The dummy box that needs to be installed to use vagrant-rackspace doesn't serve any real purpose. It doesn't hold the actual image, since images are on the cloud and are specified via the rs.image configuration option.
A box file can hold default metadata, so there are some situations where a specific box could be useful, especially since Vagrant has support for multi-provider boxes. For example, it would be useful to have a Rackspace box for hashicorp/precise64. That way when you run this command, Rackspace would be an option:
$ vagrant box add hashicorp/precise64
==> box: Loading metadata for box 'hashicorp/precise64'
box: URL: https://vagrantcloud.com/hashicorp/precise64
This box can work with multiple providers! The providers that it
can work with are listed below. Please review the list and choose
the provider you will be working with.
1) hyperv
2) virtualbox
3) vmware_fusion
Enter your choice:
However, the dummy box doesn't serve any purpose because it doesn't hold any useful metadata. Vagrant added a box_optional attribute in v1.6.0 to avoid the need for a dummy box.
maxlinc
commented
9 years ago
The dummy box that needs to be installed to use vagrant-rackspace doesn't serve any real purpose. It doesn't hold the actual image, since images are on the cloud and are specified via the
rs.imageconfiguration option.A box file can hold default metadata, so there are some situations where a specific box could be useful, especially since Vagrant has support for multi-provider boxes. For example, it would be useful to have a Rackspace box for
hashicorp/precise64. That way when you run this command, Rackspace would be an option:However, the
dummybox doesn't serve any purpose because it doesn't hold any useful metadata. Vagrant added abox_optionalattribute in v1.6.0 to avoid the need for a dummy box.