Microsoft Azure → Amazon Web Services
AWS equivalent of Azure VM Image Builder
The closest AWS equivalent of Azure VM Image Builder is EC2 Image Builder.
About Azure VM Image Builder
| Provider | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|
| Status | Generally available |
| What it is | A managed service (built on HashiCorp Packer) that customizes marketplace or custom images and distributes them to Compute Gallery, managed images, or VHDs. |
| Documentation | learn.microsoft.com |
| Pricing | Official pricing page |
AWS mappings (1)
| Capability | AWS equivalent | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Automated image build pipelines | EC2 Image Builder | Direct match |
Virtual machines & images(1)
Automated image build pipelines Direct match
EC2 Image Builder maps to Azure VM Image Builder. Both are managed services that run your customization steps on a temporary VM and publish the resulting image.
- Engine. Azure VM Image Builder is built on HashiCorp Packer and is driven by an image template (ARM, Bicep, or CLI). EC2 Image Builder uses recipes, reusable components (AWSTOE YAML documents), and pipelines with schedules.
- Outputs. EC2 Image Builder outputs AMIs and container images (to ECR). Azure VM Image Builder outputs Compute Gallery versions, managed images, or VHDs. For containers on Azure, use ACR Tasks.
- Testing. EC2 Image Builder has built-in test phases and vulnerability scanning (via Inspector). Azure supports validation steps in the template, and scanning is done with Defender for Cloud or your own tools.