Rolling Deployment
Rolling deployment is a software release strategy where new versions of an application are gradually deployed across servers or instances, replacing old versions incrementally while maintaining service availability. It involves updating a subset of nodes at a time, ensuring that the application remains operational and can handle user traffic throughout the deployment process. This approach minimizes downtime and reduces risk by allowing for quick rollback if issues arise.
Developers should use rolling deployment in production environments where high availability is critical, such as for web applications, APIs, or microservices that cannot afford extended outages. It is particularly useful in cloud-based or containerized setups (e.g., with Kubernetes or AWS) to ensure seamless updates without disrupting users, and it allows for monitoring and validation of new versions on a small scale before full rollout.