What is Jenkins in DevOps ?

In recent years, the process of software development has undergone a myriad of changes. With DevOps gaining popularity, organizations have been able to come up with innovative solutions at a never-seen-before pace. By coordinating the developmental work of the different software teams, DevOps presents a unified platform with clearly defined processes for organizations to implement the software development life cycle.

The reason for the immense popularity of DevOps is the fact that it is continuously evolving. One of the significant developments that have set a buzz in the world of DevOps is that of Jenkins DevOps. This article delves into the world of Jenkins DevOps and tries to understand how Jenkins is affecting the world of DevOps.

Understanding What is Jenkins in DevOps

Jenkins can be viewed as just another tool in DevOps. Written in Java, this is open-source software. Being available free of cost is one of the most critical factors for the immense popularity of Jenkins DevOps. It is easy to install and configure in one’s system, which is a bonus. Jenkins is highly flexible, and one can add multiple plugins to it. That way, the functionality of Jenkins can be altered to suit the individual needs of the project in hand.

Applications of Jenkins DevOps

In the software development life cycle, a team encounters various stages such as initial development and build, testing, and quality assurance followed by things like packaging, analyzing, and deploying. Now, a tool that might be the best for building may not be feasible for packaging or vice versa. In such a situation, DevOps Jenkins does the brilliant job of integrating the different tools involved in the running of functional or UI tests, continuous integration, or continuous delivery.                                

How Jenkins used in DevOps: Installing Jenkins DevOps

The process of getting Jenkins and DevOps to your local system is a rather simple one. All you have to do is go to the official site and download the zip file from there. Once downloaded, extract the file and initiate a dedicated folder for the installation process. Usually, your system will show a dedicated folder path before starting the process of installation. If you are not comfortable with the location, you may alter it at that stage.

Once the installation of Jenkins DevOps is completed, a new window will pop up which will ask you for a secret password to unlock Jenkins. There is no need to be alarmed, and you need to follow two simple steps as the secret password is already in your system

1. Step 1: Go to the path \ProgramFiles (x86) \Jenkins\secrets in your local PC.
2. Step 2: Open the file initialAdminPassword to find the secret password

Enter the password to go to the next screen where you will be prompted to select the plugins you need for your Jenkins DevOps. If you are a beginner and not yet sure of which plugin you will need, feel free to choose the plugins suggested below.

By clicking the ‘Next’ option, you will be taken to a screen where you need to choose your admin username and other credentials. On saving this, the Jenkins DevOps installation process will be deemed complete. The default port number is 8080. Post the installation, you will be taken to a screen where you can change the port number if you want.

Learning Jenkins DevOps

Having understood the importance of Jenkins in DevOps and installed it in your system, the next major step would be to learn Jenkins. Being as low maintenance as it is, this will soon be your preferred tool. Here’s where you can master all that you need to know about ‘what is Jenkins in DevOps’ free of cost.

Getting started on official documentation 

After you have installed Jenkins, the next major step will be to understand the potential of Jenkins and its scope of work in DevOps. The best possible way to begin the journey would be by reading the official Jenkins DevOps user handbook issued by Jenkins. The guided tutorials will take you to teach you things from scratch, and you will learn your way from creating pipelines to using appropriate builds.

Continuous integration and continuous deployment course

Courses like these talk about how one can use continuous integration and continuous deployment in Microsoft Azure and Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS). It delves into the details of how one can integrate VSTS with Jenkins. Many paid as well as free courses like these are available on various sites.

Jenkins detailed videos on YouTube

As evident as it is, Youtube is one of the best platforms for learning any new skill free of cost. There is a comprehensive collection of Jenkins DevOps tutorials that take the learner through a step-by-step approach to the tool.

From teaching the initial concepts to learning how to make the most of CAT LIGHT, integration, and triggering jobs via email, the scope of the course is immense. DevOps applications are discussed in details, and at the end of the course, one will be able to use CLI efficiently.

Why choose Jenkins DevOps?

Multiple organizations are going for Jenkins DevOps because they go beyond merging the texts of numerous developers to testing them simultaneously. For a massive deployment, such testing takes away various downstream problems. With the Jenkins DevOps model, the process is automated to a large extent as every piece of merged code is at a production-ready stage at every point.

As an IT professional involved in any part of the software development life cycle, Jenkins will empower you to have complete control over the workflow and manage the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline promptly. Along with that, several plugins may be used to maximize the functionality of Jenkins DevOps for your technical needs.

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Plugins in Jenkins

Most of the functionality of Jenkins DevOps revolves around the fact that it is useful in any project because of its various plugins. These Jenkins plugins are superpowers that allow Jenkins to take up a DevOps role depending on the situational demands.

Identify installed plugins                        

Once you login to Jenkins with the admin credentials you set during the installation, you will find the option ‘Manage Jenkins’. Under that, go to the section that says ‘Manage Plugins’. Go to the tab that says ‘Installed’. If you had not selected any plugins during installation and not installed anything even after that, then this section will be blank.

Searching and installing plugins

Go to the ‘Available’ tab to find the list of plugins that you can install in your system. You can use the filters to search out what you want, or you may type it out. Once you get the plugin you are looking for, select the ‘Install without restart’ option if you are looking for a faster installation. Else, you are free to use the ‘Install’ option.

Updating plugins

Jenkins frequently updates its plugins, and having the latest version enables you to make your DevOps project more efficient. To update your existing plugin, you need to go to the ‘Manage Plugins’ option again. This time select the ‘Updates’ tab to see which of your plugins need an update and act accordingly.

Conclusion

By now, you would have a clear answer to your initial question of ‘what is Jenkins in DevOps’ and why is it a feasible choice for developers and testers. With the detailed installation steps and information on choosing your plugins, you are now equipped with the usage of Jenkins.