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Thank you very much for coming. I know that the deployment of Rails is not particularly interesting, exciting, or nearly as cool as Kubernetes and containers or Docker nowadays.
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So I'm going to get that out of the way. But today, I thought I would show you what we've built, what we can offer to help you and your team with Rails deployment.
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Before I do that, there's a little history to discuss regarding why we embarked on this project, and why we believe it addresses a significant problem.
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We already had Capistrano; what's wrong with that? How did we get to where we are today?
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Cloud 66 started as a different company with a different name, doing a different thing. We were a Rails shop, and like many others, we began with a PaaS provider.
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Our first choice was Heroku; we were their customers. I've worked in both large and small companies, and every time I initiated a project on Heroku, I eventually left.
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The question for me was: why do we all love PaaS platforms like Engine Yard or Heroku? We truly appreciate them, but why do we all end up leaving?
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As a different company, we began asking others this question when we thought about leaving PaaS. So, let me take a risk and ask you: who here has started with something on Heroku?
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How many projects have you started with Heroku, and are you still using it, or have you moved elsewhere? It's an interesting point to consider. This audience might be slightly biased, but what we find is a situation I call the 'PaaS cliff.' We all start with PaaS, but we tend to fall off that cliff relatively quickly.
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People give various reasons for leaving; cost is often cited. This seems odd, as if you're doing well, you should be able to pay the bills. But sometimes it relates to aspects like flexibility or vendor lock-in.
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I've even encountered a situation at a bank where we wanted to run a proof of concept and presented it to colleagues at Heroku. The excitement was palpable, but then operations teams took over and insisted on managing things in a different way, which discouraged me from using PaaS again.
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So, we made the leap and found ourselves building a different business. This is what our journey looked like; we jumped into a space filled with complexities.
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Today, instead of focusing purely on this history, I want to demonstrate what we have built and the journey we traversed to be able to deploy a Rails application. Our aim is to replicate the rewarding experience of using a PaaS provider while maintaining control of costs and benefiting from market price reductions.
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We also wanted to experiment with new technologies, like time series databases, which are essential as our developers seek creative solutions. The challenge arises when adding external components leads to 'snowflakes'—unique setups that complicate the management and reliability of our systems.
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When a major provider like Amazon experiences an issue, and everyone is told to shut down their EC2 instance and restart it, a process that should supposedly be straightforward often becomes a struggle. So, let me show you a quick demo of what we've accomplished.
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This is the Cloud 66 dashboard. On the left, you can see a container-based Kubernetes ramp application that we commonly demonstrate when discussing our container products. We have four products: two focusing on Rails and Node, while the other two, Skycap and Maestro, help build and deploy applications on Kubernetes.
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Today, I want to focus primarily on the Rails product. Our goal when designing this was to streamline the process from code to production.
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Imagine the conventional PaaS experience when you have your code that easily transitions into production with every commit triggering a build process. We envisioned a slight modification to that model.
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We connect your git repository to pull the code, and on the other hand, we integrate with your cloud provider of choice under your own account. We then provision and configure the necessary servers to deploy your application.
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But how do we know what type of services are required? It's not a one-size-fits-all situation. If your Rails application uses Memcached and Redis, should each service run on individual servers, or do we combine them?
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This is how our workflow appears. Selecting a Rails application, I can choose from one of our sample projects. This simple Rails application exemplifies our configuration.
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It utilizes MySQL, while you might notice a Docker file included that's not used in this demo. We also include a classic 66 folder that contains necessary environment variables, but you won't necessarily need to use them for this application.
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I will start deploying this by using the Git repository URL. As it's a public repository, I'll connect to it via HTTP using the master branch, calling it Rails Conf 3.
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I'm running a live demo, so I hope the demo gods will be in my favor. Should I encounter an issue with Wi-Fi, I'll have to improvise.
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Now, we're connecting to the Git repository. We retrieve the code and examine configuration files like your database config, alongside other guidelines integrated into the repository.
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The great thing about Rails is the convention over configuration approach, allowing us to deduce various aspects from those conventions.
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For instance, this application is specified to run in production using Rails 4.2.8 and Ruby 2.1.5. We configured the default setup to run with Nginx and Passenger, with the possibility to select Unicorn if preferred.
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This simple configuration indicates we are using MySQL in the backend. This information is accessible through the configuration files.
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For a classic 66 deployment, we support post-deployment hooks to streamline your processes instead of relying on manual installation and scripting.
