58 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
58 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: intro
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sidebar_current: intro-why
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page_title: Why Packer - Introduction
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description: |-
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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
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manage. There were either no existing tools to automate the creation of
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machine images or they had too high of a learning curve. The result is that,
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prior to Packer, creating machine images threatened the agility of operations
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teams, and therefore aren't used, despite the massive benefits.
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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 to
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benefit from them because images have been too tedious to create and manage.
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There were either no existing tools to automate the creation of machine images
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or 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
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therefore 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 of
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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 several
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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
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waiting 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 cloud
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like OpenStack, and development in desktop virtualization solutions such as
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VMware or VirtualBox. Each environment is running an identical machine image,
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giving ultimate portability.
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***Improved stability***. Packer installs and configures all the software for a
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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
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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 from
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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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