Git – DevopsCurry

DevOps Toolchain – Starting with Git

Namrata Joshi — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 14:26:52 +0000

What is Git? Advantages of Git

Switching from a centralized VCS to Git will change the whole process of creating software, in a good way. Let us discuss what is Git and why Git is the most preferred Version Control in Devops toolchain.

What is Git?

Git is a Version Control System developed by Linus Torvalds, the same person who founded the Linux Operating System. Git was originally designed to help manage the Linux Kernel.

Why Git is so Popular?

If you want to find out why Git is so popular, let us first discuss about its capability. So, the Linux Kernel has 15 million lines of code Around 3500 words of code is added to it every day.

If Git can manage Linux Kernel very well, it can definitely manage any other project efficiently. Furthermore, Git architecture is a Distributed Version Control System. Rather than storing the entire project in a central server (Centralized VCS), Git does not require a network connection to work with. As Git is a distributed VCS, the entire project and its history is mirrored on everyone’ s computer.

Advantages of Git

Git benefits the whole business, especially if your company relies on the software. Switching to Git will change the way your development team creates the software.Â

Feature Branch Workflow  the feature branch workflow provides an isolated environment for every change made. The biggest advantage of Git is Branching. Git branches are affordable and easy to merge.
Distributed Development  as we discussed earlier, Git is a distributed Version Control System. Each developer gets its own local repository with a full local history. Having the access to full history makes Git faster. Eventually, it will create a reliable environment for everyone. Distributed Development will make it easier to scale your engineering team.
Pull Requests  tools like Bitbucket enhance core Git functionalities with Pull requests. A pull request is a way to ask another developer to merge one of your branches into their repository. This will help to keep track of the changes.
Community  Git is a very popular VCS among Open source projects available in the market. Thus, you won’t have to train the new joiners about your workflow. Why? Because they are already familiar with distributed development.
Faster Release Cycle  feature branches, distributed development, pull requests and a stable community will result in a faster result cycle for the project. It will create an agile workflow where even smaller changes are shared frequently. Also, Git works very well with Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery.

What is the difference between Git and GitHub?

Git is one of the most popular open-source Version Control Systems. It works smoothly with small to large projects with speed and efficiency.

GitHub is a Git Repository Hosting Service. It is a web-based service. GitHub offers all features of a distributed VCS and source code management of Git.

Git	GitHub
It is an open source distributed tool for version control.	Github is a web-based platform for hosting Git repositories.
Git is focused on version control and code sharing by individual developers locally.	GitHub is more refocused on a centralized source code handling.With GitHub, developers can share their repositories, access other developers’ repositories, and also store remote copies of repositories to serve as backups.
In Git most of the commands are run through CLI, though we have GUI options as well.	GitHub is administrated through an interactive web GUI.
Git can work independently.	Github is dependent on Git and cannot be used without it.
Git works in local environment, on a developers local system.	Github works in a cloud environment and needs internet.
It offers a desktop interface called Git GUI.	It also offers a desktop interface called GitHub GUI.
Git has a minimal tool configuration feature.	GitHub has a market place for tool configuration.
Git does not have user-management functionality	GitHub has a in-built user management feature.

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Seven CI/CD tools you should know in 2021

Namrata Joshi — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 08:13:12 +0000

Popular CI/CD Tools in DevOps to know in 2021

There are various CI/CD tools available in the market, which will enhance your DevOps Culture in a game-changing way. However the task of picking the perfect tool for your project can be unexciting and boring.

To make this process simple and more smooth, we are sharing some of the most popular CI/CD tools available in the market.

1. Jenkins 

Jenkins is an open-source CI/CD tool in DevOps. It is a Java-based program. Jenkins is a self-containing program with packages for Windows, Mac OS, etc. It is so far one of the most popular CI/CD tools. Jenkins provides Docker images for running a server as well as agents.

Features:
Easy installation and upgrade to various Operating Systems.
Simple user interface.
Works great with a huge community-based plugin resource.
It can easily distribute work across several machines.

2. Bamboo
Bamboo is a paid CI-/CD Tool in DevOps. It comes with a 30-day trial package. Bamboo is a CI server that automates software application release management. It includes development and functional testing, assigning models, marking updates, etc. Bamboo integrates closely with Jira Software, Bitbucket, and Fisheye.

