Never Test in Production 🚫🔧
Definition of Production 📦
Production Environment: The live environment where services are actively delivered to users. For example, a website's live server or an authentication service handling user logins.
Importance of Testing Changes 🧪
Before implementing any changes, it’s crucial to test them in a non-production environment to avoid disrupting live services.
Test Environment 🖥️
Purpose: Mimics the production environment but does not serve actual users.
Benefit: Allows you to identify and fix issues without impacting users.
Secondary or Stand-By Machine 💻
Purpose: A duplicate of the production machine that remains inactive until needed.
Process: Apply changes to the stand-by machine first. Once verified, switch it with the primary machine and update the original primary machine.
Canary Releases 🦠
Concept: Similar to coal miners’ canaries used to detect gas, use a small subset of servers to test changes.
Purpose: Minimize risk by exposing only a small user base to new changes before full deployment.
Process: After successful testing on canaries, deploy changes to the entire fleet.
Testing Minor Changes 🧩
Principle: Even minor changes should be tested in a test environment before applying to production.
Reason: Prevent unforeseen issues and ensure stability.
Summary 📋
Always Test First: Use a test environment to verify changes before applying them to production.
Utilize Secondary Machines: Apply changes to a stand-by machine first to ensure stability.
Employ Canary Releases: Test changes on a subset of servers to mitigate risk.
Even Minor Changes: Test all changes, regardless of size, to maintain service reliability.
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