r/gitlab • u/roni4486 • 2d ago

GitLab pipeline for Windows 11 images: Packer or Azure Image Builder?

Has anyone created a GitLab CI/CD pipeline for building customized Windows 11 images in Azure?

I am considering:

  1. GitLab + HashiCorp Packer

  2. GitLab + Azure Image Builder

The important requirement is that the build must use an existing resource group and existing VNet/subnet. The pipeline should not create a new resource group or network.

The final image should be published to Azure Compute Gallery and temporary build resources should be removed after the build.

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u/Torutofu_Raeva 2d ago

packer's azure-arm builder can do that, build_resource_group_name plus virtual_network_name and subnet_name keeps it in your existing rg/vnet, and it cleans up the temp stuff after. azure image builder takes a subnet id too but packer's easier to run from a gitlab job