Recreate Deployment Strategy: A Simple Guide

Introduction

The recreate deployment strategy is a straightforward yet powerful method for deploying updates to applications. Unlike rolling or blue-green deployments, recreate deployment involves taking down the existing version of an application before bringing up the new version. This approach offers simplicity and efficiency, particularly for applications that can tolerate brief downtime. This article delves into the recreate deployment strategy, its benefits and drawbacks, and its real-world applications, with an emphasis on the tools that facilitate its implementation.

What is Recreate Deployment?

Recreate deployment is a deployment strategy where the old version of an application is completely shut down before the new version is started. This method ensures that there is only one version of the application running at any given time. It’s particularly useful for applications where maintaining state consistency across multiple versions is challenging or unnecessary.

How Recreate Deployment Works

1. Preparation: Ensure the new version of the application is ready for deployment.
2. Shutdown: Stop all instances of the current version of the application.
3. Deployment: Deploy the new version of the application.
4. Startup: Start all instances of the new version.
5. Validation: Ensure the new version is functioning as expected.

Benefits of Recreate Deployment

• Simplicity: Easy to understand and implement, making it suitable for smaller teams or projects.
• Consistency: Ensures no version conflicts as only one version is active at a time.
• Cost-Effective: Reduces resource usage since only one version needs to be maintained.

Drawbacks of Recreate Deployment

• Downtime: Involves a period of downtime which may not be acceptable for all applications, especially those requiring high availability.
• User Experience: Users may experience a brief disruption, potentially leading to a poor user experience.
• Risk of Failure: If the new version fails to start, the application will be unavailable until the issue is resolved.

Real-World Applications

Recreate deployment is well-suited for:

• Internal Applications: Enterprise software or internal tools where brief downtime is acceptable.
• Non-Critical Services: Applications that are not mission-critical and can tolerate short interruptions.
• Development Environments: Testing and development environments where deployments are frequent and downtime is less impactful.

Tools for Recreate Deployment

Several tools and platforms support recreate deployment, ensuring smooth transitions and minimizing downtime. Here are some key tools used in the industry:

Kubernetes

Kubernetes, a popular container orchestration platform, supports recreate deployment natively. It allows for the management of containerized applications and their deployment strategies. By defining a deployment strategy as “Recreate” in the Kubernetes deployment configuration, the platform handles stopping old pods and starting new ones.

AWS Elastic Beanstalk

AWS Elastic Beanstalk offers support for recreate deployment, making it easy to deploy and manage applications in the cloud. With Elastic Beanstalk, you can configure deployment settings to use the recreate strategy, ensuring that old instances are terminated before new ones are launched.

Jenkins

Jenkins, a widely-used continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tool, can be configured to perform recreate deployments. By defining build and deployment pipelines, Jenkins can automate the process of shutting down old versions and deploying new ones, reducing manual intervention.

Docker Swarm

Docker Swarm, a native clustering and orchestration tool for Docker, supports recreate deployment. By using Docker Compose to define services and their deployment strategies, Docker Swarm can ensure that old containers are stopped before new ones are started.

Best Practices for Recreate Deployment

• Pre-Deployment Testing: Thoroughly test the new version in a staging environment to catch any issues before production deployment.
• Backup: Ensure you have backups of critical data and configurations before initiating the deployment.
• Monitoring: Use monitoring tools to track the performance and health of the application during and after deployment.
• Rollback Plan: Have a clear rollback plan in case the new version fails to start or introduces critical issues.

Conclusion

Recreate deployment strategy, while simple, is a powerful approach for certain types of applications. Its straightforward nature makes it an attractive option for internal applications, non-critical services, and development environments. By leveraging tools like Kubernetes, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Jenkins, and Docker Swarm, teams can efficiently manage recreate deployments, ensuring minimal downtime and consistent application performance. As with any deployment strategy, thorough testing, monitoring, and a solid rollback plan are essential to mitigate risks and ensure a smooth deployment process.