Testing in production

As explained in Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform

Testing in production is the practice of validating software or infrastructure behavior in the live production environment under controlled conditions.

Testing in production validates software or infrastructure against production data and systems under controlled conditions. For infrastructure as code, it can expose broken systems without maintaining a separate testing environment. section 12.3.4

A controlled infrastructure test can proceed as follows:

• Stage a second set of resources containing the intended changes. section 12.3.4
• Hide the changes behind a feature flag, then direct application and user traffic to them. section 12.3.4
• Verify functionality while both resource sets run simultaneously, then remove the old resources after the observation period. section 12.3.4

Conference video service

A video service team tests infrastructure changes with blue-green resources and a feature flag, avoiding a separate testing environment while controlling exposure. section 12.3.4

Figure 12.15 Testing in production for IaC applies blue-green deployments and feature flagging for a set of resources.

Shows how blue-green deployments and feature flagging control production exposure for infrastructure changes. section 12.3.4

How Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform covers it

How deep it goes

Explains definitions, blue-green execution, feature flags, canaries, and roll-forward recovery, but not detailed implementation code.

Examples

Uses a conference video service, parallel resource sets, production traffic switching, and delayed deletion of old infrastructure.

What you can do after

Apply via blue-green deployments and feature flags to validate infrastructure changes against production systems.

How it connects

Connects infrastructure as code with blue-green deployments, feature flagging, canary deployments, and cost optimization.

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Related concepts

• canary deploymentuses · A canary deployment is a release strategy that exposes a change to a limited portion of users, traffic, or infrastructure before expanding it more broadly.
• testkind of · A test is a procedure or check that evaluates behavior using specified inputs or evidence against expected results or criteria.
• blue-green deploymentuses · Blue-green deployment is a release pattern that maintains separate active and replacement environments and switches traffic between them after the replacement is validated.
• staging environmentalternative to · A staging environment is a pre-production computing environment used to validate software or operational changes under conditions that approximate production.
• feature flaguses · A feature flag is a configuration control that conditionally enables, disables, or selects a software feature or behavior.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Infrastructure as Code, Patterns and Practices: With examples in Python and Terraform. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.