Explanation: A CI/CD platform is a comprehensive set of tools that help developers, engineers, and DevOps practitioners package and deliver software to the end users. A CI/CD platform automates the process of software testing and deployment, and enables faster and more reliable software releases. Jenkins is a popular open source CI/CD platform that supports a wide range of plugins and integrations to build, test, and deploy various types of applications. Jenkins can be configured to run on different platforms, such as Linux, Windows, or Docker, and can work with various version control systems, such as Git, SVN, or Mercurial. Jenkins can also orchestrate complex workflows, such as parallel or sequential execution, conditional branching, or parameterized triggering, using a graphical interface or a declarative syntax. Jenkins can help developers and DevOps teams achieve continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment, by providing features such as:
•Pipeline as code: Jenkins allows users to define and manage their pipelines as code, using a domain-specific language (DSL) called Jenkinsfile. This enables users to store, version, and reuse their pipeline configurations, and to apply best practices such as code review and testing.
•Distributed builds: Jenkins can scale up or down to meet the demand of concurrent builds, by distributing the workload across multiple agents or nodes. This improves the performance and efficiency of the CI/CD process, and allows users to leverage different environments and resources for different stages of the pipeline.
•Plugin ecosystem: Jenkins has a rich and active community that contributes to its plugin ecosystem, which extends its functionality and compatibility with various tools and technologies. Users can find and install plugins from the Jenkins Plugin Manager, or create their own custom plugins using Java or Groovy.
•Blue Ocean: Jenkins offers a modern and user-friendly web interface called Blue Ocean, which simplifies the creation and visualization of pipelines. Blue Ocean provides features such as real-time feedback, interactive editing, branch and pull request support, and integration with popular chat platforms, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.
References:
•Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician (PCCET) - Palo Alto Networks
•What Is a CI/CD Platform and Why Should I Care? | Harness
•What is CI/CD? - Red Hat
•Jenkins Documentation