Golden Images Overview

Forge integrates HashiCorp Packer and QEMU to build "Golden Images" - pre-configured, hardened VM/AMI images that can be deployed across any cloud provider.

What are Golden Images?

Golden Images are pre-built virtual machine images that include:

  • Operating system installation
  • Security hardening (STIG compliance)
  • Application software
  • Configuration management
  • Testing and validation

These images can be deployed instantly across AWS, Azure, GCP, VMware, or used locally with QEMU.

Key Benefits

  • Consistency - Same image across all environments
  • Speed - Deploy in minutes instead of hours
  • Security - Pre-hardened with STIG compliance
  • Compliance - Built-in compliance tracking
  • Versioning - Track image versions and changes
  • Multi-Cloud - Same image works across providers

Features

Visual Builder

Step-by-step wizard for creating Packer templates without writing HCL code.

HCL Editor

Advanced editor with full Packer HCL syntax support, validation, and Git integration.

Image Catalog

Centralized registry of all built images with filtering, search, and metadata.

STIG Hardening

Automated DISA STIG compliance built into templates with 16 pre-built templates available.

Multi-Cloud Support

Build images for:

  • AWS (AMIs)
  • Azure (Managed Images)
  • GCP (Compute Images)
  • VMware vSphere (Templates)
  • QEMU (Local testing)

Workflow

  1. Create Template - Use Visual Builder or HCL Editor
  2. Configure Build - Set cloud provider, region, instance type
  3. Add Provisioning - STIG hardening, Ansible playbooks, scripts
  4. Build Image - Execute Packer build
  5. View in Catalog - Browse and manage built images
  6. Deploy - Use image IDs in Terraform or cloud console

Pre-Built Templates

Forge includes 16 production-ready, STIG-hardened Packer templates:

AWS Templates

  • RHEL 9 STIG-hardened AMI
  • RHEL 8 STIG-hardened AMI
  • Ubuntu 22.04 STIG-hardened AMI
  • Windows Server 2022 STIG-hardened AMI

Azure Templates

  • RHEL 9 STIG-hardened managed image
  • RHEL 8 STIG-hardened managed image
  • Ubuntu 22.04 STIG-hardened managed image
  • Windows Server 2022 STIG-hardened managed image

GCP Templates

  • RHEL 9 STIG-hardened GCP image
  • RHEL 8 STIG-hardened GCP image
  • Ubuntu 22.04 STIG-hardened GCP image
  • Windows Server 2022 STIG-hardened GCP image

VMware Templates

  • RHEL 9 STIG-hardened vSphere template
  • RHEL 8 STIG-hardened vSphere template
  • Ubuntu 22.04 STIG-hardened vSphere template
  • Windows Server 2022 STIG-hardened vSphere template

All templates are 100% self-contained with inline STIG hardening provisioners.

Next Steps