Deployment is the method of updating code and different actions on the server to make software program obtainable to be used.
Within the present state of affairs, there is a rise in demand for steady deployment to remain present with software program updates, in order to present the person with good high quality utility expertise. There are lots of strategies obtainable available in the market for this, and on this article, we shall be discussing about Blue Inexperienced Deployment.
What’s Blue-Inexperienced Deployment?
Blue Inexperienced Deployment is a software program launch mannequin that consists of two equivalent manufacturing environments; Blue and Inexperienced, configured in a means the place one surroundings is stay and the opposite is in staging (idle) state.
The concept behind that is to redirect site visitors between two environments working with a distinct model of the applying.
This course of eliminates downtime and reduces the danger that occurs resulting from deployment. In case any error happens with the brand new model, we will instantly roll again to the steady model by swapping the surroundings.
In some organizations, additionally it is termed as Crimson Black Deployment.
Working of Blue Inexperienced Deployment:
To implement Blue-Inexperienced deployment, there needs to be two equivalent environments. Additionally, this requires Router or Load Balancer in order that site visitors will be routed to the specified surroundings.
Within the picture, we now have two manufacturing environments, Blue and Inexperienced. The Blue surroundings is one the place present (as an example model 1) of the applying is working and is stay as properly. All of the site visitors of the applying is directed to Blue by Router or load balancer (as per the infra arrange). In the meantime, model 2 of the applying is deployed and examined on Inexperienced Atmosphere.

At present, at this stage, we will discuss with Blue surroundings as Dwell and Inexperienced as idle or at staging state.
As soon as the code for model 2 is examined and prepared to be stay for manufacturing, we redirect the site visitors from Blue Atmosphere to Inexperienced Atmosphere, making Inexperienced as Dwell and Blue as a staging surroundings. If any downside is detected with the Infrastructure or utility after model 2 is made stay, we will roll again to the earlier model simply by swapping the surroundings.

Blue Inexperienced deployment matches all necessities of seamless, secure and absolutely reversible circumstances for preferrred deployment, however there are some practices that want to be adopted for clean course of, for eg. automating the workflow so that there’s minimal human intervention, lowering probabilities of guide error.
Together with that, additionally it is necessary to maintain monitoring in place for Blue Inexperienced utility.
Instruments and Companies for Set-Up:
Based mostly upon infrastructure and utility, there are numerous providers i.e. Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud, Cloudfoundry and many others obtainable which can be utilized to implement Blue-Inexperienced Deployment.
We shall be discussing additional on Blue Inexperienced deployment on Cloud and the steps to implement it.
The arrival of Cloud in Blue-Inexperienced Deployment:
The arrival of cloud computing in deployment has helped the system to cut back related dangers.
Cloud utilities of infra administration, billing and automation have made it simpler to implement Blue-Inexperienced Deployment, making it a faster job at a decrease value.
AWS Companies for Blue-Inexperienced Deployment:
By using AWS for Blue-Inexperienced Deployment, we will entry many providers that assist in automation of deployment and infrastructure i.e. AWS CLI, SDK, ELB, Elastic Beanstalk, CloudFormation and many others. There are a selection of options that AWS offers which we will use, a few of them being:
- DNS Routing with Route53
- Swapping of Autoscaling Group with ELB
- Utilizing Elastic Beanstalk and swapping Utility
- Blue-Inexperienced Deployment utilizing AWS Code Deploy
- Cloning Stack in OpsWork and Updating DNS.
We’ll talk about Utilizing Elastic Beanstalk and swapping Utility intimately:
Utilizing Elastic Beanstalk and swapping Utility
Elastic Beanstalk offers us with the administration of utility and ease in deployment. As soon as we add utility code with model 1 on Elastic Beanstalk, it deploys our utility in Blue Atmosphere and in case of webserver in our infrastructure, URL is offered.
The above Atmosphere configuration is then copied and launched with the brand new model of application-i.e. Inexperienced Atmosphere. The brand new Inexperienced surroundings has its personal URL.
As soon as the applying is up and working, Elastic Beanstalk offers the URL. At this level of time, our utility is up with two environments and URLs, however site visitors goes solely to the Blue Atmosphere.

For Switching the surroundings to Inexperienced, we have to select Atmosphere URL from the Elastic Beanstalk Console. As soon as DNS modifications are finished, we will terminate the Blue Atmosphere.

