Learning From Netflix. Best Practices to Build Tech Stack — CI/CD Pipeline

In this blog post, I’ll take a closer look at Netflix’s innovative tech stack, specifically focusing on its CI/CD pipeline. This pipeline is at the core of Netflix’s ability to deliver content quickly and reliably to millions of users around the world. I’ll explore the different components of the pipeline, including the feature branch workflow, build and test automation, deployment automation, canary testing, monitoring and alerting, branching model, and static code analysis. By the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of how I have leveraged these technologies to create a highly efficient and effective CI/CD pipeline.

Netflix is one of the most successful streaming services in the world, with millions of subscribers and a reputation for delivering high-quality content.

In this post I am uncovering behind the scenes, Netflix has built a highly innovative tech stack that enables the company to deliver content quickly and reliably. In this blog post, we’ll focus on the CI/CD pipeline of Netflix’s tech stack.

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipeline

The CI/CD pipeline is the backbone of Netflix’s tech stack. It’s a highly automated process that moves code changes from development to production as quickly and reliably as possible. The pipeline consists of several key components:

Code Repository

Netflix’s codebase is stored in a centralized repository on GitHub. Developers work on feature branches, and changes are reviewed through a pull request process. This ensures that all code changes are thoroughly reviewed and tested before they’re merged into the main codebase.

Build and Test Automation

Netflix uses Spinnaker, an open-source continuous delivery platform, to automate the build and test process. Spinnaker integrates with several other tools in the tech stack, such as Jenkins and Gradle, to enable automated testing and deployment. This enables Netflix to quickly and reliably build and test its applications, while ensuring high levels of quality and reliability.

Deployment Automation

Netflix uses a combination of Spinnaker and AWS (Amazon Web Services) to deploy code changes to production. Spinnaker handles the orchestration of the deployment process, while AWS provides the infrastructure for running the application. This enables Netflix to quickly and easily deploy new code changes to production, while ensuring that the application is running on a reliable and scalable infrastructure.

Canary Testing

Netflix’s tech stack includes a canary testing system, which enables the company to test new features and changes in a production-like environment before rolling them out to all users. Canary testing involves gradually rolling out changes to a small percentage of users and monitoring their behavior to detect any issues. This enables Netflix to quickly detect and resolve any issues that arise, while minimizing the impact on its users.

Monitoring and Alerting

Netflix uses a variety of tools, such as Atlas and Spectator, to monitor its applications and infrastructure in real-time. The company’s monitoring and alerting systems are designed to provide quick and accurate insights into any issues that arise, so that they can be resolved as quickly as possible. This enables Netflix to ensure high levels of availability and reliability for its users.

Branching Model

In addition to the components mentioned in the previous section, Netflix’s CI/CD pipeline also includes a branching model that helps to ensure code changes are properly reviewed and tested before they’re merged into the main codebase.

Netflix uses a feature branch workflow, where developers create new branches for each feature they’re working on. These branches are then reviewed through a pull request process, where other developers can review the code and provide feedback. Once the code is reviewed and approved, it’s merged into the main codebase.

To ensure that code changes are properly reviewed and tested, Netflix has several policies in place. For example, all pull requests must pass automated tests before they can be merged into the main codebase. In addition, pull requests must be approved by a certain number of developers before they can be merged.

Netflix also uses a “trunk-based development” approach, where changes are merged into the main codebase frequently. This enables the company to quickly integrate new features and changes, while ensuring that the codebase remains stable and reliable.

Overall, Netflix’s branching model helps to ensure that code changes are properly reviewed and tested, while enabling the company to quickly integrate new features and changes into the main codebase.

Another important component of Netflix’s CI/CD pipeline is static code analysis, which helps to ensure code quality and maintainability.

Netflix uses several open-source tools for static code analysis, such as SonarQube and Checkstyle. These tools analyze the codebase for potential issues, such as code smells, code duplication, and security vulnerabilities. This enables developers to identify and address these issues early in the development process, before they become more difficult and costly to fix.

Static code analysis is integrated into the CI/CD pipeline, so that issues are identified and addressed automatically. For example, if a pull request introduces a potential issue, such as code duplication or a security vulnerability, the pull request will fail the automated tests and won’t be merged into the main codebase until the issue is resolved.

By using static code analysis as part of the CI/CD pipeline, Netflix is able to ensure that its codebase remains clean, maintainable, and scalable, while minimizing the risk of introducing bugs or security vulnerabilities. This ultimately helps to ensure a high-quality user experience for Netflix’s millions of users around the world

Overall, Netflix’s CI/CD pipeline is designed to enable rapid, reliable delivery of code changes to production, while minimizing risk and ensuring high levels of quality and availability. By leveraging a combination of open-source tools and cloud infrastructure, Netflix has built a tech stack that is both innovative and effective, enabling the company to deliver high-quality content to millions of users around the world.