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4.1.1 Docker Continuous Integration

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Continuous Integration (CI) plays a crucial role in modern software development by automating the process of building Docker images. Here's a brief overview along with a simple diagram

Git --> Github Actions --> Docker Image Build --> Docker Registry -> Images Deployed as Containers/Pods

  1. Developers commit code changes to a source code repository (e.g., Git).
  2. The Github Actions detects changes and triggers the Docker image build process.
  3. Docker images are built following predefined instructions (Dockerfile).
  4. Successful images are pushed to a Docker registry for storage.
  5. Images can be deployed to various environments.

This process enhances consistency, efficiency, and reliability in software development and deployment.

From the perspective of security there are three main aspects in this process that is worth elaborating and something we'll be implementing in this chapter.

  • Docker Image Immutability : Docker Image Immutability refers to the principle that once a Docker image is created, it should remain unchanged and not be modified. This is important to prevent unauthorized changes from running in the environment.

  • Dockerfile Security : Dockerfile, which contains predefined instructions must follow security best practices like running containers with non-root privileges. We'll explore this in next section.

  • Container Security : Before the image is pushed onto the registry, it should scanned for vulnerabilities that exist in the base docker operating system. We'll explore this in an upcoming section.