pub").read().split()[:2]
-            kdata.append(self.pubkey_creator.get_filename(**specificity))
-            pubkey = " ".join(kdata) + "\n"
-            self.pubkey_creator.write_data(pubkey, **specificity)
+        # write the public key, stripping the comment and
+        # replacing it with a comment that specifies the filename.
+        kdata = pubkey.split()[:2]
+        kdata.append(self.pubkey_creator.get_filename(**specificity))
+        pubkey = " ".join(kdata) + "\n"
+        self.pubkey_creator.write_data(pubkey, **specificity)
 
-            # encrypt the private key, write to the proper place, and
-            # return it
-            privkey = open(filename).read()
-            self.write_data(privkey, **specificity)
-            return privkey
-        finally:
-            shutil.rmtree(os.path.dirname(filename))
+        # encrypt the private key, write to the proper place, and
+        # return it
+        self.write_data(privkey, **specificity)
+        return privkey
     # pylint: enable=W0221
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/__init__.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/__init__.py
index 5dc3d98eb..355e53588 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/__init__.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg/__init__.py
@@ -553,12 +553,7 @@ class CfgEntrySet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
                                             % (action, event.filename))
                     self.debug_log("%s handling %s event on %s" %
                                    (hdlr.__name__, action, event.filename))
-                    try:
-                        self.entry_init(event, hdlr)
-                    except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-                        err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-                        self.logger.error("Cfg: Failed to parse %s: %s" %
-                                          (event.filename, err))
+                    self.entry_init(event, hdlr)
                     return
                 elif hdlr.ignore(event, basename=self.path):
                     return
@@ -732,7 +727,7 @@ class CfgEntrySet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
 
         try:
             return creator.create_data(entry, metadata)
-        except:
+        except CfgCreationError:
             raise PluginExecutionError("Cfg: Error creating data for %s: %s" %
                                        (entry.get("name"), sys.exc_info()[1]))
 
@@ -760,6 +755,9 @@ class CfgEntrySet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
         try:
             return (generator.get_data(entry, metadata), generator)
         except:
+            # TODO: the exceptions raised by ``get_data`` are not
+            # constrained in any way, so for now this needs to be a
+            # blanket except.
             msg = "Cfg: Error rendering %s: %s" % (entry.get("name"),
                                                    sys.exc_info()[1])
             self.logger.error(msg)
@@ -803,7 +801,7 @@ class CfgEntrySet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
         try:
             best = self.best_matching(metadata, generators)
             rv.append(best.specific)
-        except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+        except PluginExecutionError:
             pass
 
         if not rv or not rv[0].hostname:
@@ -835,7 +833,7 @@ class CfgEntrySet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
                 raise PluginExecutionError(msg)
             try:
                 etext = new_entry['text'].encode(Bcfg2.Options.setup.encoding)
-            except:
+            except UnicodeDecodeError:
                 msg = "Cfg: Cannot encode content of %s as %s" % \
                     (name, Bcfg2.Options.setup.encoding)
                 self.logger.error(msg)
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/FileProbes.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/FileProbes.py
index 38f9403f5..b7d78bf75 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/FileProbes.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/FileProbes.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ if not os.path.exists(path):
 
 try:
     stat = os.stat(path)
-except:
+except OSError:
     sys.stderr.write("Could not stat %%s: %%s" %% (path, sys.exc_info()[1]))
     raise SystemExit(0)
 data = Bcfg2.Client.XML.Element("ProbedFileData",
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ data = Bcfg2.Client.XML.Element("ProbedFileData",
                                 mode=oct_mode(stat[0] & 4095))
 try:
     data.text = b64encode(open(path).read())
-except:
+except IOError:
     sys.stderr.write("Could not read %%s: %%s" %% (path, sys.exc_info()[1]))
     raise SystemExit(0)
 print(Bcfg2.Client.XML.tostring(data, xml_declaration=False).decode('UTF-8'))
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Git.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Git.py
index 9012fceb0..d0ae010fa 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Git.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Git.py
@@ -41,22 +41,17 @@ class Git(Version):
 
     def get_revision(self):
         """Read git revision information for the Bcfg2 repository."""
-        try:
-            if HAS_GITPYTHON:
-                return self.repo.head.commit.hexsha
-            else:
-                cmd = ["git", "--git-dir", self.vcs_path,
-                       "--work-tree", Bcfg2.Options.setup.vcs_root,
-                       "rev-parse", "HEAD"]
-                self.debug_log("Git: Running %s" % cmd)
-                result = self.cmd.run(cmd)
-                if not result.success:
-                    raise Exception(result.stderr)
-                return result.stdout
-        except:
-            raise PluginExecutionError("Git: Error getting revision from %s: "
-                                       "%s" % (Bcfg2.Options.setup.vcs_root,
-                                               sys.exc_info()[1]))
+        if HAS_GITPYTHON:
+            return self.repo.head.commit.hexsha
+        else:
+            cmd = ["git", "--git-dir", self.vcs_path,
+                   "--work-tree", Bcfg2.Options.setup.vcs_root,
+                   "rev-parse", "HEAD"]
+            self.debug_log("Git: Running %s" % cmd)
+            result = self.cmd.run(cmd)
+            if not result.success:
+                raise PluginExecutionError(result.stderr)
+            return result.stdout
 
