In Chapter 7, Using Continuous Integration Builds For Network Configuration, we looked at the process of continuous integration and in Chapter 8, Testing Network Changes, we looked at adding testing to the continuous integration process to provide increased validation and feedback loops in case of failure.
When carrying out continuous integration, using a fail fast / fix fast philosophy is desirable. This involves putting in necessary validation checks to decipher whether a build is valid and provide feedback loops to users.
This promotes the correct behavior within the teams that do frequent, small, incremental changes, which de-risks the changes. While each change is validated using the Continuous Integration (CI) engine with instant feedback on changes, a process of continuous improvement is adhered to as teams strive to make more robust solutions that will pass all quality checks.
As important as providing feedback loops is, producing successful...