Skip to main content

AWS EC2 Image Builder

What is it​

A fully managed service that simplifies the creation, testing, and deployment of secure and customized Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) and container images.

What it's for​

Automating the process of building server and container images, ensuring they are up-to-date, secure, and compliant with your organization's standards.

Use cases​

  • Creating custom AMIs with pre-installed software and security configurations
  • Maintaining images updated with the latest security patches
  • Automated testing of images to ensure functionality and compliance
  • Distributing images to different regions or AWS accounts
  • Building container images for use with Amazon ECS, EKS, or Fargate

Key points​

  • Fully managed: AWS handles the underlying infrastructure for image building
  • Automation: Automates the lifecycle of creating, testing, and distributing images
  • Security: Helps ensure images comply with security standards
  • Customization: Allows customizing images with your own scripts and components
  • Integration: Integrates with AWS Organizations, AWS Systems Manager, Amazon S3, and other services
  • Testing: Includes AWS-provided tests and allows adding your own tests for validation

Comparison with manual AMI building​

  • AWS EC2 Image Builder: Automates and standardizes the image building process, reducing manual effort, errors, and ensuring consistency and security of images at scale. Ideal for environments with many images or frequent update requirements.
  • Manual AMI building: Time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to scale. Requires administrators to manually manage the process of creating, updating, and testing images, which can lead to inconsistencies and vulnerabilities.