     def Update(self, ref=None):
         """ Git.Update() => True|False
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/GroupPatterns.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/GroupPatterns.py
index 7fa95fd05..9874977df 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/GroupPatterns.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/GroupPatterns.py
@@ -8,34 +8,43 @@ import Bcfg2.Server.Plugin
 from Bcfg2.Utils import PackedDigitRange
 
 
+class PatternInitializationError(Exception):
+    """Raised when creating a PatternMap object fails."""
+
+
 class PatternMap(object):
-    """ Handler for a single pattern or range """
+    """Handler for a single pattern or range."""
 
     def __init__(self, pattern, rangestr, groups):
         self.pattern = pattern
         self.rangestr = rangestr
         self.groups = groups
-        if pattern is not None:
-            self.re = re.compile(pattern)
-            self.process = self.process_re
-        elif rangestr is not None:
-            if '\\' in rangestr:
-                raise Exception("Backslashes are not allowed in NameRanges")
-            range_finder = r'\[\[[\d\-,]+\]\]'
-            self.process = self.process_range
-            self.re = re.compile(r'^' + re.sub(range_finder, r'(\d+)',
-                                               rangestr))
-            dmatcher = re.compile(re.sub(range_finder,
-                                         r'\[\[([\d\-,]+)\]\]',
-                                         rangestr))
-            self.dranges = [PackedDigitRange(x)
-                            for x in dmatcher.match(rangestr).groups()]
-        else:
-            raise Exception("No pattern or range given")
+        try:
+            if pattern is not None:
+                self._re = re.compile(pattern)
+                self.process = self.process_re
+            elif rangestr is not None:
+                if '\\' in rangestr:
+                    raise PatternInitializationError(
+                        "Backslashes are not allowed in NameRanges")
+                range_finder = r'\[\[[\d\-,]+\]\]'
+                self.process = self.process_range
+                self._re = re.compile(r'^' + re.sub(range_finder, r'(\d+)',
+                                                    rangestr))
+                dmatcher = re.compile(re.sub(range_finder,
+                                             r'\[\[([\d\-,]+)\]\]',
+                                             rangestr))
+                self.dranges = [PackedDigitRange(x)
+                                for x in dmatcher.match(rangestr).groups()]
+            else:
+                raise PatternInitializationError("No pattern or range given")
+        except re.error:
+            raise PatternInitializationError(
+                "Could not compile pattern regex: %s" % sys.exc_info()[1])
 
     def process_range(self, name):
-        """ match the given hostname against a range-based NameRange """
-        match = self.re.match(name)
+        """match the given hostname against a range-based NameRange."""
+        match = self._re.match(name)
         if not match:
             return None
         digits = match.groups()
@@ -45,11 +54,11 @@ class PatternMap(object):
         return self.groups
 
     def process_re(self, name):
-        """ match the given hostname against a regex-based NamePattern """
-        match = self.re.search(name)
+        """match the given hostname against a regex-based NamePattern."""
+        match = self._re.search(name)
         if not match:
             return None
-        ret = list()
+        ret = []
         sub = match.groups()
         for group in self.groups:
             newg = group
@@ -64,7 +73,7 @@ class PatternMap(object):
 
 
 class PatternFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
-    """ representation of GroupPatterns config.xml """
+    """representation of GroupPatterns config.xml."""
     __identifier__ = None
     create = 'GroupPatterns'
 
@@ -89,7 +98,7 @@ class PatternFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
                 for range_ent in entry.findall('NameRange'):
                     rng = range_ent.text
                     self.patterns.append(PatternMap(None, rng, groups))
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+            except PatternInitializationError:
                 self.logger.error("GroupPatterns: Failed to initialize "
                                   "pattern %s: %s" % (entry.text,
                                                       sys.exc_info()[1]))
@@ -99,20 +108,15 @@ class PatternFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
         client based on patterns that match the hostname """
         ret = []
         for pattern in self.patterns:
-            try:
-                grps = pattern.process(hostname)
-                if grps is not None:
-                    ret.extend(grps)
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-                self.logger.error("GroupPatterns: Failed to process pattern "
-                                  "%s for %s" % (pattern.pattern, hostname),
-                                  exc_info=1)
+            grps = pattern.process(hostname)
+            if grps is not None:
+                ret.extend(grps)
         return ret
 
 
 class GroupPatterns(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin,
                     Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Connector):
-    """ set group membership based on client hostnames """
+    """set group membership based on client hostnames."""
 
