DevOps Shack

CICD in Software Development and CI/CD in IAC

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Introduction
In the software development domain, implementing robust and efficient
processes helps meet the continuously evolving demands of the industry.
Essentially, the rapid deployment of both infrastructure and software is crucial
to maintaining a competitive edge in the market. Adopting methodologies like
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Continuous Integration/Continuous
Deployment (CI/CD) are crucial for swift and consistent software delivery.
These approaches transform how software and its infrastructure are built,
tested, and deployed.

Table of Contents
• CI/CD Meaning: An Overview
• What is Continous Integration (CI)
• What is Continous Delivery (CD)
• Benefits of CI/CD for businesses
• CI/CD and Software Development
• CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code(IaC)
• Benefits of CI/CD in IaC
• Comparing CI/CD in Software Development vs CI/CD in IaC
• Conclusion

CI/CD Meaning: An Overview

CI/CD are software development practices that help improve the efficiency,
reliability, and speed of the development and deployment processes. They
involve automated pipelines for software deployment and testing meant to
improve the product's time to market.
What Is Continuous Integration (CI)?
Continuous Integration involves integrating code changes regularly from
multiple contributors into a shared repository.
Developers submit their code changes to a Version Control System (VCS)
like Git, where the changes are merged with the deployed product. Automated

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build and testing processes are triggered during the merge process to ensure
the new code integrates well with the existing codebase and does not
introduce errors.
As such, CI helps detect integration issues early, reduce bugs, and create a
consistent and stable codebase.
What Is Continuous Delivery (CD)?
Continuous Delivery involves automating software delivery at various stages of
the development or production environment.
Once code changes pass the continuous integration phase, automated
processes take over to deploy the application to different environments,
including testing, staging, and production.
Consequently, CD facilitates faster and more reliable software delivery,
reduced manual intervention, and quick bug fixes, as well as feature updates.
Benefits of CI/CD for Businesses
CI/CD is a key component of the DevOps methodology, also known as the
"shift left" culture that enables collaboration and communication between the
development and operations teams to create a more efficient and streamlined
software delivery process. Some of the key benefits of implementing CI/CD for
companies include:
• Improved metrics: CI/CD enhances Software Development metrics by
automating the tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs). This
includes insights into build success rates, test coverage, and deployment
frequency.
• Better deployment: CI/CD implementation ensures smoother and more
reliable release processes by automating key stages, such as integration,
testing, and deployment. This helps businesses reduce the likelihood of
deployment failures, improving the overall reliability of software
releases.
• Reduced errors and downtime: Automation within the CI/CD pipeline
significantly decreases the chances of human error during development
and deployment. With automated testing, you can detect issues early in
the development cycle, which consequently, reduces bugs and
vulnerabilities in production.

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• Increased agility: CI/CD establishes a more agile development

environment, enabling businesses to respond quickly to changing market
demands.
• Enhanced security: Automated security scans and checks integrated into
the CI/CD pipeline help identify and address vulnerabilities early in
development.
• Improved time to market: CI/CD implementation speeds up the
production process using automated pipelines for testing and
deployment to various environments. This results in faster bug fixes,
updates, and a satisfied user base.
CI/CD and Software/Application Development
CI/CD helps streamline the development lifecycle and enhances software
efficiency. CI/CD pipelines use detailed processes, standards, tools, and
automation to rapidly integrate continuous phases—source, build, test, and
deploy — with precision.
Moreover, they are tailored to the specific needs of each project, ensuring
efficiency and adaptability. Here’s how the Software Development Lifecycle
(SDLC) benefits from the automated pipelines.
1. Source
The first step in a CI/CD pipeline is creating source code, with developers using
language-specific tools like IDEs for code-checking features. This phase relies
on code repositories and VCS like Git.
2. Build
The build process extracts source code, links components, and compiles them
into an executable file. Tools generate logs, identify errors, and notify
developers. Build tools that are language-dependent and can be integrated
into integrated development environments (IDEs), supporting both source
creation and building in a CI/CD pipeline.
3. Test
After completing static testing in the source code phase, the built code
progresses to the dynamic testing phase. This involves functional and unit
testing for new features, regression testing to avoid breaking existing

