DevOps Take-Home Test

Overview

The goal of this test is to assess your skills in DevOps practices, including CI/CD, observability, and infrastructure management. You will work with an existing Node.js application to demonstrate your technical abilities and decision-making process.

• Timebox: The test is designed to be completed in 6 hours or less.
• Commit Often: Show your working process through regular commits.
• External Dependencies: Use any external tools or libraries you see fit.
• Keep It Practical: Avoid over-engineering the solution and focus on meeting the requirements.

Objectives

1. CI/CD Pipeline: Create a CI/CD pipeline for a Node.js application.
2. Observability: Implement basic observability for the application.
3. Infrastructure Setup: Containerize and deploy the application.

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Requirements

Functional

1. CI/CD Pipeline

   • Automate the build, test, and deployment processes.
   • Ensure the pipeline triggers on commits and pull requests.
   • Roll back deployments on failure.
   • (Optional) Use advanced deployment strategies, such as blue/green or canary deployments.
   • Deliverables:
     • A CI/CD pipeline configuration (e.g., .github/workflows/main.yml).
     • Evidence of successful pipeline runs (e.g., screenshots, build logs, GitHub Actions).

2. Observability

   • Integrate a monitoring solution (e.g., Prometheus) to collect application metrics.
   • Create or import a visualization dashboard using Grafana.
   • (Optional) Add alerting rules based on application performance or errors.
   • Deliverables:
     • Prometheus configuration files (e.g., prometheus.yml).
     • Grafana dashboard JSON file or screenshots.

3. Infrastructure Setup

   • Containerize the application using Docker.
   • Deploy the application to an environment of your choice:
     • Local environment using Docker Compose.
     • Cloud environment (e.g., AWS, GCP, or any platform of your choosing).
   • (Optional) Implement orchestration using Kubernetes or similar tools.
   • Deliverables:
     • A functional Dockerfile.
     • Deployment instructions or scripts (e.g., docker-compose.yml).
     • Evidence of successful deployment (e.g., screenshots, URLs, GitHub Actions logs).

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Technical

• CI/CD Tool: Use GitHub Actions, so this can be easily reviewed.
• Monitoring: Use Prometheus and Grafana (or alternatives).
• Containerization: Create a functional Dockerfile.
• Documentation: Provide clear instructions for setting up and running the application.

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Getting Started

1. Use an Example Application

   • Express.js Example App or one of your choice.

2. Set Up CI/CD

   • Create a GitHub Action workflow for the CI/CD pipeline.

3. Set Up Monitoring

   • Configure application to export Prometheus metrics.
   • Configure Prometheus to scrape application metrics.
   • Create or import a Grafana dashboard for visualization.

4. Deploy the Application

   • Containerize the application using Docker.
   • Deploy locally or to a cloud environment.

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Submission Guidelines

• Repository

  • Fork this repository to start your work.
  • Push your code to the fork.
  • Ensure the repository has a clear commit history, and commit regularly.

• README File

  • Include instructions on how to run your application and observability setup.
  • Describe your thought process and any architectural decisions.
  • Mention any trade-offs or assumptions made during development.

• Submission

  • Email us the link to your GitHub repository at [[email protected]].

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Evaluation Criteria

1. CI/CD Pipeline

   • Robustness of the pipeline.
   • Clear error handling and rollback mechanisms.

2. Observability

   • Completeness and usability of the monitoring and alerting setup.
   • Clarity and functionality of dashboards.

3. Infrastructure Setup

   • Simplicity and effectiveness of the containerization and deployment process.
   • (Optional) Use of orchestration tools like Kubernetes.

4. Documentation

   • Clarity and completeness of the README file.
   • Explanation of design decisions and trade-offs.

5. Problem-Solving

   • How challenges were addressed.
   • Demonstration of creativity and efficiency in solutions.

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Extra Credit

These are not required but can showcase additional skills:

• Advanced Deployment

  • Implement blue/green or canary deployments.

• Tracing

  • Add distributed tracing to the application.

• Log Aggregation

  • Integrate a log aggregation solution (e.g., Loki / LGTM Stack).

• Pipeline Observability

  • Add monitoring and alerting to the CI/CD pipeline.