Packer is software that allows you to create machine images for multiple platforms from a single template configuration. It uses builders to create images for platforms like AWS, VirtualBox, Docker etc. and provisioners can be used to configure the images. Packer provides benefits like consistency between development and production environments, and ease of sharing and reuse of images.

1. Garrett Honeycutt
gh@learnpuppet.com
learnpuppet.com
@learnpuppet
Packer:
Make Multi-Platform Images

2. Hands up
Who uses multiple platforms?

3. Dev == Prod

4. Developers
Spend a bunch of time just
getting the environment
setup?

5. Lower entry barrier
If you write software, it needs
to be easy to get others
involved.

6. Demos
Quickly allow someone to try
out your software on the
platform of their choice.

7. Packer is
Software to create
machine images

8. What?! You've been
complaining about
golden images for
years!

9. Golden Images
No idea how they were created

10. Golden Images
No idea what's changed since
the last version.

11. Golden Images
How many versions are we
even running?

12. Golden Images
Matrix of images that work
together

13. Packer
Know your inputs

14. PXE

15. Who uses images that they did
not create themselves?

16. Who uses config mgmt?

17. single
build
system
multiple
platform
images

18. Dev == Prod

19. Installation

20. Terminology

21. Artifacts

22. Artifacts
Results of a build

23. Builds

24. Builds
Single task that produces an
image for a single platform

25. Builders

26. Builders
Packer components that can
create an image for a single
platform.

27. Builders
Amazon EC2 (AMI)
Azure Resource Manager
DigitalOcean
Docker
Google Compute Engine
OpenStack
Parallels
QEMU
VirtualBox
VMWare
Custom

28. Post-processors
take the result of a builder or
another post-processor and
process that to create a new
artifact

29. Post-processors
amazon-import
Artifice
Atlas
compress
docker-import
docker-push
docker-save
docker-tag
Local Shell
Vagrant
Vagrant Cloud
vSphere

30. Provisioners
Configure a running system

31. Provisioners
Remote Shell
Local Shell
File Uploads
PowerShell
Chef
Puppet
Ansible
Salt
Windows Restart (lulz :)
Custom

32. Commands
$ packer validate template.json

33. Commands
$ packer build template.json

34. Commands
$ PACKER_LOG=1
PACKER_LOG_PATH=debug.txt
packer build template.json

35. desc 'Validate files'
task :validate do
sh 'packer validate template.json'
sh 'puppet parser validate site.pp'
end
desc 'Run packer build'
task :build do
sh 'PACKER_LOG=1
PACKER_LOG_PATH=debug.txt
packer build template.json'
end
Rakefile

36. {
"builders": [{
"type": "amazon-ebs",
"access_key": "{{user `aws_access_key`}}",
"secret_key": "{{user `aws_secret_key`}}",
"region": "us-east-1",
"source_ami": "ami-6d1c2007",
"instance_type": "t2.micro",
"ssh_username": "centos",
"ssh_pty": true,
"ami_name": "packer-example {{timestamp}}"
}],
}
Template

37. {
"builders": [...],
"provisioners": [{
"type": "shell",
"inline": [
"sleep 30",
"sudo rpm -vhi https://path.to/epel.rpm",
"sudo yum -y install perl",
"sudo rpm -vhi http://path.to/cowsay.rpm",
"sudo cowsay Fun with Packer > /etc/motd"
]
}]
}
Template

38. single
build
system
multiple
platform
images

39. Multiple Builders
AWS -> AWS && Virtualbox

40. Config mgmt
Using Puppet

41. {
"type": "file",
"source": "hieradata",
"destination": "/tmp"
},
{
"type": "file",
"source": "ghoneycutt-modules",
"destination": "/tmp"
},
Provisioner - file

42. {
"type": "puppet-masterless",
"manifest_file": "site.pp",
"execute_command": "cd
{{.WorkingDir}} && {{.FacterVars}}
{{if .Sudo}} sudo -E {{end}}/opt/
puppetlabs/bin/puppet apply --verbose
--detailed-exitcodes {{.ManifestFile}}"
}
Provisioner - Puppet masterless

46. Why have config mgmt?

47. Continuous Delivery

48. Determinism
Same inputs lead to
same outputs

49. Increase velocity.
Verify config mgmt
and provisioning
steps

50. App Artifacts

51. Dev vs. Ops
or
DevOps

52. The system
IS
the artifact

53. Garrett Honeycutt
gh@learnpuppet.com
learnpuppet.com
@learnpuppet
Packer:
Make Multi-Platform Images