CI/CD Pipeline Operations Code Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cloud service providers face challenges in managing and deploying software services due to errors in operations code, which can damage the CI/CD pipeline and cause downtime, making it difficult to respond to customer needs for new features or changes.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating operations triggers into the CI/CD pipeline to test and integrate operations code separately from application code, using feature toggles to enable changes to operations features only after successful testing, and employing delta mode deploys to minimize resource usage and ensure only necessary changes are executed across environments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If operations code is integrated into the CI/CD pipeline with application code, then deployment efficiency is improved, but pipeline stability deteriorates due to errors in operations code damaging the pipeline

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedeployment efficiencyVSAvoidpipeline stability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments operations code testing from application code testing by creating a separate operations stage in the CI/CD pipeline. This stage specifically tests operations code changes before they are merged into the main application codebase, allowing independent validation and preventing operations code errors from damaging the overall pipeline while maintaining deployment efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Stability of the object's composition

If all code changes are deployed to all environments, then consistency is improved, but resource usage deteriorates due to unnecessary deployments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenvironment consistencyVSAvoidresource usage

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by deploying code changes selectively to specific environments based on their characteristics and requirements. Different environments (e.g., development, testing, production) receive appropriate subsets of changes, ensuring each environment maintains its specific quality attributes while reducing unnecessary resource consumption from universal deployments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If operations code is tested separately from application code, then pipeline stability is improved, but deployment complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepipeline stabilityVSAvoiddeployment complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the separately tested operations code changes with application code changes at a controlled integration point in the CI/CD pipeline. After operations code passes its dedicated validation stage, it is combined with application code changes and deployed together, maintaining pipeline stability through separate testing while achieving streamlined deployment through merging.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS11748080B2Cloud service delivery techniques and systems

Publication Date: 2023.09.05 SAP SE

AI summary

A cloud service provider system may receive a commit instruction including a modified build of the software service. The cloud service provider system may use the modified build to perform at least one test of a first operations feature of the software service at an operations stage. Responsive to the at least one test, the cloud service provider system sets a feature toggle for the first operations feature to enable the change to the operations code of the software service. An applications test stage is executed to test the modified build using the first operations feature.