mirror of
https://github.com/hashicorp/packer.git
synced 2026-02-23 09:51:08 -05:00
intro articles
This commit is contained in:
trujillo-adam
parent
2e609231b4
commit
711a38bdd4
4 changed files with 34 additions and 56 deletions
|
|
@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
description: |
|
||||
Packer strives to be stable and bug-free, but issues inevitably arise where
|
||||
certain things may not work entirely correctly, or may not appear to work
|
||||
correctly.
|
||||
page_title: Debugging - Other
|
||||
Learn how to debug issues with Packer builds and plugins using `packer build`, logs, and other troubleshooting tools.
|
||||
page_title: Debugging Packer
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Debugging Packer Builds
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,19 +1,11 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
page_title: Introduction
|
||||
description: |-
|
||||
Welcome to the world of Packer! This introduction guide will show you what
|
||||
Packer is, explain why it exists, the benefits it has to offer, and how you
|
||||
can get started with it. If you're already familiar with Packer, the
|
||||
documentation provides more of a reference for all available features.
|
||||
page_title: Introduction to Packer
|
||||
description: Packer is a community tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. Learn about Packer benefits and how to get started.
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Introduction to Packer
|
||||
|
||||
Welcome to the world of Packer! This introduction guide will show you what
|
||||
Packer is, explain why it exists, the benefits it has to offer, and how you can
|
||||
get started with it. If you're already familiar with Packer, the
|
||||
[documentation](/packer/docs) provides more of a reference for all available
|
||||
features.
|
||||
This introduction describes Packer benefits and how you can get started with it.
|
||||
|
||||
## What is Packer?
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -27,5 +19,9 @@ use tools like Chef or Puppet to install software onto the image.
|
|||
A _machine image_ is a single static unit that contains a pre-configured
|
||||
operating system and installed software which is used to quickly create new
|
||||
running machines. Machine image formats change for each platform. Some examples
|
||||
include [AMIs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Machine_Image) for EC2,
|
||||
VMDK/VMX files for VMware, OVF exports for VirtualBox, etc.
|
||||
include AMIs for EC2, VMDK and VMX files for VMware, and OVF exports for VirtualBox.
|
||||
|
||||
## HCP Packer
|
||||
|
||||
For information about using HCP Packer to store metadata about build artifacts, refer to the
|
||||
[HCP Packer documentation](/hcp/docs/packer) or [sign into HCP](https://portal.cloud.hashicorp.com/sign-in) to explore HCP Packer features.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,22 +1,14 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
page_title: Use Cases - Introduction
|
||||
page_title: Packer use cases
|
||||
description: |-
|
||||
By now you should know what Packer does and what the benefits of image
|
||||
creation are. In this section, we'll enumerate *some* of the use cases for
|
||||
Packer. Note that this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are
|
||||
definitely use cases for Packer not listed here. This list is just meant to
|
||||
give you an idea of how Packer may improve your processes.
|
||||
Learn about use cases for Packer, such as continuous delivery, dev/prod parity, and appliance and demo creation.
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Use Cases
|
||||
# Packer use cases
|
||||
|
||||
By now you should know what Packer does and what the benefits of image creation
|
||||
are. In this section, we'll enumerate _some_ of the use cases for Packer. Note
|
||||
that this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are definitely use cases
|
||||
for Packer not listed here. This list is just meant to give you an idea of how
|
||||
Packer may improve your processes.
|
||||
In this topic describes some of the use cases for Packer. This is a partial list of use cases intended to give you an idea of how Packer may improve your processes.
|
||||
|
||||
### Continuous Delivery
|
||||
## Continuous delivery
|
||||
|
||||
Packer is lightweight, portable, and command-line driven. This makes it the
|
||||
perfect tool to put in the middle of your continuous delivery pipeline. Packer
|
||||
|
|
@ -28,12 +20,12 @@ tested, verifying the infrastructure changes work. If the tests pass, you can be
|
|||
confident that the image will work when deployed. This brings a new level of
|
||||
stability and testability to infrastructure changes.
