Introduction to CI/CD with Azure

Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery/Deployment (CD) are core practices in modern software development, enabling faster, more reliable releases. Azure provides a comprehensive set of tools and services to implement robust CI/CD pipelines for your applications. This section provides an overview and foundational knowledge to get you started.

Key Concepts

Understanding the fundamental concepts is crucial for building effective CI/CD pipelines.

  • Continuous Integration (CI): The practice of automating the integration of code changes from multiple developers into a shared repository, followed by automated builds and tests.
  • Continuous Delivery (CD): Extends CI by automatically deploying all code changes to a testing and/or production environment after the build stage.
  • Continuous Deployment (CD): A further extension where every change that passes all stages of your production pipeline is released to your customers.
  • Pipelines: A set of automated processes that run your code through different stages, such as building, testing, and deploying.

Benefits of CI/CD

  • Faster time to market
  • Reduced risk of bugs
  • Improved developer productivity
  • Increased deployment frequency and reliability
  • Better code quality

Azure Pipelines: Your CI/CD Hub

Azure Pipelines is a cloud service that you can use to automatically build, test, and deploy your code. It supports any language, platform, and cloud. It integrates seamlessly with Azure DevOps and can also be used standalone with GitHub or other Git repositories.

Getting Started with Azure Pipelines

Follow these steps to set up your first CI/CD pipeline:

  1. Connect to your repository: Link Azure Pipelines to your Git repository (Azure Repos, GitHub, Bitbucket, etc.).
  2. Define your pipeline: Use YAML or the classic editor to configure your build and release stages.
  3. Configure build triggers: Set up triggers to automatically start a build when code is pushed.
  4. Implement automated tests: Integrate unit, integration, and other automated tests into your build process.
  5. Set up deployment jobs: Define stages to deploy your application to various environments (Dev, Staging, Production).
  6. Use approvals and gates: Implement manual approvals or automated checks before deploying to production.

Example YAML Snippet for a Basic Build Pipeline:

pool:
vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
inputs:
version: '6.x'

- script: dotnet build --configuration Release
displayName: 'Build Application'

- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
inputs:
pathToPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
artifactName: 'drop'
displayName: 'Publish Artifacts'

GitHub Actions for Azure

If your code resides in GitHub, GitHub Actions offers a powerful and flexible way to automate your CI/CD workflows directly from your repository.

GitHub Actions allows you to define workflows using YAML files stored in the `.github/workflows` directory of your repository. These workflows can be triggered by various events, such as pushes, pull requests, or scheduled times.

Deploying Web Apps

Learn how to set up GitHub Actions to automatically deploy your web applications to Azure App Service.

Learn more →

Building Container Images

Discover how to use GitHub Actions to build Docker images and push them to Azure Container Registry.

Learn more →

Working with Azure Functions

Automate the deployment of your Azure Functions using GitHub Actions workflows.

Learn more →

DevOps Best Practices

Adopting CI/CD is more than just setting up tools; it involves embracing a DevOps culture and following best practices.

  • Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Manage your infrastructure using code (e.g., ARM templates, Terraform) to ensure consistency and repeatability.
  • Test Automation: Invest heavily in automated testing at all levels (unit, integration, end-to-end).
  • Immutable Deployments: Deploy new instances rather than updating existing ones to ensure consistency.
  • Monitoring and Logging: Implement comprehensive monitoring and logging to quickly identify and resolve issues.
  • Branching Strategies: Utilize effective branching strategies (e.g., GitFlow, GitHub Flow) to manage code changes.

Advanced Scenarios

Explore more complex CI/CD patterns and techniques tailored for Azure.

  • Multi-stage pipelines: Orchestrate complex deployment processes across multiple environments.
  • Progressive rollouts: Use strategies like blue-green deployments or canary releases to minimize production risks.
  • Security scanning: Integrate security vulnerability scanning into your pipelines.
  • Cost optimization: Optimize your CI/CD infrastructure and processes for cost-effectiveness.