Modern rollback strategies

Effective rollback strategies are crucial for managing software deployment issues, particularly when harmful code affects production environments. Rollbacks, which involve reverting to a previous application version, can be complex due to the potential risks, especially with database changes. The text explores three rollback strategies based on recovery time: the 10-minute recovery strategy focuses on skipping database steps during redeployment; the 3-minute recovery strategy involves decoupling database changes from code changes to ensure compatibility; and the immediate rollback strategy, which includes using blue/green deployments and feature flags to minimize disruptions. These strategies emphasize the importance of automated testing and deployment processes to reduce human error and the frequency of rollbacks. However, implementing such strategies requires significant architectural and process changes, which might not be necessary for every application. The ultimate goal is to automate the software delivery pipeline to prevent issues that lead to rollbacks, enabling faster and more reliable deployments.