1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,833 In this lesson, 2 00:00:00,833 --> 00:00:04,110 we will discuss Automating Application Development. 3 00:00:04,110 --> 00:00:05,910 Deploying innovative, robust, 4 00:00:05,910 --> 00:00:07,290 and secure applications quickly 5 00:00:07,290 --> 00:00:09,420 and consistently can be very challenging, 6 00:00:09,420 --> 00:00:12,360 but by automating our application development efforts, 7 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:14,370 we can improve the efficiency, consistency, 8 00:00:14,370 --> 00:00:17,520 and the overall quality of our final software products 9 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:19,350 being released and deployed. 10 00:00:19,350 --> 00:00:21,270 In the world of application development, 11 00:00:21,270 --> 00:00:23,520 automation really involves the use of technology 12 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,940 to manage, test, and deploy new applications or features 13 00:00:26,940 --> 00:00:29,220 with minimal human intervention. 14 00:00:29,220 --> 00:00:31,680 In the days of legacy software development, 15 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,410 every step of the software development testing, release, 16 00:00:34,410 --> 00:00:36,300 and deployment process was conducted 17 00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:39,960 by our software developers who are after all humans. 18 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,140 Now, relying on humans for every step can be a major hurdle 19 00:00:43,140 --> 00:00:45,600 that slows down our release and deployment process. 20 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,520 For example, under the older 21 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:49,380 waterfall development methodologies, 22 00:00:49,380 --> 00:00:51,300 it could often take 3 to 12 months 23 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:53,190 to create a software application. 24 00:00:53,190 --> 00:00:55,530 Luckily, in our modern development environments, 25 00:00:55,530 --> 00:00:57,900 we can use automations to help us develop software 26 00:00:57,900 --> 00:01:01,950 in a more iterative style to rapidly create, test, release, 27 00:01:01,950 --> 00:01:03,720 and deploy our applications. 28 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:05,730 Simply by moving to a more iterative 29 00:01:05,730 --> 00:01:07,710 or Agile development style, 30 00:01:07,710 --> 00:01:10,800 we can see many features of the new software application 31 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,410 being created and released within just a few weeks. 32 00:01:13,410 --> 00:01:15,930 But with the introduction of continuous integration 33 00:01:15,930 --> 00:01:18,210 and continuous deployment, we can see some features 34 00:01:18,210 --> 00:01:19,830 and software applications being created 35 00:01:19,830 --> 00:01:21,390 and released in the same day 36 00:01:21,390 --> 00:01:23,820 and in some really high velocity organizations, 37 00:01:23,820 --> 00:01:25,920 sometimes multiple times per day. 38 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,470 For example, the photo sharing site Flickr 39 00:01:28,470 --> 00:01:30,570 had automated so much of their integration 40 00:01:30,570 --> 00:01:31,680 and deployment processes 41 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,020 that they were releasing software patches, new features, 42 00:01:34,020 --> 00:01:36,690 and new functionality up to 10 times per day 43 00:01:36,690 --> 00:01:39,030 at the peak of their software development efforts. 44 00:01:39,030 --> 00:01:42,390 So hopefully, you can now see why we wanted to move 45 00:01:42,390 --> 00:01:44,370 from the waterfall development methodology 46 00:01:44,370 --> 00:01:46,410 to the Agile or iterative method, 47 00:01:46,410 --> 00:01:48,210 and now to a continuous integration 48 00:01:48,210 --> 00:01:49,980 and continuous deployment methodology 49 00:01:49,980 --> 00:01:52,650 to really decrease the time it takes to create 50 00:01:52,650 --> 00:01:56,610 and release a usable function or feature to our end users. 51 00:01:56,610 --> 00:01:59,520 By using continuous integration and continuous deployment, 52 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,830 also known as CI/CD, 53 00:02:01,830 --> 00:02:04,740 we can significantly improve the efficiency, consistency, 54 00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:07,830 and overall quality of our software applications. 55 00:02:07,830 --> 00:02:09,990 So what is continuous integration? 56 00:02:09,990 --> 00:02:11,970 Continuous Integration or CI 57 00:02:11,970 --> 00:02:13,800 is a practice in software development 58 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,380 where all of your developers merge their code changes 59 00:02:16,380 --> 00:02:19,710 into a central repository multiple times per day. 60 00:02:19,710 --> 00:02:23,130 Each check-in is then verified by automated build process 61 00:02:23,130 --> 00:02:24,780 can provide early notifications 62 00:02:24,780 --> 00:02:26,190 if there's a problem detected 63 00:02:26,190 --> 00:02:28,380 during the integration and build process. 