Jenkins is an open-source automation server that provides hundreds of plugins to support building, deploying and automating any project, it also helps in version control, testing and continuous integration and delivery
Continuous Integration is a mode of work where multiple programmers can integrate changes continuously into the same code.
The basis for collaboration is agreement on the facts, and the basis for development velocity is performing experiments in the form of tests to validate the code works as expected.
Continuous Integration achieves both by creating 2 processes:
- A process that allows developers to agree on what the "true" codebase is - often referred to as the master branch, or trunk
- A process that validates our codebase following changes using tests
In most cases, it is implemented by running tests automatically after a change was introduced into a Git branch, or after a Pull-Request was created.
If the tests don't pass, or if the branch is not up-to-date with the latest changes from the main branch, the change to the code can't be introduced to the main version of the code. This does 2 things: prevents introducing non-working changes into the main branch, and provides the needed confidence for introducing a change to the system.
For most startups, having processes in place that allow collaboration that improves delivery of changes in a consistent, predictable, and safe way, is a crucial part of what allows delivering software.
Using Jenkins has multiple benefits:
- Jenkins offers a wide variety of plugins for building, deploying and automating projects, making it a great tool for continuous integration and continuous delivery
- Jenkins facilitates integration with other tools such as version control systems, testing tools, and deployment tools
- It has a user-friendly web interface, which allows for easy configuration and management of builds, making it accessible for non-technical users
- Jenkins has a large community of users who provide support and resources, including tutorials and documentation
- Jenkins can handle scaling of build processes easily, making it perfect for large and complex projects
Our experience using Jenkins in many past projects includes:
- Deployed Production Jenkins servers on Kubernetes
- Orchestrated Linux & Windows Jenkins Slaves on Kubernetes
- Implemented routine backups for Jenkins and built quick restore processes
- Monitored Jenkins using logs, metrics, and alerts to proactively detect issues
- Built Jenkins Libraries in order to share code across multiple pipelines
- Integrated Jenkins with Github and GitLab
- Created plugins upgrades testing environments to maintain the stability of Jenkins before upgrading it
- Built Jenkins pipelines from scratch and optimized existing pipelines
- Integrated multiple Jenkins pipelines and jobs to incorporate the development of multiple services
- Created a development process for developing Jenkins Jobs and Pipelines in Git
- Utilized Jenkins' parallel feature to reduce the CI's execution duration
- Deployed infrastructure workloads on Kubernetes, AWS and GCP using Jenkins, Helm and Terraform
Some of the things we can help you do with Jenkins:
- Integrate Jenkins with version control systems such as Git to automate the building process
- Use Jenkins in conjunction with testing tools like Selenium and JUnit to automate testing
- Integrate Jenkins with configuration management tools like Ansible and Chef for continuous deployment
- Integrate Jenkins with containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes to automate deployment processes
- Use Jenkins in conjunction with monitoring and logging tools like Grafana and Kibana to visualize and monitor the pipeline
- Integrate Jenkins with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP to automate the deployment process on these platforms
- Integrate Jenkins with collaboration tools like Slack to send notifications on build and deployment status