September 2016 Summaries

Container Wars is a documentary series about auctions for unclaimed storage containers, and the author draws a parallel to the tensions within the Docker ecosystem, where enterprise software vendors and technology leaders express dissatisfaction with Docker Inc. and call for open container standards. Despite complaints about bugs in Docker 1.12, the real contention stems from ideological and commercial interests, as Docker's integration of features like Swarm orchestration has raised concerns about business-driven architectural decisions. The Open Container Initiative (OCI), which aims for standardization, sees Docker contributing its container format and runtime, runC, highlighting the paradox of the situation. As the container orchestration landscape evolves with players like Kubernetes, Marathon, and others, the emphasis is on innovation, flexibility, and adaptability, as underscored by Codefresh's commitment to providing flexible solutions without enforcing specific container deployment systems.

Codefresh, a continuous delivery platform focused on containers and microservices, has raised $7 million in financing led by Carmel Ventures, with additional support from Hillsven Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, and UpWest Labs. This investment marks a significant step for the company, founded in September 2014 by CEO Raziel Tabib and CTO Oleg Verhovsky, who have leveraged their extensive experience in scalable platforms to create a cutting-edge solution for automating development pipelines. The funding round also brings Ronen Nir from Carmel Ventures onto the board, joining existing members like Boris Putanec. Since its recent general availability launch, Codefresh has seen rapid growth, with around 4,000 users deploying over 5,000 Docker images and compositions. The company attributes its progress to the valuable feedback from early users and the dedicated efforts of its team, and it continues to invite new users to experience its platform while encouraging feedback to further refine its offerings.

The article provides a comprehensive guide on automating the continuous deployment of a Dockerized Node.js application to Amazon Elastic Beanstalk using Codefresh. It details the setup process, starting with configuring Codefresh to automate unit testing, building, and deploying the application upon each code commit. The tutorial also explains how to create a Docker image and set up an AWS environment for deployment, including configuring a deployment descriptor file and performing manual deployment to ensure proper configuration. Furthermore, it outlines how to use the AWS CLI within a Codefresh YAML file to trigger deployments, emphasizing the importance of securely managing AWS credentials through environment variables to avoid security risks. The guide concludes by illustrating the full CI/CD process, showcasing how Codefresh and Elastic Beanstalk can collaborate to streamline application deployment, and offers links to relevant resources for further assistance.

At a recent Containers #101 Meetup, Robert Starmer, founder and CTO of Kumulus Technologies, provided insights into the synergy between container technology and OpenStack, highlighting how containers can be run on OpenStack and used to manage its environment. Additionally, Alex Toombs from Apcera shared an engineer's perspective on integrating with the Docker Registry API, delving into Docker’s image format and registry API while addressing challenges developers face with Docker image pulls. The event encouraged participants to engage with future meetups and explore platforms like Codefresh, which facilitates collaboration on Docker compositions, and Apcera, a secure cloud platform supporting both modern and legacy applications.

Docker containers can be used to generate SSL certificates for the host system, offering a streamlined alternative to installing tools like OpenSSL directly on the host. This approach is especially beneficial for developers who want to keep their Docker server lean or who are working from a test environment that lacks server tools. By using a Docker container, such as the Nginx image from Docker Hub, which includes OpenSSL, developers can create SSL certificates without turning their personal devices into servers. The process involves pulling an appropriate container image, creating a private key and certificate signing request, and then generating a self-signed certificate. This method simplifies SSL certificate creation, making it accessible even for those who typically work without the necessary software installed on their machines, and can be automated through Dockerfiles for integration into Dockerized applications. Additionally, Codefresh is recommended as an efficient continuous integration platform for managing Docker images.

The release of the Jenkins Codefresh plugin version 1.2 introduces significant features aimed at enhancing continuous delivery pipelines through the integration of Jenkins and Codefresh. This update allows users to trigger Codefresh pipelines for all branches within a repository, particularly useful for re-testing branches when dependencies change, using Jenkins' powerful pipeline DSL and the Groovy scripting language. Branch support, which allows for managing multiple branches efficiently, has been added, enabling users to codify build triggers for each branch and execute them in parallel. The integration supports Jenkins' 'Groovy sandbox' option for secure script execution, although disabling it simplifies initial use. Additionally, Codefresh's capabilities in defining and launching Docker compositions facilitate real integration testing, demonstrated through an example with the demochat application. This setup enables testing microservices as part of a complex system, ensuring communication patterns and system resilience are verified. The plugin update encourages feedback and offers resources for those new to Codefresh.

Codefresh, a continuous delivery and collaboration platform for Docker, has introduced support for YAML files, allowing users to further customize their build, test, and deploy pipelines beyond the existing capabilities in the pipeline view. Previously, users could configure their pipelines to execute a series of tasks such as unit testing, Docker image building, and integration testing on each commit, with the ability to run each step as a standalone image or part of a composition. With the addition of YAML support, users can now define an unlimited number of steps in a codefresh.yml file, adding custom composition/environment variables, external services, networks, keys, and frameworks to their pipelines. This feature enables the automatic deployment of successful builds to staging or production environments and enhances testing capabilities using frameworks like Blazemeter and Selenium. The codefresh.yml file must be saved in the root directory of the repository, and users need to activate the YAML build option in the pipeline settings to utilize this feature.