Visual Studio Team Services vs Jenkins
DevOps is an essential part of software development, and having a reliable continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) tool can make all the difference. While Jenkins has been a go-to choice for many years, Visual Studio Team Services is a newer player in the market. In this blog post, we will provide a factual comparison between these two tools, with numbers when possible, to help DevOps teams decide which one is best suited for their needs.
User Interface
Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) has a modern and intuitive user interface that makes it easy to navigate and use. It provides a dashboard with a customizable view of the current state of the project and its build status. Furthermore, it enables the creation of a project wiki, which helps teams document guidelines, tutorials, and technical requirements in one place.
On the other hand, Jenkins has a more traditional user interface, which can be challenging for newcomers. Its UI has a steep learning curve, and developers may need to spend some time learning how to customize it to their needs. However, Jenkins is highly customizable, and teams can choose from a vast range of free and paid plugins.
Winner: Visual Studio Team Services
Integration
In terms of integration, both VSTS and Jenkins offer similar capabilities. They can integrate with various version control systems, issue tracking software, and test automation frameworks.
However, VSTS provides more out-of-the-box integrations with Microsoft products such as Visual Studio, Azure, and Power BI. Furthermore, it can easily integrate with third-party tools, such as Slack, HipChat, and Trello, through webhooks.
Jenkins, on the other hand, has a vast range of third-party plugins available, enabling it to integrate with almost any tool. However, configuring and managing these plugins can be time-consuming.
Winner: Tie
Performance
Performance is a crucial factor in any CI/CD tool. VSTS has an edge over Jenkins in terms of speed, as it can execute builds faster due to its cloud-based architecture. VSTS provides a separate agent pool for each project, which enables concurrent builds, leading to faster build and deployment times.
Jenkins, on the other hand, can be slow, as it requires dedicated hardware to run, and managing hardware can be a hassle. Moreover, it can struggle with large builds or when multiple builds are running concurrently.
Winner: Visual Studio Team Services
Community Support
Jenkins has been around for more than a decade, and its open-source nature has led to a vast community of developers, contributors, and users. The Jenkins community is one of the largest in the DevOps world, and it provides ample support, documentation, and plugins.
While VSTS is relatively new, it is backed by Microsoft, and it has a growing community. However, it may take some time before it can match Jenkins regarding the community.
Winner: Jenkins
Pricing
Both VSTS and Jenkins have free and paid versions. However, VSTS has a more complicated pricing model, with different tiers that provide different features. It charges based on the number of users, build time, and storage. On the other hand, Jenkins is entirely free and open-source, and the only cost involved is hardware.
Winner: Jenkins
Conclusion
Both VSTS and Jenkins are excellent options for DevOps teams looking for a CI/CD tool. VSTS provides a modern, intuitive user interface, faster builds and deployments, and seamless integration with Microsoft products. Jenkins, on the other hand, has a vast community, a vast range of plugins and it's completely free.
Ultimately, the choice between VSTS and Jenkins will depend on your team's needs, preferences, and budget. We hope that this comparison will help you make an informed decision.
References
- Microsoft. (n.d.). Visual Studio Team Services. Retrieved May 30, 2021, from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/team-services/
- Jenkins. (n.d.). Jenkins. Retrieved May 30, 2021, from https://www.jenkins.io/