     def __init__(self, core):
         Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin.__init__(self, core)
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Guppy.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Guppy.py
index 8427a56c3..de994a2db 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Guppy.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Guppy.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-"""
-This plugin is used to trace memory leaks within the bcfg2-server
-process using Guppy.  By default the remote debugger is started
-when this plugin is enabled.  The debugger can be shutoff in a running
-process using "bcfg2-admin xcmd Guppy.Disable" and reenabled using
-"bcfg2-admin xcmd Guppy.Enable".
+"""Debugging plugin to trace memory leaks within the bcfg2-server process.
+
+By default the remote debugger is started when this plugin is enabled.
+The debugger can be shutoff in a running process using "bcfg2-admin
+xcmd Guppy.Disable" and reenabled using "bcfg2-admin xcmd
+Guppy.Enable".
 
 To attach the console run:
 
@@ -23,36 +23,27 @@ Remote connection 1. To return to Monitor, type <Ctrl-C> or .<RETURN>
 Remote interactive console. To return to Annex, type '-'.
 >>> hp.heap()
 ...
-
-
 """
 import Bcfg2.Server.Plugin
 from guppy.heapy import Remote
 
 
 class Guppy(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin):
-    """Guppy is a debugging plugin to help trace memory leaks"""
+    """Guppy is a debugging plugin to help trace memory leaks."""
     __author__ = 'bcfg-dev@mcs.anl.gov'
     __rmi__ = Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin.__rmi__ + ['Enable', 'Disable']
     __child_rmi__ = __rmi__[:]
 
     def __init__(self, core):
         Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin.__init__(self, core)
-
         self.Enable()
 
-    def Enable(self):
-        """Enable remote debugging"""
-        try:
-            Remote.on()
-        except:
-            self.logger.error("Failed to create Heapy context")
-            raise Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.PluginInitError
-
-    def Disable(self):
-        """Disable remote debugging"""
-        try:
-            Remote.off()
-        except:
-            self.logger.error("Failed to disable Heapy")
-            raise Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.PluginInitError
+    @staticmethod
+    def Enable():
+        """Enable remote debugging."""
+        Remote.on()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def Disable():
+        """Disable remote debugging."""
+        Remote.off()
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Hg.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Hg.py
index 7554b4d52..3260908d8 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Hg.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Hg.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-""" The Hg plugin provides a revision interface for Bcfg2 repos using
-mercurial. """
+"""Revision interface for Bcfg2 repos using mercurial.
+"""
 
 import sys
 from mercurial import ui, hg
@@ -7,8 +7,9 @@ import Bcfg2.Server.Plugin
 
 
 class Hg(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Version):
-    """ The Hg plugin provides a revision interface for Bcfg2 repos
-    using mercurial. """
+    """Revision interface for Bcfg2 repos using mercurial.
+    """
+
     __author__ = 'bcfg-dev@mcs.anl.gov'
     __vcs_metadata_path__ = ".hg"
 
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ class Hg(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Version):
             repo = hg.repository(ui.ui(), repo_path)
             tip = repo.changelog.tip()
             return repo.changelog.rev(tip)
-        except:
+        except hg.error.RepoError:
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             msg = "Failed to read hg repository: %s" % err
             self.logger.error(msg)
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Metadata.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Metadata.py
index 26f39e50d..b850c1870 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Metadata.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Metadata.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import sys
 import time
 import copy
 import errno
-import fcntl
 import socket
 import logging
 import lxml.etree
@@ -201,15 +200,7 @@ class XMLMetadataConfig(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
 
         while locked(fd):
             pass
-        try:
-            datafile.write(newcontents)
-        except:
-            fcntl.lockf(fd, fcntl.LOCK_UN)
-            msg = "Metadata: Failed to write new xml data to %s: %s" % \
-                (tmpfile, sys.exc_info()[1])
-            self.logger.error(msg, exc_info=1)
-            os.unlink(tmpfile)
-            raise Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.MetadataRuntimeError(msg)
+        datafile.write(newcontents)
         datafile.close()
         # check if clients.xml is a symlink
         if os.path.islink(fname):
@@ -217,10 +208,10 @@ class XMLMetadataConfig(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.XMLFileBacked):
 
