Enable javascript in your browser for better experience. Need to know to enable it? Go here.

A single CI instance for all teams

Last updated : Nov 30, 2017
NOT ON THE CURRENT EDITION
This blip is not on the current edition of the Radar. If it was on one of the last few editions, it is likely that it is still relevant. If the blip is older, it might no longer be relevant and our assessment might be different today. Unfortunately, we simply don't have the bandwidth to continuously review blips from previous editions of the Radar. Understand more
Nov 2017
Hold ?

We're compelled to caution, again, against creating a single CI instance for all teams. While it's a nice idea in theory to consolidate and centralize Continuous Integration (CI) infrastructure, in reality we do not see enough maturity in the tools and products in this space to achieve the desired outcome. Software delivery teams which must use the centralized CI offering regularly have long delays depending on a central team to perform minor configuration tasks, or to troubleshoot problems in the shared infrastructure and tooling. At this stage, we continue to recommend that organizations limit their centralized investment to establishing patterns, guidelines and support for delivery teams to operate their own CI infrastructure.

Mar 2017
Hold ?

We're compelled to caution, again, against creating a single CI instance for all teams. While it's a nice idea in theory to consolidate and centralize Continuous Integration (CI) infrastructure, in reality we do not see enough maturity in the tools and products in this space to achieve the desired outcome. Software delivery teams which must use the centralized CI offering regularly have long delays depending on a central team to perform minor configuration tasks, or to troubleshoot problems in the shared infrastructure and tooling. At this stage, we continue to recommend that organizations limit their centralized investment to establishing patterns, guidelines and support for delivery teams to operate their own CI infrastructure.

Nov 2016
Hold ?

There might be the impression that it's easier to manage a single CI (Continuous Integration) instance for all teams because it gives them a single configuration and monitoring point. But a bloated instance that is shared by every team in an organization can cause a lot of damage. We have found that problems like build timeouts, configuration conflicts and gigantic build queues appear more frequently. Having this single point of failure can interrupt the work of many teams. Carefully consider the trade-off between these pitfalls and having a single point of configuration. In organizations with multiple teams, we recommend having CI instances distributed by teams, with enterprise decisions based not on the single CI installation but on defining guidelines about the instances' selection and configuration.

Apr 2016
Hold ?
Published : Apr 05, 2016

Download the PDF

 

 

English | Español | Português | 中文

Sign up for the Technology Radar newsletter

 

Subscribe now

Visit our archive to read previous volumes