In modern cloud-native application development, continuous delivery and deployment are essential to rapidly deliver new features while minimizing risks. SAP Kyma, as a Kubernetes-based platform for extending SAP solutions, supports advanced deployment strategies that help enterprises achieve zero-downtime deployments and controlled rollouts.
Two popular deployment strategies widely adopted in SAP Kyma environments are Blue-Green Deployment and Canary Deployment. Both approaches help reduce downtime and limit the blast radius of potential issues when releasing new application versions.
This article delves into how these deployment strategies work within SAP Kyma and how they can be implemented to ensure smooth, reliable application updates.
Blue-Green deployment is a technique that maintains two separate but identical environments — Blue (current live version) and Green (new version). The idea is to route all production traffic to the Blue environment while preparing the Green environment with the new release.
When the Green environment is fully tested and ready, traffic is switched from Blue to Green, instantly making the new version live. The Blue environment is kept intact and can be used for immediate rollback if needed.
Benefits:
Canary deployment gradually releases the new version to a small subset of users before rolling it out to the entire user base. The term “canary” comes from “canary in a coal mine,” where a small test group is exposed first to detect potential problems early.
In SAP Kyma, canary deployments use routing rules to send a percentage of traffic to the new version (canary) while the majority continues to use the stable version.
Benefits:
SAP Kyma leverages Kubernetes and its ecosystem tools, along with Istio service mesh and API Gateway, to enable sophisticated traffic management necessary for these deployment strategies.
Deploy Two Versions Side-by-Side
Deploy the current stable application version (Blue) and the new version (Green) in the same namespace but as separate Kubernetes Deployments and Services.
Configure Routing
Use Istio VirtualServices or Kyma API Rules to route 100% of production traffic to the Blue deployment initially.
Switch Traffic
When the Green version is validated, update the routing configuration to switch 100% of traffic to Green instantly.
Rollback Plan
If issues arise, revert the routing back to Blue to restore the previous stable state.
Deploy Canary Version
Deploy the new version alongside the stable version.
Split Traffic
Use Istio VirtualServices or Kyma API Gateway rules to split traffic between stable and canary versions, e.g., 90% to stable and 10% to canary.
Monitor Performance
Observe key performance indicators (KPIs), error rates, and user feedback during the canary phase.
Progressive Rollout or Rollback
Gradually increase canary traffic share to 100% if metrics are positive, or rollback to stable if issues are detected.
Blue-Green and Canary deployment strategies empower SAP Kyma users to deliver application updates safely and efficiently with minimal downtime and risk. Leveraging Kubernetes-native tools, Istio service mesh, and Kyma’s integrated API Gateway, organizations can implement robust release processes that align with enterprise-grade reliability and agility requirements.
Mastering these deployment strategies in SAP Kyma accelerates innovation, enhances user experience, and ensures operational excellence in extending SAP solutions in the cloud.