Tekton Reviews

We have our automation pipeline in Tekton. We create pipelines, basically pipelines, to run automated customer scenarios through our automation, Bash scripts, and Golang. To execute these tests routinely, we have implemented those pipelines in Tekton.

Tekton's integration capabilities enhance our development workflows. The product we are testing is also based on Kubernetes and containers, as is Tekton. At the end of the day, we use similar files and languages. 

So, it integrates pretty well. We use it through OpenShift pipelines on the OpenShift platform. The updates are automated, so we don't have to worry about them too much.

I like that you can parallelize tasks. If two tests are not conflicting, you can run them in parallel. This saves time. You can also test pipelines locally if they are not working. 

Additionally, I like the branching and visualization tools for the pipeline. I can easily share an image with someone, and they can understand the pipeline's structure.

Compared to traditional tools like Jenkins, Tekton lacks a lot of features. It's not efficient in managing conflicts between multiple pipelines. If I execute a test and someone else executes a test, we face lots of conflicts and overwriting of each other's work. That's one area for improvement.

Also, the reliability of Tekton is sometimes an issue. I think it's more of a Kubernetes-related issue than a Tekton issue. There are more outages than we expect. 

We have a strict requirement of running tests four to five times a day, and sometimes it's not able to provision the pipeline on time, so we lose test runs.

I have been using it for two years. 

We have had stability issues, but on my side, it was more dependent on Kubernetes, the platform we used. But it depends on the deployment model. 

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. 

No issues with scalability. I can estimate that around 20 teams, with an average of four people per team, use it, so around 80 people use it. 

The customer service and support have been excellent. We have an internal deployment of Tekton, so the support team is also internal.

Positive

It's easy, but it depends on which distribution you use. The Google one, I haven't tried. Because it is easy on RedHat one. 

Challenges:

There are too many files to change if you have to make any minor source code changes. It becomes difficult to review (if someone has changed something) and assess the impact of those changes on other tasks or pipelines. There's too much friction in terms of making small changes.

Tekton is an open-source tool, and we use it directly. Red Hat has its own distribution of Tekton.

We have our own internal deployment, so we don't pay anything.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten because there are lots of areas for improvement.

I would recommend it to someone who is well-versed in Kubernetes and can debug internal issues, not to any newcomers. I would suggest they explore traditional legacy tools first.

We are utilizing Tekton as a pipeline tool for their CI/CD process, which involves connecting GitLab to Nexus, then Nexus to Argo CD, and ultimately to Kubernetes.

We are a Kubernetes-centric company, so it's advantageous for us to use a cloud-native, Kubernetes-driven solution. Tekton is serverless and runs on OpenShift, and we leverage Tekton to take full advantage of the Kubernetes features such as running and scaling the solution in PaaS.

There is a need for substantial improvement in connecting with other tools and open-source software. Configuring Tekton requires a deep understanding of Kubernetes, which can be difficult for developers. Furthermore, there is no existing template that gives defaults for developers to build a pipeline, making it challenging for them to use. In conclusion, Tekton is not particularly user-friendly for developers and has room for improvement.

I would like Tekton to change its dashboard to be similar to the one GitLab offers.

I have been using the solution for one year.

We are not relying heavily on Tekton or OpenShift for stability since our applications used in the DevOps culture are not critical ones, thus reducing the risk.

Tekton is a scalable product that we have not yet taken full advantage of. Although our needs are relatively simple, focusing on DevOps delivery, we have not reached the desired level of use.

Setting up Tekton initially was not a simple process. We did not choose to use Tekton, but rather it was selected due to its availability. IBM promotes Tekton and its integration with OpenShift, so when we set up OpenShift a year and a half ago, we also set up Tekton. We have already implemented GitLab Runner for multiple projects, replacing Tekton. GitLab Runner has been found to be advantageous for developers, due to its ease of use. As a result, we are now running two distinct pipelines for different projects, with the majority of developers preferring GitLab Runner over Tekton.

I give the initial setup a five out of ten.

The implementation of Tekton took some time due to operational challenges, rather than a lack of technical knowledge. These challenges included a lack of understanding of Tekton and the availability of the infrastructure personnel. The overall implementation took us around one month.

We collaborated with IBM and Red Hat vendors to set up the OpenShift PaaS solution. To ensure a successful outcome, we conducted a proof-of-concept (POC) in parallel with the vendors.

I give the solution a five out of ten.

We have around 50 people using the solution in our organization.

From a usage perspective, people are trying to move up from Tekton to GitLab in our organization.

Using Tekton depends on the strength of our Red Hat resources. I recommend GitLab over Tekton.