Features:
Bamboo can support upto 100 remote agents.
It creates images and pushes them to a record.
Run parallel batch tests.
Installation is pretty simple.
Built-in Git branching and workflows will automatically merge branches.

3. GitLab CI
GitLab is an Open Source CI/CD tool in DevOps. It is a part of GitLab. It is a web application with an API that maintains the state in a database. GitLab is designed to handle different aspects of a software creation life cycle. It allows commits to trigger builds, run tests, and deploy the code.

Features:
GitLab Container Registry is a secure registry of Docker images.
It provides APIs for most features. So developers can create deeper integrations in the development process.
Keeps the information secure with confidential issues.
All internal projects in GitLab do allow promoting the inner sourcing of internal repositories.

4. Buddy
Buddy is an Open Source CI/CD tool in DevOps. Buddy will lower the entry of the threshold to DevOps. Delivery pipelines are used to build, test, and deploy the software. Buddy is designed by GitLab, Bitbucket, and GitHub. It uses Docker containers to build on and monitor actions with DevOps.

Features:
Supports major languages and frameworks.
Quick installation and configuration.
Integrates with AWS, Azure, WordPress, DigitalOcean, Shopify, etc.
It manages workflows with models for cloning, exporting, and import pipelines.
Progress and logs are monitored in real-time with unlimited history.
Fast to customize Docker based images as an environment for testing.

5. TeamCity 

TeamCity is a Paid CI/CD tool in DevOps created by JetBrains. It is a Continuous Integration server with many dominant features. It helps to develop and deploy various projects. TeamCity runs on a Java environment. It integrates with Visual Studio and IDEs. It works well with Windows and Linux with support to .NET and open stack.

Features:
You can reuse the parent project settings and configurations for any sub-project.
It is possible to build history, view test history reports, pin, tag, and add favorites.
Flexible user management. It is easy to assign user roles, grouping users, various user authentication methods, etc.
Provides better code quality.
It keeps the CI server healthy and stable in every condition.
Configure builds in DSL.

6. Travis CI 
Travis Ci is a Paid CI/CD tool in DevOps. It is a Continuous Integration service build to construct and test projects. It automatically detects new commitments in GitHub. After each commit, Travis CI will build the project and executes tests. Travis CI supports java, Node, PHP, Python, Perl, etc.

Features:
Quick installation.
Deployment of multiple Could services.
Auto deployment on the build which passes.
Supports Linux, macOS, and iOS.
Pre-installed apps on servers.
Supports various languages like C, C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, etc.

7. Circle CI
Circle CI runs on cross-platform mobile apps, Python API server, or Docker cluster. It supports agile development and release of the software. CircleCI can be integrated with GitHub, GitHub Enterprise, and Bitbucket. It also hosts continuous cloud-managed integrations.

Features:
Compatible with GitHub, Bitbucket, and Cloud Enterprise.
Faster testing.
Completely customizable.
Speedy setup and unlimited construction.
Support languages like C++, JavaScript, PHP, .NET, Python, Ruby.
You can configure a customized environment with Docker support.
Forbid non-admins from modifying .

These are some of the most used CI/CD tools by DevOps experts. Many other popular tools can be added to the list. Some of them are: Nevercode, Integrity, Strider CD, Final Builder, Autorabit, Buildkite, Wercker, Semaphore, CruiseControl, Urbancode, Buildbot, Codeship, GoCD.

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Understanding Version Control in DevOps

Namrata Joshi — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 13:36:40 +0000

What is Version Control or Source Control?

Think about your files as a book. It has chapters, pages, beginning, middle, and end. Version Control or Source Control in DevOps helps you to make changes to that while maintaining the entire flow and working with the team.

A Version Control System (VCS) is a way to make changes to files without worrying about something that will get lost or things will fall out of the flow. Version Control also offers backup and history of any changes for any files line-by-line.

The success of the DevOps depends on the Source Control. Version Control or Source Control in DevOps helps to manage the changes done during development process in a project. It can be versions of code, documents, or even environment configuration.

What is Source Code Management?

