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ieeeSW/releaseEng3/IEEE_ThemeIssue_ReleaseEng_CD.md
... | ... | @@ -121,54 +121,48 @@ we moved to preparing the release. |
121 | 121 | |
122 | 122 | ### Preparing a new release |
123 | 123 | |
124 | -Our release process was divided in two perspectives in terms of git tags: the | |
124 | +Our release process was divided in two perspectives in terms of Git tags: the | |
125 | 125 | application and the SPB Portal. The application tag refers to the specific |
126 | 126 | feature or bug fix and is a monotonically increasing. A new tag on any system |
127 | 127 | yielded a new SPB Portal tag. |
128 | 128 | |
129 | 129 | When all tests passed for a given component, we manually created a new |
130 | 130 | application tag for it. As a consequence, that automatically created a new tag |
131 | -for the SPB Portal. Notice that we have forks of the original softwares and, as | |
132 | -consequence, we had different tag values. | |
131 | +for the SPB Portal. Notice that we forked of the original software projects | |
132 | +and, as consequence, we had different tag values. | |
133 | 133 | |
134 | 134 | ### Packaging |
135 | 135 | |
136 | -The platform is running on the CentOS 7 GNU/Linux distribution. | |
137 | -Basically, packaging a software for that distribution has three steps: write | |
138 | -the script for the specific environment (RPM); build the package; and upload | |
139 | -it to a package repository. | |
136 | +The platform is running on the CentOS 7 GNU/Linux distribution. Basically, | |
137 | +packaging a software for that distribution has three steps: write the script | |
138 | +for the specific environment (RPM), build the package, and upload it to a | |
139 | +package repository. | |
140 | 140 | |
141 | 141 | We chose to create our own packages for each software component for several |
142 | 142 | reasons: |
143 | -* Not all software was packaged by the community; | |
144 | -* And those that existed were outdated; | |
143 | + | |
144 | +* Not all software was packaged by the community and those that existed were | |
145 | +outdated; | |
145 | 146 | * Packaging makes it easy to manage the software on a given distribution; |
146 | 147 | * It simplifies the deployment; |
147 | 148 | * Packaging follows the distribution’s best practices and, |
148 | 149 | * Allows configurations and permissions control. |
149 | 150 | |
150 | 151 | After creating a new tag for one component, the DevOps team was notified and |
151 | -packaging process began. In the normal case, the three packaging steps | |
152 | -aforementioned were fully automated by a set of scripts. | |
153 | - | |
154 | -However, if the developers reported to DevOps any eventual dependency change, | |
155 | -the first packaging step had to be manual. For instance, suppose one system | |
156 | -starts requiring another system to be initialized first. That required the | |
157 | -DevOps to manually update the packaging script respective to these systems. | |
158 | - | |
159 | -After all these scripts have run successfully, the new packages would be ready | |
160 | -to use by our subsequent deployment scripts. | |
152 | +the packaging process began. In the normal case, the three packaging steps | |
153 | +aforementioned were fully automated by a set of scripts. With all these scripts | |
154 | +running successfully, the new packages would be ready to use by our subsequent | |
155 | +deployment scripts. | |
161 | 156 | |
162 | -### Validation Environment | |
163 | - | |
164 | -[//]: # (TODO - Mencionar que a ferramenta era baseada em Chef - Dá um peso importante.) | |
157 | +### Validation Environment Deployment | |
165 | 158 | |
166 | 159 | The Validation Environment (VE) is a replica of the Production Environment |
167 | 160 | (PE), with two exceptions: only the government officers and us had access to it |
168 | -and all the data is anonymised. To configure the environment, we use a | |
169 | -configuration management tool. That maintained environment consistency | |
170 | -simplifying the deployment process. Additionally, the packages we built on | |
171 | -the last step were readily available to use by the management tool. | |
161 | +as well as all the data is anonymised. To configure the environment, we used | |
162 | +our configuration management tool: Chake (serverless configuration with Chef). | |
163 | +That maintained environment consistency simplifying the deployment process. | |
164 | +Additionally, the packages we built on the last step were readily available to | |
165 | +use by the management tool. | |
172 | 166 | |
173 | 167 | The VE was used by the government agents to validate new features and required |
174 | 168 | changes. Also, the VE was useful to verify the integrity of the entire portal |
... | ... | @@ -176,20 +170,21 @@ as part of the next step in the pipeline. |
176 | 170 | |
177 | 171 | ### Acceptance Tests |
178 | 172 | |
179 | -After we completely deploy a new SPB Portal version in the VE, the government agents | |
180 | -are responsible for checking features and/or bug fixes required by them. If the | |
181 | -technicians identify a problem, they notify the developers. These problems are | |
182 | -fixed and the pipeline restarts from scratch. If everything is validated, we | |
183 | -move forward. | |
173 | +After we completely deploy, a new SPB Portal version in the VE, the government | |
174 | +agents are responsible for checking features and bug fixes required by them. If | |
