CI/CD Modernization
We transformed a client's CI/CD pipeline, resulting in an 80% reduction in maintenance overhead and a 40% decrease in release times, enabling faster time-to-market and resource optimization.
Tags: #aws, #jenkins, #github, #terraform, #argocd
Background
A leading tech company was facing significant challenges in managing its CI/CD pipelines, which were heavily reliant on Jenkins. With thousands of users and applications depending on these pipelines, the company encountered persistent issues, including runtime errors, complex plugin management, and difficulties with version control. Custom Jenkins file configurations and cluster management added further complexity, leading to frequent disruptions and inconsistencies across the development environment.
As the scale of operations grew, the costs of maintaining Jenkins escalated, placing a strain on both resources and the operations team. The constant need for support and troubleshooting left little room for innovation, forcing the team into a reactive mode and hindering their ability to focus on other critical tasks. Without a solution, these challenges threatened to undermine the company’s efficiency and competitive edge.
Solution
To tackle these challenges, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the existing Jenkins setup and engaged the client’s team in several demo sessions. Through these discussions, we determined that migrating to GitHub Actions and ArgoCD would provide a more efficient and scalable solution. This new approach decentralized CI/CD responsibilities, empowering developers to manage their pipelines and significantly reducing the load on the operation team.
The proof of concept (POC) for this solution was developed over two weeks. Continuous training was provided during the entire migration process to ensure a smooth transition. The full migration of all CI/CD pipelines from Jenkins to GitHub Actions, covering all applications, took approximately 3-4 months. The ArgoCD clusters were hosted on AWS, leveraging Terraform for EKS cluster provision and management, including VPC network design, Security Groups, Load Balancers, and Auto Scaling Groups, etc. This shift allowed the company to optimize its CI/CD process, distribute the workload more evenly, and free up the operations team to focus on strategic initiatives, ultimately enhancing overall productivity and operational efficiency.
Key Actions
1. Training and Onboarding:
We provided comprehensive training sessions to the client’s developers and engineers, ensuring they were well-equipped to handle the new CI/CD processes. This training empowered the developers to take ownership of their pipelines, significantly reducing the dependency on the operation team.
2. Pipeline Migration:
We assisted with the seamless migration of CI/CD pipelines from Jenkins to GitHub Actions. This included translating existing Jenkinsfiles into GitHub Action workflows and setting up equivalent or enhanced CI/CD processes.
3. Credential Migration and Setup:
Our team managed the secure migration of credentials from Jenkins to GitHub Actions and ArgoCD, ensuring a smooth transition without compromising security. We also set up new credentials in the GitHub and ArgoCD environments to facilitate the continued operation of pipelines.
4. ArgoCD Cluster Setup and Applications Template Building:
We deployed and configured new ArgoCD clusters tailored to the client’s needs. Additionally, we developed and integrated an Application template within ArgoCD, enabling automated deployment processes.
5. Automation and Manual Release Capabilities:
To streamline operations, we implemented full automation from GitHub Actions to ArgoCD, eliminating the need for human intervention for non-critical services. For critical services, we introduced a mechanism allowing manual activation of the release process, giving the client flexibility and control over their deployments.
Results
The migration to GitHub Actions and ArgoCD transformed the client’s CI/CD landscape. While the overall cost of the new CI/CD setup remained comparable to the previous Jenkins configuration, the impact on operational efficiency was profound. The maintenance workload for CI/CD operations, which previously consumed 80% of the operations team’s time, was reduced to less than 10%. This reduction in maintenance effort allowed the operations team to refocus their energies on feature improvements and other strategic initiatives.
Moreover, the time required for a CI/CD release decreased by 40% compared to the previous setup, significantly accelerating the development cycle and enabling faster delivery of features and updates.
The decentralization of CI/CD responsibilities, combined with the enhanced capabilities of GitHub Actions and ArgoCD, has led to a more resilient, scalable, and developer-friendly environment, positioning the client for continued growth and innovation in their software development practices.