64 00:02:28,380 --> 00:02:29,910 Using automation tools, 65 00:02:29,910 --> 00:02:32,580 we can easily manage the integration of code changes 66 00:02:32,580 --> 00:02:35,670 from multiple contributors into a single software project 67 00:02:35,670 --> 00:02:38,520 and provide us with some automatic notifications 68 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,770 for any conflicts or errors. 69 00:02:40,770 --> 00:02:43,410 After integrating the code into the central repository, 70 00:02:43,410 --> 00:02:46,320 the system will automatically execute a series of tests 71 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,110 on that code to help reduce the time and effort 72 00:02:49,110 --> 00:02:51,600 traditionally required by manual testing. 73 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,400 This testing step is crucial 74 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,230 for maintaining software quality 75 00:02:55,230 --> 00:02:58,020 when frequent updates and changes are being made 76 00:02:58,020 --> 00:03:01,110 by multiple developers across your organization. 77 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:03,840 Immediately following the integration and testing stages, 78 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:05,790 developers will often receive feedback 79 00:03:05,790 --> 00:03:07,470 on any issues that were detected 80 00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:10,320 so they can quickly correct or modify their code 81 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,660 in response to the feedback that they receive 82 00:03:12,660 --> 00:03:15,180 from the automated testing process. 83 00:03:15,180 --> 00:03:16,920 This constant communication loop 84 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:19,470 helps to ensure the integrity and functionality 85 00:03:19,470 --> 00:03:22,560 of the final software application is maintained. 86 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,140 Now that the software is being continuously integrated, 87 00:03:25,140 --> 00:03:28,320 it still needs to be prepared for release and deployment. 88 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:29,790 When we talk about a few releases, 89 00:03:29,790 --> 00:03:31,770 we're talking about the process of finalizing 90 00:03:31,770 --> 00:03:34,080 and preparing new software or updates, 91 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,270 verifying through continuous integration 92 00:03:36,270 --> 00:03:38,610 for delivery into a specific environment. 93 00:03:38,610 --> 00:03:40,830 This environment could be a staging environment 94 00:03:40,830 --> 00:03:42,330 or a production environment, 95 00:03:42,330 --> 00:03:45,060 and the release process marks the transition point 96 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:46,830 where a particular piece of software 97 00:03:46,830 --> 00:03:49,110 is ready for users to access it. 98 00:03:49,110 --> 00:03:51,090 Now, a deployment, on the other hand, 99 00:03:51,090 --> 00:03:54,660 involves the automated, consistent, and reliable process 100 00:03:54,660 --> 00:03:57,840 of pushing out new releases or versions of that software 101 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,810 into a target environment like testing, staging, 102 00:04:00,810 --> 00:04:04,140 or production environment, so that it becomes operational 103 00:04:04,140 --> 00:04:06,360 and accessible to your end users. 104 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,020 Now, I know this sounds like two very similar definitions, 105 00:04:10,020 --> 00:04:12,360 but there are key differences between them. 106 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:13,980 When it comes to a release, 107 00:04:13,980 --> 00:04:15,720 it is making the software available 108 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,029 to people who want to install and use it, 109 00:04:18,029 --> 00:04:21,000 whereas deployment involves actually installing the software 110 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:22,860 into a new environment. 111 00:04:22,860 --> 00:04:25,800 Now, once the continuous integration is performed, 112 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:27,780 we can then move into continuous delivery 113 00:04:27,780 --> 00:04:29,330 or continuous deployment. 114 00:04:29,330 --> 00:04:31,800 In the cybersecurity and software development world, 115 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,380 we have two different types of CI/CD. 116 00:04:34,380 --> 00:04:37,170 One is continuous integration and continuous delivery, 117 00:04:37,170 --> 00:04:39,120 while the other is continuous integration 118 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:40,470 and continuous deployment. 119 00:04:40,470 --> 00:04:42,480 Regardless of which one you choose to utilize 120 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:43,530 in your organization, 121 00:04:43,530 --> 00:04:46,050 we always start with continuous integration, 122 00:04:46,050 --> 00:04:48,540 which we have already discussed in this lesson. 