|
||||
|
||||
### Dev/Prod Parity
|
||||
## Environment parity
|
||||
|
||||
Packer helps [keep development, staging, and production as similar as
|
||||
possible](http://www.12factor.net/dev-prod-parity). Packer can be used to
|
||||
generate images for multiple platforms at the same time. So if you use AWS for
|
||||
production and VMware (perhaps with [Vagrant](https://www.vagrantup.com/)) for
|
||||
Packer helps keep development, staging, and production as similar as
|
||||
possible. Refer to the following external article to learn more about parity between environments: ["X. Dev/prod parity"](http://www.12factor.net/dev-prod-parity).
|
||||
|
||||
You can use Packer to generate images for multiple platforms at the same time. So if you use AWS for production and VMware, perhaps with [Vagrant](https://www.vagrantup.com/), for
|
||||
development, you can generate both an AMI and a VMware machine using Packer at
|
||||
the same time from the same template.
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -41,9 +33,9 @@ Mix this in with the continuous delivery use case above, and you have a pretty
|
|||
slick system for consistent work environments from development all the way
|
||||
through to production.
|
||||
|
||||
### Appliance/Demo Creation
|
||||
## Appliance and demo creation
|
||||
|
||||
Since Packer creates consistent images for multiple platforms in parallel, it is
|
||||
Because Packer creates consistent images for multiple platforms in parallel, it is
|
||||
perfect for creating
|
||||
[appliances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_appliance) and disposable
|
||||
product demos. As your software changes, you can automatically create appliances
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,19 +1,18 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
page_title: Why Packer - Introduction
|
||||
page_title: Why use Packer
|
||||
description: |-
|
||||
Pre-baked machine images have a lot of advantages, but most have been unable
|
||||
to benefit from them because images have been too tedious to create and
|
||||
manage. There were either no existing tools to automate the creation of
|
||||
machine images or they had too high of a learning curve. The result is that,
|
||||
prior to Packer, creating machine images threatened the agility of operations
|
||||
teams, and therefore aren't used, despite the massive benefits.
|
||||
Learn about the advantages of using Packer to automate the creation of machine images and artifacts.
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Why Use Packer?
|
||||
# Why use Packer
|
||||
|
||||
Pre-baked machine images have a lot of advantages, but most have been unable to
|
||||
This topic describes why you should use Packer to automate the creation of machine images over traditional _pre-baked_ images, which are pre-configured digital images that include the necessary software, settings, and data.
|
||||
|
||||
## Pre-baked images
|
||||
|
||||
Pre-baked machine images have a lot of advantages, but most people have been unable to
|
||||
benefit from them because images have been too tedious to create and manage.
|
||||
There were either no existing tools to automate the creation of machine images
|
||||
There are either no existing tools to automate the creation of machine images
|
||||
or they had too high of a learning curve. The result is that, prior to Packer,
|
||||
creating machine images threatened the agility of operations teams, and
|
||||
therefore aren't used, despite the massive benefits.
|
||||
|
|
@ -23,10 +22,7 @@ any type of machine image. It embraces modern configuration management by
|
|||
encouraging you to use a framework such as Chef or Puppet to install and
|
||||
configure the software within your Packer-made images.
|
||||
|
||||
In other words: Packer brings pre-baked images into the modern age, unlocking
|
||||
untapped potential and opening new opportunities.
|
||||
|
||||
## Advantages of Using Packer
|
||||
## Advantages of using Packer
|
||||
|
||||
**_Super fast infrastructure deployment_**. Packer images allow you to launch
|
||||
completely provisioned and configured machines in seconds, rather than several
|
||||
|
|
@ -48,8 +44,4 @@ launched.
|
|||
**_Greater testability_**. After a machine image is built, that machine image
|
||||
can be quickly launched and smoke tested to verify that things appear to be
|
||||
working. If they are, you can be confident that any other machines launched from
|
||||
that image will function properly.
|
||||
|
||||
Packer makes it extremely easy to take advantage of all these benefits.
|
||||
|
||||
What are you waiting for? Let's get started!
|
||||
that image will function properly.
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in a new issue