Getting started with Packer

Packer enables you to create VM disk images and set their properties in a configuration file. This guide describes how to create a disk image in Yandex Compute Cloud using Packer.

In this scenario, Packer will create and launch a Debian 11 virtual machine from Cloud Marketplace, with a nginx web server installed on it. Following that, it will delete the VM and create an image of its boot disk. After that, it will also delete the disk.

To create an image:

1. Get your cloud ready.
2. Install Packer.
3. Prepare the image configuration.
4. Create an image.
5. Check the image.

If you no longer need the image you created, delete it.

Get your cloud readyGet your cloud ready

Sign up in Yandex Cloud and create a billing account:

1. Navigate to the management console and log in to Yandex Cloud or register a new account.
2. On the Yandex Cloud Billing page, make sure you have a linked billing account with an ACTIVE or TRIAL_ACTIVE status. If you do not have a billing account, create one and link a cloud to it.

If you have an active billing account, you can navigate to the cloud page to create or select a folder for your infrastructure to operate in.

Learn more about clouds and folders.

Configure the environment and infrastructureConfigure the environment and infrastructure

1. Create a cloud network with a single subnet in your folder.

2. Depending on the type of account you are working under, you will get:

   • OAuth token for a Yandex account.
   • IAM token for federated or service accounts.

3. Make sure your account has enough permissions to create resources in Compute Cloud. The minimum role you need for the folder is compute.editor.

   If working under a service account, assign the compute.editor role for the folder to it.

   If you want to create resources in other Yandex Cloud services, e.g., subnets in VPC, assign the relevant service roles.

Required paid resourcesRequired paid resources

The cost of creating a disk image using Packer includes:

• Fee for storing created images (see Yandex Compute Cloud pricing).
• Fee for VM computing resources (see Yandex Compute Cloud pricing).

Install and configure PackerInstall and configure Packer

You can install Packer from a mirror or the HashiCorp website:

From a mirrorFrom a mirror

Install a Packer distribution kit for your platform from a mirror:

From the HashiCorp websiteFrom the HashiCorp website

Download and install a Packer distribution kit following this guide on the Packer website.

Configure the Yandex Compute Builder pluginConfigure the Yandex Compute Builder plugin

To configure the plugin:

1. Create a file named config.pkr.hcl with the following contents:

   packer {
     required_plugins {
       yandex = {
         version = ">= 1.1.2"
         source  = "github.com/hashicorp/yandex"
       }
     }
   }
   

2. Install the plugin:

   packer init <path_to_config.pkr.hcl>
   

   Result:

   Installed plugin github.com/hashicorp/yandex v1.1.2 in ...
   

Prepare the image configurationPrepare the image configuration

1. Get the folder ID.

2. Get the subnet ID and the availability zone it resides in.

3. Create a JSON file with any name, e.g., image.json. Add this configuration to it:

   {
     "builders": [
       {
         "type":      "yandex",
         "token":     "<OAuth_token_or_IAM_token>",
         "folder_id": "<catalog_ID>",
         "zone":      "<availability_zone>",
   
         "image_name":        "debian-11-nginx-{{isotime | clean_resource_name}}",
         "image_family":      "debian-web-server",
         "image_description": "my custom debian with nginx",
   
         "source_image_family": "debian-11",
         "subnet_id":           "<subnet_ID>",
         "use_ipv4_nat":        true,
         "disk_type":           "network-ssd",
         "ssh_username":        "debian"
       }
     ],
     "provisioners": [
       {
         "type": "shell",
         "inline": [
           "echo 'updating APT'",
           "sudo apt-get update -y",
           "sudo apt-get install -y nginx",
           "sudo su -",
           "sudo systemctl enable nginx.service",
           "curl localhost"
         ]
       }
     ]
   }
   

   Where:

   • token: OAuth token for a Yandex account or an IAM token for a federated or service account.
   • folder_id: ID of the folder where you are going to create the VM and its image.
   • zone: Availability zone the VM will be created in, e.g., ru-central1-d.
   • subnet_id: ID of the subnet where you are going to create the VM and its image.

You can learn more about image configuration properties in this Yandex Compute Builder overview article.

Create an imageCreate an image

1. Build the image using the configuration properties:

   packer build image.json
   

2. Wait for the build to complete:

   ...
   ==> Wait completed after 2 minutes 43 seconds
   ==> Builds finished. The artifacts of successful builds are:
   --> yandex: A disk image was created: debian-11-nginx-2024-08-26t15-30-39z (id: fd82d63b9bgc********) with family name debian-web-server
   

Check the imageCheck the image

Make sure you created the image:

yc compute image list

+----------------------+--------------------------------------+-------------------+----------------------+--------+
|          ID          |                 NAME                 |      FAMILY       |     PRODUCT IDS      | STATUS |
+----------------------+--------------------------------------+-------------------+----------------------+--------+
| fd82d63b9bgc******** | debian-11-nginx-2024-08-26t15-30-39z | debian-web-server | f2eerqfup7lg******** | READY  |
+----------------------+--------------------------------------+-------------------+----------------------+--------+

Delete the resources you createdDelete the resources you created

To stop paying for the resources you created:

• Delete the image you created.
• Delete the subnet and cloud network if created specifically for the purpose of this tutorial.