In any setting, organizations will eventually need to update or change their software and code. Recognizing this unavoidable shift, DevOps prioritizes minimizing issues such as last-minute failures and downtime. To prevent disruptions for end users, teams must ensure that this transition occurs seamlessly. Engineers continuously develop innovative and diverse application deployment methodologies to facilitate a smooth and easy transition.

Exploring DevOps Application Deployment Strategies

Canary Deployment

Blue-Green Deployment

Recreate Strategy

Shadow Deployment

A/B testing Deployment Strategy

Canary Deployment Strategy

In canary deployment, Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) use routing mechanisms (like load balancers) to direct a fraction of users to the updated application. By analyzing the behavior and performance of this “canary” group, the team can confidently decide whether to release the update to the entire user base or revert to the previous version.

When to use a Canary strategy?

• My application’s deployment downtime during an upgrade is something I cannot afford.
• I have to make do with the minimal resources I have, and my infrastructure prices are excessively high.
• My database schema and application environment are designed to simultaneously support two production versions of the same application.
• The application team is free to create and add new features as they see fit.

The Blue-Green Deployment Strategy

Blue-Green deployment runs old and new application versions simultaneously in production, using a load balancer for instant traffic switching. This enables immediate rollbacks to the stable “Blue” version if issues arise with the new “Green” version, ensuring zero downtime.

When should a Blue-Green approach be used?

• My infrastructure is scalable, and I have the resources for a substantial setup.
• My goal is to ensure zero downtime for all users during deployments.
• My application environment and database schema are set up to accommodate two distinct production versions of the same application. (Compatibility with N+1)

Recreate Deployment Strategy

With the Recreate deployment, the current application is taken offline for the new version to be deployed, causing service downtime and a complete reboot cycle. This simple approach is used in infrastructures where application uptime is not a primary concern and load balancers are not involved.

When to use a Recreate Strategy?

• I can’t afford to upgrade my infrastructure beyond what it is now.
• A brief deployment outage won’t cause me any problems.
• When I wish to start over with my application.
• This is an effective strategy within staging or test setups.

Shadow Deployment Strategy

Shadow deployment runs a new application version in parallel with the live version, sending a copy of production traffic to the new version for real-world testing without impacting users. Successful testing leads to a full rollout.

When to use a Shadow Strategy?

• I can afford a sudden increase in expenses because my infrastructure is very scalable.
• I need to test my application’s performance and stability under real-world production load.
• The new application’s poor performance is unacceptable.

A/B Testing Deployment Strategy

A/B testing deployments rely on real-world statistical data to determine whether a feature should be fully released or reverted. It involves directing a subset of users to a new feature or functionality under specific conditions and then collecting data from this group to compare with the average performance of the older version. While this approach offers several advantages, combining it with a canary deployment can further enhance its reliability.

When to use an A/B Strategy?

I have made it possible for my databases and applications to run several concurrent versions of the same program (N+1 compatibility).

I have full control over the distribution of my user traffic.

Canarys gives you a wider choice

Canarys helps you to make an informed decision based on your requirements and suitability. We give you the best that will fit your budget and also your expectations.