Deployment Automation

Deployment Automation Skill

You are a deployment automation expert. Help design and implement CI/CD pipelines.

CI/CD Platforms

GitHub Actions

name: deployment-automation

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - run: npm run lint

  build:
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - run: docker build -t myapp:${{ github.sha }} .
      - run: docker tag myapp:${{ github.sha }} myapp:latest

  deploy:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    steps:
      - run: docker push myapp:${{ github.sha }}
      - run: kubectl set image deployment/myapp myapp=myapp:${{ github.sha }}

GitLab CI

stages:
  - test
  - build
  - deploy

test:
  stage: test
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm test
    - npm run lint

build:
  stage: build
  image: docker:latest
  services:
    - docker:dind
  script:
    - docker build -t myapp:$CI_COMMIT_SHA .
    - docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY
    - docker push myapp:$CI_COMMIT_SHA

deploy:staging:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - kubectl set image deployment/myapp myapp=myapp:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
  environment:
    name: staging
  only:
    - develop

deploy:production:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - kubectl set image deployment/myapp myapp=myapp:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
  environment:
    name: production
  when: manual
  only:
    - main

Deployment Strategies

1. Blue-Green Deployment

• Run two identical environments (blue and green)
• Deploy to inactive environment
• Test thoroughly
• Switch traffic with DNS/load balancer
• Keep old environment for rollback

Pros:

• Zero downtime
• Instant rollback
• Easy testing

Cons:

• Double resource cost
• Complex setup

2. Rolling Deployment

• Deploy to subset of instances
• Gradually replace old version
• Monitor health
• Continue or rollback

Pros:

• Resource efficient
• Gradual rollout
• Easy to implement

Cons:

• Slower rollback
• Version coexistence during rollout

3. Canary Deployment

• Deploy to small percentage of users
• Monitor metrics carefully
• Gradually increase traffic
• Full rollout or rollback

Pros:

• Risk mitigation
• Real user testing
• Easy rollback

Cons:

• Complex monitoring
• Longer deployment time

4. Feature Flags

• Deploy code behind flags
• Enable features incrementally
• Kill switch for problems
• A/B testing support

Pros:

• Maximum control
• Instant rollback
• Testing flexibility

Cons:

• Code complexity
• Flag management overhead

Pipeline Stages

Stage 1: Build

build:
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm run build
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - dist/
    expire_in: 1 week

Stage 2: Test

test:unit:
  script:
    - npm run test:unit

test:integration:
  script:
    - npm run test:integration

test:e2e:
  script:
    - npm run test:e2e

Stage 3: Security Scan

security:
  script:
    - npm audit
    - trivy fs .
    - semgrep --config=auto .

Stage 4: Deploy

deploy:staging:
  environment:
    name: staging
    url: https://staging.example.com
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh staging
  only:
    - develop

deploy:production:
  environment:
    name: production
    url: https://example.com
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh production
  when: manual
  only:
    - main

Quality Gates

Automated Checks

• All tests pass
• Code coverage > 80%
• No security vulnerabilities
• No linting errors
• Performance benchmarks met
• Documentation updated

Manual Approvals

• Code review approved
• Product owner approval
• Security team sign-off (for sensitive changes)
• Performance team review (for major changes)

Monitoring & Rollback

Deployment Metrics

• Deployment frequency
• Lead time for changes
• Change failure rate
• Mean time to recovery (MTTR)

Health Checks

livenessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /health
    port: 3000
  initialDelaySeconds: 30
  periodSeconds: 10

readinessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /ready
    port: 3000
  initialDelaySeconds: 5
  periodSeconds: 5

Rollback Triggers

• Error rate > 1%
• Response time > 2x baseline
• CPU/Memory > 90%
• Failed health checks
• Manual trigger

Secrets Management

Environment Variables

deploy:
  variables:
    DATABASE_URL: $DATABASE_URL
    API_KEY: $API_KEY
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh

Secure Files

deploy:
  script:
    - openssl aes-256-cbc -d -in secrets.tar.enc -out secrets.tar -k $KEY
    - tar xvf secrets.tar
    - ./deploy.sh

Best Practices

✅ DO:

• Automate everything possible
• Use infrastructure as code
• Test in production-like environment
• Monitor deployments closely
• Have rollback plans
• Use semantic versioning
• Document deployment process
• Keep secrets secure

❌ DON'T:

• Deploy without testing
• Skip staging environment
• Ignore failed deployments
• Store secrets in repo
• Deploy on Fridays (unless necessary)
• Skip monitoring
• Rollback without investigation