Push Your Code. We’ll Handle The Rest.

Push your code - we’ll handle the rest. For amazee.io, this isn't just a tagline; it’s our commitment to you. 

Whether you’re managing a complex Drupal CMS, scaling NodeJS services, or securing critical PHP applications, we’ve built our Enterprise-Grade Hosting Platform to ensure seamless code deployment, hosting, and security.

But what does “pushing code” really mean for your business? As it turns out, regardless of the application that you are running, the best place to start is by understanding some of the basics, such as repositories and branches.

What Is A Code Repository?

Think of a repository as a digital filing cabinet for software projects. When developers add new features or fix bugs, their changes are tracked and organized, and everything is documented and backed up. Using code repositories is the modern way for development teams to collaborate, especially when multiple people build features on the same project.

So, What Is A Code Repository Branch?

When enterprise teams manage complex websites and applications, repository branching strategies become the standard approach to avoid developers tripping over each other. Adopting a battle-tested branching workflow helps enterprise teams work on features, bug fixes, and security patches simultaneously without conflicts. Adopting a platform that supports a range of best practice branching strategies (like Gitflow or trunk-based development) ensures that enterprise developers can collaborate effectively, keeping production stable while delivering new updates quickly and securely.

Code Push In The Enterprise: What It All Means

In an enterprise setting — whether using Drupal, NodeJS, or some other Enterprise PHP or Python approach — pushing code involves more than simply transferring code updates. 

For a professional and well-designed enterprise workflow, a developer pushing code to the repository is the first step in moving your application's changes, updates, fixes, and patches from a development state closer to a production-ready state.

A code push sends updates from a developer’s local environment (their machine or testing setup) to a central, often cloud-hosted code repository. Teams connect repositories to continuous integration (CI) and deployment (CD) pipelines in enterprise environments.

Continuous Integration (CI) integrates code changes into a shared repository, where automated tests and checks ensure the code is stable and compatible. 

Continuous Deployment (CD) takes this further by automatically deploying every change that passes the CI process into a live environment. This live environment may be a production, non-production “test,” or “staging” environment.

Together, these two processes ensure your updates are released quickly and reliably with minimum human intervention.

For companies and institutions with demanding or high-volume hosting needs for websites developed in Drupal and other applications and frameworks, pushing code means much more than "upload and forget." It has to be part of a well-structured, controlled, and automated process that secures stability, security, and performance. For applications that serve millions of users or critical business functions, predictability, repeatability, and security are core requirements that developers must consider in this process.

In short, a code push to a repository marks the beginning of transitioning the initial developments to a live or production-ready state. 

Let's see what happens next in the enterprise-grade amazee.io deployment pipeline.

What Happens After You Push Code: Automated Enterprise Hosting For Drupal, NodeJS, And PHP

Once you’ve pushed your code, whether for a Drupal content hub, a NodeJS microservice, or some other enterprise PHP application, integrating the code for deployment is lifted from the team through automation - enabling enterprise-scale efficiency and stability by allowing your team to focus on innovation rather than having to worry about manual code integration steps.

Within amazee.io, code pushed to one of these source code repositories—GitHub, BitBucket, or GitLab—informs the platform that new code is available for integration and delivery to an environment.

In large enterprise projects, branches can act for experimental or feature-specific work, but others, like staging or production, serve to trigger a complete production build and deployment.

For example, pushing the code to a staging branch in an enterprise Drupal setting should trigger a deployment to internal pre-live testing, where developers can test features validated releases ahead of time. A feature branch should be used for specific updates or enhancements, keeping the code isolated from production until it has been tested and validated for production readiness. 

Finally, code merging with the main branch often means full code deployment, whether deploying new features or significant security patches. Generally speaking, changes pushed to the main branch are where updates go live.

The build process begins once the amazee.io platform identifies a relevant change to a branch it must deploy. 

amazee.io builds container images that package your application code, libraries, and dependencies into self-contained software packages. These containers are particularly useful in web applications such as Drupal, where specific combinations of software components like NGINX and PHP versions, databases such as MySQL or MariaDB, and code dependencies all come into play. Using container images guarantees that your Drupal app will be running within a predictable and repeatable environment—mitigating errors produced by variations in the operating environment between development, testing, and production.