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This includes backend jobs that run, ensuring swift deployments while we leverage our own experience to optimize classic six.
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Customers in over 110 countries use our platform, with approximately 600 developers actively using Cloud 66. They manage their deployments, completing around 5,000 to 6,000 deployments across the board.
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This ongoing activity means that Sidekiq is consistently active.
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This need prompted us to build a solid deployment process that works efficiently, addressing significant pain points.
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Regarding job files that facilitate commands, we see great value in utilizing Rails as a framework with baked-in conventions. You can add environment variables and settings as needed.
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You can lock your Ruby version in your Gemfile, and if not locked, the system will present you with drop-down choices.
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Our understanding of Rails is deep, so you can easily add specific configurations around assets, pipeline, DB schema loads, and more.
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Any cloud provider can be integrated; you simply need to link your chosen service account. Whether it's AWS, DigitalOcean, or another, you just need the authentication credentials and API keys.
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If you run on other bare metal providers outside of Packet, a simple registration process allows you to include them seamlessly in our configuration.
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Each installation involves selecting the installation region and server types. You can also specify how to distribute your app across various cloud resources.
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For example, your Rails server can be on one server, while MySQL can be on another, thereby promoting good practices even for demo purposes.
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The configuration allows flexibility, letting you scale your application as required, without needing to specify everything upfront.
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Once everything is set, we can deploy to DigitalOcean and kick off server creation instantly. Each server is given an animal name and can be renamed upon creation.
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Behind the scenes, we efficiently set up the server with the chosen configurations, verifying compatibility and version updates, ensuring everything is installed before proceeding.
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All necessary packages, security updates, and unique configurations are systematically applied, ensuring the server runs as required as soon as it's ready.
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The server's setup includes specifics like public and private IP addresses, firewall configurations, and the installation of necessary management packages.
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As demonstrated by my setup, I've established a Rails server, MySQL server, and a worker process intended to handle job queues.
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We ensure everything feeds into a single application environment, facilitating easy management.
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The cloud service not only provisions servers but also configures them for the application seamlessly, allowing straightforward scaling and adjustment for your systems.
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Once the application stack is created, load balancers can be integrated to allow for efficient traffic management.
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In addition, our platform allows users to set up automatic backup controls, where entire database systems can be backed up concurrently.
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These backups are compressed, encrypted, and stored in the closest S3 region, fulfilling data residency requirements.
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You can choose the frequency of backups and the type—incremental or full snapshots.
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Moreover, this system can restore data in a time-efficient manner, allowing users to revert their applications to a previous state.
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You can also seamlessly use your own databases and load balancers if preferred.
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With regard to SSL certificates, our platform can manage certificate integration easily, adjusting configurations automatically based on the deployment settings.
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Our system automates SSL renewals and configurations without interrupting applications, ensuring a stress-free management process.
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As part of this continuous evolution, we support a backup verification process to ensure integrity and accessibility of all backups made from your system.
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This can help assure business continuity by verifying that backups are indeed accessible when they're most needed.
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Furthermore, our deployment history gives you a comprehensive view of all updates with appropriate commit history.
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Being aware of configuration files makes managing your operational environment simple and effective.
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We dedicate efforts to ensure that while still enjoying the automation that classic six brings, awareness and access ensure security and operational integrity.
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Consequently, tailored monitoring allows you to track your environment live, providing insights on performance across various components.
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We continuously receive data from individual servers regarding traffic security and access attempts to promptly alert users when any anomalies occur.
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Real-time alerts sent via various notification methods such as Slack, ensure the teams are always informed.
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With added logging features operational teams can access terraced logs without needing to set up an external logging solution.
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Live logs offer immediate insight into deployment actions or application errors, enabling quick responses without additional overhead.
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As I navigate my stack, connectivity issues may arise, and it's critical to be prepared for troubleshooting.
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The health status scores keep track of components, alerting you if anything may require attention or immediate action.
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Every action's logging enables you to verify what occurs within the operational landscape, ensuring accountability and transparency.
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In conclusion, all fundamental aspects of these processes serve to enhance operational efficiency and security.
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As we continue to build our ecosystem, we are considerably focused on user feedback for improvements.
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Does anyone have any questions before we move forward? I'm happy to address any inquiries regarding our approach.
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Thank you very much for your time. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the presentation, and I invite you to visit our demo booth to explore more along with further inquiries.