175 | +the technicians identify a problem, they notified the developers via comments | |
176 | +on an git issue related to the user story (features) already registered in our | |
177 | +Gitlab at the SPB Portal. These problems were fixed and the pipeline restarted | |
178 | +from scratch. If everything is validated, we moved forward. | |
184 | 179 | |
185 | -### Production Deployment | |
180 | +### Production Environment Deployment | |
186 | 181 | |
187 | -After the government finish the VE check, it is cleared for deployment and we | |
188 | -can finally begin the deployment to Production Environment (PE). For this we | |
189 | -use the same configuration management tool as in the VE as well with same | |
190 | -scripts and package versions. After the deploy is completed, both VE and PE | |
191 | -are running identical software. This is the point where new features and bug | |
192 | -fixes are finally available to end users. | |
182 | +After the government finished the VE check, it was cleared for deployment and | |
183 | +we could finally began the deployment to Production Environment (PE). For this | |
184 | +we also used our configuration management tool as in the VE as well with same | |
185 | +scripts and package versions. After the deploy was completed, both VE and PE | |
186 | +were running identical software. This was the point where new features and bug | |
187 | +fixes were finally available to the end users. | |
193 | 188 | |
194 | 189 | ## Benefits |
195 | 190 | |
... | ... | @@ -270,25 +265,24 @@ project management. |
270 | 265 | |
271 | 266 | ## Challenges |
272 | 267 | |
273 | -We successfully built a functional CD pipeline. In the end, we took over the | |
274 | -deployment process from the government. That allowed us to survive into an | |
275 | -unstable political scenario. However, we recognize that many challenges still | |
276 | -need to be addressed by the industry and academia together. | |
268 | +We successfully built a CD pipeline. In the end, we took over the deployment | |
269 | +process from the government. That allowed us to survive into an unstable | |
270 | +political scenario. However, we recognize that many challenges still need to be | |
271 | +addressed by the industry and academia together. | |
277 | 272 | |
278 | 273 | ### Build CD from scratch |
279 | - | |
274 | + | |
280 | 275 | Taking on CD responsibilities had a significant impact on the team. We did not |
281 | 276 | have the know-how and had little time to come up with a working pipeline. The |
282 | -seniors were crucial at this point. They came up with an initial solution to | |
283 | -get us started. That already enabled us to automatize the deploy, even though | |
284 | -the process was still rudimentary. We had to evolve our solution on-the-fly. We | |
285 | -dedicated a few developers to this task. | |
277 | +senior developers were crucial at this point. They came up with an initial | |
278 | +solution to get us started. That already enabled us to automatize the deploy, | |
279 | +even though the process was still rudimentary. We had to evolve our solution | |
280 | +on-the-fly. We dedicated a few developers to this task. | |
286 | 281 | |
287 | -Building a CD pipeline was hard in the beginning, and we succeed thanks to the | |
288 | -seniors experience. We believe that more tools that provide out-of-the-box | |
289 | -standardized CD pipelines would be of great help for inexperienced teams. Tools | |
290 | -that track each step of the pipeline and organize logs in a human-manageable | |
291 | -way are necessary too. | |
282 | +Building a CD pipeline was hard in the beginning. We believe that more tools | |
283 | +that provide out-of-the-box standardized CD pipelines would be of great help | |
284 | +for inexperienced teams. Tools that track each step of the pipeline and | |
285 | +organize logs in a human-manageable way are necessary too. | |
292 | 286 | |
293 | 287 | ### Handling inexperienced teams |
294 | 288 | |
... | ... | @@ -303,14 +297,12 @@ are needed. |
303 | 297 | In the project’s first half we struggled with deploy related problems in the |
304 | 298 | government structure. We were in a paradoxical situation. The government |
305 | 299 | demanded speedy deliveries but would not give access to their production |
306 | -infrastructure. As an example, only in specific situations the government | |
307 | -allowed us to access the PE. It took some interactions with government agents | |
308 | -before we convinced them to create the VE as an isolated replica of the PE in | |
309 | -their own infrastructure. The government agents then realized that it could be | |
310 | -beneficial for the project if they granted us access to part of the structure. | |
311 | -We believe it is required more research on development protocols and policies | |
312 | -to improve the relation between industry and government, specially regarding | |
313 | -CD. | |
300 | +infrastructure. Afterwards some interactions with government agents, they | |
301 | +created the VE as an isolated replica of the PE in their own infrastructure. | |
302 | +The government agents then realised that it could be beneficial for the project | |
303 | +if they granted us access to part of the structure. We believe it is required | |
304 | +more research on development protocols and policies to improve the relation | |
305 | +between industry and government, specially regarding CD. | |
314 | 306 | |
315 | 307 | ## References |
316 | 308 | ... | ... |