diff --git a/lib/puppet/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record.rb b/lib/puppet/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record.rb
index db4c63f00..93eee8a97 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record.rb
@@ -1,97 +1,100 @@
 require 'puppet/rails'
 require 'puppet/rails/inventory_node'
 require 'puppet/rails/inventory_fact'
 require 'puppet/indirector/active_record'
+require 'puppet/util/retryaction'
 
 class Puppet::Node::Facts::InventoryActiveRecord < Puppet::Indirector::ActiveRecord
   def find(request)
     node = Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.find_by_name(request.key)
     return nil unless node
     facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new(node.name, node.facts_to_hash)
     facts.timestamp = node.timestamp
     facts
   end
 
   def save(request)
-    facts = request.instance
-    node = Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.find_by_name(request.key) || Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.create(:name => request.key, :timestamp => facts.timestamp)
-    node.timestamp = facts.timestamp
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action :retries => 4, :retry_exceptions => {ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid => 'MySQL Error.  Retrying'} do
+      facts = request.instance
+      node = Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.find_by_name(request.key) || Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.create(:name => request.key, :timestamp => facts.timestamp)
+      node.timestamp = facts.timestamp
 
-    ActiveRecord::Base.transaction do
-      Puppet::Rails::InventoryFact.delete_all(:node_id => node.id)
-      # We don't want to save internal values as facts, because those are
-      # metadata that belong on the node
-      facts.values.each do |name,value|
-        next if name.to_s =~ /^_/
-        node.facts.build(:name => name, :value => value)
+      ActiveRecord::Base.transaction do
+        Puppet::Rails::InventoryFact.delete_all(:node_id => node.id)
+        # We don't want to save internal values as facts, because those are
+        # metadata that belong on the node
+        facts.values.each do |name,value|
+          next if name.to_s =~ /^_/
+          node.facts.build(:name => name, :value => value)
+        end
+        node.save
       end
-      node.save
     end
   end
 
   def search(request)
     return [] unless request.options
     matching_nodes = []
     fact_names = []
     fact_filters = Hash.new {|h,k| h[k] = []}
     meta_filters = Hash.new {|h,k| h[k] = []}
     request.options.each do |key,value|
       type, name, operator = key.to_s.split(".")
       operator ||= "eq"
       if type == "facts"
         fact_filters[operator] << [name,value]
       elsif type == "meta" and name == "timestamp"
         meta_filters[operator] << [name,value]
       end
     end
 
     matching_nodes = nodes_matching_fact_filters(fact_filters) + nodes_matching_meta_filters(meta_filters)
 
     # to_a because [].inject == nil
     matching_nodes.inject {|nodes,this_set| nodes & this_set}.to_a.sort
   end
 
   private
 
   def nodes_matching_fact_filters(fact_filters)
     node_sets = []
     fact_filters['eq'].each do |name,value|
       node_sets << Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.has_fact_with_value(name,value).map {|node| node.name}
     end
     fact_filters['ne'].each do |name,value|
       node_sets << Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.has_fact_without_value(name,value).map {|node| node.name}
     end
     {
       'gt' => '>',
       'lt' => '<',
       'ge' => '>=',
       'le' => '<='
     }.each do |operator_name,operator|
       fact_filters[operator_name].each do |name,value|
         facts = Puppet::Rails::InventoryFact.find_by_sql(["SELECT inventory_facts.value, inventory_nodes.name AS node_name
                                                            FROM inventory_facts INNER JOIN inventory_nodes
                                                            ON inventory_facts.node_id = inventory_nodes.id
                                                            WHERE inventory_facts.name = ?", name])
         node_sets << facts.select {|fact| fact.value.to_f.send(operator, value.to_f)}.map {|fact| fact.node_name}
       end
     end
     node_sets
   end
 
