Jenkins on CentOS 10

As a Software Engineer, I deploy critical application code using the critical infrastructure consisiting of Jenkins and Terraform . I also manage AWS  services like EC2 , RDS , and ELB. I am responsible for handling on-call issues, deploying data bundles to various environments, and I operate on a weekly or bi-weekly deployment schedule based on requirements. We follow the Agile methodology and tracking work with tools like Jira .

We avoid application downtime by using Kubernetes ' scaling features, such as horizontal pod autoscalers and load balancing services. This ensures our application handles increased requests efficiently and remains robust and scalable.

In Kubernetes , we use node-based architecture with nodes and pods and follow practices like RBAC and rollback. Multiple pods can run concurrently. We benefit from Kubernetes' ability to autoscale pods and use horizontal pod autoscalers to adjust the number of pods based on metrics like CPU or memory usage, ensuring efficient resource allocation and stability under load.

We sometimes face challenges during version upgrades, such as failures when migrating Kubernetes versions. 

Additionally, changes made by AWS  services, like those in CodeBuild , require investigation to assess impacts on our applications, which can lead to challenges.

I've been using Kubernetes for the last three years. Additionally, we received an email from AWS mentioning changes starting on January 30th.

We do robust testing before deploying to production, undergoing multiple phases like testing, staging, and acceptance, to ensure stability. We rarely encounter production bugs, focusing on enhancements and UI changes instead.

Kubernetes provides scalability by using horizontal pod autoscalers that adjust the number of pods based on CPU or memory usage. The load balancing service distributes traffic across multiple pods, ensuring scalability and availability without straining any single pod.

I rate Kubernetes eight out of ten. 

I would recommend it to others as it is widely used.

I primarily use Jenkins  for creating a pipeline for all applications, from checking out from GitHub  to deploying the app. It involves updating the code in GitHub  and using GitHub's Argo CD action for deployment. 

In our DevOps operations, we utilize Jenkins  for automation to check out code from GitHub, scan vulnerabilities, check dependencies, and create Docker  images.

Jenkins is free and open source, which is beneficial for any company. The ability to use parameters and the option to categorize pipelines as folders or views is useful. 

Additionally, its building and configuring capabilities are similar to other tools. I find Jenkins stable and have not faced scalability issues, only encountering problems with instance limitations, not Jenkins itself.

Jenkins can sometimes run slow, especially when restarting after a plugin installation or when returning from a pipeline view to the dashboard. This slow performance is a challenge I have observed.

I have been working with Jenkins for a year since I began my career.

I find Jenkins to be very stable. I have not encountered any significant stability issues.

I have not faced any scalability issues with Jenkins. Any problems we encountered were due to instance limitations, not Jenkins itself.

I have not used Jenkins support as I am a junior developer and usually rely on my mentors, seniors, or friends for help. I also search the internet and YouTube for solutions when needed.

Positive

Setting up Jenkins was straightforward for me. I open it in an EC2  instance and then install Java and Jenkins. It's easy to maintain, and the maintenance process is simple but requires regular updates to the pipeline.

I have limited experience with GitHub Actions , using it for certain projects as a convenience because we already use GitHub for source control.

I recommend Jenkins, especially for beginners starting with DevOps pipelines. It is easy to get started with and understand. Learning about Jenkins' advanced features, such as dealing with folders and build pipelines, is important before diving into projects. 

I rate Jenkins a nine out of ten due to its ease of use and features.

Mostly, the company is a product-based company, primarily in the hard disk and flash business. A majority of the work involves firmware development. We are using Jenkins  for the build process like CI pipeline. We are not using the CD pipeline in this case, only for building the artifacts.

Jenkins  is a CI/CD tool and is the most robust tool. Although it comes from the open-source family, most companies use it just for cost-saving purposes. We are using it for the company's own infrastructure, not to serve a client. The company is into R&D stuff over here in India. In R&D possibly, it could be a reason they did not want to invest much by buying the product from different vendors other than going for open source.

The major drawback with Jenkins is the lack of support. If any issues arise, we need to fix them on our own, either by upgrading, going with a new version of Jenkins, or rolling back to the previous version. 

Unlike my previous company where we used Azure DevOps , where issues could be logged directly to Microsoft for a fix, this kind of support is not available for Jenkins.

I have been using Jenkins for almost one and a half years since moving from my previous company.

Jenkins is a stable product. From a rating standpoint, I would give it around seven to eight out of ten.

In terms of scalability, we have to rely on in-house efforts and online resources since Jenkins is open-source and doesn't offer built-in support. I would rate scalability around seven out of ten.

Support for Jenkins is not available as it is an open-source product. We need to rely on our own resources or external information sources like Google.

Neutral

In my previous company, we used Azure DevOps  primarily since it was a Microsoft partner company.

We took support from a different vendor to write a script using Ansible, which helps us deploy Jenkins using new versions and all that.

Jenkins is used in many companies to save money, especially within R&D divisions, by avoiding the expenses of proprietary tools.

Jenkins can be compared with Azure DevOps and CircleCI , but Azure DevOps comes with comprehensive project management and ticketing, unlike Jenkins.

I would rate Jenkins between seven and eight out of ten. It is a good product for those who choose it based on their research; however, it lacks support for troubleshooting issues.

I can install Jenkins  for integration from multiple developers and automate application delivery, staging, and production environments.

Jenkins  is very useful. I can install Jenkins for integration from multiple developers and automate application delivery, staging, and production environments. It's very easy.

I do not have any notes for improvement.

The scalability of Jenkins is good.

I never have had to contact their support team for any reason.

I also considered using CodeDeploy or Jenkins.

I would give Jenkins a rating of nine on a scale from one to ten.

We used Jenkins  for integration purposes, primarily for integrating with version control systems like Git  and build tools such as Maven. Later, there were plans to use it in Docker  deployment for Docker  containers. 

I configured environments for non-production, production, and development in the pipeline. 

I also used Jenkins  for a Bluegreen deployment strategy, quality assurance with SonarQube, and artifact storage in JFrog Artifactory .

In our previous company, Jenkins was used for complete automation of build and deployment in a project. From part of automation and customization, I was involved in the project.

The most valuable feature of Jenkins is the plugins available. You name any tool, and there is a plugin available for it in Jenkins. 

Also, the ability to customize these plugins is valuable. Its user-friendliness stands out, especially in its user interface which allows easy installation and configuration.

Jenkins could improve in areas related to Kubernetes  and Docker container integration, like machine allocation of nodes and Marshaling integration improvements. Making these aspects more robust would be beneficial.

I have been using Jenkins for around five years now.

Jenkins is stable. Any tool can have latency of a few seconds, but I would rate Jenkins four and a half out of five for its stability.

Jenkins is not as scalable compared to container solutions like Docker or Kubernetes . While it can be configured at the server end, the other solutions offer more robust automation and scalability.

My team handles technical support for Jenkins when necessary. However, since I moved into AI and machine learning projects, I haven't been closely involved with technical support issues.

Positive

The initial setup of Jenkins is very straightforward and not difficult.

By installing Jenkins in a master-slave environment, there is significant cost saving, making it a cost-effective tool compared to other CI tools.

I do not have extensive knowledge on the pricing or licensing aspect as I used Jenkins for free at the local machine level. However, it is generally regarded as cost-effective.

I would rate it a nine out of ten.