123 00:04:48,540 --> 00:04:51,060 Now we need to move to either the continuous delivery 124 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:53,430 or continuous deployment option. 125 00:04:53,430 --> 00:04:56,100 Let's start with the continuous delivery option first. 126 00:04:56,100 --> 00:04:58,590 Continuous delivery ensures that the code base 127 00:04:58,590 --> 00:05:01,410 is always in a deployable state after every change 128 00:05:01,410 --> 00:05:04,440 through the use of automated testing and building processes. 129 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,050 However, it stops short of pushing changes 130 00:05:07,050 --> 00:05:08,610 to production automatically. 131 00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:11,400 Basically, I want you to think about continuous delivery 132 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,260 as part of a release process 133 00:05:13,260 --> 00:05:15,450 and not as part of the deployment process. 134 00:05:15,450 --> 00:05:16,860 In continuous delivery, 135 00:05:16,860 --> 00:05:19,200 the full deployment process is automated 136 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,060 only up to a certain stage, 137 00:05:21,060 --> 00:05:22,980 such as in the development, testing, 138 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:26,160 or staging environments, but it will not deploy 139 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:28,230 into your live production environment. 140 00:05:28,230 --> 00:05:29,610 With continuous delivery, 141 00:05:29,610 --> 00:05:31,530 deployment into your production environment 142 00:05:31,530 --> 00:05:33,570 is considered to be a manual step 143 00:05:33,570 --> 00:05:35,430 so that you can retain the control 144 00:05:35,430 --> 00:05:37,500 over when and how the changes are deployed 145 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:39,810 into your live production environment. 146 00:05:39,810 --> 00:05:42,180 This means that the deployment of the production environment 147 00:05:42,180 --> 00:05:44,610 is a business decision that takes into account 148 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:47,520 various factors like timing, market conditions, 149 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,410 and stakeholder readiness. 150 00:05:49,410 --> 00:05:52,410 By using continuous delivery, your team has more flexibility 151 00:05:52,410 --> 00:05:54,720 to decide when to deploy new changes 152 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:56,160 into the production environment, 153 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,920 while ensuring that they have a production-ready version 154 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:00,780 of the software at all times. 155 00:06:00,780 --> 00:06:03,630 Now, this brings us to the concept of continuous deployment. 156 00:06:03,630 --> 00:06:05,820 Continuous deployment takes the process further 157 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:08,010 by automatically deploying all code changes 158 00:06:08,010 --> 00:06:09,210 into a testing environment 159 00:06:09,210 --> 00:06:11,040 and then into a production environment 160 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,380 after the build stage is completed. 161 00:06:13,380 --> 00:06:15,690 Every change that passes all stages 162 00:06:15,690 --> 00:06:17,130 of your production pipeline 163 00:06:17,130 --> 00:06:19,050 will be fully released to your customers 164 00:06:19,050 --> 00:06:20,550 with no human intervention 165 00:06:20,550 --> 00:06:22,710 to ensure that you can release updates 166 00:06:22,710 --> 00:06:25,650 and functions more frequently and reliably. 167 00:06:25,650 --> 00:06:28,320 Using automation helps to ensure that each deployment 168 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,960 is executed in precisely the same manner 169 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,360 by removing the human error from the process 170 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,630 and also to provide us with faster deployment. 171 00:06:36,630 --> 00:06:38,430 In the event of a failure, 172 00:06:38,430 --> 00:06:40,260 there are automated rollback features 173 00:06:40,260 --> 00:06:42,300 in our continuous deployment processes 174 00:06:42,300 --> 00:06:44,880 that can revert our software or application 175 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,370 back to the previous known state. 176 00:06:47,370 --> 00:06:50,550 Having this kind of rollback capability is really essential 177 00:06:50,550 --> 00:06:53,550 for maintaining service continuity and availability 178 00:06:53,550 --> 00:06:56,670 when relying on continuous deployment models. 179 00:06:56,670 --> 00:06:59,880 As you can probably guess, the use of continuous integration 180 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,070 and continuous deployment in the development process 181 00:07:02,070 --> 00:07:04,800 requires a paradigm shift in the way developers 182 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:06,840 and operational teams collaborate 183 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:08,940 since we're constantly deploying changes 184 00:07:08,940 --> 00:07:10,950 into the live production network. 