CI/CD pipelines: their purpose, configuration & benefits

CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipelines are a modern DevOps practice that automates the process of packaging, testing and deploying code in small increments. This practice has made software development agile and reliable and holds the same promise for networking as more environments transition to the infrastructure-as-code (IaC) mode. In network engineering, CI/CD pipelines help implement network changes quickly and push them into production with speed and accuracy. 

With CI/CD pipelines becoming increasingly popular, it’s important to understand what they are and the purpose they serve in a business, how they are set up and what their benefits will be. 

Configuration of CI/CD pipelines 

To set up a network CI/CD pipeline, you must start by creating, verifying, pushing and committing to your configuration change within the local development configuration. The pipeline should be iterative rather than linear so that DevOps teams can write code, integrate it, run tests, deliver releases and deploy continuously. When selecting CI/CD tools for your network pipeline, focus on how to optimise and automate the software. 

A practical approach to building a network CI/CD pipeline is similar to the ones built for customers by Batfish. The demo of this pipeline is available on YouTube while the code is on GitHub. Reading earlier blogs may also be useful if you’re curious about basic concepts behind network validation and CI/CD pipeline structure options. 

Benefits of CI/CD pipelines

Reducing potential errors or downtime 

One of the main benefits of using CI/CD pipelines is that they help reduce errors and downtime caused by manual configuration changes. By automating the testing and deployment process, engineers can catch errors early on and fix them before they cause any issues in production. This improves the overall quality of software and reduces the risk of costly downtime. 

Bolstering cross-team collaboration 

Another benefit of using CI/CD pipelines is that they help improve collaboration between teams. By using a shared repository for code changes, engineers can easily collaborate with each other and ensure that everyone is working on the same version of the code. This enhances communication and reduces the risk of conflicts or misunderstandings. 

Increasing deployment speed

CI/CD pipelines also help improve the speed at which changes can be deployed to production. By automating the testing and deployment process, engineers can deploy changes faster than if they were doing it manually. This helps organisations stay competitive by enabling them to release new features or updates quicker. 

Enhancing security measures 

In addition to these benefits, CI/CD pipelines also help improve security by allowing for automated security testing during the build process. This helps identify vulnerabilities early on and ensures that software is secure before it is deployed to production. 

Overall, CI/CD pipelines offer many benefits for software development teams from improved quality and collaboration to speed and security. As such, they have become an essential tool for modern software development practices – and increasing infrastructure provisioning is following this trend. 

How can CACI help? 

Implementing a CI/CD pipeline in network engineering helps automate the building, testing and deployment of applications. It bridges the gap between development and operations teams by automating processes that were previously manual. A well-designed CI/CD pipeline can help organisations achieve faster time-to-market with fewer errors while improving overall efficiency. 

Why not get in touch to see how we can help your business leverage the power of CI/CD pipelines to help improve your IT infrastructure and networking automation journey.