The DevOps pipeline is a powerhouse for your IT lifecycle. It has the power to shorten your IT workflow, streamline its communication, add automation, and much more.

But, implementing a DevOps pipeline can seem a little daunting or maybe even overwhelming, especially with little to no knowledge of the subject matter.

This post aims to remove some of that ambiguity and create a structured understanding of the basics. We’ll review what a DevOps pipeline is, its various stages, and a few examples of a DevOps pipeline as well. By the end of this post, you should feel confident about implementing a DevOps pipeline into your project workflow.

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What is a DevOps Pipeline?

DevOps,作为一个爱rview, is the combination of two aspects of the IT software lifecycle.

The infinity symbol is depicting the flow of a DevOps pipeline

1. Development (Code Development)

写作的发展阶段包括项目code, testing, fixing bugs, building new features, conducting updates, and patching code. The development phase typically has four steps: Plan, Code, Build and Test being most common. There are many tools we can use to simplify the complexities of the development phase.

2. Operations (Deployment Operations)

The Operations phase is typically four steps: Release, Deploy, Operate and Monitor as the most used. These steps can be just as complex as the Development phase, with a lot going into seamlessly moving a project and any updates to production.

DevOps Pipeline Stages

We will discuss the stages in the DevOps pipeline according to the above-listed steps. We will break them into two phases — Dev and Ops — to help illuminate the way they work together as a DevOps process. It is also important to mention that this entire process is very iterative, and you can expect to repeat these stages many times over.

Development Pipeline Stages

1. Plan

Planning your project, technology, environment, structure, and architecture creates a roadmap to successfully reaching your project goals. Planning is also the stage where you want to decide what software and tools you will use —more on this later.

2. Code

This stage is pretty straightforward, and it is where we start writing code for the project. Effectively, we’re getting ready to build a testable product. Code can take a lot of time, so this is a prime opportunity to maximize automation tools.

3. Build

The Build stage is the point where we take the provided code and build it for testing purposes. The code gets built in a development environment to allow for testing and bug fixes.

4. Test

Testing is what it sounds like, testing that the project is functioning as expected, identifying any bugs or issues in behavior. Depending on your team workflow, you may find UI/UX testing will also happen in this stage.

Operation Pipeline Stages

5. Release

The release stage is where the Ops team will confirm that the project is ready to be released and build it into the production environment. This stage is critical as it is the last stop for many checks — like vulnerabilities and bugs — just before deployment.

6.Deploy

部署是我们移动项目的阶段- in its current state - to the production environment for the end-users to access. This stage is where approved changes get deployed to the consumer/user.

7. Operate

In the Operate stage, the project is where the operations team will configure and manage the project in the production environment. Typically the team will rely on automation to help maintain the project in this stage.

8. Monitor

In the Monitor stage, the project is being used and interacted with. From the recorded results, teams will gain more insight into behavior, user response, and the general success of the product.

The Output of a DevOps Pipeline

The output of a DevOps pipeline sounds a bit ambiguous and may even feel a little discouraging.

The DevOps pipeline is an iterative and largely automated process by design. In this vein, it utilizes variables to help maintain its various interdependent states to create the final project.

The DevOps Pipeline has many tasks in its stages, and for each task, a variable is created to store and share data across the pipeline — such as permissions, users, and more. This process of sharing data through the pipeline makes for a robust lifecycle capable of scaling and adapting as needed.

DevOps Pipeline Example

The best way to think of the DevOps pipeline is to imagine an assembly line for your project. At each step of the assembly line, things are added, removed, and tested to ensure a quality product.

The DevOps pipeline works in the same way, let’s look at a visual example of this process.

Infinity symbol depicting the stages and continuous flow in the DevOps pipeline.

You may notice that there is a prevailing concept across the pipeline — everything is continuous. These stages support a continuous process that should move fluidly throughout the entire DevOps pipeline.

Building a DevOps Pipeline

Building a DevOps Pipeline can be very beneficial for you and your team, but knowing where to start can sometimes be overwhelming.

Let’s discuss an overview of how you can get started in building your pipeline. The Pipeline should be thought of as plumbing pipes, they need to work continuously without fail and in the large picture, they are highly iterative and mostly automated.

Components of a Well-Built Pipeline

The components of a well-built pipeline consist of tools that automate steps and allow continuous iteration. These are:

1. Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)

Continuous integration and continuous delivery allow for seamless implementation of changes to the project and delivery of those changes for further testing before moving to the next stage.

2. Continuous Testing/Continuous Deployment (CT/CD)

Continuous testing and continuous deployment are for testing the changes delivered, and ensuring they do not cause issues or conflicts before deployment to the production environment.

3. Continuous Monitoring

Continuous monitoring is done to help ensure that the project is safe and secure, that it meets compliance requirements, it tracks errors, and much more. This aids in the entire process but centers on the security of the project.

4. Continuous Feedback

Continuous feedback is exactly what it sounds like. This is where you get feedback from end-users on the impact of the project and their interpretation/impression. This feedback is vital for improving the project and dealing with bugs or errors.

5. Continuous Operations

This stage is for limiting planned downtime and preventing unplanned downtime. Operations will take steps to stay ahead of issues and set up a plan of attack that leaves the project running which helps maintain the flow of the pipeline — a very important step.

6.工具和控制环境

Researching tools and your preferred control environment for your DevOps pipeline is one of the most important steps. These tools will effectively structure the rest of your DevOps process and workflow.

There are a lot of tools out there for the DevOps pipeline, and not every tool will meet your needs. Knowing which ones do and are compatible with each other is very important.

7. Build Server and Automation

The next step is to get your build server running to host your project and set up your security and data storage. This stage is also a prime opportunity to configure your automation technology and test it out in your new build server.

8. DevOps Pipeline Deployment

At this point, you should have everything set up and ready to go. The only thing left is to deploy your DevOps pipeline and start reaping the benefits!

Important Takeaways to Remember About the DevOps Pipeline

What is a DevOps Pipeline?

The DevOps pipeline is a series of eight stages in a project lifecycle that combine the functions of both teams — Development and Operations.

DevOps Pipeline Stages

The DevOps pipeline typically has eight stages. In the Development phase, they are: plan, code, build, and test. In the Operations phase, the stages are: release, deploy, operate, and monitor.

The Output of a DevOps Pipeline

The output of a DevOps pipeline is a collection of variables with assigned values used across the pipeline to pass data and manage project and user state.

Building a DevOps Pipeline

The Pipeline should be thought of as plumbing pipes, they need to work continuously without fail and in the large picture, they are highly iterative and mostly automated.

Having a good grasp on the DevOps pipeline is a great place to start before taking steps to implement the pipeline into your team’s workflow. Hopefully, this post has helped you arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about the possible benefits for your team.

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Originally published Nov 15, 2021 7:00:00 AM, updated November 15 2021

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Developer Operations