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functionalities, and additional integration, user acceptance, and performance

tests.
4. Deploy
After successfully passing testing, the build becomes a candidate for
deployment. Continuous delivery requires approval from human stakeholders
prior to deployment, while continuous deployment automatically deploys post-
test suite clearance.
CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code
IaC involves managing, configuring, and provisioning infrastructure using code.
Organizations present their infrastructure in code, enabling version control and
automated deployment through tools like Terraform and Ansible.
In IaC, CI/CD helps optimize the management and provisioning of
infrastructure through automation. Additionally, CI/CD in IaC involves a
streamlined process from defining the infrastructure as code to implementing
a robust CI/CD pipeline.
Let’s explore the steps to enable IaC and CI/CD;
Step 1: Define Infrastructure as Code
Define the desired infrastructure configuration using code, enabling
automated provisioning and management.
You can use tools like Terraform, Pulumi, and Crossplane.
Step 2: Create a CI/CD Pipeline
The second step is to build a CI/CD pipeline that will automate the integration,
testing, and deployment of IaC changes.
You can use tools like GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps.
Step 3: Integrate IaC and CI/CD
Integrate IaC practices with CI/CD processes to ensure a unified and
automated approach to infrastructure management.
This can be achieved by automatically deploying infrastructure changes within
the CI/CD pipeline. This guarantees infrastructure alignment with the latest
code modifications, maintaining consistency.

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Benefits of CI/CD in IaC

Integrating CI/CD in IaC has several benefits, including cost reduction,
enhanced agility, and fast time to market. Let’s explore some of them below.
• Cost reduction: Efficient automation minimizes manual efforts, leading
to cost savings in infrastructure management.
• Better quality: Automated testing ensures consistent and error-free
infrastructure configurations, enhancing overall quality.
• Enhanced agility: Quick and automated deployment of infrastructure
changes enables increased adaptability and responsiveness.
• Synchronization between code and infrastructure: Software and IaC
changes can be part of the same CI/CD pipeline. Both changes can be
deployed using the same pipeline, ensuring the product and its
environment are never out of sync.
• Fast-time to market: Accelerated development and deployment cycles
result in a faster time-to-market for applications and services.
Comparing CI/CD in Software/Application Development vs CI/CD in IaC
CI/CD in software development and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) share
fundamental principles, enabling efficiency and collaboration.
Let’s explore the common aspects below:
• Automation
o IaC: CI/CD automates infrastructure provisioning and
management through code.
o Software development: CI/CD automates the building, testing,
and deployment of software.
• Version Control
o IaC: CI/CD utilizes version control systems (e.g., Git) to manage
changes in infrastructure code.
o Software development: Employs version control for source code
management

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• Collaboration
o IaC: CI/CD encourages collaboration by allowing multiple team
members to contribute to infrastructure code.
o Software development: Promotes collaborative coding and joint
development efforts.
The table below compares distinctive features of CI/CD in software/application
development vs IaC.

Software/Application
Aspects Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Development

Software/application
Infrastructure provisioning
Focus building, testing, and
and management
deployment

Defining infrastructure and

Code Structure Application source code
configurations as code

Involves automating the Involves automating the

Deployment build, test, and deployment provisioning and configuring
Process for systematic release of of infrastructure through
applications code

Lifecycle Software Development Focuses on maintaining and

Management Lifecycle (SDLC) evolving infrastructure

Deployed and operational Configured and provisioned

Final Output
software applications infrastructure

Terraform, Pulumi,
Tools Jenkins, Travis CI, etc.
Crossplane, etc.

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Conclusion
Implementing CI/CD benefits both traditional software development and
Infrastructure as Code (IaC). While CI/CD practices streamline software
development lifecycles, enhancing efficiency and reliability, their application in
IaC optimizes infrastructure management through automation and
consistency.
Whether applied to software or infrastructure, the principles of CI/CD, such as
automation, version control, and collaboration, contribute to the overall
success and competitiveness of modern development practices.