         try:
             os.rename(tmpfile, fname)
-        except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+        except OSError:
             try:
                 os.unlink(tmpfile)
-            except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+            except OSError:
                 pass
             msg = "Metadata: Failed to rename %s: %s" % (tmpfile,
                                                          sys.exc_info()[1])
@@ -594,14 +585,8 @@ class Metadata(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Metadata,
     def _handle_file(self, fname):
         """ set up the necessary magic for handling a metadata file
         (clients.xml or groups.xml, e.g.) """
-        try:
-            Bcfg2.Server.FileMonitor.get_fam().AddMonitor(
-                os.path.join(self.data, fname), self)
-        except:
-            err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-            msg = "Unable to add file monitor for %s: %s" % (fname, err)
-            self.logger.error(msg)
-            raise Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.PluginInitError(msg)
+        Bcfg2.Server.FileMonitor.get_fam().AddMonitor(
+            os.path.join(self.data, fname), self)
         self.states[fname] = False
         xmlcfg = XMLMetadataConfig(self, fname)
         aname = re.sub(r'[^A-z0-9_]', '_', os.path.basename(fname))
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Ohai.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Ohai.py
index c5fb46c97..461be9ba8 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Ohai.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Ohai.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class OhaiCache(object):
         if item not in self.cache:
             try:
                 data = open(self.hostpath(item)).read()
-            except:
+            except IOError:
                 raise KeyError(item)
             self.cache[item] = json.loads(data)
         return self.cache[item]
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class OhaiCache(object):
             del self.cache[item]
         try:
             os.unlink(self.hostpath(item))
-        except:
+        except OSError:
             raise IndexError("Could not unlink %s: %s" % (self.hostpath(item),
                                                           sys.exc_info()[1]))
 
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Apt.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Apt.py
index cfabd8457..7de79e2f3 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Apt.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Apt.py
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class AptSource(Source):
                 bprov[barch] = dict()
             try:
                 reader = gzip.GzipFile(fname)
-            except:
+            except IOError:
                 self.logger.error("Packages: Failed to read file %s" % fname)
                 raise
             for line in reader.readlines():
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pac.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pac.py
index 5f4d2ea41..0e15d2e15 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pac.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pac.py
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ class PacSource(Source):
             try:
                 self.debug_log("Packages: try to read %s" % fname)
                 tar = tarfile.open(fname, "r")
-            except:
+            except (IOError, tarfile.TarError):
                 self.logger.error("Packages: Failed to read file %s" % fname)
                 raise
 
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pkgng.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pkgng.py
index e393cabfe..736cdcdd4 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pkgng.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Pkgng.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class PkgngSource(Source):
             try:
                 tar = tarfile.open(fileobj=lzma.LZMAFile(fname))
                 reader = tar.extractfile('packagesite.yaml')
-            except:
+            except (IOError, tarfile.TarError):
                 self.logger.error("Packages: Failed to read file %s" % fname)
                 raise
             for line in reader.readlines():
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Source.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Source.py
index 67ada2399..c9f6ea14a 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Source.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Source.py
@@ -331,10 +331,11 @@ class Source(Debuggable):  # pylint: disable=R0902
 
     @track_statistics()
     def setup_data(self, force_update=False):
-        """ Perform all data fetching and setup tasks.  For most
-        backends, this involves downloading all metadata from the
-        repository, parsing it, and caching the parsed data locally.
-        The order of operations is:
+        """Perform all data fetching and setup tasks.
+
+        For most backends, this involves downloading all metadata from
+        the repository, parsing it, and caching the parsed data
+        locally.  The order of operations is:
 
         #. Call :func:`load_state` to try to load data from the local
            cache.
@@ -352,6 +353,15 @@ class Source(Debuggable):  # pylint: disable=R0902
                              upstream repository.
         :type force_update: bool
         """
+        # there are a bunch of wildcard except statements here,
+        # because the various functions called herein (``load_state``,
+        # ``read_files``, ``update``) are defined entirely by the
+        # Packages plugins that implement them.
+        #
+        # TODO: we should define an exception subclass that each of
+        # these functions can raise when an *expected* error condition
+        # is encountered.
+        #
         # pylint: disable=W0702
         if not force_update:
             if os.path.exists(self.cachefile):
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Yum.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Yum.py
index b6e9f13eb..dbe3f9ce5 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Yum.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/Yum.py
@@ -631,10 +631,6 @@ class YumCollection(Collection):
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             self.logger.error("Packages: Could not contact Pulp server: %s" %
                               err)
-        except:
-            err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-            self.logger.error("Packages: Unknown error querying Pulp server: "
-                              "%s" % err)
         return consumer
 
