Release Strategies for Alliance Business Cloud

Introduction

Welcome to the comprehensive guide on release strategies for Alliance Business Cloud (ABC). Utilizing Plesk and IIS as our primary deployment and hosting platforms, this guide will walk you through the approaches to software releases that minimize risks and optimize efficiency. Following these strategies will help the engineering team at Alliance Business Suite to ensure the smooth roll-out of features and updates to our cloud environment.

Objectives

  • Gain an understanding of the key release strategies.
  • Learn how to implement each strategy on Plesk and IIS.
  • Choose the right release strategy based on the project needs.

Key Release Strategies

1. Blue-Green Deployment

Overview: Two identical environments ("Blue" and "Green") are set up to switch between for releases.

Implementation on Plesk and IIS

  1. Create two environments (e.g., Blue and Green) on Plesk.
  2. Deploy the new version to the inactive environment (say, Green).
  3. Perform tests on Green.
  4. Switch the active domain to Green using IIS.

2. Canary Releases

Overview: Release the new feature to a subset of users before making it available to everyone.

Implementation on Plesk and IIS

  1. Create a subdomain in Plesk for the canary release.
  2. Deploy the new features to this subdomain.
  3. Use IIS URL Rewrite rules to divert a percentage of traffic to the canary release.

3. Rolling Deployment

Overview: Incrementally replace instances of the previous version with the new version.

Implementation on Plesk and IIS

  1. Use Plesk to set up multiple instances of the same application.
  2. Gradually replace older instances with the new version.
  3. Use IIS to manage load balancing across instances.

4. Feature Flags

Overview: Deploy features in a dormant state and activate them later.

Implementation on Plesk and IIS

  1. Use a feature flagging library within your application code.
  2. Deploy as normal via Plesk.
  3. Activate the feature through the flag when ready.

Pre-Release and Post-Release Best Practices

Pre-Release Checklist

  • Testing: Ensure all automated tests are passed.
  • Backup: Take a full backup of the current production environment.
  • Communication: Notify all stakeholders about the upcoming release.

Post-Release Checklist

  • Monitoring: Observe system behavior through Plesk and IIS logs.
  • Rollback Plan: Have a rollback plan in case of failure.
  • Feedback Loop: Collect feedback for continuous improvement.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

  • Failed Release: Use Plesk backups for immediate rollback.
  • Performance Degradation: Check IIS logs and metrics.
  • Broken Features: Investigate using Plesk’s debug toolset and IIS diagnostics.

Conclusion

Each release strategy comes with its advantages and drawbacks. The key is to choose the one that fits your project’s needs and risk profile. By understanding and effectively implementing these release strategies on Plesk and IIS, we aim to make software delivery a robust, predictable, and streamlined process.

For more detailed guidelines and procedures, consult our Deployment Guide and Error Handling Practices.

Happy Releasing! 🚀