diff --git a/system/getent b/system/getent
index fd1ac97c55e..d1231396591 100644
--- a/system/getent
+++ b/system/getent
@@ -25,23 +25,33 @@ DOCUMENTATION = '''
 module: getent
 short_description: a wrapper to the unix getent utility
 description:
-     - Runs getent against one of it's various databases and returns information into the host's facts
+     - Runs getent against one of it's various databases and returns information into
+       the host's facts
 version_added: "1.6"
 options:
     database:
         required: True
         description:
-            - the name of a getent database supported by the target system (passwd, group, hosts, etc).
+            - the name of a getent database supported by the target system (passwd, group,
+              hosts, etc).
     key:
         required: False
         default: ''
         description:
-            - key from which to return values from the specified database, otherwise the full contents are returned.
+            - key from which to return values from the specified database, otherwise the
+              full contents are returned.
     split:
         required: False
         default: None
         description:
-            - character used to override the split the database values into lists/arrays, i.e ':' or '\t'.
+            - character used to override the split the database values into lists/arrays,
+              i.e ':' or '\t'. Otherwise split tries to be 'smart' depending on DB.
+    fail_key:
+        required: False
+        default: True
+        description:
+            - If a supplied key is missing this will make the task fail if True
+
 notes: [ Not all databases support enumeration, check system documentation for details ]
 requirements: [ ]
 author: Brian Coca
@@ -49,7 +59,7 @@ author: Brian Coca
 
 EXAMPLES = '''
 # get root user info
-- getent: database=passwd key=root split=':'
+- getent: database=passwd key=root
 
 # get all groups
 - getent: database=group split=':'
@@ -57,8 +67,8 @@ EXAMPLES = '''
 # get all hosts, split by tab
 - getent: database=hosts
 
-# get http service info
-- getent: database=services key=http
+# get http service info, no error if missing
+- getent: database=services key=http fail_key=False
 
 # get user password hash (requires sudo/root)
 - getent: database=shadow key=www-data split=:
@@ -71,13 +81,17 @@ def main():
             database = dict(required=True),
             key      = dict(required=False, default=None),
             split    = dict(required=False, default=None),
+            fail_key = dict(required=False, default=True),
         ),
         supports_check_mode = True,
     )
 
+    colon = [ 'passwd', 'shadow', 'group', 'gshadow' ]
+
     database = module.params['database']
     key      = module.params.get('key')
     split    = module.params.get('split')
+    fail_key = module.params.get('fail_key')
 
     getent_bin = module.get_bin_path('getent', True)
 
@@ -86,6 +100,9 @@ def main():
     else:
         cmd = [ getent_bin, database ]
 
+    if split is None and database in colon:
+        split = ':'
+
     try:
         rc, out, err = module.run_command(cmd)
     except Exception, e:
@@ -105,8 +122,10 @@ def main():
     elif rc == 1:
         msg = "Missing arguments, or database unknown."
     elif rc == 2:
-        results[dbtree][key] = None
-        module.exit_json(ansible_facts=results, msg="One or more supplied key could not be found in the database.")
+        msg = "One or more supplied key could not be found in the database."
+        if not fail_key:
+            results[dbtree][key] = None
+            module.exit_json(ansible_facts=results, msg=msg)
     elif rc == 3:
         msg = "Enumeration not supported on this database."