Step-by-Step: From Code Push To Live Environment

Cloning the branch: The platform downloads that changed code from the branch to make an updated copy available for integration and deployment on the platform.

Interrogating the Environment: The build system inspects the files that define your hosting environment. A typical Drupal environment could involve specifying a database, caching layer (like Varnish or Redis), or additional services like SOLR or AI LLMs for advanced search features.

Building Infrastructure via Containers: The platform creates the specified components into Docker container images. For a Drupal site, this might mean defining the specific versions of PHP and database servers needed to run a complex content management system effectively.

Storing in a Container Registry: The amazee.io platform builds the containers and then stores them in a container registry for deployment in future steps.

Kubernetes Deployment: The platform instructs the container orchestrator, Kubernetes, to deploy and launch your application using the newly built containers. Kubernetes automatically deploys, scales, and operates your application. It also easily handles increased traffic and unexpected spikes.

Traffic Ingress Routing: Once your new containers are up and running, the platform smoothly switches all traffic to them. This way, your users won't notice when you roll out updates since there's virtually no downtime. The applications keep serving traffic while the platform handles the behind-the-scenes switchover.

The amazee.io platform has a clear guiding principle: free developers to write code and build by providing a platform that handles everything related to deployment. Your team focuses on creating great features and sites, and amazee.io moves that code to production. When using the amazee.io platform, your squad gets a reliable platform that lets developers do their best work.

If you would like to learn more about who we are and how we work, please don't hesitate to contact us. We’d love to chat and answer any questions you have.

Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQs

💬 What Are the Benefits of Using a Code Repository in an Enterprise?

A code repository—especially in an enterprise environment—makes sense because it helps track who changed what and when changes were made, enables the team to review each other's code, and helps everyone adhere to the same standards and project structures. Plus, it smooths out the whole process of getting code from developer laptops all the way to the live site without cutting corners on quality or security.

💬 What Are the Different Branching Strategies Used in Enterprise Deployments?

Regarding enterprise deployments, most teams use either Gitflow or trunk-based development. Gitflow works well if you have many moving parts to juggle, like multiple features being worked on simultaneously. Trunk-based development is more straightforward. Developers work directly off the main branch, which helps catch issues early and keeps the production code stable. Each has its sweet spot, depending on your team's size and how you like to work.

CI/CD FAQs

💬 Why Bother with CI/CD for Enterprise Projects?

Simply put, CI/CD takes the headache out of updates. Instead of someone manually pushing code and crossing their fingers, everything happens automatically once the code checks out. It's faster, safer, and way less prone to human error.

💬 How Does CI/CD Handle Different Environments?

The pipeline knows which code belongs where. When you push changes to stage, it runs one set of checks; for production, it runs another. Developers can test features in development in their own space without messing with the live site. It's like having different rehearsal spaces before the main stage.

amazee.io Deployment Pipeline FAQs

💬 Code Pushes: What Happens Behind the Scenes?

When developers push their code to GitHub, amazee.io springs into action. It spots what's changed and figures out exactly what needs updating and where.

💬 Why do Containers Make Life Easier?

Think of containers like perfectly packed lunch boxes - everything your app needs is right there, arranged just so. No matter where you run them, they work the same way. No more "but it worked on my machine" headaches.

💬 Why Do We Use Kubernetes? ( → Your Deployment Wingman!)

Kubernetes is like having a super-efficient technical operating assistant who handles all the heavy lifting. For example, when experiencing a traffic spike, Kubernetes autoscaling will spin up more resources automatically. You focus on the code, and the amazee.io Kubernetes-powered platform handles the rest.

💬 Why do Container Registries Matter?

Having a container registry is like having a well-organized parts warehouse. Need to deploy your app somewhere new? Just grab the same container image you used before.

💬 What Happens When You Switch Traffic to New Code?

When it's time to roll out updates, the platform smoothly directs visitors to the new version. It's like changing lanes on the highway - your users should barely notice the switch.