     @track_statistics()
@@ -1034,10 +1030,6 @@ class YumSource(Source):
                 err = sys.exc_info()[1]
                 raise SourceInitError("Could not contact Pulp server: %s" %
                                       err)
-            except:
-                err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-                raise SourceInitError("Unknown error querying Pulp server: %s"
-                                      % err)
             self.rawurl = "%s/%s" % (PULPCONFIG.cds['baseurl'],
                                      self.repo['relative_path'])
             self.arches = [self.repo['arch']]
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/YumHelper.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/YumHelper.py
index f26d6ba18..b2e43bde7 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/YumHelper.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/YumHelper.py
@@ -285,8 +285,8 @@ class HelperSubcommand(Bcfg2.Options.Subcommand):
     def run(self, setup):
         try:
             data = json.loads(sys.stdin.read())
-        except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-            self.logger.error("Unexpected error decoding JSON input: %s" %
+        except ValueError:
+            self.logger.error("Error decoding JSON input: %s" %
                               sys.exc_info()[1])
             print(json.dumps(self.fallback))
             return 2
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/__init__.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/__init__.py
index 87d42fd1c..3aa5c415f 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/__init__.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Packages/__init__.py
@@ -515,10 +515,6 @@ class Packages(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin,
                         err = sys.exc_info()[1]
                         self.logger.error("Packages: Error writing %s to %s: "
                                           "%s" % (key, localfile, err))
-                    except:
-                        err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-                        self.logger.error("Packages: Unknown error fetching "
-                                          "%s: %s" % (key, err))
 
         for kfile in glob.glob(os.path.join(self.keypath, "*")):
             if kfile not in keyfiles:
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Pkgmgr.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Pkgmgr.py
index c7d8986ed..7c6ab0ed7 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Pkgmgr.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Pkgmgr.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class FuzzyDict(dict):
     def get(self, key, default=None):
         try:
             return self.__getitem__(key)
-        except:
+        except KeyError:
             if default:
                 return default
             raise
@@ -182,11 +182,7 @@ class PNode(object):
         """Return a dictionary of package mappings."""
         if self.predicate(metadata, entry):
             for key in self.contents:
-                try:
-                    data[key].update(self.contents[key])
-                except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-                    data[key] = FuzzyDict()
-                    data[key].update(self.contents[key])
+                data.setdefault(key, FuzzyDict).update(self.contents[key])
             for child in self.children:
                 child.Match(metadata, data)
 
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Probes.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Probes.py
index 21d50ace6..76aab69b5 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Probes.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Probes.py
@@ -405,7 +405,7 @@ class ProbeSet(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.EntrySet):
             else:
                 try:
                     probe.text = entry.data
-                except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+                except ValueError:
                     self.logger.error("Client unable to handle unicode "
                                       "probes. Skipping %s" %
                                       probe.get('name'))
@@ -447,12 +447,7 @@ class Probes(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Probing,
         Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Connector.__init__(self)
         Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.DatabaseBacked.__init__(self, core)
 
-        try:
-            self.probes = ProbeSet(self.data, self.name)
-        except:
-            err = sys.exc_info()[1]
-            raise Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.PluginInitError(err)
-
+        self.probes = ProbeSet(self.data, self.name)
         if self._use_db:
             self.probestore = DBProbeStore(core, self.data)
         else:
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Properties.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Properties.py
index 28400f6d2..c4dd75e60 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Properties.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Properties.py
@@ -79,13 +79,12 @@ class PropertyFile(object):
 
 
 class JSONPropertyFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.FileBacked, PropertyFile):
-    """ Handle JSON Properties files. """
+    """Handle JSON Properties files."""
 
     def __init__(self, name):
         Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.FileBacked.__init__(self, name)
         PropertyFile.__init__(self, name)
         self.json = None
-    __init__.__doc__ = Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.FileBacked.__init__.__doc__
 
     def Index(self):
         try:
@@ -94,21 +93,18 @@ class JSONPropertyFile(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.FileBacked, PropertyFile):
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             raise PluginExecutionError("Could not load JSON data from %s: %s" %
                                        (self.name, err))
-    Index.__doc__ = Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.FileBacked.Index.__doc__
 
     def _write(self):
         json.dump(self.json, open(self.name, 'wb'))
         return True
-    _write.__doc__ = PropertyFile._write.__doc__
 
     def validate_data(self):
         try:
             json.dumps(self.json)
-        except:
+        except TypeError:
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             raise PluginExecutionError("Data for %s cannot be dumped to JSON: "
                                        "%s" % (self.name, err))
-    validate_data.__doc__ = PropertyFile.validate_data.__doc__
 
     def __str__(self):
         return str(self.json)
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Reporting.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Reporting.py
index 282de8247..5c73546b4 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Reporting.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Reporting.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import sys
 import time
 import platform
-import traceback
 import lxml.etree
 import Bcfg2.Options
 from Bcfg2.Reporting.Transport.base import TransportError
@@ -102,11 +101,11 @@ class Reporting(Statistics, Threaded, PullSource):
             except TransportError:
                 continue
             except:
-                self.logger.error("%s: Attempt %s: Failed to add statistic %s"
+                self.logger.error("%s: Attempt %s: Failed to add statistic: %s"
                                   % (self.__class__.__name__, i,
-                                     traceback.format_exc().splitlines()[-1]))
-        self.logger.error("%s: Retry limit reached for %s" %
-                          (self.__class__.__name__, client.hostname))
+                                     sys.exc_info()[1]))
+        raise PluginExecutionError("%s: Retry limit reached for %s" %
+                                   (self.__class__.__name__, client.hostname))
 
