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Andrew Grimberg78bc6d52017-10-13 12:55:05 -07001# EdgeX CI Packer
2
3[Packer][1] is a tool for automatically creating VM and container images,
4configuring them and post-processing them into standard output formats.
5
6We build the CI images via Packer.
7
8## Building
9
10You'll need to [install Packer][2], of course.
11
12The Packer configuration is divided into build-specific variables,
13output-specific templates and a set of shared provisioning scripts. To do a
14specific build, combine the template for the desired output artifact type with
15a variable file. To build a new baseline instance the following would be done:
16
17```
18packer build -var-file=vars/cloud-env.json -var-file=vars/centos.json templates/baseline.json
19```
20
21**NOTE:** vars/cloud-env.json is a gitignored file as it contains private
22information. There is a vars/cloud-env.json.example file that may be used as a
23base for creating the one needed.
24
25From a high level, the build process is:
26
27* Boot a specified base image in any defined clouds.
28* Run a set of shell scripts, listed in the template's shell provisioner
29 section, to do any configuration required by the builder.
30* Execute a shutdown of the running instance in the clouds.
31* Execute the cloud specific method for creating a new image from the shutdown
32 instance
33* Perform the cloud specific method for deleting the shutdown instance
34
35[1]: https://www.packer.io/
36[2]: https://www.packer.io/intro/getting-started/setup.html