We use Tekton for CI/CD automation, continuous integration, continuous deployment, and general-purpose automation.

The platform's most valuable features are the cloud-native approach and atomicity. Unlike other monolithic solutions, it is early in adopting a cloud-native platform for CI/CD, which enhances scalability. Additionally, its ability to operate at a granular level allows us to create small automation jobs and combine them into larger tasks, making it very useful.

One project involved automating our deployment processes across multiple environments. By leveraging the solution, we reduced deployment times significantly and increased reliability, allowing for more frequent releases and improved overall productivity.

The product's scalability can be challenging when multiple users access it simultaneously. We have seen some resource crunches, typical for any product supporting a large user base. 

One of the main challenges has been managing complex pipeline dependencies. As the scale of our projects, ensuring that all dependencies are correctly defined and executed in the right order can become cumbersome.

Integration is an area where it lags compared to other CI/CD tools like Jenkins, which has a rich plugin ecosystem. It lacks sufficient vendor support for plugins, requiring users to write their integration scripts, which is less convenient.

Enhancements in documentation and user onboarding would be beneficial. Clearer guides and tutorials could help reduce new users' learning curves and facilitate smoother integration with existing workflows.

The support team is knowledgeable and responsive when resolving issues, though improvements in onboarding and documentation could further enhance the overall experience.

Neutral

The initial setup was somewhat complex, requiring a thorough understanding of Tekton's structure. Once configured, it provided a flexible and scalable solution for our CI/CD needs.

We implemented the product with the help of our in-house team. 

We evaluated other CI/CD tools before choosing Tekton. Tekton's flexibility and cloud-native approach were key factors in switching.

The platform's custom tasks feature allows organizations to create standardized team tasks. It enables enterprises to build a flexible framework atop Tekton, making it easier to define workflows with standard inputs and outputs.

It does not differentiate between continuous integration and deployment, offering a unified framework. It provides tooling to run code that builds or deploys applications, allowing for flexible task configurations and parallel processing.

We manage version control through Git repositories, where we store our Tekton pipeline definitions. It allows us to track changes and revert to previous versions, maintaining a robust versioning system for our CI/CD processes.

It has the potential to be a long-term solution due to its scalability and flexibility. However, continuous improvements in user experience and community support will be key factors in its sustained adoption within our organization.

Security is managed through role-based access controls (RBAC) and secret management features. We ensure that sensitive information, such as API keys, is stored securely and that only authorized users can access critical pipeline functions.

Overall, I rate it a six out of ten.

I use it for the CI/CD pipeline. The client wanted to create a pipeline for this workflow to be deployed in his kubernetes cluster whenever he made changes. We had three different pipelines for three stages: one for dev, one for production, and the other for QA. The client was unfamiliar with this process, so he wanted us to create three different environments to eliminate manual processes.

With the help of Tekton Hub, we accessed example tasks that were very useful for everyone involved. From that hub, we took a sample task and created our own. It was straightforward to set up. We built the software image, and once that was done, we implemented the deployment process in the same pipeline, where the Helm Chart gets updated with the image name using the check command.

We also integrated the branch nodes through the request process, making it easy to trigger deployments cleanly. Compared to other tools like Argo CD and Argo Workflows, we found them very helpful, as they require different UIs and workflows.

The most valuable features are trigger functionality and the dashboard because they easily highlight our errors. Tekton allows us to see both CI/CD in one place. Unlike other products, Tekton makes managing the entire CI/CD process much easier than separating it into different parts. 

Tekton could use better documentation. We struggled due to the lack of clear documentation for triggers. Everything else was documented very well, but that section needs improvement.

I have been using Tekton for one year.

Tekton is very stable. They release a beta version approximately every two months, but they maintain the stable version until they are confident that the beta version is ready for use.

Scaling up and down is straightforward. The cleanup process in the pipeline section is also very easy. We can quickly delete any tasks.

We never had a chance to contact the support team.

Tekton is open source, so we never encountered any pricing issues. We were able to use it free of cost from end to end.

I was part of the DevOps team, and once our developers completed their code, it was easy for us to trigger workflows. When they wanted to deploy to different environments, like from development to QA and then to production, Tekton made it very user-friendly. Developers often lack knowledge of operations, so they don’t always know how to trigger processes. With Tekton, we managed to achieve this seamlessly without requiring developer intervention.

Tekton is easy to use for someone familiar with the CI/CD process and who has experience with manual authorization and deployment in Kubernetes. There may be a learning curve for beginners, but anyone with basic knowledge of Docker and Kubernetes will find it easy.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.