How To Create Your First Software Deployment Pipeline
How To Create Your First Software Deployment Pipeline
Let's say you want to introduce a new feature to your users. Maybe you made it in response to their feedback or a potential business opportunity, and you want to get it out there as soon as possible. Do you know what needs to be tested before you go into production with your change? How can you be sure that the update you've made won't break established functionality?
You'll need a deployment pipeline to address these questions. Before an aircraft can take off, the pilot and crew must complete a series of preflight checks on their checklist. Is there enough fuel on the plane? Is there a free and stable right-wing flap?
Consider each update to your codebase as a plane about to take off from a runway. Your very own preflight checklist contains everything you need to double-check before your change goes live.
Your deployment pipeline's task is to ensure that only changes that are ready for production are allowed to fly.
Here are three crucial steps to take.
1. Create a build server
2. Set up your checks
3. Have a phase for deployment
1. Create A Build Server
Continuous integration (CI) servers are another name for build servers. You may have needed to build and host your own server ten years ago, but there are now many cloud-based SaaS CI solutions to get you up and running quickly. Each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks, but it doesn't matter where you start. They all have the same basic features, and switching from one to the other is typically not too difficult.
If you use a hosted version control service like GitHub or GitLab, their continuous integration (CI) function can already be included in your kit. Install Jenkins if using a cloud-based CI server isn't a choice. It's free and open source.
You should set up the first build after setting up a build server (and they all have guides to help you do so). Most CI servers now allow you to describe your build using code. You check a file with a summary of the construct steps you want to run into your project's root. The amount of configuration needed should be minimal, with sensible defaults.
Begin by compiling or packaging your application. Remember what the code has to do to function in production and work backward from there. Perhaps you'll need to build a Docker image or bundle some JavaScript with wepback. The aim is to provide a construction process that produces the objects you need to deploy to production regularly.
Make sure it's configured to run if a change is committed to source control. Any update to your codebase will be subjected to your preflight tests in this manner.
2. Set Up Your Checks
The value of a deployment pipeline is calculated by automated testing. Any measurements and static analysis will most likely be included in your checks. For each of your preflight tests, create a separate build phase. Separating them helps you prioritize quicker measures, so you don't have to wait too long for failure feedback.
Running a linter like eslint as a first build move ensures that the code adheres to the team's coding standards.
The automated tests come next. You may have one build stage for unit or acceptance tests, another for your end-to-end test suite, and yet another for contract tests that examine how third-party services work.
When you have good test coverage, this strategy works best, but you can start even if you don't. And if you do need to do manual testing after all of the automated tests pass, you've set up an early-detection system that will help you spot any bad changes before you have to do manual testing.
3. Have A Phase For Deployment.
A deployment pipeline's ability to connect your automated checks to your deployment is where it really shines. Consider the end of your deployment pipeline as a button. The button is activated once the app has passed all of the checks. All you have to do now is press the button to drive your improvements into production.
Automating output deployment can be difficult for some teams. In such cases, deploying to a test environment is a good place to start. Add a build to your CI server that runs a script to deploy your application to a test environment. It should be linked to your test builds only to run if all of your tests pass.
You can make this phase run automatically if your deployment process doesn't trigger too much downtime. This will ensure that your test environment is still up to date. You'll have a better understanding of what's needed to automate the path all the way to production after you've been through this phase.
Ready to take off
If you follow these three steps, you'll have the foundations for a successful deployment pipeline. All of the steps to production will be clearly laid out. The visibility provided by the pipeline will allow the entire team to see the production path and recognize and discuss possible changes.
It's priceless to have a series of checks that demonstrate how safe the application is. Anyone on the team can view the CI server to see whether the build is red, green, or running. And if anything goes wrong, the team will be the first to know and work together to get things back on track.
Relevant Courses and Certification
Adaptive Software Development Course and Certificate
Software Architecture Design Course and Certificate
