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Quick Reference Guide - Jenkins as Code

Quick reference for common tasks and configurations in Jenkins as Code

Updated Jan 15, 2024
6 min read
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Quick Reference Guide

Quick reference for common tasks and configurations in Jenkins as Code

📋 Table of Contents

🚀 Common Commands

Ansible Commands

# Run full deployment
ansible-playbook packer.yml \
  -e "target_host=packer_al2023_aarch64_devops_jenkins" \
  -t deploy,monitoring

# Check connectivity
ansible target_host -m ping

# Run with verbose output
ansible-playbook packer.yml -e "target_host=..." -vvv

# Dry run (check mode)
ansible-playbook packer.yml -e "target_host=..." --check

Git Commands

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/onboard-new-service

# Commit changes
git add amazon/mcloud/nonprod/jobs/mcloud-nonprod-jobs.yml
git commit -m "Onboard new-service-api"

# Push and create PR
git push origin feature/onboard-new-service

Jenkins Commands

# Check Jenkins service
systemctl status jenkins

# View Jenkins logs
tail -f /var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log

# Restart Jenkins
systemctl restart jenkins

⚙️ Configuration Quick Reference

Essential Ansible Variables

# Jenkins Version
jenkins_version: 2.528.2

# Jenkins Home
jenkins_home: "/var/lib/jenkins"

# Project Name
jenkins_project_name: amazon

# Jenkins URL
jenkins_location:
  url: "https://jenkins.mcloud.com/"
  adminAddress: "mcloud-jenkins@mcloud.com"

# Security
jenkins_securityRealm:
  local:
    allowsSignup: false
    users:
      - id: "admin"
        password: "Admin@123"

User Access Configuration

# Read Users
overall_read_users:
  amazon:
    mcloud:
      - user: "dev"
    qa:
      - user: "qa-user"

# Admin Users
overall_admin_users:
  devops_managers:
    - user: "hari_25585"
    - user: "admin"

JobGenie Default Config

# Default section in YAML job definition file
jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    # Jobs defined here

🎩 JobGenie Quick Examples

Simple Application Job

# File: amazon/mcloud/prod/jobs/mcloud-prod-jobs.yml
jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "my-service"
      PARAMETERS:
        - { name: 'GitBranch', string: 'master', description: 'Application branch.' }
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "my-app"
        APP_BRANCH: "master"

Multiple Jobs in One File

jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "service-a"
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "monorepo"
        APP_BRANCH: "main"
    - NAME: "service-b"
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "monorepo"
        APP_BRANCH: "main"
    - NAME: "service-c"
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "monorepo"
        APP_BRANCH: "main"

Custom Job with Parameters

jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "custom-service"
      PARAMETERS:
        - { name: 'TAG', string: 'latest', description: 'Deployment tag.' }
        - { name: 'Environment', choices: ['dev', 'prod'], description: 'Target environment.' }
      CONFIGS:
        SERVICE: "custom-service"
        CICD_TEMPLATE_NAME: "custom-template"
        APP_REPO: "custom-app"
        APP_BRANCH: "main"

Advanced Configuration

jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "my-service"
      PARAMETERS:
        - { name: 'GitBranch', string: 'develop', description: 'Application branch.' }
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "my-app"
        APP_BRANCH: "develop"
        DOCKER_BUILD_ARGS: "ENV,TECHTEAM"
        DOCKERFILE_PATH: "services/Dockerfile"
        SSH_KEYS: "default:/opt/jenkins/keys/prod_key_rsa"

🔧 Troubleshooting Quick Fixes

Jenkins Not Accessible

# Check service
systemctl status jenkins

# Check port
netstat -tlnp | grep 8080

# Check logs
tail -f /var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log

Configuration Not Applied

  1. Reload Configuration as Code:
    • Navigate to: amazon/manage-infra/Reload-ConfigAsCode
    • Run job
  2. Check Configuration:
    • Navigate to: Manage Jenkins → Configuration as Code

Jobs Not Generated

  1. Verify YAML file naming:
    • Must end with -jobs.yml or -jobs.yaml
    • Path: {org}/{project}/{env}/jobs/{project}-{env}-jobs.yml
  2. Verify YAML syntax: 
    jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: prod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "prod"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "my-service"
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "my-app"
  3. Check seed job logs:
    • View console output
    • Look for YAML parsing errors
    • Verify file path matches expected structure

Permission Denied

  1. Check user in configuration: 
    overall_read_users:
  amazon:
    mcloud:
      - user: "username"

  2. Verify role patterns match job paths

  3. Test as user to verify access

📚 Additional Resources

📖 Related Documentation

🧭 Navigation

Related Topics:

Jenkins

  • Jenkins URL: https://jenkins.mcloud.com/
  • Configuration as Code: Manage Jenkins → Configuration as Code
  • Credentials: Manage Jenkins → Credentials

Git Repositories

  • mCloud-Jenkins: https://github.com/HarryTheDevOpsGuy/mCloud-Jenkins.git
  • mCloud-infra: https://github.com/HarryTheDevOpsGuy/mCloud-infra.git

Support

  • Email: devops-admin@example.com
  • Slack: #devops-alerts

📝 Common Workflows

Onboard New Service

  1. Edit YAML job definition file: 
    # File: amazon/mcloud/nonprod/jobs/mcloud-nonprod-jobs.yml
jobgenie:
  default:
    HOME_DIR: nonprod
    GROUP: "v4"
    ENV: "stage"
  jobs:
    - NAME: "new-service-api"
      PARAMETERS:
        - { name: 'GitBranch', string: 'develop', description: 'Development branch.' }
      CONFIGS:
        APP_REPO: "new-service"
        APP_BRANCH: "develop"
  2. Commit and push: 
    git add amazon/mcloud/nonprod/jobs/mcloud-nonprod-jobs.yml
git commit -m "Onboard new-service-api"
git push origin feature/onboard-new-service
  3. Run seed job:
    • Navigate to: 0-JobGenie-Generator
    • Set GitBranch parameter to your branch
    • Click Build
  4. Verify job created:
    • Check: amazon/mcloud/nonprod/deploy/v4/stage/new-service-api

Update Configuration

  1. Edit Ansible variables: 
    vim group_vars/packer_al2023_aarch64_devops_jenkins.yml
  2. Run Ansible playbook: 
    ansible-playbook packer.yml \
  -e "target_host=packer_al2023_aarch64_devops_jenkins" \
  -t deploy
  3. Reload Configuration as Code:
    • Run: amazon/manage-infra/Reload-ConfigAsCode

Add New User

  1. Edit Ansible variables: 
    overall_read_users:
  amazon:
    mcloud:
      - user: "new-user"
  2. Run Ansible playbook: 
    ansible-playbook packer.yml \
  -e "target_host=packer_al2023_aarch64_devops_jenkins" \
  -t deploy
  3. Reload Configuration as Code

🎯 Quick Checklist

Initial Setup

  • Ansible playbook configured
  • Jenkins server provisioned
  • Configuration as Code loaded
  • Credentials added
  • Seed jobs created

Onboarding Service

  • JobGenie config created
  • Changes committed to Git
  • Seed job run successfully
  • Jobs generated correctly
  • Test build successful

Maintenance

  • Regular backups configured
  • Monitoring enabled
  • Security audit completed
  • Documentation updated
  • Team trained

Maintained by the DevOps Team

Quick reference for common tasks

Tags: #Jenkins #Quick Reference #Commands #Configuration #CI/CD

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