GitOps—which takes automation facets of the DevOps methodology—is an approach that aims to streamline infrastructure management and cloud operations with software development and deployment. While many consider GitOps a replacement for DevOps, it is not—the approach simply concentrates on the means of automating one facet of the DevOps methodology.

Specifically, GitOps uses Git pull requests to automate infrastructure provisioning and software deployment, all for the purpose of making CI/CD a more efficient process.

GitOps uses Git as a single source of truth for both application development and cloud infrastructure; declarative statements are used for streamlining configuration and deployment.

GitOps unifies a number of key tasks such as deployment, management, and monitoring of cloud clusters (specifically containers running in the cloud) and allows for developers to have more control over their application deployment pipeline. Since Git works for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) as well as application development, it is an ideal repository of truth for the approach.

Benefits of GitOps

GitOps offers some key advantages to those who employ the approach, starting with the more refined CI/CD pipeline itself. The approach fully leverages the benefits of cloud-native applications and scalable cloud infrastructure without the usual complications. Other benefits include:

• Higher reliability, made possible by Git’s native features. You can roll-back deployments and use Git’s tracking mechanism to revert to any version of the app should new codes cause errors. This results in a more robust cloud infrastructure too.
• Improved stability, particularly when it comes to managing Kubernetes clusters. Everything is traceable and changes in cluster configuration can also be reverted if needed. An audit log is automatically created with Git as the source of truth.
• Better productivity, allowing developers to focus more on the quality of their codes rather than the pipeline itself. Everything is fully automated once new codes are committed to Git, plus there are additional automation tools to utilize.
• Maximum consistency, especially with the entire process being managed using the same approach from end to end. GitOps simplifies everything from apps, Kubernetes add-ons, and the Kubernetes infrastructure as a whole.

Many perspectives believe that GitOps offers the best of both worlds, combining continuous delivery with cloud-native advantages and IaC. GitOps best practices also make the end-to-end pipeline standardized, and you can integrate the approach with any existing pipeline without making big changes. You just need the right tools for the job.

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