Introduction
In the realm of software development, the speed of product assembly and its quality stand as primary competitive advantages. Today, we delve into the pathway of accelerating releases, a journey paved with automation and the adoption of Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices.
CI/CD encompasses a suite of practices, methodologies, and tools designed to automate build, testing, and application deployment processes, thereby ensuring frequent and regular deployment cycles.
Common CI/CD Approaches
- Basic CI Pipeline
- Continuous Delivery (CD) Pipeline
- Trunk-Based Development
- Feature Branch Workflow
- GitFlow Workflow
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Pipeline
- Blue-Green Deployment
- Canary Deployment
At Linnovate, we’ve developed a proprietary approach that integrates elements of the mentioned methods. Our CI/CD methodology involves the segregation of repositories into three categories: DevOps, Integration, and Microservices.
Integrated CI/CD Methodology
- The DevOps repository hosts self-developed helm charts, facilitating the connection and deployment of applications across Dev, Stage, and Prod Kubernetes clusters, essentially embodying the Continuous Deployment (CD) stages.
- Microservices repositories cater to developers, implementing approaches such as ‘Feature Branch Workflow,’ ‘GitFlow Workflow,’ or ‘Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Pipeline.’ These repositories handle tasks such as image builds, testing, artifact registry updates, and, upon successful completion, trigger automatic deployment processes in the DevOps repository for deployment to the Dev environment.
- An integration repository serves as a control center for managing build and image versions across CI/CD pipelines for all Microservices repositories. This centralized control is crucial for tracking changes, managing dependencies, and ensuring consistency across different environments. Manual launches from this repository trigger the deployment process in the DevOps repository for staging and production environments.
Our company’s preferred CI/CD tool is GitLab, hosted on our own server with dedicated data storage.
Optimizing Software Delivery with Segregated CI/CD Approach
In essence, our approach advocates for the segregation of developer and DevOps code. This division between CI and CD enables organizations to effectively manage the quality, speed, and security of software development and delivery. By allowing teams to focus on specific aspects of development and delivery, this approach brings forth countless benefits, ultimately enhancing competitiveness and fostering greater customer satisfaction.
Author: Andrei Ivanouski