     def shutdown(self):
         super(Reporting, self).shutdown()
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/SSHbase.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/SSHbase.py
index 89c7107aa..e4fb9b565 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/SSHbase.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/SSHbase.py
@@ -199,20 +199,19 @@ class SSHbase(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin,
                     newnames.add(name.split('.')[0])
                     try:
                         newips.update(self.get_ipcache_entry(name)[0])
-                    except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+                    except PluginExecutionError:
                         continue
                 names[cmeta.hostname].update(newnames)
                 names[cmeta.hostname].update(cmeta.addresses)
                 names[cmeta.hostname].update(newips)
                 # TODO: Only perform reverse lookups on IPs if an
                 # option is set.
-                if True:
-                    for ip in newips:
-                        try:
-                            names[cmeta.hostname].update(
-                                self.get_namecache_entry(ip))
-                        except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
-                            continue
+                for ip in newips:
+                    try:
+                        names[cmeta.hostname].update(
+                            self.get_namecache_entry(ip))
+                    except socket.gaierror:
+                        continue
                 names[cmeta.hostname] = sorted(names[cmeta.hostname])
 
             pubkeys = [pubk for pubk in list(self.entries.keys())
@@ -309,7 +308,7 @@ class SSHbase(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.Plugin,
                          (event.filename, action))
 
     def get_ipcache_entry(self, client):
-        """ Build a cache of dns results. """
+        """Build a cache of dns results."""
         if client in self.ipcache:
             if self.ipcache[client]:
                 return self.ipcache[client]
diff --git a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/TemplateHelper.py b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/TemplateHelper.py
index 047fc062e..cec2de297 100644
--- a/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/TemplateHelper.py
+++ b/src/lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/TemplateHelper.py
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ class HelperModule(Debuggable):
             module = imp.load_source(safe_module_name(self._module_name),
                                      self.name)
         except:  # pylint: disable=W0702
+            # this needs to be a blanket except because the
+            # imp.load_source() call can raise literally any error,
+            # since it imports the module and just passes through any
+            # exceptions raised.
             err = sys.exc_info()[1]
             self.logger.error("TemplateHelper: Failed to import %s: %s" %
                               (self.name, err))
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgGenshiGenerator.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgGenshiGenerator.py
index b667d417a..e2636908e 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgGenshiGenerator.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgGenshiGenerator.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class TestCfgGenshiGenerator(TestCfgGenerator):
             encoding=Bcfg2.Options.setup.encoding)
 
         cgg.loader.reset_mock()
-        cgg.loader.load.side_effect = OSError
+        cgg.loader.load.side_effect = TemplateError("test")
         self.assertRaises(PluginExecutionError,
                           cgg.handle_event, event)
         cgg.loader.load.assert_called_with(
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
index d64bbaabf..45945911f 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 import lxml.etree
 from mock import Mock, MagicMock, patch
+from Bcfg2.Compat import StringIO
 from Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.Cfg import CfgCreationError
 from Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.Cfg.CfgPrivateKeyCreator import *
 from Bcfg2.Server.Plugin import PluginExecutionError
@@ -29,24 +30,25 @@ class TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator(TestXMLCfgCreator):
     test_obj = CfgPrivateKeyCreator
     should_monitor = False
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        TestXMLCfgCreator.setUp(self)
+        set_setup_default("cfg_category", "category")
+
     @patch("Bcfg2.Server.Plugins.Cfg.CfgPublicKeyCreator.get_cfg", Mock())
     def get_obj(self, name=None, fam=None):
         return TestXMLCfgCreator.get_obj(self, name=name)
 
     @patch("shutil.rmtree")
-    @patch("tempfile.mkdtemp")
-    def test__gen_keypair(self, mock_mkdtemp, mock_rmtree):
+    def _gen_keypair(self, mock_mkdtemp, mock_rmtree):
         pkc = self.get_obj()
         pkc.cmd = Mock()
         pkc.XMLMatch = Mock()
-        mock_mkdtemp.return_value = datastore
         metadata = Mock()
 
         exc = Mock()
         exc.success = True
         pkc.cmd.run.return_value = exc
 
-        spec = lxml.etree.Element("PrivateKey")
         pkc.XMLMatch.return_value = spec
 
         def reset():
@@ -82,52 +84,62 @@ class TestCfgPrivateKeyCreator(TestXMLCfgCreator):
         mock_rmtree.assert_called_with(datastore)
 
