Key Takeaways:
- Automation is Crucial: Automating testing and deployment processes can drastically reduce release cycles and improve efficiency.
- Standardization Enhances Consistency: Implementing standardized workflows is essential for managing a large number of microservices and maintaining consistency across teams.
- Security Integration is Vital: Integrating security scanning tools like Checkmarx into the CI/CD pipeline helps ensure that only high-quality, vulnerability-free code reaches production.
- Scalability is Key for Growth: Designing systems with scalability in mind allows for future growth and the ability to handle an increasing number of microservices.
- Visibility Through Monitoring: Real-time monitoring and insights provided by tools like OpenTelemetry enable teams to quickly identify and resolve issues, ensuring system reliability and performance.
A fast-growing startup, having passed its MVP stage, was unable to scale its product due to a chaotic development process with hundreds of microservices. The startup required a robust, automated CI/CD system to normalize processes, automate testing, enhance security, and simplify the onboarding of new applications. To address these challenges, a tailored CI/CD solution was developed with Jenkins as the core platform, accompanied by tools like Checkmarx and OpenTelemetry. This new system was to support both Git Flow and Trunk-Based Development, automate several levels of testing, incorporate security scanning, and provide real-time monitoring.
The CI/CD pipeline that was implemented revolutionized the development cycle of the startup, resulting in faster deployments, improved code quality, greater consistency, and easy integration of new microservices. Automated testing and deployment shortened release cycles from days to hours. Gating mechanisms and security scanning ensured high-quality code reached production, while repeatable workflows enabled easy handling of hundreds of microservices. The system’s scalability and real-time monitoring provided by OpenTelemetry also allowed the startup teams to focus on producing great products without worrying