Source Code Management or SCM is a Devops automation tool that maintains a track of versions (revisions) made to the program. Each version has a timestamp and the person who made the changes. These versions can be compared and merged. SCM is also known as Version Control.

Benefits of using Version Control (VCS)

Provides a complete history of every file, made by the individuals over the years. These changes include the creation, deletion, and edits to the files. History also displays the author, date, and notes of why the change was made. This will help to find the root cause of the problem in the future.
VC protects the source code from any accidental changes, human mistakes, and unintended circumstances. For any software project, the source code is the most important asset. Hence it is crucial to protect it. Because source code contains all the data and revision history related to a project.
The facility of Branching and Merging. A Branch in VCS will keep various streams of work independent from each other. At the same time it will also provide the facility to merge that work back together. There are many workflows to choose from. The team can choose the workflow depending on how to make use of branching and merging facility in the VCS.
Source Control or Version Control helps to understand the difference between various versions and also the purpose of making the changes.
Version Control is especially beneficial in case of large distributed teams, where developers work on multiple projects and its difficult to keep a track of changes and updates across teams.
Version Control ensures that Dev and Ops are in there in the source control. This is the beauty of DevOps. This makes it clear and transparent to everyone to see what is there in the source and each version of it.

Some Popular Version Control Tools in DevOps

There are many Version Control tools for DevOps available in the market. But here we have listed down some of the most popular Version Control tools used in DevOps which will make things easy for you and your team.

1.GitHub: Git is an open-source Version Control System (VCS), it is completely free. Git is designed to work in small to large level projects. Git will help to merge and maintain the history of code changes. Github is the repository where all the source code is kept by Git users. GitHub offers local branching and multiple workflows. It is easy to learn and offers faster operation speed.

2.GitLab: GitLab is an open-source Version Control System,written in Ruby and Golang. It comes with features like in integrated project, a project website, etc. One can automatically test and deliver the code using the Continuous Integration (CI) facility of GitLab. GitLab is repository management tool hosted on the free hosting service GitLab.com. It is easy to use to link projects via GitLab API. It works with various OS like Windows, Linux, OSX, etc.

3.BitBucket: BitBucket is a paid Version Control System. Its a part of the Atlassian’s software suite. It offers features like code branches, in-line commenting and discussions and pull requests. BitBucket is specifically developed for the professional teams. It not just enables users to code but also to manage and collaborate on GIT projects. It can be deployed on the local server as well as on the cloud.

4.Perforce: Perforce is an open-source enterprise version control tool. Here, users connect to a shared file repository. Perforce applications are used to transfer files between the file repository and individual user workstations. It provides branching and merging, integrations, web-based repository management, and artifacts management. It delivers version control through its HelixCore. It is a security solutions that protects the most important parts of the project.

5.Apache Subversion: Apache Subversion aka SVN is another popular open-source Version Control System (VCS). However, it also have an enterprise version. Initially created by CollabNet in 2000, SVN is now maintained as a project by the Apache Software Foundation. Apache Subversion supports locking of files so that users can be warned when many people try to edit the same file.Apache Subversion provides features like inventory management, security management, history tracking, workflow management etc. SVN supports empty directories and has a better windows support compared to Git.

6.Mercurial: Mercurial aka Hg, is a distributed version-control tool for developers. It is a free tool that boasts of scalability and high performance for distributed teams. As compared to Git, developers find Mercurial easy to setup and use.Its mostly developed in Python.

So Version Control or Source Control is an integral part of the Devops lifecycle and one of the initial phases. Once the developer checks-in his code into a VCS tool, the Devops chain starts. The version control is then followed by automated testing, CI/CD, deployment and monitoring phases of DevOps.

So for a successful DevOps implementation within an organization, a good version control process plays a crucial role.

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Understanding CI/CD in a DevOps Toolchain

Namrata Joshi — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:27:21 +0000

DevOps is a culture that combines two ends of the SDLC lifecycle, the Developers and the Operations. CI/CD Pipeline is one of the most important parts of any DevOps toolchain. Good knowledge of CI and CD will help DevOps experts to develop high-quality products at a faster speed.

What is CI/CD Pipeline in DevOps?

