website: intro section
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Mitchell Hashimoto
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---
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layout: "intro"
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page_title: "Introduction"
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prev_url: "#"
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next_url: "/intro/why.html"
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next_title: "Why Use Packer?"
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---
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# Introduction to Packer
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Welcome to the world of Packer! This introduction guide will show you what
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packer is, explain why it exists, the benefits it has to offer, and how
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you can get started with it. If you're already familiar with Packer, the
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[documentation](/docs) provides more of a reference for all available features.
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## What is Packer?
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Packer is a tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms
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from a single source configuration. Packer is lightweight, runs on every major
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operating system, and is highly performant, creating machine images for
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multiple platforms in parallel. Packer does not replace configuration management
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like Chef or Puppet. In fact, when building images, Packer is able to use tools
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like Chef or Puppet to install software onto the image.
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A _machine image_ is a single static unit that contains a pre-configured operating
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system and installed software which is used to quickly create new running machines.
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Machine image formats change for each platform. Some examples include
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[AMIs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Machine_Image) for EC2,
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VMDK/VMX files for VMware, OVF exports for VirtualBox, etc.
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---
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layout: "intro"
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page_title: "Use Cases"
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prev_url: "/intro/why.html"
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next_url: "/intro/getting-started/setup.html"
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next_title: "Getting Started: Install Packer"
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---
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# Use Cases
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By now you should know what Packer does and what the benefits of image
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creation are. In this section, we'll enumerate _some_ of the use cases
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for Packer. Note that this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are
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definitely use cases for Packer not listed here. This list is just meant
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to give you an idea of how Packer may improve your processes.
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### Continuous Delivery
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Packer is lightweight, portable, and command-line driven. This makes it the
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perfect tool to put in the middle of your continuous delivery pipeline. Packer
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can be used to generate new machine images for multiple platforms on every
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change to Chef/Puppet.
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As part of this pipeline, the newly created images can then be launched and
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tested, verifying the infrastructure changes work. If the tests pass, you can
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be confident that that image will work when deployed. This brings a new level
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of stability and testability to infrastructure changes.
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### Dev/Prod Parity
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Packer helps [keep development, staging, and production as similar as possible](http://www.12factor.net/dev-prod-parity).
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Packer can be used to generate images for multiple platforms at the same time.
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So if you use AWS for production and VMware (perhaps with [Vagrant](http://www.vagrantup.com))
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for development, you can generate both an AMI and a VMware machine using
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Packer at the same time from the same template.
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Mix this in with the continous delivery use case above, and you have a pretty
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slick system for consistent work environments from development all the
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way through to production.
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### Appliance/Demo Creation
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Since Packer creates consistent images for multiple platforms in parallel,
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it is perfect for creating [appliances](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_appliance)
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and disposable product demos. As your software changes, you can automatically
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create applicances with the software pre-installed. Potential users can then
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get started with your software by deploying it to the environment of their
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choice.
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Packaging up software with complex requirements has never been so easy.
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Or enjoyable, if you ask me.
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---
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layout: "intro"
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page_title: "Why Use Packer?"
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prev_url: "/intro/index.html"
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next_url: "/intro/use-cases.html"
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next_title: "Packer Use Cases"
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---
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# Why Use Packer?
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Pre-baked machine images have a lot of advantages, but most have been unable
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to benefit from them because images have been too tedious to create and manage.
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There were ether no existing tools to automate the creation of machine images or
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they had too high of a learning curve. The result is that, prior to Packer,
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creating machine images threatened the agility of operations teams, and therefore
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aren't used, despite the massive benefits.
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Packer changes all of this. Packer is easy to use and automates the creation
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of any type of machine image. It embraces modern configuration management by
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encouraging you to use a framework such as Chef or Puppet to install and
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configure the software within your Packer-made images.
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In other words: Packer brings pre-baked images into the modern age, unlocking
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untapped potential and opening new opportunities.