   def nodes_matching_meta_filters(meta_filters)
     node_sets = []
     {
       'eq' => '=',
       'ne' => '!=',
       'gt' => '>',
       'lt' => '<',
       'ge' => '>=',
       'le' => '<='
     }.each do |operator_name,operator|
       meta_filters[operator_name].each do |name,value|
         node_sets << Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.find(:all, :select => "name", :conditions => ["timestamp #{operator} ?", value]).map {|node| node.name}
       end
     end
     node_sets
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/puppet/util/retryaction.rb b/lib/puppet/util/retryaction.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ba318ec1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/puppet/util/retryaction.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+module Puppet::Util::RetryAction
+  class RetryException < Exception; end
+  class RetryException::NoBlockGiven < RetryException; end
+  class RetryException::NoRetriesGiven < RetryException;end
+  class RetryException::RetriesExceeded < RetryException; end
+
+  def self.retry_action( parameters = { :retry_exceptions => nil, :retries => nil } )
+    # Retry actions for a specified amount of time. This method will allow the final
+    # retry to complete even if that extends beyond the timeout period.
+    unless block_given?
+      raise RetryException::NoBlockGiven
+    end
+
+    raise RetryException::NoRetriesGiven if parameters[:retries].nil?
+    parameters[:retry_exceptions] ||= Hash.new
+
+    start = Time.now
+    failures = 0
+
+    begin
+      yield
+    rescue Exception => e
+      # If we were giving exceptions to catch,
+      # catch the excptions we care about and retry.
+      # All others fail hard
+
+      raise RetryException::RetriesExceeded if parameters[:retries] == 0
+
+      if (not parameters[:retry_exceptions].keys.empty?) and parameters[:retry_exceptions].keys.include?(e.class)
+        Puppet.info("Caught exception #{e.class}:#{e}")
+        Puppet.info(parameters[:retry_exceptions][e.class])
+      elsif (not parameters[:retry_exceptions].keys.empty?)
+        # If the exceptions is not in the list of retry_exceptions re-raise.
+        raise e
+      end
+
+      failures += 1
+      parameters[:retries] -= 1
+
+      # Increase the amount of time that we sleep after every
+      # failed retry attempt.
+      sleep (((2 ** failures) -1) * 0.1)
+
+      retry
+
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/unit/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record_spec.rb b/spec/unit/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record_spec.rb
index 88e5e5359..43dcc7c6b 100755
--- a/spec/unit/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record_spec.rb
@@ -1,170 +1,180 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env rspec
 require 'spec_helper'
 begin
   require 'sqlite3'
 rescue LoadError
 end
 require 'tempfile'
 require 'puppet/rails'
 
 describe "Puppet::Node::Facts::InventoryActiveRecord", :if => (Puppet.features.rails? and defined? SQLite3) do
   let(:terminus) { Puppet::Node::Facts::InventoryActiveRecord.new }
 
   before :all do
     require 'puppet/indirector/facts/inventory_active_record'
     @dbfile = Tempfile.new("testdb")
     @dbfile.close
   end
 
   after :all do
     Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.reset_terminus_class
     @dbfile.unlink
   end
 
   before :each do
     Puppet::Node.indirection.reset_terminus_class
     Puppet::Node.indirection.cache_class = nil
 
     Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.terminus_class = :inventory_active_record
     Puppet[:dbadapter]  = 'sqlite3'
     Puppet[:dblocation] = @dbfile.path
     Puppet[:railslog] = "/dev/null"
     Puppet::Rails.init
   end
 
   after :each do
     Puppet::Rails.teardown
     ActiveRecord::Base.remove_connection
   end
 
   describe "#save" do
+    let(:node) {
+      Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.new(:name => "foo", :timestamp => Time.now)
+    }
+
+    let(:facts) {
+      Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "kernel" => "Darwin")
+    }
+
+    it "should retry on ActiveRecord error" do
+      Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.expects(:create).twice.raises(ActiveRecord::StatementInvalid).returns node
+
+      Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)
+    end
+
     it "should use an existing node if possible" do
-      node = Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.new(:name => "foo", :timestamp => Time.now)
       node.save
-      facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "kernel" => "Darwin")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)
 
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.count.should == 1
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.first.should == node
     end
 
     it "should create a new node if one can't be found" do
       # This test isn't valid if there are nodes to begin with
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.count.should == 0
 
-      facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "kernel" => "Darwin")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)
 
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.count.should == 1
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryNode.first.name.should == "foo"
     end
 
     it "should save the facts" do
-      facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "kernel" => "Darwin")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)
 
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryFact.all.map{|f| [f.name,f.value]}.should =~ [["uptime_days","60"],["kernel","Darwin"]]
     end
 
     it "should remove the previous facts for an existing node" do
       facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "30", "kernel" => "Darwin")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)
       bar_facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("bar", "uptime_days" => "35", "kernel" => "Linux")
       foo_facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "is_virtual" => "false")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(bar_facts)
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(foo_facts)
 
