CI/CD

Using Circuit Breaker for Infrastructure Management

While traditional CI/CD tools are optimized for linear pipelines, Circuit Breaker’s state-based approach offers unique advantages for modern DevOps practices. This guide explores how to leverage Circuit Breaker’s capabilities for infrastructure management, CI/CD, and configuration management.

Environment Management

Circuit Breaker can model complex environment lifecycles:

workflow = CircuitBreaker::WorkflowDSL.define do
  states :provisioning, :configuring, :testing, :active, :maintenance, :decommissioning
  
  flow(:provisioning >> :configuring)
    .transition(:provision)
    .policy(rules: { all: [:infrastructure_ready, :network_configured] })
    .actions do
      execute terraform_executor, :apply, :infrastructure
      execute kubernetes_executor, :setup_namespace, :namespace
    end

  flow(:configuring >> :testing)
    .transition(:configure)
    .policy(rules: { all: [:config_valid, :secrets_available] })
    .actions do
      execute config_manager, :apply_configs, :configurations
      execute vault_executor, :sync_secrets, :secrets
    end

  # Environment maintenance flows
  flow(:active >> :maintenance)
    .transition(:start_maintenance)
    .policy(rules: { all: [:maintenance_window_open, :no_active_deployments] })
end

Infrastructure as Code Integration

Seamlessly integrate with infrastructure tools:

class TerraformExecutor < CircuitBreaker::Executors::BaseExecutor
  executor_config do
    parameter :workspace, type: :string, required: true
    parameter :vars, type: :hash, default: {}
    
    before_execute do |context|
      context.workspace_dir = setup_workspace(context.workspace)
    end
    
    after_execute do |result|
      cleanup_workspace(result.workspace_dir)
    end
  end
  
  def execute_internal
    # Execute Terraform with state management
    result = apply_terraform(workspace_dir, vars)
    update_cmdb(result.resources) # Sync with CMDB
    result
  end
end

Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Integration

Track and manage infrastructure state:

class CMDBSyncExecutor < CircuitBreaker::Executors::BaseExecutor
  executor_config do
    parameter :resource_type, type: :string, required: true
    parameter :changes, type: :hash, required: true
    
    validate do |context|
      context.changes.valid_schema?(context.resource_type)
    end
  end
  
  def execute_internal
    # Sync changes with CMDB
    cmdb_client.update_resources(resource_type, changes)
    trigger_dependent_updates(resource_type, changes)
  end
end

Release Orchestration

Manage complex release processes:

workflow = ReleaseWorkflow.define do
  states :planning, :building, :testing, :staging, :production, :rollback
  
  flow(:building >> :testing)
    .transition(:build_complete)
    .policy(rules: { 
      all: [:tests_passed, :security_scan_passed, :artifacts_published]
    })
    .actions do
      execute artifact_manager, :publish, :artifacts
      execute security_scanner, :scan, :security_report
    end
  
  flow(:staging >> :production)
    .transition(:promote)
    .policy(rules: {
      all: [
        :performance_tests_passed,
        :approval_obtained,
        :maintenance_window_open
      ]
    })
    .actions do
      execute deployment_executor, :canary_deploy, :deployment
      execute monitoring_executor, :verify_metrics, :health_check
    end
  
  # Automated rollback capability
  flow(:production >> :rollback)
    .transition(:rollback)
    .policy(rules: { any: [:health_check_failed, :error_threshold_exceeded] })
    .actions do
      execute rollback_executor, :revert_deployment, :rollback_status
      execute notification_executor, :alert_team, :incident_report
    end
end

Benefits for CI/CD

Circuit Breaker offers several advantages for CI/CD:

State Awareness
- Track environment state across deployments
- Maintain configuration versions
- Handle partial failures gracefully
Complex Dependencies
- Model interdependent service deployments
- Handle cross-environment dependencies
- Manage configuration relationships
Audit and Compliance
- Track all state changes
- Maintain deployment history
- Document approval workflows
Intelligent Automation
- AI-powered deployment decisions
- Automated incident response
- Smart rollback triggers

Integration Patterns

Common integration patterns include:

1. Environment Lifecycle Management

class EnvironmentManager
  def initialize(env_name)
    @workflow = EnvironmentWorkflow.new(env_name)
    @cmdb = CMDBClient.new
  end
  
  def provision
    @workflow.provision do |result|
      @cmdb.register_environment(result.env_details)
      notify_stakeholders(result.status)
    end
  end
end

2. Configuration Versioning

class ConfigVersioner
  def promote_config(config_id)
    @workflow.promote_config(config_id) do |version|
      @cmdb.track_config_version(version)
      trigger_dependent_updates(version)
    end
  end
end

3. Release Coordination

class ReleaseCoordinator
  def orchestrate_release(release)
    @workflow.execute_release(release) do |stage|
      update_release_status(stage)
      verify_dependencies(stage)
      manage_feature_flags(stage)
    end
  end
end

Best Practices

State Management
- Keep environment states clearly defined
- Use meaningful transition names
- Implement proper validation rules
- Track all state changes
Infrastructure Integration
- Use idempotent operations
- Implement proper error handling
- Maintain state synchronization
- Version infrastructure changes
Release Management
- Define clear promotion criteria
- Implement automated validations
- Set up proper monitoring
- Plan rollback strategies
CMDB Integration
- Keep resource records updated
- Track configuration versions
- Maintain dependency graphs
- Document changes properly

This enhanced approach to CI/CD combines the best of traditional tools with Circuit Breaker’s state management and AI capabilities, providing a more robust and intelligent deployment pipeline.