Quartz 5

cd

Properties2
tagsdevops, cd, release, delivery
aliasesCD, continuous deployment, continuous delivery

2 min read

Continuous Delivery (CD)

What it is

Continuous delivery (CD) is the practice of keeping validated changes ready to release through an automated, repeatable deployment process. It commonly takes the tested artifact produced by continuous integration (CI), deploys that same artifact to one or more environments, and runs checks needed to make a production release a routine decision rather than a special event.

Why it exists

CI catches integration problems early by building and testing changes. CD extends that work through deployment: it makes the path to an environment repeatable, observable, and controlled. CD does not mean every change reaches production automatically.

Key ideas

  • Build once, promote the same artifact. A CD pipeline should deploy the exact build artifact that CI tested, not silently rebuild different code for each environment.
  • Stages make the path visible. A typical route is deploy to a test environment → run validation → deploy to a staging environment → authorize and deploy to production. The stages and checks should match the risk.
  • Continuous delivery is not continuous deployment. CD means a validated change is ready and can be released through a reliable process. Continuous deployment automatically releases eligible changes to production; an organization chooses whether that level of automation is appropriate.
  • Controls support safe release. Use gates or checks, observability, rollback or forward-fix plans, and appropriate environment access controls. An approval is evidence of a decision, not a substitute for testing.

Northwind example

CI builds Northwind’s order API and publishes artifact order-api-1042. The CD pipeline deploys that same artifact to test, runs API tests, then deploys it to staging for a smoke test. A production check requires an authorized release decision and a passing health signal. Northwind is practicing continuous delivery even though it does not automatically expose every successful staging build to customers.

How it fits

Code → CI build and tests → tested artifact → CD stages and checks → production release

Exam notes

  • Continuous delivery keeps a change ready to release; continuous deployment releases eligible changes automatically.
  • Promote the tested artifact instead of rebuilding it per environment.
  • Use stages, checks, monitoring, and recovery plans to reduce deployment risk.

release-strategy · release-definition · deployment-gate · rollback-strategy · feature-flags · deployment-ring

📘 Source: Microsoft Learn — Cd

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