Rollback

What is a rollback?

In software development, a rollback is the process of reverting a system or application to a previous version or state. This is usually done in response to a problem or bug in the current version of the software to restore the system to a known good state.

Rollbacks are often used to quickly fix problems with a software system. For example, when a software new features introduce a bug that causes the system to crash. In this case, rolling back the software to a previous version can help to restore the application to a stable state.

There are several ways to perform a rollback, including:

1. Reverting to an earlier version of the software which involves installing an earlier software version to replace the current version.
2. Restoring from a backup, i.e. restoring the system to a previous state using a backup.
3. Undoing changes  involving reverting specific changes that have been made to the system, such as configuration changes or code changes.

Rollbacks can be a useful tool in the software development process, as they allow organizations to quickly and easily revert software to a known good state when problems arise. However, they can also be risky, since rollbacks involve significant changes to the system. Therefore, they should usually be carefully planned and tested in a controlled environment before being deployed into production.

Depending on the rollback strategy they can be performed manually or automatically. In some cases, a rollback can be triggered automatically when certain conditions are met, such as when the system encounters an error or cannot perform a certain operation. A rollback can also be initiated manually, by a user.