     @patch("shutil.rmtree")
+    @patch("tempfile.mkdtemp")
     @patch("%s.open" % builtins)
-    def test_create_data(self, mock_open, mock_rmtree):
-        pkc = self.get_obj()
-        pkc.XMLMatch = Mock()
-        pkc.get_specificity = Mock()
-        # in order to make ** magic work in older versions of python,
-        # get_specificity() must return an actual dict, not just a
-        # Mock object that works like a dict.  in order to test that
-        # the get_specificity() return value is being used
-        # appropriately, we put some dummy data in it and test for
-        # that data
-        pkc.get_specificity.side_effect = lambda m: dict(group="foo")
-        pkc._gen_keypair = Mock()
-        privkey = os.path.join(datastore, "privkey")
-        pkc._gen_keypair.return_value = privkey
-        pkc.pubkey_creator = Mock()
-        pkc.pubkey_creator.get_filename.return_value = "pubkey.filename"
+    def _create_private_key(self, expected, mock_open, mock_mkdtemp,
+                            mock_rmtree, spec=None):
+        pkc = self.get_obj(name="/home/foo/.ssh/id_rsa/privkey.xml")
+        pkc.cmd = MockExecutor()
+        pkc.pubkey_creator.write_data = Mock()
         pkc.write_data = Mock()
+        mock_mkdtemp.return_value = datastore
+
+        if spec is None:
+            pkc.xdata = lxml.etree.Element("PrivateKey")
+        else:
+            pkc.xdata = spec
+
+        privkey_filename = os.path.join(datastore, "privkey")
+        pubkey_filename = os.path.join(datastore, "privkey.pub")
 
         entry = lxml.etree.Element("Path", name="/home/foo/.ssh/id_rsa")
         metadata = Mock()
+        metadata.group_in_category.return_value = "foo"
 
-        def open_read_rv():
-            mock_open.return_value.read.side_effect = lambda: "privatekey"
-            return "ssh-rsa publickey foo@bar.com"
+        def open_key(fname):
+            if fname == privkey_filename:
+                return StringIO("privatekey")
+            elif fname == pubkey_filename:
+                return StringIO("ssh-rsa publickey foo@bar.com")
+            else:
+                self.fail("Unexpected open call: %s" % fname)
 
-        def reset():
-            mock_open.reset_mock()
-            mock_rmtree.reset_mock()
-            pkc.XMLMatch.reset_mock()
-            pkc.get_specificity.reset_mock()
-            pkc._gen_keypair.reset_mock()
-            pkc.pubkey_creator.reset_mock()
-            pkc.write_data.reset_mock()
-            mock_open.return_value.read.side_effect = open_read_rv
+        mock_open.side_effect = open_key
 
-        reset()
         self.assertEqual(pkc.create_data(entry, metadata), "privatekey")
-        pkc.XMLMatch.assert_called_with(metadata)
-        pkc.get_specificity.assert_called_with(metadata)
-        pkc._gen_keypair.assert_called_with(metadata,
-                                            pkc.XMLMatch.return_value)
         self.assertItemsEqual(mock_open.call_args_list,
-                              [call(privkey + ".pub"), call(privkey)])
-        pkc.pubkey_creator.get_filename.assert_called_with(group="foo")
+                              [call(pubkey_filename), call(privkey_filename)])
+        self.assertItemsEqual(
+            pkc.cmd.calls[0]['command'],
+            ['ssh-keygen', '-f', privkey_filename] + expected)
+        metadata.group_in_category.assert_called_with("category")
         pkc.pubkey_creator.write_data.assert_called_with(
-            "ssh-rsa publickey pubkey.filename\n", group="foo")
-        pkc.write_data.assert_called_with("privatekey", group="foo")
+            "ssh-rsa publickey /home/foo/.ssh/id_rsa.pub/id_rsa.pub.G50_foo\n",
+            group="foo", prio=50)
+        pkc.write_data.assert_called_with("privatekey", group="foo", prio=50)
         mock_rmtree.assert_called_with(datastore)
+
+    def test_create_data(self):
+        pass
+
+    def test_create_private_key_defaults(self):
+        self._create_private_key(['-t', 'rsa', '-N', ''])
+
+    def test_create_private_key_spec(self):
+        spec = lxml.etree.Element("PrivateKey")
+        lxml.etree.SubElement(spec, "Params", bits="768", type="dsa")
+        passphrase = lxml.etree.SubElement(spec, "Passphrase")
+        passphrase.text = "foo"
+
+        self._create_private_key(['-t', 'dsa', '-b', '768', '-N', 'foo'],
+                                 spec=spec)
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/Test_init.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/Test_init.py
index 1b55beded..507f0c9c2 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/Test_init.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestCfg/Test_init.py
@@ -726,7 +726,7 @@ class TestCfgEntrySet(TestEntrySet):
 
         # test failure to create data
         reset()
-        creator.create_data.side_effect = OSError
+        creator.create_data.side_effect = CfgCreationError
         self.assertRaises(PluginExecutionError,
                           eset._create_data, entry, metadata)
 
