CI/CD vs DevOps: Tools and Practices

In modern software development, CI/CD vs DevOps are essential methodologies that streamline the process of building, testing, and deploying software. While both approaches aim to improve the speed and efficiency of software delivery, they are not the same.
CI/CD focuses on the automation of the software development lifecycle, particularly in the areas of integration and delivery, whereas DevOps is a broader cultural and organizational practice that promotes collaboration between development and operations teams.
In this article, we'll explore how CI/CD and DevOps intersect, examine the tools commonly used, and take a closer look at how Jenkins, a popular CI/CD tool, can be used to implement a DevOps pipeline.

What is CI/CD?

Continuous Integration (CI)
Continuous Integration is the practice of merging code changes into a central repository frequently, where automated builds and tests are run. Developers push code changes to the repository multiple times a day, and each change triggers an automated build. This build process includes compiling the code, running automated tests, and identifying bugs as early as possible. The primary goal of CI is to detect integration issues early so that they can be fixed quickly, ensuring that the codebase remains stable and functional.

Continuous Delivery (CD)
Continuous Delivery extends Continuous Integration by automatically deploying code changes to a staging environment after they pass automated tests. In some cases, it even includes the automatic deployment to a production environment, which is referred to as Continuous Deployment. Continuous Delivery ensures that the code is always in a deployable state, allowing teams to release new features or bug fixes to production faster and more frequently.

CI/CD in Practice
A standard CI/CD pipeline typically consists of these stages:

1. Source Control: Developers push their code to a version control system (e.g., Git).
2. Build: An automated system compiles the code.
3. Test: Automated tests are executed to ensure that the code is functional and bug-free.
4. Deploy: The code is deployed to a staging or production environment automatically.

What is DevOps?

DevOps is a cultural philosophy that promotes closer collaboration between development and operations teams. Traditionally, development and operations teams worked in silos, with developers focusing on writing code and operations teams responsible for deploying and managing production environments. This separation often led to delays, miscommunication, and inefficiencies.

DevOps breaks down these silos by encouraging developers and operations teams to work together throughout the software development lifecycle. This collaboration results in faster releases, higher quality software, and more reliable infrastructure. DevOps also emphasizes automation, monitoring, and continuous feedback, which helps teams respond to issues quickly and improve their processes over time.

CI/CD vs DevOps: Key Differences

While CI/CD and DevOps share common goals of improving software delivery speed and quality, they are distinct concepts:

• CI/CD is primarily about automating the processes of building, testing, and delivering code. It focuses on the technical practices and tools required to ensure that code changes are automatically integrated, tested, and deployed.

• DevOps is a broader cultural shift that includes collaboration between developers and operations, automation, monitoring, and feedback loops. DevOps encompasses not only CI/CD but also infrastructure management, security practices (DevSecOps), and organizational changes.

You can read more to understand the key differences between CI/CD vs DevOps.

In short, CI/CD is a subset of DevOps. You can have CI/CD without fully adopting DevOps, but a mature DevOps practice will almost always include CI/CD as a core component.

Popular CI/CD Tools

There are several tools that help implement CI/CD pipelines. Here are some of the most commonly used:

1. Jenkins: One of the most popular open-source tools for building and automating CI/CD pipelines. Jenkins supports a wide variety of plugins and can be highly customized to fit specific workflows.

2. GitLab CI: Built into GitLab, this tool provides integrated CI/CD functionality, making it easy to automate builds, tests, and deployments directly from version control.

3. CircleCI: A cloud-based CI/CD tool that integrates with GitHub and other version control platforms. It offers rapid feedback and parallel processing to speed up builds.

4. Travis CI: A cloud-based CI tool that integrates with GitHub repositories to automate the testing and deployment of code.

5. Azure DevOps: Microsoft's cloud-based DevOps tool that includes pipelines for CI/CD, as well as repositories, boards, and test plans.

6. AWS CodePipeline: A fully managed CI/CD service that automates builds, tests, and deployments on AWS.

Each of these tools has its own strengths and is suited for different types of projects, depending on factors like the complexity of the pipeline, deployment environments, and the team's familiarity with the tool.

Jenkins: A Closer Look at CI/CD in DevOps

Jenkins is a leading tool for building CI/CD pipelines, seamlessly integrating into DevOps workflows. Here’s how to get started with your first Pipeline in Jenkins.

Jenkins Pipeline is a plugin suite that enables continuous delivery pipelines within Jenkins. It automates the process of moving software from version control to end users, capturing the entire development cycle.
With Jenkins Pipeline, you can model delivery pipelines “as code.” This pipeline code is written in a text file, known as a Jenkinsfile, which is stored in the project’s source control. Let’s walk through the steps:

1. Install the Docker Pipeline Plugin: Go to Manage Jenkins > Plugins and add the Docker Pipeline plugin.
2. Restart Jenkins: Ensure the plugin activates after installation.
3. Add a Jenkinsfile: Copy a Jenkinsfile example into your repository and name it Jenkinsfile.
4. Create a New Pipeline:

• Open New Item in Jenkins.
• Name it (e.g., My-Pipeline) and select Multibranch Pipeline.
• Click Add Source, specify your repository type, and complete the details.
• Save your setup, and Jenkins will start your first Pipeline.

To customize, you may need to adjust the sh command in the Jenkinsfile to match commands used locally. Once configured, Jenkins automatically detects new branches or pull requests in your repository and initiates the pipeline for each.
Quick Start Examples
Here are some quick and easy examples you can copy and paste to create a basic Pipeline for different languages in Jenkins.
Java:

Or PHP:

This pipeline implements essential CI/CD principles:

• Clone Repository: Jenkins retrieves the latest code from the Git repository.
• Build: The code is compiled or built.
• Test: Automated tests run to verify code quality and functionality.
• Package: The application is packaged, such as into a Docker container.
• Deploy to Staging: The application is deployed to a staging environment for additional testing.
• Deploy to Production: If triggered from the main or another designated branch, the application is deployed to production.

With this pipeline, Jenkins automates the entire process from integration to production deployment, allowing teams to focus on writing code and improving features rather than manually handling builds and deployments.

Conclusion

In the future, as the industry continues to evolve, we'll see even more emphasis on automation, security, and scalability in CI/CD vs DevOps practices. Whether you're just starting with DevOps or looking to improve your existing processes, adopting a CI/CD pipeline with tools like Jenkins is a great step toward faster, more reliable software delivery.