☁️Understanding CodeArts Pipeline and Pipeline Cascading Management: Optimizing Development Workflows

muhammedsarikurt
Huawei Developers
Published in
5 min readMar 25, 2024
Huawei Cloud CodeArts

Introduction

Hello Everyone;

Today, I will talk about Codearts, the DevOps service of Huawei Cloud, and CodeArts Pipeline & Cascading Management.

What is CodeArts Pipeline?

Application Scenarios

CodeArts Pipeline provides visualized continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines that can be orchestrated. It helps enterprises quickly realize continuous delivery and efficient automation in DevOps, shortens the time to market (TTM) of applications, and improves R&D efficiency. This service is essentially a visualized and automated task scheduling platform. It needs to be used together with automation tasks of services such as CodeArts Build, CodeArts Check, CodeArts TestPlan, and CodeArts Deploy in software development pipeline. You can orchestrate these automation tasks based on your requirements, such as application deployment in the development, test, or production environment. After the tasks are configured, they can be automatically triggered, scheduled, and executed to avoid frequent and inefficient manual operations.

You can create, configure, and run a pipeline.

CodeArts Pipeline provides the following functions:

● Allows you to add, delete, edit, and query pipeline tasks in a visualized manner.

● Supports permissions control based on accounts, roles, and pipeline operations.

● Supports management and scheduling of multiple task types, such as build, code check, subpipeline, repository management, deployment, extension type, API Test, and pipeline control (delayed execution and manual review).

● Allows you to add, delete, and edit pipeline stages as required.

● Allows you to configure serial and parallel execution of managed tasks in each pipeline stage.

● Allows you to configure parameters for pipeline execution.

● Allows you to select and execute some tasks in a pipeline.

● Allows you to view pipeline execution records.

● Allows you to configure one or more of the following execution plans: continuous integration, merge requests, and scheduled execution. Once conditions specified in one execution plan are met, a pipeline can be automatically triggered and executed.

● Supports pipeline event notifications by message and email.

● Allows you to customize extensions for more pipeline execution functions.

You can use the pipeline after performing routine operation settings.

Pipeline Cascading Management

Pipeline cascading management is a strategic approach to organizing and orchestrating multiple pipelines within a software development environment. It involves structuring pipelines hierarchically, managing dependencies, and orchestrating tasks across different levels of the development and deployment lifecycle. In this article, we’ll delve into the concept of pipeline cascading management, its benefits, key components, and best practices.

The Concept of Pipeline Cascading Management

At its core, pipeline cascading management revolves around the idea of breaking down complex development and deployment processes into manageable and interconnected stages. Instead of having a single monolithic pipeline, cascading management enables teams to create a hierarchy of pipelines, each focusing on specific aspects of the overall workflow. This hierarchical structure allows for better organization, control, and scalability.

Benefits of Pipeline Cascading Management:

1. Modularity and Reusability: By modularizing pipelines into smaller, reusable components, teams can improve efficiency, maintainability, and consistency across projects. Common tasks, such as code compilation, testing, and deployment, can be encapsulated into reusable modules that can be shared across multiple pipelines.

2. Granular Control: Cascading management provides granular control over different stages and tasks within each pipeline level. This level of control enables teams to fine-tune processes, adjust dependencies, and optimize execution sequences based on project requirements and best practices.

3. Dependency Management: Managing dependencies between pipelines becomes more streamlined with cascading management. Teams can define dependencies, such as triggering a deployment pipeline only after a successful build and test pipeline execution, ensuring a smooth and controlled workflow.

4. Scalability and Flexibility: As projects evolve and grow in complexity, cascading management offers scalability and flexibility. Teams can easily add or modify pipeline levels, introduce new stages or tasks, and adapt workflows to changing development practices and business needs.

Key Components of Pipeline Cascading Management

1. Top-Level Pipeline:

• The top-level pipeline oversees the overall development and deployment process.

• It may include stages such as code compilation, automated testing, integration, and deployment to staging environments.

2. Intermediate Pipelines:

• Intermediate pipelines focus on specific modules, services, or components of the application.

• They handle tasks related to module-specific builds, testing, and integration.

3. Bottom-Level Pipelines:

• Bottom-level pipelines deal with fine-grained tasks and processes within modules or services.

• They may include tasks like unit testing, code analysis, artifact generation, and deployment to specific environments.

Best Practices for Pipeline Cascading Management:

1. Clear Hierarchical Structure: Maintain a clear and logical hierarchy of pipelines, with each level representing a distinct phase or aspect of the development workflow.

2. Standardized Templates: Use standardized templates and configurations for pipelines to promote consistency and ease of management.

3. Version Control: Apply version control to pipeline configurations and scripts to track changes and ensure reproducibility.

4. Automated Dependency Resolution: Leverage automation tools to resolve dependencies between pipelines and trigger sequential execution based on predefined criteria.

5. Monitoring and Reporting: Implement monitoring and reporting mechanisms to track pipeline execution, identify bottlenecks, and gather performance metrics for continuous improvement.

6. Collaborative Approach: Foster collaboration among development, testing, and operations teams to collectively design, optimize, and maintain cascading pipelines.

Conclusion

Pipeline cascading management is a powerful strategy for optimizing development workflows, enhancing collaboration, and improving overall efficiency in software development projects. By adopting a hierarchical approach, managing dependencies, and leveraging automation, teams can streamline processes, reduce errors, and deliver high-quality software with speed and agility.

References

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