November 2016 Summaries

Octopus Deploy, in its October 3.5.1 release, began offering basic support for Docker Engine steps and is now focusing on integrating Docker Compose to manage multiple containers, networks, and volumes through a single configuration file. The proposal includes using a naming convention based on Octopus Deploy projects and environments to ensure efficient updates and scaling, specifically targeting relevant containers without affecting others. The integration aims to bind images to Docker through Octopus Deploy's package selection, allowing users to select package versions at release creation. The system could support variable substitution for environment-specific configurations and might evolve to allow Dockerfile-based image building during deployment, although this is suggested to remain in the CI pipeline's build phase. The article concludes with a request for user feedback on potential features and challenges, highlighting the growing importance of Docker in CI/CD pipelines, as evidenced by Microsoft's upcoming support in Visual Studio 2017.

In a 2016 update, Octopus Deploy introduced enhancements to its variable substitution library, Octostache, allowing for more complex and flexible management of JSON data within deployments. The new features include support for JSON parsing, enabling users to easily access and manipulate JSON-formatted data using dot-notation or index notation. Additionally, improvements were made to index replacement and conditional statements, allowing dynamic resolution and more versatile comparisons beyond simple truthy evaluations. A new formatting function was also added, enabling users to format dates and numbers according to custom specifications, with the ability to use the machine's current culture for conversions. These updates aim to facilitate more sophisticated interactions between variables and scopes, enhancing the deployment process.

Octopus Deploy has introduced basic Docker Engine commands as an early access feature in its latest 3.5.1 release, aiming to integrate Docker functionalities with their deployment processes. This integration is initially hidden and can be accessed by toggling a feature flag, allowing users to experiment with Docker steps like docker run, docker stop, and docker network create within their projects. The release also introduces Docker registry feeds, enabling the selection of Docker images at release creation similarly to NuGet feeds. However, there are noted limitations, such as differences in API specifications with Docker Hub and the lack of support for unofficial or private repositories. While the current focus is on fundamental Docker capabilities, future plans include expanding support to Docker Compose, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Apache Mesos, and various cloud services, although challenges remain with Docker on Windows. Users are encouraged to explore this early version to provide feedback and help shape the integration's development.

Mark Siedle's blog post introduces the Octopus Subscriptions feature by demonstrating how to set up notifications to a Slack channel whenever critical events occur in Octopus, using Zapier to facilitate the process. The example walks through setting up a Zapier webhook to catch events from Octopus and trigger Slack notifications. The process involves creating a Zap in Zapier with a "Catch Hook" trigger to receive a webhook URL, which is then used to configure a subscription in Octopus. This subscription is set up to notify the Slack channel about specific critical events, such as deployment failures, by filtering them with an Event Group filter. The integration allows for real-time updates in the Slack channel "critical-stuff," enhancing team communication regarding important events in Octopus.

Octopus Deploy has introduced several new features in version 3.5, including Subscriptions and support for OpenID Connect authentication providers like Azure AD and GoogleApps. Subscriptions enable users to receive notifications via email or webhooks about events such as deployments or system changes, enhancing automation and responsiveness. The update also allows multiple authentication providers to be enabled simultaneously, simplifying identity management. The automatic user login feature has been added for scenarios using a single authentication provider. Additionally, Octopus has moved some configuration settings to the database to improve support for configuration management tools, such as Chef and Puppet, while a new show-configuration command facilitates easier configuration management. Octopus Deploy Server has been made extensible, allowing customization of Active Directory integration and making it open source, alongside Azure AD and GoogleApps integration, to better accommodate varied user environments. These enhancements aim to streamline deployment processes and improve user experience.