Difference Between Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment
![ontinuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/02/12/13/58/devops-3148393_960_720.png)
The difference between continuous delivery and continuous deployment
lies in the degree of automation utilized in app or software releases.
Continuous delivery is when software is automatically transferred to production
environments to further test and quality control, while humans are required to
move to production following successful trials. In continuous deployment,
automation goes further. When the code is tested, the production deployment
occurs automatically, and no human approval is required.
What an organization does with the CI/CD best practices and decides to utilize
the continuous delivery method or deploy it is contingent on its business
requirements. Continuous deployment is ideal for DevOps teams with a quick
development cycle, like teams working on eCommerce sites or SaaS platforms.
Continuous deployment lets teams launch new or updated software as frequently
and quickly as possible. Since updates are released to the public promptly and
continuously, this deployment pipeline is usually employed by DevOps teams with
an established process.
For teams that do not have to publish updates as often as they do in
their workflow, like those who build healthcare applications, continuous
delivery is often the best option. It's more time-consuming but provides an
additional layer of control to ensure that the application functions for users.
The CI/CD pipeline stages
From the source codes to the final production stages constitute the
development lifecycle as well as the process of the CI/CD pipeline
- Create: This
phase is part of the continuous integration process. It includes the creation
and compilation of code. Teams collaboratively work from source code and
integrate new code while rapidly identifying any issues or conflicts.
- Test: At this
stage, teams are testing the code. Automated tests are performed both in continuous
delivery and deployment. They could be integrated tests, unit tests, or
regression testing.
- Delivery: Here,
an approved codebase is delivered to an environment for production. This
process is automated in continuous deployment only after the developer's
approval.
- Deploy: Lastly, the changes are deployed, and the final product is put into production. In continuous delivery, the products or codes are sent to repositories and then transferred to production or deployment with the approval of a human. Continuous deployment is an automated procedure.
Tools for CI/CD and configuration
When choosing CI/CD tools, the main focus should be the best way to
automate and optimize the software development process. A successful CI/CD
pipeline uses open-source tools to integrate testing, deployment, and
integration. The correct setup of your CI/CD process can also affect the
effectiveness of the development process for the software.
The most popular open-source tool for CI/CD is Jenkins. Jenkins provides
an automated CI server written in Java to automate the CI/CD process and to
report. Other open-source tools to integrate are Travis CI and CircleCI.
Integrated development environments (IDE), including GitHub and AWS
CodeCommit, assist developers in developing, managing, and monitoring software
application platforms, while platforms such as GitLab are attempting to offer
the IDE as part of a larger platform that incorporates other tools.
Teams utilize containers such as Docker to
package and ship applications in the cloud, and Kubernetes manage their
orchestration. Although Kubernetes isn't explicitly designed for the CI/CD
pipeline, it is utilized in various workflows that use CI/CD.
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