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Concepts Overview

Understanding the core concepts of Klarity ImageFactory is essential for effectively managing your golden image pipeline. The platform uses several interconnected entities to define, build, and distribute images across different cloud providers.

This page provides a high-level view of these entities and how they work together to automate your image lifecycle.

Entity Relationship Diagram​

The following diagram shows the relationships between the primary entities in ImageFactory.

Key Entities​

Each entity plays a specific role in the image creation process.

Customers​

A Customer represents a tenant in ImageFactory. It defines the organizational context, including contract details, resource limits, and supported cloud providers. All other resources, such as templates and cloud accounts, belong to a specific customer.

Cloud Accounts​

Cloud Accounts are the destination environments where your images are distributed. They store the credentials and configuration needed to access your AWS accounts, Azure subscriptions, or GCP projects. ImageFactory uses these accounts to share or copy the final golden images.

Distributions​

Distributions are the source operating system images provided by cloud marketplaces. They serve as the starting point for every build. ImageFactory tracks these distributions, including their versions, end-of-life (EOL) dates, and compliance scores.

Image Templates​

A Template is the blueprint for your golden image. It combines a source distribution with a set of components and configuration settings. The template defines how the image should be built, which regions it should be available in, and how often it should be rebuilt.

Components​

Components are scripts or Ansible playbooks that customize the image during the build process. They can install software, apply security patches, or perform configuration tasks. Components are categorized by their stage (Build or Test) and their type (System or Custom).

Images​

An Image is the final artifact produced by a template build. It represents a specific version of your golden image, complete with build logs, compliance reports, and a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). Images are what you eventually use to launch virtual machines in your cloud environment.

The ImageFactory Workflow​

The process of creating a golden image follows a structured path from initial setup to final distribution.

1. Onboarding and Configuration​

The workflow begins with setting up your customer profile and onboarding cloud accounts. You must provide the necessary credentials so ImageFactory can interact with your cloud environments. This step also involves defining the scope of your operations, such as whether you're working in standard regions or specialized environments like AWS China.

2. Selecting a Base​

Once your accounts are ready, you select a base distribution. This choice determines the operating system and initial configuration of your image. ImageFactory regularly scans cloud marketplaces to ensure you have access to the latest versions and security updates.

3. Defining the Template​

With a base distribution selected, you create a template. Here, you specify the name, description, and target cloud accounts. You also configure provider-specific settings, such as EBS volume types for AWS or Shared Image Gallery details for Azure.

4. Adding Customization​

You customize your template by adding components. You might include system components for standard hardening and custom components for your organization's specific software requirements. You can also define test components to verify the image's integrity after the build completes.

5. Building and Testing​

When you trigger a build, ImageFactory orchestrates the creation of a temporary virtual machine in a builder account. It applies the build components, captures the image, and then runs the test components. If any step fails, the build is marked as an error, and you receive detailed logs to help troubleshoot.

6. Distribution and Compliance​

After a successful build and test phase, ImageFactory distributes the image to your configured cloud accounts. It also generates comprehensive compliance reports and an SBOM. These artifacts provide a clear record of the image's contents and security status, ensuring you meet your organization's compliance standards.

7. Lifecycle Management​

The process doesn't end with distribution. ImageFactory continues to monitor your templates. It can trigger automatic rebuilds when the source distribution is updated or when you modify a component. This ensures your golden images remain current without manual intervention.