I currently use Vagrant and puppet along with the standard debian ISO with CM available here:https://vagrantcloud.com/puppetlabs/boxes/debian-8.2-64-puppetIt appears to be a basic distribution of Debian but with some added requirements, such as ssh-key authentication.I would like to do something similar but more highly specialized to my specific tastes, installing PHP with Suhosin patch, OpCache, as well as disabling services like printer spooler or what have you.How do I even begin? How do I take a default Debian install, rip out the parts i don't want, add some extra essentials and package it up as a ISO for easy installation on the cloud, local VM's or something like Vagrant?I realize the last requirement is something additional to building an ISO.
Custom debian ISO
debian;iso;vagrant
To customize the packages that come installed with your distro, you can use apps such as Remastersys and live-magic.They allow  you to either clone existing distro, or using a wizard configure a new one. A quick google for debian custom distro turned up this article (among others) which seems to be covering the basics:https://www.linuxvoice.com/build-your-own-linux-distro/