CI/CD Beyond The Basics: Deployment Strategies
CI/CD has grown beyond simply building code and running tests. It now guides how we release software to real users. In this article we explore deployment strategies that help teams ship safely, quickly, and with less drama.
Blue-green deployment keeps two identical environments. You test the new version in the idle environment, then switch traffic with a load balancer. If something goes wrong, you flip back in minutes. This approach minimizes downtime and makes rollbacks predictable.
Canary releases start with a small user group. You watch health checks, error rates, and performance before increasing rollout. This approach limits impact and gives early feedback, especially for new features or infrastructure changes.
Rolling updates replace instances gradually. This reduces downtime but can leave mixed versions for a while. Teams pair it with health checks and automatic rollback to keep service level goals intact.
Feature flags let you release code without turning features on for everyone. They support A/B tests and canary checks. Immutable deployments use a new artifact for each release and keep running instances unchanged, so rollback is simply switching to a previous artifact.
Choosing a strategy depends on risk, user impact, and system complexity. For critical services, blue-green or canary with strong monitoring helps. For internal tools, rolling updates may be enough. In practice, many teams mix approaches per service.
Automation and pipelines tie these strategies to your CD workflow. Use Infrastructure as Code to recreate environments, automated health checks, and clear rollback plans. Keep logs, metrics, and alerting ready. Regularly rehearse deployments in staging before production.
Practical tips include starting with one proven strategy per service, keeping rollback playbooks, and running drills. Treat deployment as a part of product reliability, not a one-off event.
Key Takeaways
- Choose a deployment strategy that matches risk and user impact.
- Automate testing, monitoring, and rollback as part of every release.
- Combine blue-green, canary, and feature flags to reduce downtime.