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EC2 Image Builder

EC2 Image Builder

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Jeevan Henry Dsouza
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2 min read

Table of contents

Introduction

Amazon EC2 Image Builder is a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that helps you automate the creation, management, and deployment of customized Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) for use with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances. EC2 Image Builder simplifies the process of building and maintaining secure, compliant, and up-to-date AMIs, allowing you to automate the image creation pipeline.

Key features and components of EC2 Image Builder include:

  1. Component Manager:

    • EC2 Image Builder uses a Component Manager to define and version the components that make up an image. Components can include operating system packages, applications, and configurations.

  2. Pipeline:

    • EC2 Image Builder enables you to create image pipelines that define the steps and configurations to build, test, and distribute AMIs. Pipelines are used to automate the image creation process.

  3. Automated Image Builds:

    • You can set up EC2 Image Builder to automatically build and test new images based on predefined schedules or triggered by events such as new software updates.

  4. Customization Scripts:

    • EC2 Image Builder allows you to incorporate customization scripts to configure instances during the image build process. This ensures that instances launched from the resulting AMIs have specific configurations.

  5. Security Compliance:

    • EC2 Image Builder supports security best practices by allowing you to specify security and compliance settings during the image build process. This helps ensure that the resulting AMIs adhere to your organization's security policies.

  6. Integration with AWS Services:

    • EC2 Image Builder integrates with other AWS services, including AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS CloudTrail, and AWS Key Management Service (KMS).

  7. Golden AMIs:

    • The output of EC2 Image Builder is referred to as a "golden AMI." This is a fully configured, hardened, and tested AMI that can be used as a base for launching EC2 instances.

  8. Distribution:

    • After building an image, EC2 Image Builder allows you to distribute the resulting AMIs to multiple AWS accounts, AWS regions, or share them with other AWS users.

  9. Compliance and Monitoring:

    • EC2 Image Builder provides features for monitoring and compliance tracking, allowing you to track the status of image builds and ensure adherence to policies.
Amazon Image builder