Continuous Integration or CI is the practice in which whenever a developer finishes a functionality, a new code will be integrated with the existing code continuously. It will help to detect any errors at the initial stage. So that the errors can be solved quickly. Eventually, this will save a lot of time.

Continuous Delivery or CD comes when CI is completed. CD is like an extension to Continuous Integration. Here, a recently integrated code is made ready for deployment automatically. Usually, it will take 2 to 3 days if done manually. CD will automate the software delivery process without any delay.

Advantages or Benefits of CI/CD :

CI and CD will help any software application to reach its potential customers faster and more effectively. It will reduce the risk at each stage of software development. Ultimately this will lead to faster delivery to customers.

Smaller Code Changes:  It allows you to integrate a small piece of code at one time. Small code changes are simple and easy to handle. Moreover, it can be tested as soon as it are integrated. This works well for large organizations.
More test reliability : CI/CD improves reliability. Because it will test every bit-size changes in the system. Test reliability in CI/CD is also called Continuous Reliability. This will make sure that quality is on the top of everything, even with continuous merging and releasing of new products.
Greater Visibility : CI/CD pipeline will also enhance the transparency. Here, everything can be analyzed. Be it the process of new builds, test results, or any issues with the recent builds. Using this analysis, the development team will be able to know and track which changes in the build lead to the brokerage.
Customer Satisfaction : CI/CD pipelines will help to make a great first impression on any customer. Utilizing a CI/CD pipeline also keeps the product updated with new features and bug fixes. Customer feedback leads to improvement in overall customer satisfaction. Adding new features in CI/CD pipeline based on the customer feedback will help to maintain old users and gain new ones.
Reduce Cost:   automation in the CI/CD pipeline also reduces errors. It will free-up developer’s time, that could be spent on other important and meaningful tasks. When you increase code quality with automation, it will also increase your ROI.
Fault Isolation  Fault isolation means when any error occurs, there is limited scope for negative outcomes in any practice. So, it will reduce the damage and makes the system easy to maintain. CI/CD will makes the fault isolation faster and easier.
Faster Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR) : MTTR helps to track the amount of time spent to recover from a failure. CI/CD reduce MTTR. Because Code changes are smaller and fault isolation is easier and faster. MTTR estimates the maintenance time of repairable features. Thus, it sets the average time to fix any damaged feature.

Best Practices for building CI/CD pipelines

Security First Approach  CI/CD provides access to the codebase and credentials of various environments. So it is often the prime target of hackers. Therefore, it is a good idea to isolate your CI/CD by placing them in secure networks. This can be achieved by using VPNs and strong two-factor authentications.
Implement Tracking and Version Control Tools : tracking tools like Jira and Bugzilla will help to achieve better visibility. Version Control Tools like Git will help to track all the changes made into the code-base. These tools will make it simpler to collaborate with various teams and will work as a lifesaver.
Separate CI and CD Pipelines  : separating CI and CD will create small pipelines, instead of complex and huge pipelines created by collaborating CI and CD. By separating CI and C, you can avoid the unmanageable backlog of work-in-progress pipelines. In the end, there will be multiple small testing and approvals.
Maintain Transparency Within and Across the Teams: this will help when teams of an organization are located in different places/regions. In such a scenario, transparency is the key element to make sure every team member is co-ordinating with others. CI can be highly effective here because it will bring much-needed transparency. This way, the teams can work on the improvements and can also keep the track of things done. It is important to have everyone working on the same page while working remotely. This can be achieved with the help of project management tools in CI/CD.
Choosing Right Tools for CI/CD Pipeline: a  CI/CD pipeline is profoundly dependent on the tools it has. There are different tools available in the CI and CD pipeline. You will have to choose the tools which are right for your team/environment and is also in your budget. It’s always a good idea to know about the pros and cons of each tool before using it. Later on, changing the tools can be a big disadvantage for the team. As it could affect the deadlines and final product.

Some popular CI/CD Tools:

There are many CI/CD tools available in the market. Some of the most popular CI/CD tools are mentioned here. You can use the tools which suit your project requirements and your budget.

• Jenkins
• Bamboo
• Microsoft VSTS
• GitLab
• Buddy
• Travis CI
• Circle CI
• TeamCity

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