Blue-Green vs. Rolling Deployments: Pros + Cons & Why Not Both?

The article discusses two commonly used methods for zero-downtime software development - blue-green and rolling deployments. Blue-green deployment involves creating a rigorously tested second environment before completely shifting the current instance to the new environment, while rolling deployment follows a staggered delivery pattern that gradually replaces instances of the existing environment with updated versions. The pros and cons of both methods are explored, including monitoring and rollback capabilities, speed, backward compatibility, safety, high infrastructure costs, and more database management for blue-green deployments. Use cases for each method are also discussed, highlighting their versatility in different development scenarios. Finally, the article mentions how feature flags and feature management tools like LaunchDarkly can enhance deployment cycles by controlling which users see certain features and providing a powerful way to test, deploy, and manage code.