DevOps-Insights

What's wrong?

• dev-testing via MR-deployed-envs is easy if:
  • we only need one project to test
  • we can use the proconfigured env combinations
  • we don't require specific configuration values
• but:
  • it slows down dev-cycle
  • complex environments are hard to configure
  • it's dangerously easy to break dev-templates

What new?

• environment builder is tooling to configure and create simple or complex testing environments
• wonderpod is a cli wrapper
• operated from command line, idependently from specific MR
• replaces automated deployments from MRs
• based on
  • configuration files in repository
  • MRs for each environment
  • GitLab pipelines to create/update/remove these envs

How does it work?

• checkout envbuilder repo

  # clone Environment Builder
  git clone git@gitlab.scanplus.de:dev/tools/environment-builder.git
  cd environment-builder
  

• create a new branch for your env

• create an env.yaml to configure your env

How does it work?

env.yaml:

name: BLU-321-testing             # name to identify env
projects:                         # dict of projects and their refs 
  - dev/AidaPortal: "BLU-321"     # specific projects
  - group/blu: "BLU-321,release"  # groups projects for frequently 
                                  # used combinations 

scanplus_env: dev                 # an env-type. could also be 'qa'
target_clusters:                  # clusters to deploy onto.
  - os4-ulm         

How does it work?

• save env.yaml, and add stage
• commit and push your changes
• create an MR from you new branch into main

-> MR Pipelines will create the env

Demo Time?

Sounds like a lot of typing. Can we speed things up?

wonderpods, a cli wrapper for environment-builder:

# clone Environment Builder
git clone git@gitlab.scanplus.de:dev/tools/environment-builder.git
cd environment-builder
# create virtualenv and activate
python3 -m venv venv && . venv/bin/activate
# install
pip install src

How do I use it?

usage: wonderpod [-h] [-r REPO] [envname]

positional arguments:
  envname               a name to identify this environment. 
                        A random name is chosen if none is given

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -r REPO, --repo REPO  repository to operate on, defaults to this repo

How do I use it?

wonderpod best-env-ever 

will present you with an editor with a sample environment config. You can modify and save it. wonderpod will:

• create branch
• commit
• push
• create MR
• output link to MR where env is created from

Demo Time

How can I find my env?

Pipeline creates comments in all related MRs with links and status:

I don't need my env anymore. How do I remove it?

• close the MR

Docmentation anyone?

README.md in the environment builder project

slides in devops-insights repo

Features to be developed

• configure gitlab webhook to trigger build
• custom env config maps per environment
• allow generic env types (tied to argocd)