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestMetadata.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestMetadata.py
index d3fa15236..f2721c9ea 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestMetadata.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestMetadata.py
@@ -519,13 +519,6 @@ class TestMetadata(_TestMetadata, TestClientRunHooks, TestDatabaseBacked):
             os.path.join(metadata.data, "clients.xml"),
             metadata)
 
-        mock_get_fam.reset_mock()
-        fam = Mock()
-        fam.AddMonitor = Mock(side_effect=IOError)
-        mock_get_fam.return_value = fam
-        self.assertRaises(Bcfg2.Server.Plugin.PluginInitError,
-                          self.get_obj, core=core)
-
     @patch('os.makedirs', Mock())
     @patch('%s.open' % builtins)
     def test_init_repo(self, mock_open):
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestProperties.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestProperties.py
index 159dc6e66..36baee899 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestProperties.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/Testlib/TestServer/TestPlugins/TestProperties.py
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ class TestJSONPropertyFile(TestFileBacked, TestPropertyFile):
         mock_dumps.assert_called_with(pf.json)
 
         mock_dumps.reset_mock()
-        mock_dumps.side_effect = ValueError
+        mock_dumps.side_effect = TypeError
         self.assertRaises(PluginExecutionError, pf.validate_data)
         mock_dumps.assert_called_with(pf.json)
 
diff --git a/testsuite/Testsrc/test_code_checks.py b/testsuite/Testsrc/test_code_checks.py
index 79eff7959..ba4b19d1c 100644
--- a/testsuite/Testsrc/test_code_checks.py
+++ b/testsuite/Testsrc/test_code_checks.py
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ contingent_checks = {
                                   ["CfgEncryptedCheetahGenerator.py"]},
     ("M2Crypto", "jinja2"): {"lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins/Cfg":
                                   ["CfgEncryptedJinja2Generator.py"]},
-    }
+    ("mercurial",): {"lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins": ["Hg.py"]},
+    ("guppy",): {"lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins": ["Guppy.py"]},
+    ("boto",): {"lib/Bcfg2/Server/Plugins": ["AWSTags.py"]},
+}
 
 # perform only error checking on the listed files
 error_checks = {
diff --git a/testsuite/common.py b/testsuite/common.py
index fc2397560..4c7337e0d 100644
--- a/testsuite/common.py
+++ b/testsuite/common.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import sys
 import codecs
 import lxml.etree
 import Bcfg2.Options
+import Bcfg2.Utils
 from mock import patch, MagicMock, _patch, DEFAULT
 try:
     from unittest2 import skip, skipIf, skipUnless, TestCase
@@ -119,6 +120,29 @@ else:
         return codecs.unicode_escape_decode(s)[0]
 
 
+class MockExecutor(object):
+    """mock object for :class:`Bcfg2.Utils.Executor` objects."""
+    def __init__(self, timeout=None):
+        self.timeout = timeout
+
+        # variables that can be set to control the result returned
+        self.stdout = ''
+        self.stderr = ''
+        self.retval = 0
+
+        # variables that record how run() was called
+        self.calls = []
+
+    def run(self, command, inputdata=None, timeout=None, **kwargs):
+        self.calls.append({"command": command,
+                           "inputdata": inputdata,
+                           "timeout": timeout or self.timeout,
+                           "kwargs": kwargs})
+
+        return Bcfg2.Utils.ExecutorResult(self.stdout, self.stderr,
+                                          self.retval)
+
+
 class Bcfg2TestCase(TestCase):
     """ Base TestCase class that inherits from
     :class:`unittest.TestCase`.  This class adds
@@ -138,6 +162,9 @@ class Bcfg2TestCase(TestCase):
         if cls.capture_stderr:
             sys.stderr = cls._stderr
 
+    if hasattr(TestCase, "assertCountEqual"):
+        assertItemsEqual = assertCountEqual
+
     def assertXMLEqual(self, el1, el2, msg=None):
         """ Test that the two XML trees given are equal. """
         if msg is None:
diff --git a/testsuite/install.sh b/testsuite/install.sh
index bbbd9ae76..42d5bbadb 100755
--- a/testsuite/install.sh
+++ b/testsuite/install.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ if [[ "$WITH_OPTIONAL_DEPS" == "yes" ]]; then
     sudo apt-get install -y yum libaugeas0 augeas-lenses libacl1-dev libssl-dev
 
     pip install --use-mirrors PyYAML pyinotify boto pylibacl 'django<1.5' \
-        Jinja2
+        Jinja2 mercurial guppy
     easy_install https://fedorahosted.org/released/python-augeas/python-augeas-0.4.1.tar.gz
     if [[ ${PYVER:0:1} == "2" ]]; then
         # django supports py3k, but South doesn't, and the django bits