185 00:07:10,950 --> 00:07:13,440 With continuous integration and continuous deployment, 186 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:15,660 our developers must become more involved 187 00:07:15,660 --> 00:07:19,200 in the postcode process by taking responsibility 188 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,720 for the deployment and functioning of their code, 189 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,570 instead of simply handing it off to the operational team 190 00:07:24,570 --> 00:07:27,240 to conduct the testing and deployment like they used to do 191 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,300 in the older waterfall deployment methodology. 192 00:07:30,300 --> 00:07:33,840 Now, your operational teams will instead shift their focus 193 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,330 from the task of managing deployment logistics 194 00:07:36,330 --> 00:07:39,330 to improving the process that enhances the streamlining 195 00:07:39,330 --> 00:07:41,940 and the flow of work from the development stage 196 00:07:41,940 --> 00:07:43,380 to the deployment stage. 197 00:07:43,380 --> 00:07:46,290 The use of continuous integration and continuous deployment 198 00:07:46,290 --> 00:07:49,020 also requires a shift towards increased communication 199 00:07:49,020 --> 00:07:52,110 and collaboration within your organization's various teams, 200 00:07:52,110 --> 00:07:55,080 which creates a culture of collective responsibility 201 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:56,130 for a given project. 202 00:07:56,130 --> 00:07:57,870 By embracing the continuous integration 203 00:07:57,870 --> 00:07:59,790 and continuous delivery model, 204 00:07:59,790 --> 00:08:01,830 organizations will be able to more quickly adapt 205 00:08:01,830 --> 00:08:03,210 to changing market demands 206 00:08:03,210 --> 00:08:06,570 and allow them to work more efficiently towards their goals. 207 00:08:06,570 --> 00:08:08,340 For instance, here at Dion Training, 208 00:08:08,340 --> 00:08:10,500 we have implemented continuous integration 209 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:13,050 and continuous deployment into our development processes 210 00:08:13,050 --> 00:08:14,820 so that we can merge our code 211 00:08:14,820 --> 00:08:16,860 from across our various software developers 212 00:08:16,860 --> 00:08:19,560 into a single code base hosted in GitHub, 213 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,980 and then our code is automatically tested, built, 214 00:08:22,980 --> 00:08:26,340 and deployed into a testing and staging environment. 215 00:08:26,340 --> 00:08:29,280 At Dion Training, we have made the risk management decision 216 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,440 to not implement continuous deployment, 217 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,440 but instead we rely on continuous delivery instead. 218 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,360 This allows our chief technology officer 219 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,400 to work with our chief operations officer 220 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:39,960 to determine when is the right time 221 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,120 to push any new features, functions, 222 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,340 or changes into our live production environment 223 00:08:44,340 --> 00:08:47,370 so that it becomes accessible for our students to utilize. 224 00:08:47,370 --> 00:08:49,740 So remember, when it comes to automating 225 00:08:49,740 --> 00:08:52,260 your application deployment, you will usually do this 226 00:08:52,260 --> 00:08:54,540 by configuring the use of continuous integration 227 00:08:54,540 --> 00:08:56,310 and continuous delivery, 228 00:08:56,310 --> 00:08:58,440 or the use of continuous integration 229 00:08:58,440 --> 00:08:59,883 and continuous deployment. 230 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,420 This not only optimizes development process, 231 00:09:03,420 --> 00:09:05,760 but it also significantly lowers the risk 232 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,240 of deployment failures, increases the frequency of releases, 233 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,260 and ensures a new product is always ready to deploy. 234 00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:15,030 If your organization wants to stay relevant 235 00:09:15,030 --> 00:09:17,160 and competitive in a modern business environment 236 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:19,560 that continuously demands faster, seamless, 237 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,590 and more innovative applications, then it's important 238 00:09:22,590 --> 00:09:25,140 that you begin to automate your application development 239 00:09:25,140 --> 00:09:28,053 by using one of the CI/CD methodologies.