As you already know automation is an essential aspect of DevOps. It lowers your burden and risks while maintaining efficiency. Deployment pipeline automation is crucial to streamlining software deployment. It consists of several stages and components that work together.
Let’s Explore the key components/tools for deployment automation.
CI Platforms:
Continuous Integration platforms or build tools lower your burden and handle the building process efficiently. After a developer commits code changes these platforms automatically compile the code, test it, and package the code into a deployable artifact.
There are many build tools and CI platforms in the market. Each offer solution to specific problems. You can research these tools and choose what best addresses your needs.
Here are some popular CI platforms and build tools.
- Jenkins
- Travis CI
- Circle CI
- Git Lab CI/CD
- Git Hub actions
The DevOps and CI/CD landscape is continuously evolving you’ll find new tools and technologies that might give you better options.
Many cloud services have introduced built-in build tools for their customers. You can also utilize those tools for your build process.
Packaging:
The packaging tool automatically packages your application for deployment. There are many things to consider while choosing a Packaging tool. Before choosing a packaging tool first of all consider these few things.
- The type of your application ( web, desktop, mobile, etc.)
- Identify the programming language and technology used in your project.
- Which Operation System your application is designed for?
- How do you plan to distribute your application?
After considering all the above aspects analyze your requirements and choose a packaging tool. For example, if your concern is portability and consistency you can consider docker.
Deployments:
When choosing a deployment tool for your application you might want to consider some aspects like:
- Nature of Application
- Deployment requirements (e.g. target environment, supported platforms, and deployment frequency)
- Determine whether you need full automation or partial.
After considering all these aspects, you can select deployment tools that best satisfy your needs.