Chapter 6. Using RHEL image builder to create system images from different releases
You can use RHEL image builder to create images of multiple RHEL minor releases that are different from the host, such as RHEL 8.8 and RHEL 8.7. For that, you can add source system repositories with the release distribution fields set and also, you can create blueprints with the correct release distribution fields set.
Additionally, if you have existing blueprint or source system repositories in an old format, you can create new blueprints with the correct release distribution fields set.
To list the supported release distribution, you can run the following command:
$ composer-cli distros list
The output shows you a list with supported release distribution names:
rhel-8 rhel-84 rhel-85 rhel-86 rhel-87 rhel-88 rhel-89
NoteCross-distribution image building, such as building a CentOS image on RHEL is not supported.
6.1. Creating an image with a different distribution in the CLI
To select the distribution you want to use when composing an image in the RHEL image builder CLI, you must set the distro field in the blueprint. For that, follow the steps:
Procedure
- If you are creating a new blueprint
- Create a blueprint. For example:
name = "<blueprint_name>" description = "<image-description>" version = "0.0.1" modules = [] groups = [] distro = "<distro-version>"
By setting the
distrofield to “rhel-88”, you ensure that it always builds a RHEL 8.8 image, no matter which version is running on the host.NoteIf the
distrofield is blank, it uses the same distribution of the host.- If you are updating an existing blueprint
- Save (export) the existing blueprint to a local text file:
# composer-cli blueprints save EXISTING-BLUEPRINTEdit the existing blueprint file with a text editor of your choice, setting the
distrofield with the distribution of your choice, for example:name = "blueprint_84" description = "A 8.8 base image" version = "0.0.1" modules = [] groups = [] distro = "rhel-88"
- Save the file and close the editor.
Push (import) the blueprint back into RHEL image builder:
# composer-cli blueprints push EXISTING-BLUEPRINT.tomlStart the image creation:
# composer-cli compose start BLUEPRINT-NAME IMAGE-TYPE
Wait until the compose is finished.
Check the status of the compose:
# composer-cli compose status
After the compose finishes, it shows a FINISHED status value. Identify the compose in the list by its UUID.
Download the resulting image file:
# composer-cli compose image UUIDReplace UUID with the UUID value shown in the previous steps.
6.2. Using system repositories with specific distributions
You can specify a list of distribution strings that the system repository source uses when resolving dependencies and building images. For that, follow the step:
Procedure
Create a TOML file with the following structure, for example:
check_gpg = true check_ssl = true distros = ["<distro-version>"] id = "<image-id>" name = "<image-name>_" system = false type = "<image-type>" url = "\http://local/repos/rhel-<distro-version>_/<project-repo>/"
For example:
check_gpg = true check_ssl = true distros = ["rhel-84"] id = "rhel-84-local" name = "local packages for rhel-84" system = false type = "yum-baseurl" url = "\http://local/repos/rhel-84/projectrepo/"
Additional resources
