Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Packer VS AWS CodeDeploy

Compare Packer VS AWS CodeDeploy and see what are their differences

Packer logo Packer

Packer is an open-source software for creating identical machine images from a single source configuration.

AWS CodeDeploy logo AWS CodeDeploy

AWS CodeDeploy is a service that automates code deployments to any instance.
  • Packer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-15
  • AWS CodeDeploy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-28

Packer features and specs

  • Multi-Provider Support
    Packer supports a wide variety of providers such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, VMware, and more. This allows for flexibility and the ability to create machine images across different environments.
  • Automation
    Packer automates the creation of machine images, eliminating the need for manual image configuration and reducing the potential for human error.
  • Script Reusability
    Packer allows for the reuse of scripts and configuration files, enabling a consistent and repeatable process for image creation.
  • Parallel Builds
    Packer can build multiple images in parallel, which can significantly speed up the provisioning process.
  • Idempotency
    Packer ensures that the output machine image is always an identical result given the same input configuration, reducing the risk of inconsistencies.

Possible disadvantages of Packer

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The variety of features and flexibility that Packer offers can make it complex and challenging to learn, especially for beginners.
  • Limited Debugging Tools
    Packer's debugging tools are not as mature or as integrated as those found in some other DevOps tools, making troubleshooting more difficult.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Complex configurations with multiple builders and provisioners can become hard to manage and maintain, leading to potential errors.
  • No State Management
    Unlike Terraform, Packer does not manage state, which means users need to handle state management separately if required.
  • Dependency on External Tools
    Packer often relies on external scripts and tools for provisioning, which can introduce additional dependencies and complexities.

AWS CodeDeploy features and specs

  • Automation
    AWS CodeDeploy automates the application deployment process, enabling faster and more consistent releases. This reduces manual intervention and the risk of human error.
  • Supports Multiple Platforms
    CodeDeploy allows deployments to Amazon EC2 instances, on-premises servers, Lambda functions, and ECS services, providing flexibility in deployment targets.
  • Scalability
    CodeDeploy is designed to handle deployments at scale, making it suitable for both small projects and large enterprises.
  • Rollback Capabilities
    If a deployment fails, CodeDeploy can automatically roll back to the previous version, minimizing downtime and maintaining application stability.
  • Integration with CI/CD Tools
    AWS CodeDeploy integrates seamlessly with other AWS services and popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and Bitbucket Pipelines, facilitating a smooth CI/CD pipeline.
  • Monitoring and Logging
    CodeDeploy provides detailed logs and monitoring through Amazon CloudWatch, making it easier to track deployments and troubleshoot issues.

Possible disadvantages of AWS CodeDeploy

  • Complexity for Beginners
    AWS CodeDeploy can be complex for beginners, requiring a good understanding of AWS services and deployment strategies.
  • Cost
    While CodeDeploy itself is free, other associated AWS resources (e.g., EC2 instances, data transfer) can incur costs, which might add up depending on usage.
  • Learning Curve
    The service involves a learning curve, especially for teams new to AWS or DevOps practices, which can delay implementation and require additional training.
  • Limited Non-AWS Integrations
    While CodeDeploy integrates well with AWS services and popular CI/CD tools, its integration capabilities with non-AWS ecosystems might be more limited.
  • Configuration Overhead
    Setting up and configuring AWS CodeDeploy can be time-consuming, requiring detailed setup of deployment configurations and application specifications.
  • Service Dependency
    As a managed AWS service, CodeDeploy's availability and performance are dependent on AWS infrastructure, which may be a concern for some critical applications.

Packer videos

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AWS CodeDeploy videos

Deploying AWS CodeDeploy - Automated Software Deployment on AWS

More videos:

  • Review - AWS CodeDeploy | Pipeline | Setup | Deploy application on EC2 using GitHub as source

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Packer and AWS CodeDeploy)
DevOps Tools
71 71%
29% 29
Continuous Integration And Delivery
Continuous Deployment
0 0%
100% 100
Other Infrastructure Tools

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Packer and AWS CodeDeploy

Packer Reviews

Introduction to Top Open Source Virtualization Tools
Packer is notably light, high performing, and operates on every major operating system. It assembles and configures all the necessary components for a virtual machine then creates images that run on multiple platforms. Packer doesn’t replace configuration management tools like Puppet or Chef; as a matter of fact, when creating images, Packer can utilize tools like Puppet or...

AWS CodeDeploy Reviews

We have no reviews of AWS CodeDeploy yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

AWS CodeDeploy might be a bit more popular than Packer. We know about 13 links to it since March 2021 and only 9 links to Packer. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Packer mentions (9)

  • Failed to connect to the host via SSH on Ubuntu 22.04
    If you have just upgraded to Ubuntu 22.04, and you suddenly experience either errors when trying to ssh into hosts, or when running ansible or again when running the ansible provisioner building a packer image, this is probably going to be useful for you. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Create a minimalist OS using Docker Containers and Hashicorp Packer
    I am already using Hashicorp Packer at work and for personal projects and I wanted to test This idea out by wrapping it a single Packer Template file. This reduces the level of maintaining a lot of small scripts, Dockerfiles and configurations and the user can simply trigger a couple of Commands to get a minimalist OS at the end of the process. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • After self-hosting my email for twenty-three years I have thrown in the towel. The oligopoly has won.
    And while it is a slight increase in complexity, it can be an overall net gain in functionality, configurability and reliability. Much like Packer is far more reliable and practical than manually making VM images sitting in front of a terminal, even though making the initial configuration takes some time. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Customized Ubuntu Images using Packer + QEMU + Cloud-Init & UEFI bootloading
    Hashicorp Packer provides a nice wrapper / abstraction over the QEMU in order to boot the image and use it to set it up on first-boot. Instead of writing really long commands in order to boot up the image using QEMU, Packer provided a nice Configuration Template in a more Readable fashion. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • The journey of sharing a wired USB printer over the network
    Packer seemed like the perfect tool for the job. I have never used it before and wanted to get familiar with the tool. It doesn't come with ARM support out of the box, but there are two community projects to fill that niche. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
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AWS CodeDeploy mentions (13)

  • Passing the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional exam
    AWS CodeDeploy is a deployment service that automates application deployments to Amazon EC2 instances, on-premises instances, serverless Lambda functions, or Amazon ECS services. A compute platform is a platform on which CodeDeploy deploys an application. There are three compute platforms:. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • CLI tools at Aha!
    When we deploy code at Aha! We kick off a number of AWS CodeDeploy tasks running in parallel. Here's some code to simulate deployment:. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • The best approach to deploy an Application to EC2 on Windows?
    AWS has a service named CodeDeploy for this. It does exactly what you describe. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Continuous Integration and Deployment on AWS - and a wishlist for CI/CD Tools on AWS
    AWS CodeDeploy is a fully managed deployment service that automates software deployments to various compute services, such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), AWS Lambda, and your on-premises servers. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Automatic AWS CloudFormation rollbacks upon a test failure in your CI pipelines
    AWS's developer suite of products includes the AWS CodeDeploy offering, which can help developers deploy AWS Lambda functions and other compute-related services. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Packer and AWS CodeDeploy, you can also consider the following products

Terraform - Tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.

Jenkins - Jenkins is an open-source continuous integration server with 300+ plugins to support all kinds of software development

Puppet Enterprise - Get started with Puppet Enterprise, or upgrade or expand.

Ansible - Radically simple configuration-management, application deployment, task-execution, and multi-node orchestration engine

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service

Codeship - Codeship is a fast and secure hosted Continuous Delivery platform that scales with your needs.