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Conventional Vs Kubernetes CI/CD Pipelines
Govardhana M K
November 14, 2024
TechOps Examples
Hey — It's Govardhana MK 👋
Along with a use case deep dive, we identify the top news, tools, videos, and articles in the TechOps industry.
IN TODAY'S EDITION
🧠 Use Case
Conventional Vs Kubernetes CI/CD Pipelines
🚀 Top News
65,000 nodes and counting: Google Kubernetes Engine is ready for trillion-parameter AI models
📽️ Videos
The Ultimate Guide to Microservices - Beginner to Expert
📚️ Resources
A Guide to Linux Access Control Lists
Docker Best Practices: ADD vs. COPY in Dockerfiles
Integrating Azure DevOps pipelines with HashiCorp Vault
🛠️ TOOL OF THE DAY
Kubes - Kubernetes App Deployment Tool.
Focuses on deploying your specific application.
Builds the docker image, creates the Kubernetes YAML, and runs kubectl apply.
🧠 USE CASE
Conventional Vs Kubernetes CI/CD Pipelines
With more teams looking to adopt Kubernetes, it’s essential to understand how its CI/CD pipeline model differs from traditional setups.
Kubernetes brings distinct paradigms that impact everything from artifact handling to deployment strategies.
Here’s a structured path to guide you through the transition.
1. Understanding the Differences in CI/CD Pipelines
Artifact Handling: Traditional pipelines store build artifacts (binaries) in repositories like Artifactory, while Kubernetes CI/CD pipelines use container images stored in registries (e.g., DockerHub, ECR), requiring robust image management.
Configuration as Code: Kubernetes relies on YAML files for defining pods, services, and deployments, allowing version-controlled infrastructure and deployment configurations, ensuring consistency across environments.
Deployment Strategies: Conventional pipelines are often linear, whereas Kubernetes enables advanced deployment techniques like Blue-Green and Canary for controlled rollouts.
2. Core Concepts to Master in Kubernetes CI/CD
Immutability of Containers: In Kubernetes, containers should be once, tested, and then deployed consistently across environments. Each environment pulls the same image, ensuring reliability. Adopting this approach requires container security and compliance checks to happen at build time.
Environment Parity with Namespaces and Clusters: Kubernetes enables environment parity more easily than traditional methods. Use namespaces within clusters to mimic different environments without duplicating resources, making for a cleaner, more scalable setup.
3. Implementing Kubernetes-Specific Deployment Strategies
Blue-Green Deployments: Run two environments (Blue and Green) side-by-side, where Blue serves production traffic and Green deploys new updates. Once Green passes all tests, it starts serving traffic, reducing downtime and risk.
Canary Deployments: Gradually roll out updates to a subset of users before full deployment. Kubernetes supports Canary with service mesh tools like Istio or by configuring traffic splitting, allowing rapid rollback if issues arise.
Rolling Updates: Kubernetes’ native Rolling Update feature deploys new versions incrementally, maintaining availability. It’s ideal for low-impact changes and provides in-built rollback options.
4. Automating and Managing Configurations
Helm and Kustomize: Manage Kubernetes configurations with tools like Helm (for templating) and Kustomize (for overlay configurations). They simplify version control of YAML files, manage secrets, and handle environment-specific differences, reducing configuration drift across environments.
GitOps Approach: Tools like ArgoCD and FluxCD allow you to implement GitOps, where the entire infrastructure state is versioned in Git and automatically applied to clusters. This method ensures that your production environment always reflects the state defined in Git.
5. Best Practices for Kubernetes CI/CD Success
Organize your Kubernetes namespaces based on team functions or project requirements.
Implement container scanning, secure your container registry, and regularly review access controls for Kubernetes resources.
Integrate caching mechanisms to avoid redundant builds, optimize image layers, and use lightweight base images to speed up deployments.
Kubernetes CI/CD may seem complex at first, but mastering these practices will give your team the edge in managing cloud-native applications.
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