Jenkins - Module Introduction

Module Overview

Welcome to the enterprise integration path! In this module, you’ll experience how Red Hat Advanced Developer Suite enhances existing Jenkins investments, providing modern capabilities while preserving valuable infrastructure and expertise.

Learning Objectives

By completing this module, you will:

  • Modernize Jenkins workflows using self-service software templates

  • Integrate enterprise security into existing Jenkins pipelines

  • Experience enhanced Jenkins with automatic security scanning and signing

  • Understand GitOps deployment from Jenkins-based CI/CD

  • See investment preservation while gaining modern capabilities

Target Audience

This module is ideal for:

  • Organizations with Jenkins investments wanting to modernize without replacement

  • Enterprise teams with established Jenkins expertise and infrastructure

  • Platform engineers enhancing existing CI/CD capabilities

  • Organizations balancing innovation with investment protection

Technology Stack

In this module, you’ll work with:

Development Environment:

  • Red Hat Developer Hub - Self-service portal

  • OpenShift Dev Spaces - Browser-based IDE

  • GitLab - Source code management

CI/CD Platform:

  • Jenkins - Enhanced with modern security integration

  • Red Hat Quay - Container image registry

  • OpenShift GitOps (ArgoCD) - Automated deployment

Security & Compliance:

  • Trusted Artifact Signer - Container image signing

  • Advanced Cluster Security - Vulnerability scanning

  • Enterprise Contract - Policy enforcement

Business Context: ACME’s Jenkins Modernization

ACME has significant Jenkins investments powering critical applications. They need to:

  • Preserve Jenkins infrastructure representing millions in investment

  • Enhance security capabilities without disrupting existing workflows

  • Provide self-service options to reduce platform team overhead

  • Modernize gradually while maintaining operational stability

The Challenge: Traditional Jenkins setups require extensive manual configuration and lack modern security integration.

The Solution: RHADS transforms Jenkins into a modern, secure, self-service platform while preserving existing investments and expertise.

Module Structure

This module follows ACME’s Jenkins enhancement workflow:

1. Development - Building your application

  • Access Red Hat Developer Hub

  • Create a new Quarkus application using Jenkins-enhanced templates

  • Set up your modern development environment

  • Make your first code change and trigger an enhanced Jenkins build

2. Staging - Promoting to stage environment

  • Understand the enhanced Jenkins pipeline execution

  • Review integrated security scanning and validation

  • Promote your application to the staging environment

  • Verify deployment using GitOps automation

3. Production - Releasing to production

  • Review staging validation and enhanced approvals

  • Execute production deployment with Jenkins

  • Monitor application health and security posture

  • Understand the modernized Jenkins supply chain

Key Advantages of This Approach

Investment Preservation:

  • Leverage existing Jenkins infrastructure and knowledge

  • Maintain familiar workflows and processes

  • Preserve team expertise and operational procedures

  • Protect substantial technology investments

Enhanced Capabilities:

  • Add modern security scanning without pipeline disruption

  • Integrate container image signing and verification

  • Provide self-service capabilities for developers

  • Enable GitOps deployment patterns

Gradual Modernization:

  • Enhance existing pipelines incrementally

  • Introduce new capabilities without breaking changes

  • Allow teams to adapt at their own pace

  • Minimize disruption to production workloads

This approach demonstrates how RHADS enhances rather than replaces existing Jenkins investments, providing a practical modernization path.

Understanding Jenkins Enhancement Benefits

For Jenkins Administrators

Reduced Configuration Overhead:

  • Self-service templates eliminate repetitive pipeline setup

  • Standardized security integration across all projects

  • Automated best practices enforcement

  • Reduced maintenance burden for custom configurations

Enhanced Security Integration:

  • Modern vulnerability scanning integrated seamlessly

  • Container image signing and verification workflows

  • Policy enforcement without pipeline disruption

  • Compliance reporting and audit trail generation

Improved Developer Experience:

  • Self-service project creation reduces tickets and delays

  • Standardized templates ensure consistency

  • Integrated development environments

  • Automatic GitOps deployment configuration

For Development Teams

Familiar Workflows:

  • Jenkins pipelines work exactly as expected

  • Existing Jenkins knowledge remains valuable

  • Gradual introduction of new capabilities

  • No disruption to established practices

Enhanced Capabilities:

  • Automatic security scanning and validation

  • Modern development environment access

  • GitOps deployment automation

  • Complete supply chain security

Faster Project Setup:

  • Self-service application creation in minutes

  • Pre-configured Jenkins pipelines with security

  • Automatic repository and infrastructure setup

  • Immediate productivity without waiting

Investment Protection Strategy

Preserving Jenkins Value

Infrastructure Reuse:

  • Existing Jenkins controllers and agents remain operational

  • Current compute and storage investments continue to provide value

  • Network configurations and security boundaries maintained

  • Operational procedures and runbooks remain valid

Knowledge Preservation:

  • Jenkins expertise continues to be valuable and relevant

  • Existing pipeline patterns can be enhanced incrementally

  • Team training investments are protected

  • Institutional knowledge remains applicable

Gradual Enhancement:

  • New projects can adopt enhanced templates immediately

  • Existing projects can be migrated at appropriate times

  • Risk is minimized through incremental adoption

  • Teams can learn new capabilities progressively

Modernization Benefits

Immediate Value:

  • Self-service capabilities reduce platform team load

  • Integrated security scanning improves security posture

  • Standardized templates reduce configuration errors

  • GitOps deployment automation improves reliability

Long-term Strategic Value:

  • Foundation for eventual OpenShift Pipelines migration if desired

  • Enhanced security and compliance capabilities

  • Improved developer productivity and satisfaction

  • Reduced operational overhead and maintenance burden

Prerequisites

This workshop assumes:

  • Basic familiarity with Jenkins concepts and pipelines

  • Understanding of Git and development workflows

  • Awareness of container and CI/CD pipeline concepts

  • Some experience with OpenShift or Kubernetes (helpful but not required)

Even if you’re new to Red Hat Developer Hub or GitOps, the workshop guides you through each step with clear explanations focused on enhancing your Jenkins experience.

Implementation Approach

When This Approach Excels

Enterprise Enhancement Benefits:

  • Significant existing infrastructure and expertise preserved

  • Large number of existing pipelines can be enhanced incrementally

  • Team preference for familiar tooling and workflows maintained

  • Gradual modernization approach reduces risk and disruption

  • Investment protection is prioritized

Key Capabilities Provided:

  • Self-service developer portal capabilities

  • Integrated security scanning and compliance

  • GitOps deployment automation

  • Complete supply chain security

  • Reduced platform team overhead

What’s Next

Ready to see how RHADS enhances your Jenkins investment while providing modern capabilities?

Click Development - Building your application to begin creating your first Jenkins-enhanced application with integrated security and self-service capabilities!

This approach demonstrates that modernization doesn’t require replacement - it can enhance and protect your existing investments while providing cutting-edge capabilities.