How Airbnb leverages AWS, Packer, and Terraform to update macOS on hundreds of CI machines in hours instead of days
Overview
The article discusses how Airbnb revamped its continuous integration (CI) system for iOS development by leveraging AWS, Packer, and Terraform. This new system allows for rapid updates of macOS on hundreds of CI machines, significantly reducing maintenance time and improving scalability.
What You'll Learn
1
How to implement a flexible CI system using AWS for iOS development
2
Why using custom AMIs can streamline CI processes
3
How to utilize Terraform for managing CI environments
4
When to rotate CI instances to maintain consistency
5
How to leverage Packer for building AMIs in the cloud
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Understanding of continuous integration concepts
- Familiarity with AWS services, particularly EC2 and AMIs
- Experience with Terraform for infrastructure as code
- Experience in managing CI/CD pipelines(optional)
Key Questions Answered
How does Airbnb's new CI system improve iOS development?
Airbnb's new CI system leverages AWS EC2 Mac instances, allowing for faster updates and reduced maintenance time. This system enables the creation of custom AMIs that streamline the deployment process and improve scalability, resulting in a more efficient CI workflow.
What are the benefits of using custom macOS AMIs in CI?
Custom macOS AMIs allow Airbnb to launch EC2 Mac instances quickly without manual configuration. This automation reduces the time spent on maintenance and ensures that new instances are ready to accept jobs immediately after initialization, enhancing overall CI efficiency.
What challenges did Airbnb face with physical Macs for CI?
Airbnb faced significant maintenance challenges with physical Macs, including manual updates and configuration drift. Engineers had to log into over 300 machines for administrative tasks, which limited scalability and consumed valuable engineering time.
How does Terraform help manage CI environments at Airbnb?
Terraform allows Airbnb to define and manage multiple CI environments as code, facilitating the creation and scaling of environments based on demand. This approach simplifies infrastructure management and ensures consistency across different CI setups.
Key Statistics & Figures
CI job minutes run
10 million minutes
This metric reflects the volume of CI jobs processed in the last three months of 2022 after migrating to AWS.
Increase in Xcode update pace
over 20%
The new CI system has enabled Airbnb to roll out Xcode updates more quickly, enhancing developer access to new features.
Technologies & Tools
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Cloud Service
AWS
Used for hosting EC2 Mac instances to run CI jobs.
Infrastructure Automation
Packer
Used to build custom AMIs for EC2 Mac instances.
Infrastructure As Code
Terraform
Used to define and manage CI environments on AWS.
Key Actionable Insights
1Implementing a flexible CI system using AWS can drastically reduce maintenance overhead and improve scalability.By migrating to AWS EC2 Mac instances, Airbnb has minimized the manual work involved in maintaining CI infrastructure, allowing engineers to focus on higher-value tasks.
2Utilizing custom AMIs can streamline the process of updating and scaling CI environments.Airbnb's approach to using AMIs means that new instances can be deployed quickly without manual intervention, which is crucial for maintaining a stable CI workflow.
3Regularly rotating CI instances can help maintain a consistent and reliable development environment.By terminating and replacing instances daily, Airbnb ensures that their CI fleet starts each day in a known good state, reducing the likelihood of configuration drift.
Common Pitfalls
1
Relying on physical hardware for CI can lead to significant maintenance challenges.
Airbnb's experience shows that physical Macs required extensive manual intervention, which limited scalability and increased the risk of configuration drift.