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## Advantages of Using Packer
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***Super fast infrastructure deployment***. Packer images allow you to launch
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completely provisioned and configured machines in seconds, rather than
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several minutes or hours. This benefits not only production, but development as well,
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since development virtual machines can also be launched in seconds, without waiting
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for a typically much longer provisioning time.
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***Multi-provider portability***. Because Packer creates identical images for
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multiple platforms, you can run production in AWS, staging/QA in a private
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cloud like OpenStack, and development in desktop virtualization solutions
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such as VMware or VirtualBox. Each environment is running an identical
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machine image, giving ultimate portability.
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***Improved stability***. Packer installs and configures all the software for
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a machine at the time the image is built. If there are bugs in these scripts,
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they'll be caught early, rather than several minutes after a machine is launched.
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***Greater testability***. After a machine image is built, that machine image
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can be quickly launched and smoke tested to verify that things appear to be
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working. If they are, you can be confident that any other machines launched
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from that image will function properly.
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Packer makes it extremely easy to take advantage of all these benefits.
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What are you waiting for? Let's get started!
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@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
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<% wrap_layout :layout do %>
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<div class="docs-wrapper">
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<div class="sidebar dark-background hidden-phone">
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<% wrap_layout :inner do %>
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<% content_for :sidebar do %>
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<h2>Docs</h2>
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<ul>
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@ -55,17 +54,6 @@
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<li><a href="/docs/extend/post-processor.html">Custom Post-Processor</a></li>
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<li><a href="/docs/extend/provisioner.html">Custom Provisioner</a></li>
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</ul>
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<!-- trick it into having a full-height sidebar regardless of content height -->
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<div class="sidebar-background"></div>
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</div>
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<div class="docs-body">
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<div class="docs-content">
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<%= yield %>
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</div>
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<div class="docs-background"></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<% end %>
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<%= yield %>
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<% end %>
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<% wrap_layout :layout do %>
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<div class="docs-wrapper">
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<div class="sidebar dark-background">
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<%= yield_content :sidebar %>
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<div class="sidebar-background"></div>
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</div>
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<div class="docs-body">
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<div class="docs-content">
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<%= yield %>
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</div>
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<% if current_page.data.next_url %>
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<div class="pagination">
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<a class="previous-section" href="<%= current_page.data.prev_url %>"></a>
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<a class="next-section" href="<%= current_page.data.next_url %>">
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<h4>
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<span class="text-green uppercase">next</span>
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<%= current_page.data.next_title %>
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</h4>
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</a>
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</div>
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<% end %>
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<div class="docs-background"></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<% end %>
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@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
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<% wrap_layout :inner do %>
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<% content_for :sidebar do %>
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<h2>Intro</h2>
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<ul>
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<li><h4>Concepts</h4></li>
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<li><a href="/intro/index.html">What is Packer?</a></li>
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<li><a href="/intro/why.html">Why Use Packer?</a></li>
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<li><a href="/intro/use-cases.html">Use Cases</a></li>
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</ul>
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<ul>
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<li><h4>Getting Started</h4></li>
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<li><a href="/intro/getting-started/setup.html">Install Packer</a></li>
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<li><a href="#">Build an Image</a></li>
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<li><a href="#">Provision</a></li>
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<li><a href="#">Parallel Builds</a></li>
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<li><a href="#">Post-Process</a></li>
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</ul>
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<% end %>
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<%= yield %>
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<% end %>
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<!DOCTYPE html>
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<html>
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<head>
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<title>Packer</title>
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<title><%= current_page.data.page_title ? "#{current_page.data.page_title} - " : "" %>Packer</title>
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<meta name="description" content="Packer is a free and open source tool for creating golden images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration." />
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<!-- HTML5 shiv -->
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</a>
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<a href="/" class="packer-logo pull-left">Packer</a>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#">Intro</a></li>
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<li><a href="/intro">Intro</a></li>
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<li><a href="/docs">Documentation</a></li>
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<li><a href="#">Community</a></li>
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</ul>
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