GitLab DevOps Concepts

This section outlines various DevOps principles and practices that are implemented within GitLab.

Continuous Integration

  • What is Continuous Integration?

Continuous integration (CI) is a software development practice where developers frequently integrate their code changes into a shared repository. Each integration is then verified by an automated build (including tests) to detect integration errors as quickly as possible. - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/

  • How is Continuous Integration implemented in GitLab?

GitLab CI/CD is a powerful tool that allows developers to automate the build, test, and deployment of their code. It uses a YAML file called .gitlab-ci.yml to define the CI/CD pipeline.

  • Example gitlab-ci.yml:
stages:
            - build
            - test
            - deploy
          
          build:
            stage: build
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Building the application..."
              - make build
          
          test:
            stage: test
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Running tests..."
              - make test
          
          deploy:
            stage: deploy
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Deploying to production..."
              - make deploy
          

Continuous Delivery

  • What is Continuous Delivery?

Continuous delivery (CD) is a software development practice where code changes are automatically built, tested, and prepared for release to production. This enables rapid deployments of new features and bug fixes, reducing the time between development and delivery. - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/

  • How is Continuous Delivery implemented in GitLab?

GitLab CI/CD allows you to automate the entire delivery process, including building, testing, deploying, and monitoring. This enables rapid deployment of new features and bug fixes, reducing the time between development and delivery.

  • Example gitlab-ci.yml:
stages:
            - build
            - test
            - deploy
          
          build:
            stage: build
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Building the application..."
              - make build
          
          test:
            stage: test
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Running tests..."
              - make test
          
          deploy:
            stage: deploy
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Deploying to production..."
              - make deploy
          

Infrastructure as Code

  • What is Infrastructure as Code?

Infrastructure as code (IaC) is the management of infrastructure (servers, networks, and applications) through code rather than manual processes. This enables consistency, repeatability, and version control for infrastructure deployments. - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/

  • How is Infrastructure as Code implemented in GitLab?

GitLab CI/CD can be used to automate the provisioning and configuration of infrastructure using tools like Terraform, Ansible, and Chef.

  • Example gitlab-ci.yml:
stages:
            - provision
            - configure
          
          provision:
            stage: provision
            image: hashicorp/terraform:latest
            script:
              - echo "Provisioning infrastructure..."
              - terraform init
              - terraform apply -auto-approve
          
          configure:
            stage: configure
            image: ansible/ansible:latest
            script:
              - echo "Configuring infrastructure..."
              - ansible-playbook playbook.yml
          

Monitoring

  • What is Monitoring?

Monitoring is the process of observing and tracking the performance and health of applications and infrastructure. This helps identify issues, understand system behavior, and ensure optimal performance. - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/

  • How is Monitoring implemented in GitLab?

GitLab offers built-in monitoring capabilities, such as GitLab Metrics and GitLab Prometheus integration, to track system performance and health.

  • Example:
stages:
            - deploy
            - monitor
          
          deploy:
            stage: deploy
            image: docker:latest
            script:
              - echo "Deploying to production..."
              - make deploy
          
          monitor:
            stage: monitor
            image: grafana/grafana:latest
            script:
              - echo "Monitoring the application..."
              - grafana-cli dashboard create --input dashboard.json