For Rollback, we have to invoke the Change Atmosphere URL once more.
Steps to carry out Blue-Inexperienced deployment in AWS:
- Open Elastic Beanstalk console from AWS and choose the Area the place we have to arrange an surroundings.
- Both we will launch a brand new surroundings or clone the prevailing surroundings.
- Deploy and take a look at the brand new utility surroundings. For deploying, the brand new model chooses Atmosphere and identify from the listing. Click on on add and deploy.
- We will use display kind to add supply bundle.
- On the Overview web page, select Atmosphere motion and select Swap surroundings URL.
- Select the surroundings identify, below Choose an surroundings to swap column and click on on Swap.

Who Can Profit from Blue-Inexperienced Deployments?
Blue-Inexperienced Deployment offers us with minimal Down Time and dependable deployment.
Blue-Inexperienced Deployment has grow to be helpful in deploying an utility for Improvement Groups, but it surely will be used below the under situations:
- There needs to be equivalent and remoted environments.
- There needs to be the availability for router or Load Balancer.
- System ought to work with Steady Replace.
Completely different Kinds of Deployment
There are a selection of deployment strategies getting used within the trade to deploy the applying. As a DevOps Engineer, it turns into necessary to know the insights about totally different strategies based mostly on our infrastructure offering and select the appropriate approach as per the influence on the end-user.
- Blue-Inexperienced Deployment: Blue Inexperienced deployment offers us with excessive availability and rollback in case of vital bugs discovered. It consists of two environments working in parallel. One surroundings shall be stay and others shall be in staging, thereby, making our utility downtime free.
- A/B Deployment: A/B Deployment is just like Blue-Inexperienced Deployment with the distinction that we ship a small quantity of site visitors to a different Server (one other surroundings). The utilization of A/B Deployment is usually when we have to examine the utilization of options within the utility.
Together with that, it may also be used to examine person suggestions on the brand new model.
- Canary Deployment: Canary deployment is used when we have to launch the total options of the applying in subsets. Typically in Canary, we now have a set of servers assigned to a distinct set of customers. This deployment is necessary when we have to deploy options together with getting suggestions
- Rolling Deployment: In Rolling Deployment, there’s a course of the place we substitute presently working code server with a brand new model in a tandem means. Pausing the deployment is far simpler on this.
Benefits of Blue-Inexperienced Deployment
- No Downtime Deployment: With Blue Inexperienced Deployment, each time there’s a vital bug discovered on the manufacturing server, site visitors is redirected to different environments. This results in no downtime for the end-user.
- Standby: Every time there’s a system failure, we will instantly carry out rollback and get better safely with out disturbing the end-user. With Blue Inexperienced deployment, as soon as we change to the brand new model of utility, the older model of the applying remains to be obtainable. Subsequently, in case of restoration, we will simply swap the surroundings and redirect the site visitors again to the previous model. Blue Inexperienced has confirmed to be impactful in lowering danger within the utility growth course of.
- Quick Rollback: In some instances the place the brand new function just isn’t working correctly, we will change to the older function of utility by performing a rollback.
- Testing in Prod Atmosphere: There are situations when deploying a brand new set of code works effective on native, however when deployed within the bigger infrastructure, it turns into problematic. By utilizing Blue-Inexperienced Deployment, we will examine the efficiency of code on the Prod server with out disturbing customers.
Disadvantages of Blue-Inexperienced Deployment:
Since many individuals are heading towards Blue-Inexperienced Deployment, there are some instances the place this course of just isn’t beneficial.
In some instances, it includes danger which makes deployment extra vulnerable to failure and breakdown.
- Database Sync Up:- Schema modifications are complicated to decouple. Within the case of Blue Inexperienced deployment, syncing of database and information modifications needs to be synchronized between the Blue and Inexperienced surroundings. In case of relational database, it might result in discrepancies.
- QA/UAT Establish of Failure: In some situations, with giant infra, it’s doable that typically QA take a look at instances is not going to detect errors/bugs in a non-live surroundings
- Dashboard Required: Since we now have two equivalent manufacturing environments with a distinct model of code, whereas working the deployment it turns into necessary to monitor insights with packages and code at any level of time to set off issues.
- Price: For Blue-Inexperienced Deployment, we now have two units of environments working in parallel all time, thus rising the price of two manufacturing environments and sustaining them.
Conclusion:
There isn’t any fastened method to deployments that can go well with and work in each situation.
Groups might want to collaborate and work on selecting the best approach for his or her utility, deciding the very best resolution that may work for the advantage of the group and the applying.