5 ms·

If this is what I think it is, I want it. I truly do not like all the tools out there for doing deployment -- CloudFormation, CodeDeploy, Terraform, Ansible, th

by ccleve 5y ago

If this is what I think it is, I want it. I truly do not like all the tools out there for doing deployment -- CloudFormation, CodeDeploy, Terraform, Ansible, the various container management schemes. If I can just create a little config file, push code, point, click, and deploy, I will be happy. I'm happy to live within a simple, opinionated environment if it strips the complexity out of the process.

cardmagic 5y ago
> a simple, opinionated environment if it strips the complexity out of the process. That's exactly what ReleaseHub is :)
abatilo 5y ago
Couldn't you just use something like Heroku then?
- ccleve 5y ago
  Too expensive for larger deployments.
  - koblinski 5y ago
    Also Heroku deployments are a PITA when you want fully (or partially) isolated environments but also work with a lot of microservices.
  - fnord77 5y ago
    and this new thing won't be?
- erik_landerholm 5y ago
  You can use heroku, but as your app grows in complexity, (say static javascript frontend, backend, queue, and maybe a few AWS or GCP native services) you have to stitch something together with heroku + vercel + ?? + can't use RDS, but wish i could. :) Heroku review apps are analogous to our ephemeral environments, but we can deal with much more complicated environments, which reduces complexity in your CI/CD platform, production deployments or on-premise deployments if needed.
- nrmitchi 5y ago
  Heroku (and pretty much every PaaS) has features like this built in, and they tend to work really well... assuming you're using Heroku. If you're using a PaaS that offers this, you (99.9% of the time) shouldn't look elsewhere. Just use their offering. If you're not using an explicit PaaS, rebuilding this functionality yourself can end up being a never-ending rabbit hole.
endisneigh 5y ago
I haven't looked into ReleaseHub in great detail, but isn't what you're describing pretty trivial using docker containers? Do you have an example of what you're describing that can't be easily solved by docker-compose?
- sdesol 5y ago
  > describing pretty trivial using docker containers It is important to understand trivial doesn't always mean fast and easy. Also "easy" is a matter of perspective.
- ccleve 5y ago
  I found that making the container was trivial, but deploying it using the AWS Container Orchestration Service or Fargate was not. Tons of configuration options, and security never seems to work right out of the box.
- erik_landerholm 5y ago
  We used docker-compose as a starting point because we were thinking along the same lines. In order to orchestrate the deployment of a complicated app, docker-compose became a much smaller part of solution; docker-compose is helpful for getting some partial service definitions created, but there is so much more to deploying environments. We are a full CI/CD platform with the ability to do static javascript builds, build-x builds, installing in our customers clusters, installing in their customers clusters, dealing with routing for ephemeral environments, creating pools of resources for ephemeral environments to attach to, deploying and monitoring production environments, a workflow engine and we are just getting started! We do run into objections along the way like, "can't a couple of people do this pretty easily", but depending on what you want to do, it grows in complexity quickly. A lot of time teams don't realize that until they are way down the path of trying to create a system like this. If you have any specific questions about how ReleaseHub works let me know, happy to answer anything!
- regiswilson 5y ago
  > that can't be easily solved by docker-compose? Docker-compose only runs on my (your) laptop. What if you want to share that with someone else? I have to git stash, checkout a branch, tell someone else to do all that... I think you're on the right idea: it's "easy" to do with existing tooling, but there's a big gap between it's easy to do and then go and spend the time to do it.
msmart 5y ago
Check out https://aws.github.io/copilot-cli/ https://aws.github.io/copilot-cli/ it’s a few lines of code and a few cli commands to deploy a service. Made my terraform scripts unnecessary and dramatically simplified my setup. It’s cloud formation under the hood tough. But I like the direction.

by ccleve 5y ago

cardmagic 5y ago

> a simple, opinionated environment if it strips the complexity out of the process. That's exactly what ReleaseHub is :)

abatilo 5y ago

Couldn't you just use something like Heroku then?

ccleve 5y ago
Too expensive for larger deployments.
- koblinski 5y ago
  Also Heroku deployments are a PITA when you want fully (or partially) isolated environments but also work with a lot of microservices.
- fnord77 5y ago
  and this new thing won't be?
erik_landerholm 5y ago
You can use heroku, but as your app grows in complexity, (say static javascript frontend, backend, queue, and maybe a few AWS or GCP native services) you have to stitch something together with heroku + vercel + ?? + can't use RDS, but wish i could. :) Heroku review apps are analogous to our ephemeral environments, but we can deal with much more complicated environments, which reduces complexity in your CI/CD platform, production deployments or on-premise deployments if needed.
nrmitchi 5y ago
Heroku (and pretty much every PaaS) has features like this built in, and they tend to work really well... assuming you're using Heroku. If you're using a PaaS that offers this, you (99.9% of the time) shouldn't look elsewhere. Just use their offering. If you're not using an explicit PaaS, rebuilding this functionality yourself can end up being a never-ending rabbit hole.

endisneigh 5y ago

I haven't looked into ReleaseHub in great detail, but isn't what you're describing pretty trivial using docker containers? Do you have an example of what you're describing that can't be easily solved by docker-compose?

sdesol 5y ago
> describing pretty trivial using docker containers It is important to understand trivial doesn't always mean fast and easy. Also "easy" is a matter of perspective.
ccleve 5y ago
I found that making the container was trivial, but deploying it using the AWS Container Orchestration Service or Fargate was not. Tons of configuration options, and security never seems to work right out of the box.
erik_landerholm 5y ago
We used docker-compose as a starting point because we were thinking along the same lines. In order to orchestrate the deployment of a complicated app, docker-compose became a much smaller part of solution; docker-compose is helpful for getting some partial service definitions created, but there is so much more to deploying environments. We are a full CI/CD platform with the ability to do static javascript builds, build-x builds, installing in our customers clusters, installing in their customers clusters, dealing with routing for ephemeral environments, creating pools of resources for ephemeral environments to attach to, deploying and monitoring production environments, a workflow engine and we are just getting started! We do run into objections along the way like, "can't a couple of people do this pretty easily", but depending on what you want to do, it grows in complexity quickly. A lot of time teams don't realize that until they are way down the path of trying to create a system like this. If you have any specific questions about how ReleaseHub works let me know, happy to answer anything!
regiswilson 5y ago
> that can't be easily solved by docker-compose? Docker-compose only runs on my (your) laptop. What if you want to share that with someone else? I have to git stash, checkout a branch, tell someone else to do all that... I think you're on the right idea: it's "easy" to do with existing tooling, but there's a big gap between it's easy to do and then go and spend the time to do it.

msmart 5y ago

Check out https://aws.github.io/copilot-cli/ https://aws.github.io/copilot-cli/ it’s a few lines of code and a few cli commands to deploy a service. Made my terraform scripts unnecessary and dramatically simplified my setup. It’s cloud formation under the hood tough. But I like the direction.