DevOps Pipeline: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet

These days, there are seemingly apps for everything.

Apps offer a wide range of use cases. For example, there are those mimicking electric shavers, while there are others, utilizing algorithms that help you avoid dating your cousin.

Reinforcing this constant flux of software is the DevOps pipeline.

We are here to help you create your first DevOps pipeline with a step-by-step process.

While this tiny guide is non-exhaustive, it should point you in the right direction. As well as provide you with the tools to set up your DevOps pipeline for success.

Designing DevOps Pipelines Like a Pro

Step 1. CI/CD Framework

First and foremost, you need a CI/CD tool to prevent integration hell.

The most popular choice is Jenkins, which is an open-source automation tool written in Java, with plugins designed for continuous integration.

Why the hype? Jenkins has advocated the DevOps approach and become a touchstone among CI/CD tools.

Step 2. Source Control Management

Source control has been around longer than Joe Biden.

It evolved from copying and pasting to SCM systems that provided a running history of code development.

These systems record and save multiple changes to files so you can go back to a specific point in the history of a file.

Whether you're DIYing a standard app or contributing to a huge software project, source code management is a critical detail of the development process.

The Holy Grail of all source control management is Git, but there are some other options like Vesta you can go with.

Step 3. Automation Tools

Nice job! Now you can keep tabs on your code, commit changes to the source control or join forces with your friends. But you still don’t have an up-and-running application.

For that purpose, you need to compile and put the code into the deployable package for execution.

And a built automation tool is your best friend that compiles your source code into machine code by a build script. Thus, you can turn your lines of code into a viable web application.

Step 4. Web Application Server

By this point, you only have an executable or deployable packaged file (hopefully), but you also need some kind of receptacle to host your application.

Application servers provide facilities to create web applications and a server environment to run them. Within the DevOps framework, you’ll need an HTTP web server and an ideal environment like a virtual machine to install the server.

Step 5. Code Testing

Code testing is another essential step that allows developers to rectify bugs before they reach production and course-correct in the coding phase of development.

In the case of DevOps, the testing operations are managed continuously, and if needed even after the applications enter the production stage.

You can make your life easier by using one of the open-source tools, which can further be plugged into the CI/CD tools to automate testing.

The Final Word

There you have it, a cheat sheet for building your first DevOps pipeline. However, make sure that your pipeline supports and improves team practices and workflows.

Your tooling and configurations should not slow down workflows or call for a complete process change.