Blue-Green CI/CD Pipeline Setup Guide

NB:- this is just a placeholder you can follow, you can improve and even revamp to fit the applications you use

Overview

This pipeline automates the build and continous deployment of a Go application containerized with Docker. It interacts with AWS services like ECR, SSM, and IAM, and uses OpenTofu to manage AWS infrastructure.

Prerequisites

• An AWS account with necessary permissions.
• OpenTofu installed on your machine.
• zip the ansible-playbook folder and upload to your s3 bucket, this is needed because that how the user-script from locals.tf works.
• A GitHub repository with your Go application code, thats where you will create the ci-cd.yaml here into
• Slack integration for notifications (optional but recommended).

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Set Up AWS Credentials:

   • Create an IAM role and policies as defined in the OpenTofu configuration.
   • Ensure that the GitHub Actions workflow has the necessary permissions via AWS_ROLE_ARN.

2. Configure GitHub Actions:

   • Replace Placeholders:
     • In the GitHub Actions workflow file, replace:
       • YOURAWSREGION with your AWS region.
       • YOURECRREPO with your ECR repository name.
       • Other placeholders as needed.
   • Set Up GitHub Secrets:
     • Go to your repository's Settings > Secrets > Actions.
     • Add AWS_ROLE_ARN for AWS credentials.
     • Add SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL for Slack notifications (if used).

3. Set Up OpenTofu Configuration:

   • Replace Placeholders:
     • In the OpenTofu files, replace:
       • YOURAWSREGION with your AWS region.
       • MYECRREPO with your container ECR REPO name
       • YOURROUTE53ZONEID with your Route 53 zone ID.
       • YOURORGNAME with your GitHub organization name.
   • Initialize and Apply OpenTofu:
     • Run OpenTofu init to initialize the configuration.
     • Run OpenTofu apply to set up AWS resources.

4. Prepare the Application Code:

   • Ensure the Dockerfile and application code are in your GitHub repository.

5. Test the Pipeline:

   • Push changes to the dev or whatever branch you use to trigger the workflow.
   • Monitor the GitHub Actions workflow for successful completion.
   • Verify that the EC2 instances are updated with the new Docker image.

Blue-Green Deployment Explanation

• Blue-Green Deployment: This strategy involves running two identical production environments (Blue and Green). At any time, only one environment is active. When you deploy a new version, it is deployed to the inactive environment (Green), tested, and then traffic is switched to it, making it the active environment.
• Implementation in Setup:
  • The pipeline is configured to deploy new versions to a staging environment.
  • Once verified, it can be promoted to the production environment.

Troubleshooting Tips

• AWS IAM Policies: Ensure that the IAM role has the correct permissions for ECR, SSM, and other services.
• Docker Build and Push: Verify that the Docker build and push steps in the workflow are correctly configured.
• Slack Webhook: Confirm that the Slack webhook URL is correctly set in GitHub Secrets.

Best Practices

• Environment Separation: Use separate environments for staging and production.
• Security Measures: Regularly review and update IAM policies and security settings.
• Monitoring and Logging: Implement monitoring and logging to track pipeline and application performance.

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This guide provides a clear path to setting up your Blue-Green CI/CD pipeline, ensuring smooth and automated deployments of your Go application.