diff --git a/site/profiles/manifests/base.pp b/site/profiles/manifests/base.pp
index 3aa9c2b..fbb12b8 100644
--- a/site/profiles/manifests/base.pp
+++ b/site/profiles/manifests/base.pp
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ class profiles::base (
     'RedHat': {
       include profiles::yum::global
     }
-    #'Debian': {
-    #  include profiles::apt:;global
-    #}
+    'Debian': {
+      include profiles::apt::global
+    }
     default: {
       fail("Unsupported OS family ${facts['os']['family']}")
     }
diff --git a/site/roles/manifests/base.pp b/site/roles/manifests/base.pp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b65b67b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/site/roles/manifests/base.pp
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# a role to deploy the base system
+# work in progress
+class roles::base {
+    include profiles::base
+  }