Capstone Part 4: Multi-Tier Deployment

In this final technical lesson, we ship the GlobalHealth Connect code to our users. We will use a Continuous Delivery model (Review Module 1).

1. Defining the Environments

.deploy_template: &deploy_def
  stage: deploy
  image: alpine:latest
  script:
    - echo "Updating infrastructure for $CI_ENVIRONMENT_NAME..."
    - ssh root@$DEPLOY_IP "docker pull $BACKEND_IMAGE && docker-compose up -d"

deploy-staging:
  <<: *deploy_def
  environment:
    name: staging
    url: https://staging.globalhealth.test
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"

deploy-prod:
  <<: *deploy_def
  environment:
    name: production
    url: https://www.globalhealth.com
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"
      when: manual # Human intervention required for the final push

---

2. Environment Variables (Scoping)

Remember Module 10: The DEPLOY_IP for Staging is different from Production.

• Staging IP: 10.0.0.50
• Production IP: 44.55.66.77 We configure these in Settings -> CI/CD -> Variables, scoped to the correct environment.

---

3. Post-Deployment Verification

After the deploy-prod job finishes, we add a "Smoke Test" to ensure the site is up.

smoke-test:
  stage: deploy
  needs: [deploy-prod]
  script:
    - curl -f https://www.globalhealth.com/healthcheck

---

4. Why "Manual" for Production?

Even with 1,000 tests, a human should decide WHEN to deploy.

• Maybe the marketing team isn't ready for the "New Feature" yet.
• Maybe there is a major surgery scheduled at the hospital today, and we want to avoid any risk until tomorrow.

---

Exercise: The Deployment Master

1. If the smoke-test fails, what is the fastest way to revert? (Review Module 6).
2. Write a job delete-staging that runs only when a branch is deleted (using when: on_stop).
3. Why is the rules: section the most important part of this configuration?
4. Search: How do you add a "Deployment Notification" to Slack so the doctors know a new version of GlobalHealth is live?

---

Summary

You have built a full, enterprise-grade pipeline. From a developer's first commit to a secure production release, every step of the GlobalHealth Connect platform is now automated, verified, and protected.

Next Lesson: Part 5: Final Review & Professional Certification Path.