Add open source plugins to controllers, stay compliant with Beekeeper and improve manageability
When we introduced Beekeeper, our goal was to simplify plugin management by having plugin maintenance and related functionality all available in one central place. In the initial release, we worked towards removing the risks in upgrading by utilizing CloudBees Assurance Program (CAP)-validated plugins. Customers benefited by upgrading easily and having compatible plugins. However, this became problematic when users needed to add open source plugins not in CAP or utilize older versions of plugins. Customers had to disable CAP and use the Custom Update Center in CloudBees Jenkins Operations Center to add plugins on controllers, install the plugins and then renable CAP. Unfortunately, this workaround didn’t eliminate the out-of-compliance notifications from Beekeeper and made plugin management tedious.
What is the solution?
We have some exciting news - users can now easily manage both CAP-validated plugins and plugins not in CAP without falling out of compliance with Beekeeper. This capability is available by adding a plugin catalog, which is a configuration file that specifies plugins and their associated versions. Using the CloudBees Jenkins Operation Center, users can select a plugin catalog and apply it to a controller as shown below. Each plugin catalog has a unique list of user selected plugins (not in CAP) that can be added to the controller.
What are the benefits?
Two immediate benefits are improved manageability and visibility of plugins. This feature makes plugin management straightforward because Jenkins administrators no longer have to follow a tedious process to add plugins not in CAP. In addition, the same feature offers visibility into what plugins and versions are in catalog by utilizing the CloudBees Jenkins Operation Center UI as shown below.
This is the first of many enhancements to Beekeeper, we intend to cement Beekeeper as the central resource for monitoring and managing plugins. Get started on how to implement this feature by clicking the user documentation link below.