1The Value of Testing
A CI/CD pipeline is only as good as its automated tests. If you don't write robust unit and integration tests for CodeBuild to run, your pipeline will simply automate the deployment of bugs into production at record speed.
2Step-by-Step Breakdown
The Problem. Manually building, testing, and copying files to servers via FTP or SSH is slow and prone to catastrophic human error.
CodeCommit. AWS CodeCommit is a secure, highly scalable, managed source control service that hosts private Git repositories (similar to GitHub or GitLab).
CodeBuild. A fully managed continuous integration (CI) service that compiles source code, runs tests, and produces ready-to-deploy software packages.
CodeDeploy. Automates code deployments to any instance, including EC2, Lambda, and ECS. It handles complex rolling updates to prevent downtime.
Knowledge Check. Which AWS service is responsible for compiling your source code and running your automated tests?
- →CodeCommit
- →CodeBuild
CodePipeline. The orchestrator. It connects the pieces together. When you push to CodeCommit, CodePipeline automatically triggers CodeBuild, and then CodeDeploy.
Manual Approvals. You can add manual approval stages in CodePipeline. The pipeline will pause and send an SNS email to a manager before deploying to Production.
Blue/Green Deployments. CodeDeploy supports Blue/Green, where a new set of servers (Green) is provisioned with new code. Traffic is slowly shifted. If errors occur, it instantly rolls back to the old servers (Blue).
Buildspec and Appspec. These YAML files live in your code repository. Buildspec tells CodeBuild how to compile; Appspec tells CodeDeploy where to put the files on the server.
Summary. Automated CI/CD pipelines allow teams to ship features faster and safer.
