github.com/ratanraj/packer@v1.3.2/website/source/intro/use-cases.html.md (about)

     1  ---
     2  layout: intro
     3  sidebar_current: intro-use-cases
     4  page_title: Use Cases - Introduction
     5  description: |-
     6    By now you should know what Packer does and what the benefits of image
     7    creation are. In this section, we'll enumerate *some* of the use cases for
     8    Packer. Note that this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are
     9    definitely use cases for Packer not listed here. This list is just meant to
    10    give you an idea of how Packer may improve your processes.
    11  ---
    12  
    13  # Use Cases
    14  
    15  By now you should know what Packer does and what the benefits of image creation
    16  are. In this section, we'll enumerate *some* of the use cases for Packer. Note
    17  that this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are definitely use cases
    18  for Packer not listed here. This list is just meant to give you an idea of how
    19  Packer may improve your processes.
    20  
    21  ### Continuous Delivery
    22  
    23  Packer is lightweight, portable, and command-line driven. This makes it the
    24  perfect tool to put in the middle of your continuous delivery pipeline. Packer
    25  can be used to generate new machine images for multiple platforms on every
    26  change to Chef/Puppet.
    27  
    28  As part of this pipeline, the newly created images can then be launched and
    29  tested, verifying the infrastructure changes work. If the tests pass, you can be
    30  confident that the image will work when deployed. This brings a new level of
    31  stability and testability to infrastructure changes.
    32  
    33  ### Dev/Prod Parity
    34  
    35  Packer helps [keep development, staging, and production as similar as
    36  possible](http://www.12factor.net/dev-prod-parity). Packer can be used to
    37  generate images for multiple platforms at the same time. So if you use AWS for
    38  production and VMware (perhaps with [Vagrant](https://www.vagrantup.com)) for
    39  development, you can generate both an AMI and a VMware machine using Packer at
    40  the same time from the same template.
    41  
    42  Mix this in with the continuous delivery use case above, and you have a pretty
    43  slick system for consistent work environments from development all the way
    44  through to production.
    45  
    46  ### Appliance/Demo Creation
    47  
    48  Since Packer creates consistent images for multiple platforms in parallel, it is
    49  perfect for creating
    50  [appliances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_appliance) and disposable
    51  product demos. As your software changes, you can automatically create appliances
    52  with the software pre-installed. Potential users can then get started with your
    53  software by deploying it to the environment of their choice.
    54  
    55  Packaging up software with complex requirements has never been so easy. Or
    56  enjoyable, if you ask me.