Progressive delivery vs. canary release: Choosing a deployment strategy
Progressive delivery is a software development approach that involves gradually rolling out new features or updates to a small subset of users before making them available to everyone. Canary release is a similar concept where a new version of software is released to a small group of users to test for any issues before a full rollout. Both approaches aim to minimize the impact of potential bugs or issues by testing in a controlled environment before wider release. The main difference between the two is that progressive delivery focuses on gradually increasing the release to more users based on feedback, while canary release is more focused on a binary test of success or failure before full deployment.
About the progressive delivery deployment strategy
Progressive delivery is a deployment strategy in software development that involves gradually rolling out new features or updates to a small subset of users before making them available to everyone. This allows developers to test the changes in a real-world environment and gather feedback before fully releasing them.
By using progressive delivery, developers can mitigate the risk of introducing bugs or issues that could impact all users at once. It also allows for more controlled and efficient deployment of updates, ensuring a smoother transition for users and minimizing disruption to the overall system.
Advantages of the progressive delivery deployment strategy
- Allows for gradual rollout of new features or updates, reducing the risk of widespread issues.
- Enables teams to gather feedback from a smaller group of users before full deployment, helping to identify and address any potential issues early on.
Disadvantages of the progressive delivery deployment strategy
- Requires more time and effort to manage and monitor multiple deployment stages.
- May lead to complexity in the deployment process, especially for larger applications or organizations.
About the canary release deployment strategy
Canary release is a deployment strategy in software development where a new version of a software application is gradually rolled out to a small subset of users before being released to the entire user base. This allows developers to monitor the performance and gather feedback on the new version before fully deploying it, reducing the risk of widespread issues.
Advantages of the canary release deployment strategy
- Allows for early detection of issues: By rolling out changes to a small subset of users first, any potential bugs or performance issues can be identified and addressed before a full release.
- Minimizes risk: Canary releases help mitigate the risk of deploying changes that could have a negative impact on all users by gradually rolling out updates and monitoring their impact.
Disadvantages of the canary release deployment strategy
- Increased complexity: Managing multiple versions of the software running concurrently can add complexity to the deployment process and require additional resources to monitor and maintain.
- Limited sample size: Depending on the size of the canary group, the feedback collected may not be representative of the overall user base, potentially leading to issues being missed before a full release.
Choosing between progressive delivery and canary release strategies
| Progressive Delivery | Canary Release | |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability | Gradually rolls out changes to a subset of users, allowing for early detection of issues. | Releases changes to a small subset of users, minimizing impact in case of failures. |
| Cost | Requires infrastructure for managing multiple versions and feature flags. | Involves minimal additional costs as it only involves releasing to a small group of users. |
| Complexity | Involves managing multiple deployment pipelines and feature toggles. | Involves setting up a separate environment for the canary group and monitoring tools. |
| Speed | Allows for a slow and controlled release of features. | Enables rapid validation of changes before a wider release. |
The Unleash approach to feature flags
Feature flags enable development teams to manage features in a dynamic, flexible, and controlled manner.
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