DevOps has gained significant popularity in recent times due to its ability to automate business processes at high levels. As a result, organizations become more responsive to customers, trustworthy to employees, and can efficiently deliver orders on time.
DevOps is not an easy process to implement and cannot be the first step in any process. To ensure successful implementation, there are various tools available that can be of immense help. DevOps is impossible to achieve without these technologies. Additionally, it’s essential to enhance cooperation and coordination among team members to effectively leverage DevOps. It’s not just about the software alone.
Before we begin with the methods, it’s important to take a step back and identify the purpose.
What exactly is included in the term “DevOps”?
DevOps is a powerful methodology that combines the domains of software development and IT operations, promoting collaboration and facilitating a more unified workflow. Moreover, DevOps is not just about teamwork; it also shortens the development cycle and enables Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) for additional benefits.
Can you explain what “CI/CD” means exactly?
It’s essential to start with defining the integration of Dev and Ops along with CI/CD. Essentially, CI/CD manages the automatic building, testing, and deployment of applications.
Integrating DevOps with CI/CD can help shorten the development process, enhance its reliability and efficiency. This integration also presents more automation opportunities, resulting in a more productive software development lifecycle.
Now, let’s review some of the resources required for making it possible.
Git
Git is a fundamental technology in DevOps that enables managing and distributing code. It plays a critical role in collaboration, tracking, and strategic planning. Git serves as the primary source of truth for code and serves as a bridge, allowing other DevOps tools to exchange information.
If you think of Git as a fundamental component to DevOps technologies, then you’ve correctly identified its importance. Using Git as a code management system enables configuring automated processes that monitor the repository and, upon detecting any changes, review, assemble and deploy updated files. Without Git, implementing automation would be quite challenging.
Gradle
Gradle is an indispensable tool that automates building, testing, and deployment of applications hosted on Git. Our developers can employ Gradle regardless of the programming language they use, such as Java, C++, Python, or any other.
To use Gradle, you will need the Java Development Kit (JDK) and familiarity with the Groovy-based domain-specific language (DSL). Gradle offers an extensive collection of plugins and connectors that enables engineers to fully integrate automation into their projects.
Jenkins
If you want to automate code commits to a repository, Jenkins, an open-source continuous integration server, can help. Using the Pipeline functionality, you can commit code automatically and execute test cases, retrieve reports upon completing testing, and automate the entire process.
Jenkins plays a crucial role in DevOps and CI/CD, capable of tracking commits and launching builds automatically when needed. This feature can significantly reduce deployment time.
Docker
To achieve Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery, having containerized applications is crucial. Docker is an exceedingly user-friendly option for this purpose. Docker containers enable creating programs that can operate in virtually any environment. Moreover, it establishes a uniform development environment across all supported platforms, facilitating DevOps implementation.
Kubernetes
When your application exceeds a single container, orchestration tools are essential. Kubernetes is regarded as the most fitting option for this purpose. Besides, it is an ideal tool for DevOps, capable of automating container creation and deployment to a remarkable degree. Lastly, when large-scale deployment is critical for your business’s success, Kubernetes is the only viable solution.
Ansible
Ansible is a free and open-source system that deploys and manages software in various configurations. It’s a critical tool for updating existing systems and deploying new devices across a network. By utilising Ansible, the deployment time can be notably reduced, reliance on outdated information is eliminated, and feedback loop for software updates is expedited. It’s an essential tool.
Vagrant
Vagrant is a critical tool when managing virtual machines in DevOps systems. Physical servers are no longer necessary for testing and development as Vagrant allows teams to collaborate on virtual environments.
Sentry
Sentry is essential for effectively tracking bugs and errors in automated systems. Sentry continuously analyses your code repository, notifying you of any issues that arise while remaining behind the scenes. Moreover, Sentry provides solutions to the problems it discovers, and it can monitor live application performance.
Using Sentry makes your application lifecycle more fault-tolerant and enhances responsiveness to issues as they appear.
Conclusion
Starting your DevOps journey can be a daunting task that requires significant investment and departmental restructuring. Nevertheless, with the appropriate technology, you can automate your software deployment and lifecycle management, giving your organisation an edge in the competitive landscape.
