hashicorp/packer

Feature request - allow exporting an image using the AWS VM export service.

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#5978 opened on Mar 6, 2018

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Description

Feature request - allow exporting an image using the AWS VM export service.

Amazon allows export of running VMs to OVF format given a target bucket. this is extremely handy for multi-cloud installations where a single unified source is needed, in order to build both the AMI and the OVF in the same step using AWS resources.

Implementation suggestion:

optional keys for the AWS builders: 'export_machine' (defaults to false), export_s3_bucket, export_s3_prefix, export_target_environment, export_container_format. issue the export command before shutting down the machine.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
goaws
Domain
cloudinfrastructure
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
GoPacker plugin developmentAWS EC2VM export
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
25
Research direction
Examine the existing AWS builder code in 'builder/amazon' directory. The feature requires adding optional keys to the builder configuration and invoking the CreateInstanceExportTask API before shutdown. Review AWS SDK for Go for API details. No linked PR or maintainer comment is present, so the approach is open for discussion.