Packer is another useful tool for machine image configuration management as well as an alternative to Dockers for virtualization. With Packer, identical images can be produced for machines and multiple platforms using basically a single configuration which is useful for Devops work in the cloud environment. Parallelization in cloud for Big Data has also become important aspect for handling Big Data requirements. Additionally, plugins provide further extended flexibility in the tool. Even Packer images can be converted into Vagrant compatible boxes. As a template one can then build multiple Packer images which does not include the life cycle management of such image builds from how and where they are run.
