Canary releases, also known as canary deployments, are a deployment pattern that allows new code or features to be rolled out to a subset of users as an initial test. This technique reduces the risk of introducing a new software version in production by slowly rolling out the change to a small group of users before making it available to everyone, allowing developers to monitor the impact on the production environment and providing a safe rollback strategy if issues are found.
Canary deployments, a technique originating from the coal mining days, involve rolling out new code or features to a small subset of users for initial testing. This approach offers benefits such as zero downtime, easy rollouts, quick rollbacks, and added safety due to the gradual release process. Canary releases are particularly useful for web-based systems and high-risk changes that cannot be adequately tested in staging environments.
Implementing canary releases involves hosting two versions of a product and controlling the traffic routed to each. For installed products, a new version is made available to a subset of users, but the update application process is less controlled. Companies like Facebook use multiple canaries, with the first one being visible only to their internal employees. This strategy helps reduce the risk of introducing new software versions in production environments.
To implement canary releases, follow these steps:
Consider these best practices during implementation:
Despite the benefits of canary releases, challenges may arise, such as ensuring new software versions work properly without causing issues for users, balancing the need for a fast deployment strategy with the need to catch bugs, managing the expense of maintaining multiple server instances, and deciding whether to clone databases during canary deployment. To overcome these challenges, consider implementing canary deployment to gradually roll out new features, using feature flags and feature management platforms like Split, and leveraging resources and community support to learn about best practices and strategies.
Innovative approaches to tackle challenges include using random sampling, internal users, or user demographics to choose which users will see the new version, repurposing existing infrastructure using PhoenixServers or provisioning new infrastructure using ImmutableServers, and using partitioning strategies in large, distributed scenarios. Successful solutions include Facebook's release process, which uses multiple canaries, and IMVU's cluster immune system, which monitors business metrics and automatically rolls back a release on a statistically significant regression.
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