I'm on the hunt for recommendations on scalable platforms that can handle CI/CD in an offline setting. Currently, we're using a group of virtual machines with GitLab runners, but managing security and maintaining consistent configurations has become challenging due to the mixed usage of these VMs. A lot of them need to be based on Windows since that's our target environment. Most of our smaller jobs are in Python while larger projects involve Java and C++. While Java integration is straightforward, the other languages can be more complex. Our team consists of about 40 dedicated developers and 60 who are more Python-focused.
We need a solution that can operate on an air-gapped network, offering features like load balancing and re-baselining with minimal manual intervention. I initially thought about going the Kubernetes route, but time is against us and we have a budget to work with. A colleague has mentioned a VMware Tanzu demo that seemed impressive, but any real-world experiences would be much more valuable. We have around £200k available for both the computing infrastructure and the management platform. Please note, I'm not the decision-maker on the purchases, so sales pitches are not necessary. Thanks for any insights!
4 Answers
You might want to check out this site for an interesting tool: [coolify.io](https://coolify.io/)
I highly recommend checking out Concourse! It's free and supports Linux, MacOS, and Windows. Everything runs in containers which makes it really straightforward to get going, plus it's super extensible with an easy-to-use API.
Just a heads up about VMware Tanzu – I would suggest being cautious about products from Broadcom. I frequently hear from customers who regret getting locked into those offerings due to tough renewal terms. As for your current setup with GitLab runners, consider using the Fleeting controller to make your VMs ephemeral. That could help manage your resources better!
If you do it right, GitLab can actually be a fantastic offline CI/CD option! It's really one of the best out there. You just need to ensure a proper setup to get the most out of it.
By 'correct,' could you give more details? We've set up runners in Docker for our Unix jobs, but the Windows stuff is on separate VMs.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely take a closer look!