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.find("bar").should == bar_facts
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.find("foo").should == foo_facts
       Puppet::Rails::InventoryFact.all.map{|f| [f.name,f.value]}.should_not include(["uptime_days", "30"], ["kernel", "Darwin"])
     end
   end
 
   describe "#find" do
     before do
       @foo_facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "uptime_days" => "60", "kernel" => "Darwin")
       @bar_facts = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("bar", "uptime_days" => "30", "kernel" => "Linux")
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(@foo_facts)
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(@bar_facts)
     end
 
     it "should identify facts by node name" do
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.find("foo").should == @foo_facts
     end
 
     it "should return nil if no node instance can be found" do
       Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.find("non-existent node").should == nil
     end
   end
 
   describe "#search" do
     def search_request(conditions)
       Puppet::Indirector::Request.new(:facts, :search, nil, conditions)
     end
 
     before :each do
       @now = Time.now
       @foo = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("foo", "fact1" => "value1", "fact2" => "value2", "uptime_days" => "30")
       @bar = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("bar", "fact1" => "value1", "uptime_days" => "60")
       @baz = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("baz", "fact1" => "value2", "fact2" => "value1", "uptime_days" => "90")
       @bat = Puppet::Node::Facts.new("bat")
       @foo.timestamp = @now - 3600*1
       @bar.timestamp = @now - 3600*3
       @baz.timestamp = @now - 3600*5
       @bat.timestamp = @now - 3600*7
       [@foo, @bar, @baz, @bat].each {|facts| Puppet::Node::Facts.indirection.save(facts)}
     end
 
     it "should return node names that match 'equal' constraints" do
       request = search_request('facts.fact1.eq' => 'value1',
                                'facts.fact2.eq' => 'value2')
       terminus.search(request).should == ["foo"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names that match 'not equal' constraints" do
       request = search_request('facts.fact1.ne' => 'value2')
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar","foo"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names that match strict inequality constraints" do
       request = search_request('facts.uptime_days.gt' => '20',
                                'facts.uptime_days.lt' => '70')
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar","foo"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names that match non-strict inequality constraints" do
       request = search_request('facts.uptime_days.ge' => '30',
                                'facts.uptime_days.le' => '60')
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar","foo"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names whose facts are within a given timeframe" do
       request = search_request('meta.timestamp.ge' => @now - 3600*5,
                                'meta.timestamp.le' => @now - 3600*1)
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar","baz","foo"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names whose facts are from a specific time" do
       request = search_request('meta.timestamp.eq' => @now - 3600*3)
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar"]
     end
 
     it "should return node names whose facts are not from a specific time" do
       request = search_request('meta.timestamp.ne' => @now - 3600*1)
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar","bat","baz"]
     end
 
     it "should perform strict searches on nodes by timestamp" do
       request = search_request('meta.timestamp.gt' => @now - 3600*5,
                                'meta.timestamp.lt' => @now - 3600*1)
       terminus.search(request).should == ["bar"]
     end
 
     it "should search nodes based on both facts and timestamp values" do
       request = search_request('facts.uptime_days.gt' => '45',
                                'meta.timestamp.lt'    => @now - 3600*4)
       terminus.search(request).should == ["baz"]
     end
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/spec/unit/util/retryaction_spec.rb b/spec/unit/util/retryaction_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a003faa53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/unit/util/retryaction_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env rspec
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+require 'puppet/util/retryaction'
+
+describe Puppet::Util::RetryAction do
+  let (:exceptions) {{ Puppet::Error => 'Puppet Error Exception' }}
+  
+  it 'should retry on any exception if no acceptable exceptions given' do
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).with( (((2 ** 1) -1) * 0.1) )
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).with( (((2 ** 2) -1) * 0.1) )
+
+    expect do
+      Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action( :retries => 2 ) do
+        raise ArgumentError, 'Fake Failure'
+      end
+    end.to raise_exception(Puppet::Util::RetryAction::RetryException::RetriesExceeded)
+  end
+
+  it 'should retry on acceptable exceptions' do
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).with( (((2 ** 1) -1) * 0.1) )
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).with( (((2 ** 2) -1) * 0.1) )
+
+    expect do
+      Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action( :retries => 2, :retry_exceptions => exceptions) do
+        raise Puppet::Error, 'Fake Failure'
+      end
+    end.to raise_exception(Puppet::Util::RetryAction::RetryException::RetriesExceeded)
+  end
+
+  it 'should not retry on unacceptable exceptions' do
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).never
+
+    expect do
+      Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action( :retries => 2, :retry_exceptions => exceptions) do
+        raise ArgumentError
+      end
+    end.to raise_exception(ArgumentError)
+  end
+
+  it 'should succeed if nothing is raised' do
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).never
+
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action( :retries => 2) do
+      true
+    end
+  end
+
+  it 'should succeed if an expected exception is raised retried and succeeds' do
+    should_retry = nil
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.expects(:sleep).once
+
+    Puppet::Util::RetryAction.retry_action( :retries => 2, :retry_exceptions => exceptions) do
+      if should_retry
+        true
+      else
+        should_retry = true
+        raise Puppet::Error, 'Fake error'
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end