Performing canary deployments in Kubernetes

The blog post by Matthew Casperson discusses implementing canary deployments in Kubernetes using the Voyager Ingress Controller and Octopus. Canary deployments allow a small portion of user traffic to be directed to a new application version to monitor for errors, gradually increasing traffic if the deployment is successful. Kubernetes is well-suited for this strategy due to its flexibility in managing deployments and traffic routing. The guide details the prerequisites, including a Kubernetes cluster and Helm installation, and describes setting up an external feed and deploying a Voyager Helm chart. It explains creating canary environments in Octopus to facilitate traffic management and rollback capabilities, forming a lifecycle with phases for canary progression. The deployment process involves creating Kubernetes targets with limited permissions, deploying stable and canary deployment resources, setting up services to manage traffic distribution, and using Voyager Ingress to handle traffic routing. The post emphasizes how these steps enable monitoring and controlling the deployment process, allowing for effective rollbacks if issues arise, and ultimately ensuring a smooth transition to new application versions.