Blue-Green and Canary Deployments in DevOps: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Deployment strategies ensure stability, reliability, and speed for software releases in the ever-evolving field of DevOps. The paper compares two popular deployment techniques, namely Blue-Green and Canary Deployments, that are being widely used to minimize downtime, reduce risks, and guarantee the continuous delivery of software. The paper evaluates both approaches in terms of implementation, advantages, challenges, and suitability for different types of projects. The technical and operational factors that influence the choice between Blue-Green and Canary Deployments are reviewed, including system architecture, scale, and risk tolerance, through a review of existing literature and case studies. It also discusses how every deployment strategy affects the big four DevOps metrics, which are deployment frequency, lead time, failure rates, and rollback capabilities. Results indicated that while Blue-Green deployments were fit for projects with requirements of zero- downtime releases and minimal risk, Canary Deployments could be more flexible, thus enabling gradual rollouts and making them very suitable for complex, large-scale applications. The paper concludes by giving recommendations to DevOps teams on the selection of the appropriate strategy of deployment, depending on their particular needs and development conditions, and then goes into future trends for deployment automation and orchestration.