How does Jenkins CI work internally?

It helps automate the parts of software development related to building, testing, and deploying, facilitating continuous integration and continuous delivery. It is a server-based system that runs in servlet containers such as Apache Tomcat. Jenkins is an open-source https://globalcloudteam.com/ automation server written in java that automates parts of the software development process. Jenkins provides hundreds of plugins to support building, deploying and automating any project. Jenkins is a self-contained, open source automation server built in Java.

It also enables the use of “Pipeline as Code” so that a pipeline code can be pushed into a git repo, and the pipeline gets created or updated in Jenkins. The Jenkins pipeline can be written declaratively with the “Jenkins syntax“. Jenkins syntax is a Groovy DSL used to write the pipeline stages. The DSL internally gets converted into XML to make the Jenkins pipeline. A “stage” in a pipeline is a group of steps to be executed. It has vast community support, and many plugins are available for integrating it with other tools like Slack, GitHub, and Docker.

Is Jenkins a Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery Tool?

There are hundreds of plugins available in the Update Center, integrating with every tool in the CI and CD toolchain. Jenkins is a platform-agnostic, self-contained Java-based program, ready to run with packages for Windows, Mac OS, and Unix-like operating systems. Kohsuke Kawaguchi first developed Hudson in 2004 while working at Sun Microsystems.

• Every job in the Jenkins pipeline has some dependency on one or more events.
• The Google Play Publisher plugin lets you send builds to an alpha channel in Google Play for release or further testing on actual devices.
• The common pipeline shared library code resides on a version control system like Github.
• These simplified steps encompass the spirit of a continuous integration environment.

Jenkins facilitates continuous integration and continuous delivery in software projects by automating parts related to build, test, and deployment. This makes it easy for developers to continuously work on the betterment of the product by integrating changes to the project. Companies may use it to automate code build processes, speed up software production, and even enable learning when working with new software and technologies. This makes it a promising tool for both new and experienced DevOps professionals. As developers commit their code to the Jenkins server, it will automatically create a build of that code and run it through testing. If the build fails, Jenkins will notify developers of the errors so they can be fixed quickly.

Jenkins Automation

A strong Jenkins community is one of the prime reasons for its popularity. Jenkins is not only extensible but also has a thriving plugin ecosystem. Each time a developer publishes a commit to the source code repository, Jenkins triggers a build. The program runs web containers and plugins, such as Apache Tomcat, and helps manage lifecycle and access rights requests. Over 1700 plugins for Jenkins enrich the software integration, automation, and delivery processes and provide a customizable environment.

There is a high possibility that the test results might show multiple bugs. If a developer is working on several environments, they will need to install what is jenkins or upgrade an item on each of them. If the installation or update requires more than 100 steps to complete, it will be error-prone to do it manually.

What is CI in Jenkins?

After testing, Jenkins server generates a feedback and then notifies the developers about the build and test results. It is obvious from the above stated problems that not only the software delivery process became slow but the quality of software also went down. Maintenance – Spinning up a Jenkins CI server is time-consuming. In case of adding a stage in the pipeline or upgrading the Jenkins CI server to incorporate new features, Jenkins CI also needs maintenance. The tool also helps with the templatization of the pipeline code. It’s platform-independent since it’s built with Java, thus contributing to its wide deployment.

This includes features like role-based access control, session management, and encryption. Additionally, Jenkins integrates with several security-related plugins to further enhance its security capabilities. With hundreds of plugins in the Update Center, Jenkins integrates with practically every tool in the continuous integration and continuous delivery toolchain. In 2004, Kohsuke Kawaguchi was a Java developer at Sun Microsystems.

Software Deployment

Checking a Jenkinsfile into a source control tool allows the whole team to edit, review, and adapt the steps in the delivery pipeline. Codefresh is the most trusted GitOps platform for cloud-native apps. It’s built on Argo for declarative continuous delivery, making modern software delivery possible at enterprise scale. Jenkins deploys the built application/executable to the test server, which can execute continuous, automated tests. Developers receive alerts if their changes impact functionality. After multiple commits from diverse developers during the day, the software built every night.

Agents in Jenkins help provide better performance by load balancing builds and creating a secure environment, separate from the controller. One node is the central control unit and organizer, known as the controller. You can implement a serverless installation without a Master, which consumes excessive resources. A primary drawback of Jenkins X is that the project went through rapid change, which makes it difficult to adopt by new users and challenging to maintain for existing users. For these reasons, many teams are transitioning away from Jenkins and adopting newer solutions that are more supportive of a containerized, microservices-oriented DevOps environment. Complicated plugin management—Jenkins has nearly 2,000 plugins, which can be overwhelming to sort through until you find a useful plugin.

How To Configure Jenkins?

The text file uses Groovy-compatible syntax to define the pipeline process. Jenkins encompasses various DevOps terminology throughout different pipeline creation and management options. Below is a list with some common terms and their definition. Continue reading to learn more about Jenkins and why it’s one of the leading DevOps tools today. So far Jenkins has around 320 plugins published in its plugins database. With plugins, Jenkins becomes even more powerful and feature rich.