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New Base Image Options at Iron Bank

We are thrilled to announce the addition of several new base image options to Iron Bank. These options provide greater flexibility and benefits for both consumers and vendor contributors. Let's dive into the exciting additions:

*We know scratch is really an empty image, but it is an option if you are interesting in contrinbuting a new base image to Iron Bank!

**We also have UBI Minimal and UBI Micro

Benefits for Consumers

By expanding the base image options at Iron Bank, we aim to empower consumers with the following advantages:

  1. Greater Flexibility: The new base images offer a wider range of choices, enabling consumers to select the most suitable foundation for their specific application requirements. Whether it's minimalism, compatibility with popular distributions, or optimized environments, Iron Bank now caters to a variety of needs.

  2. Enhanced Security: Each base image has undergone rigorous hardening and testing processes to meet the stringent security requirements of the Department of Defense (DoD). By leveraging these trusted base images, consumers can confidently build their applications on a secure foundation, reducing potential vulnerabilities and mitigating security risks.

  3. Improved Performance: Some of the new base image options, such as Alpine and Docker/Scratch, are specifically designed for lightweight and optimized environments. By choosing these images, consumers can benefit from improved performance and reduced resource usage, resulting in faster and more efficient applications.

  4. Diverse Application Support: The new base images cater to a wide range of applications and use cases. Whether consumers require specific distributions like Debian or Red Hat, lightweight options like Docker/Scratch or Alpine, or specialized variants like Chainguard or Google/Distroless, Iron Bank now provides the necessary foundations for various application scenarios.

Benefits for Vendor Contributors

The introduction of these new base image options also brings benefits for vendor contributors who collaborate with Iron Bank:

  1. Expanded Reach: By contributing base images that align with popular distributions, vendors can broaden their customer base within the Iron Bank ecosystem. This increased visibility allows vendors to showcase their expertise and solutions to a wider audience, driving potential business opportunities.

  2. Demonstrated Security Commitment: Vendor-contributed base images undergo rigorous evaluation and hardening processes to ensure they meet the highest security standards. By being part of the Iron Bank repository, vendors can demonstrate their commitment to security and gain the trust of consumers who prioritize secure and compliant solutions.

  3. Collaborative Partnership: Engaging with Iron Bank as a vendor contributor fosters a collaborative partnership that encourages knowledge sharing and continuous improvement. Vendors have the opportunity to work closely with Iron Bank's security experts, benefiting from their insights and expertise to enhance the security of their base images.

Enabling Downstream Consumers to Manage Risk

The expanded base image options at Iron Bank empower downstream consumers to manage their own risk relative to their mission requirements. By offering a diverse selection of base images, Iron Bank allows consumers to choose the image that best aligns with their specific security, compliance, and performance needs. This flexibility enables consumers to make informed decisions, tailoring their application environments to mitigate risks and ensure optimal mission outcomes.

Requesting or Adding a New Base Image

If you are interested in requesting or contributing a new base image to Iron Bank, we encourage you to get in touch with us. Our dedicated support team is available to assist you throughout the process.

To submit a request or contribute a new base image, please visit our Support Page and follow the instructions provided. We value your feedback and actively seek to expand our offerings based on the needs of our community.

We look forward to hearing from you and working together to enhance the Iron Bank ecosystem.

Conclusion

The introduction of new base image options at Iron Bank benefits both consumers and vendor contributors. Consumers can leverage the expanded choices to enhance flexibility, security, performance, and application support. Vendor contributors, on the other hand, gain broader exposure, demonstrate their commitment to security, and foster collaborative partnerships. Moreover, the availability of diverse base images enables downstream consumers to manage risk effectively based on their mission requirements. We are excited to see how these new base image options further strengthen the Iron Bank ecosystem and empower users to build secure and reliable applications.

To explore the detailed information about each base image option, please refer to the official Iron Bank documentation on choosing base images.