GitOps is a set of guiding principles that define how infrastructure and applications can be managed in an auditable and predictable manner. Even though GitOps can be used with any underlying platform, the principles are gaining widespread acceptance in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
Argo CD is a GitOps tool that can help developers and operators with Kubernetes applications by ensuring that all workloads are defined in a declarative manner as Kubernetes manifests stored in a Git repository.
Argo CD can be used with other tools like Argo Rollouts (Progressive Delivery) and Codefresh (Docker-based Continuous Integration/Delivery). In our recent webinar, we explained how all 3 tools can be integrated into a single process, helping developers quickly deploy their applications while following the GitOps principles.
Argo CD has the following features:
- Automated synchronization: Argo CD includes a powerful sync engine that always guarantees that Kubernetes manifests in Git are applied to connected Kubernetes clusters.
- Configuration drift detection: Unlike traditional solutions, Argo CD does bi-directional monitoring. It monitors both Git and the Kubernetes cluster for changes so it can detect manual changes (done with kubectl) and optionally discard them.
- Advanced templating: Argo CD supports a range of templating methods, like Helm charts, Kustomize overlays, or even completely custom templating tools.
- Enterprise-grade capabilities: Designed for enterprise environments, Argo CD provides features like SSO, multi-cluster support, and comprehensive RBAC security.
- Extensibility: Argo CD is built with extensibility in mind. Teams can create their own plugins and also employ the CLI and API in their own development workflows.
Argo Rollouts further extends these capabilities with sophisticated progressive delivery strategies. Major features include:
- Blue/green deployments: Preview a deployment without any live traffic.
- Canary deployments: Gradually shift live traffic to a new application version.
- Metric analysis: Monitor application health to decide if a deployment is successful or not.
- Traffic provider integrations: Gain fine-grained traffic control for preview/live versions.
- Automated rollbacks: Go back to the previous stable version without human intervention.
- Custom notifications: Get alerts about the deployment process.
- Plugin architecture: Extend Argo Rollouts with your own functionality.
Integrating Codefresh with Argo CD and Argo Rollouts gives you a cohesive and automated Continuous Delivery workflow, including:
- Pipeline automation: Codefresh has invested in robust pipeline steps that let you interact with both Argo CD and Argo Rollouts from Codefresh pipelines.
- Pipeline triggers: Decide when a pipeline runs, even on custom events like pull request comments.
- Automatic commits: Follow the GitOps principles by using Codefresh to commit to the Git repositories monitored by Argo CD.
- Manual approvals and deployment gates: Pause your pipelines and wait for human approval before confirming a new version.
In summary, the combined capabilities of Argo CD, Argo Rollouts, and Codefresh offer a comprehensive solution for GitOps-driven Continuous Delivery. The webinar highlighted the value of declarative configuration, automated reconciliation, and advanced deployment strategies.
By adopting these practices, you can deploy faster, reduce operational risk, and improve collaboration. These tools give you a robust foundation to optimize your software delivery pipelines and operational efficiency.