[CentOS-devel] Build scripts for CentOS 7 AMIs

[Joseph Reynolds]

I am in a similar situation as Brian. Having the exact build process for
the CentOS AMIs would allow us to not only replicate the process but also
verify the origin state for all images which use the base image as a
starting point.

Using Packer, we have a relatively streamlined build process for Vagrant,
Openstack, XenServer, QEMU, Docker, and VirtualBox  We're able to use a
standardized kickstart to build all of our base images. We've built a blue
printing tool that calculates the state of a running machine. We use the
output of this, in conjunction with the kickstart file, Packer
configurations, and install media to create a release artifact.

With both Openstack and AWS, instead of using kickstart to create the
image, we start with a image and make modifications to this image. However
in the case of Openstack, we are able to build a QEMU image first, then
upload that to Openstack. This allows us to continue to pair the kickstart
with the release, which is very helpful for ensuring completeness when
replicating builds in other environments.

While there are other options we have pursued to achieve the ensure the
known state of an AMI, in the epistemological sense, having the build
process used and approved by CentOS would be immensely helpful. Our
preference is to begin with an official CentOS release, whether it be an
ISO or an AMI in this case. However the AMI is not only behind in releases,
requiring a more intensive update, but is also not as transparent as the
minimal 1503 release ISO.

Finally, in regards to the EULA, there is no seamless way to accept the
EULA, that I havbe found, without logging in through the web portal. This
is a small issue but generally more disruptive than desired for unattended
build systems.

Hopefully this adds a little more insight into how some of us are consuming
the AMI's and perhaps some of the issues currently presented when trying to
achieve parity across the releases.

Thank you,

Joseph F. Reynolds

On Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 10:03 AM, Karanbir Singh <mail-lists at karan.org>
wrote:

> On 28/07/15 14:58, Brian Lalor wrote:
> > I’d like to be able to create my own AMIs from scratch and customize
> them as I see fit.  I’ve solved the problem for my own infrastructure, but
> I’d like to see how CentOS is doing it, and the process should be laid out
> for other users to see and expand on.  I think this is especially important
> since the AMI IDs aren’t published directly and the AMIs that are on the
> marketplace are rather old (and also require you to sign a EULA to use
> them).
>
> tell me more about this EULA thing, you are using ec2 at that point -
> and you should not need anything more than that, right ?
>
>
> --
> Karanbir Singh
> +44-207-0999389 | http://www.karan.org/ | twitter.com/kbsingh
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-- 
________________

Joseph F. Reynolds
 Chief Executive Officer
Stackprism || 978-880-8250
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