Rollback Strategies in Infrastructure as Code

Introduction

Rollback strategies are essential components of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices. They help teams quickly revert changes that cause failures or issues in a deployed environment, ensuring stability and reliability.

Key Concepts

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Managing and provisioning infrastructure through code.
• Rollback: The process of reverting to a previous stable state after a deployment failure.
• Version Control: Using tools like Git to track changes in your infrastructure code.
• Automation: Using scripts and tools to automate the rollback process.

Rollback Strategies

1. Manual Rollback

In this strategy, the team manually reverts the infrastructure to a previous state using configuration files or scripts.

2. Automated Rollback via Version Control

By integrating with version control systems, teams can automate rollbacks by reverting to the last known good configuration using commands like:

git checkout  
git push

3. Canary Releases

This strategy involves deploying a new version to a small subset of users before a full rollout. If issues arise, the deployment can be rolled back for those users without affecting the entire system.

4. Blue-Green Deployments

This strategy maintains two identical environments, one for production (Blue) and one for staging (Green). When a new version is ready, it is deployed to Green, and traffic is switched over. If issues arise, switching back to Blue is instantaneous.

aws elasticbeanstalk swap-environment-cnames --source-environment-name Blue --destination-environment-name Green

Best Practices

• Test Rollback Procedures: Regularly test your rollback strategies in a staging environment.
• Utilize Version Control: Always keep your infrastructure code in a version control system.
• Document Rollback Procedures: Maintain clear documentation of your rollback processes for team members.
• Automate Where Possible: Use automation tools to speed up the rollback process and reduce human errors.
• Monitor Effectively: Implement monitoring to detect issues early and trigger rollbacks if necessary.

FAQ