GitLab CI CD vs Jenkins
As a software developer, you want to be sure you're using the best tools available to ensure your code is properly tested and integrated before being deployed. In this post, we'll compare two of the most popular CI/CD tools used today: GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins. You'll discover their similarities, differences, and decide which one is best for your team.
Functionality
GitLab CI/CD came as part of the GitLab Suite. Hence, it became an all-in-one solution for many developers. It is a complete DevOps platform that provides a single interface to manage your pipeline. Therefore, you can easily track builds, tests, and deployments. GitLab CI CD allows you to make changes to your pipeline, perform testing, and deploy the code directly into production.
Jenkins, on the other hand, is a very flexible tool that can be customized to suit your needs. However, you have to use multiple tools to carry out the development, testing, and deployment process. While Jenkins allows you to configure plugins for your needs, it can be overwhelming for many new users.
Additionally, GitLab CI CD offers a Kubernetes platform that supports auto-deployment, container scanning, and management. Jenkins requires multiple plugins before it can fully support Kubernetes.
Ease of Use
GitLab CI CD is known for its ease of use. It has an easy-to-navigate interface that helps new users get the hang of things quickly. The auto-devops feature automatically automates testing, deployment, and updating the environment. It can automatically perform configuration changes that would normally require manual work for other CI/CD tools. This means less work for the developers and more time and attention for creating great software.
Jenkins, however, can be a little more difficult for newbies to navigate. It requires plugins to add new functionalities. They can be easy to integrate but can become a hindrance when you need to combine multiple functionalities. Jenkins could be much more powerful if it had fewer plugins and more native features.
Performance
GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins have impressive performance metrics when it comes to running tests and building software.
In the performance benchmarking test conducted by GitLab, it showed that GitLab CI/CD is 24 times faster than Jenkins in building and testing Docker images. GitLab CI/CD was able to build and test 9 Docker images in 97 seconds compared to Jenkins, which built and tested only two Docker images in 2,335 seconds.
Conclusion
Both GitLab CI/CD and Jenkins are good options to manage your software development pipelines. Nevertheless, GitLab CI/CD has many native functionalities that Jenkins needs plugins to offer. Additionally, GitLab CI/CD is easier to navigate through and less complex, and faster compared to Jenkins when it comes to performance.
If you're looking for a comprehensive, user-friendly, and high-performance CI/CD pipeline, GitLab CI/CD would be your best bet.