CI/CD Interview Questions Answers for Freshers and Experienced

DevOps practices like continuous integration and continuous delivery or deployment (CI/CD) are vital in achieving these goals. CI/CD interview questions are a way for you to start your journey in DevOps.

 

In the modern fast-paced world dominated by software and technology, speed, reliability, and efficiency are the key. CI/CD works on a set of principles and practices to help development teams make changes in the code more frequently to make it more efficient and effective.

 

In technical interviews, hiring managers generally ask questions about CI/CD to assess their skills and technical knowledge to determine their suitability for the role. This article presents the top CI/CD interview questions and how you can answer them.

 

The article is divided into three sections - for freshers, for experienced professionals, and multiple choice questions.

 

Also read: Top DevOps Interview Questions

What is CI/CD?

CI/CD is described as a set of practices and tools that the development and operations teams use to automate and streamline their development and deployment processes.

 

In this tech-dominated world, CI/CD are essential because they enhance the speed of software delivery and ensure it meets the quality and reliability requirements. This is done by way of automating the testing, integration, and deployment processes.

 

Now, let’s look at the key CI/CD interview questions for freshers and experienced professionals, and how you can answer them.

CI/CD Interview Questions for Freshers

1. Explain the Benefits of CI/CD

The following are the key benefits of using CI/CD:

●       Fast and reliable software delivery

●       Helps enhance the quality of the software

●       Reduces the risk of any errors

●       Increases and improves the collaboration between development and operations teams

2. Explain What is DevOps and its Importance

DevOps is a combination of development and operations. It is described as a software methodology that consists of different tools that improve communication and collaboration between development and operations teams.

 

The DevOps practices help enhance the integration and collaboration in the development cycle. This way the software quality improves significantly, giving the best user experience and satisfaction.

 

The following points explain the importance of DevOps:

●       Generates agility across all development stages - from conception to deployment

●       Helps continuously update and improve the products

●       Developers can focus only on writing effective and robust code using DevOps practices

●       Tasks such as testing can be automated using DevOps

●       Increases transparency and accessibility between developers and operations teams

●       Speeds up the development process by making it efficient and reducing the coding errors

3. What are the Differences Between Docker Image and Container?

In these CI/CD interview questions, you can refer to the following table to explain the differences between a docker image and a container.

 

Docker Image	Container
It is a template that helps in creating containers that can be run on the docker platform	These are the docker virtual machines. A docker image is the map of a house while the container is the house itself
It is a logical entity	It is a real-world entity
An image can be created only once	Containers can be created as many times as required
A docker image cannot be changed	The old image is to be deleted to make any changes in the container
No computing resources are required	Computing resources are needed to run since it is a virtual machine

4. What do you understand by the Git branch?

This is a commonly asked CI/CD interview question for freshers. You can state that the Git branch allows the developers to write code without interrupting the work of other team members.

 

It is a separate line of development, using which a developer can work on a specific feature.

 

Also read: What Does a DevOps Engineer Do

5. What is Git Repository?

Another commonly asked CI/CD interview question for freshers is asking them to explain the Git Repository. Essentially, it is a part of the software development process where the projects are organized using the Git Repository.

 

This helps them keep track of all the files and changes, if any, in the project. This way they can check the history.

6. Describe Version Control

Version control uses the central repository from where the team members can make any changes to files and sets of files.

 

Version control is important because it helps in tracking every line of code, sharing, reviewing, and synchronizing changes between the team members.

 

The following are some of the most important version control systems:

●       Mercurial

●       Subversion (SVN)

●       Perforce

●       Bitkeeper

●       Fossil

7. What are Some of the Popular CI/CD Tools?

In answering this CI/CD interview question you can state the following are some of the popular and widely used CI/CD tools:

●       Jenkins

●       Bamboo

●       Team City

●       Codefresh

8. Explain the Differences Between CI/CD and DevOps

The following are the main differences between CI/CD and DevOps:

 

CI/CD	DevOps
It automates and delivers code changes quickly and reliably	It integrates ideas, practices, processes, and technologies to streamline product development
Helps continuously automate and monitor the app lifecycle	DevOps sets up production teams and processes to encourage rapid and continuous deployment
Optimizes building, integrating, and testing code in a development environment	It focuses on minimizing wastage
Concerned with deploying the code in an effective manner in the production stage	Creates scalable and enduring systems

CI/CD Interview Questions for Experienced Professionals

9. What is Chef?

Answer these CI/CD interview questions for experienced professionals by stating that a chef is an automation platform. It turns the infrastructure into a code. It is essentially a tool that automates processes by using scripts.

 

The following are the key components of the chef:

●       Chef workstation: It is described as a computer system that the administrator uses. It generates the code that helps configure and manage the infrastructure, which is also known as recipes and is written in Ruby.

●       Chef server: It is often placed between a workstation and its nodes, which store the cookbook containing all the recipes. The chef server provides all the necessary tools to enable node configuration.

●       Chef node: It is the final component and is mainly required for configuration. You can arrange and configure them in any way, for instance, several chef nodes can collect information about the current state of a node. This information is then compared with the configuration files to determine if any new configuration is required.

 

Also read: How to Become a DevOps Engineer

10. Explain What is a Rolling Strategy

To answer this CI/CD interview question you can say that it updates the running instances of an application with new releases. In this process, an application’s older versions are replaced by its newer versions. Here the entire infrastructure on which the application runs is replaced.

11. What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and How Does it Fit into CI/CD?

IaC is described as the practice that helps manage and provision the infrastructure through different code and automation tools. Using IaC, you can define the infrastructure such as servers, networks, and other resources in the form of a code.

 

IaC is crucial in CI/CD because it helps ensure that the environment required for application deployment is consistent and can be easily reproduced. Tools such as Terraform and AWS CloudFormation are commonly used for IaC.

12. Why is Automated Testing Important for CI/CD?

Automation is an important part of CI/CD pipelines. Throughout the software development, the test automation process is used to identify any dependencies or other issues. It also pushes the changes to different environments, along with deploying the applications into production.

 

Another reason why automated testing is important for CI/CD is because of its quality control role. It assesses everything from API usage, and performance to security. This way all the changes made by the team members can be correctly integrated and implemented.

 

With automated testing, tests can be run simultaneously across multiple servers or containers. This results in a quicker testing process and brings more consistency. Automating the software also reduces or even eliminates the chances of human error and bias.

 

Also read: Google SRE Interview Process

13. What are the Best Practices for Securing a CI/CD Pipeline?

In answering this CI/CD interview question, you can the following are some of the best practices useful in securing a CI/CD pipeline:

●       Embracing the DevOps culture

●       Implementing continuous integration

●       Ensuring the same deployment process is used in every environment

●       Restart the Ci/CD pipeline if it fails

●       Applying the version control

●       Incorporating database into the CI/CD pipeline

●       Monitor the pipeline to ensure continuous delivery

15. Explain the Differences Between a Hosted and a Cloud-based CI/CD Platform

The following are the key differences between a hosted and cloud-based CI/CD platform:

●       A hosted CI/CD platform should be managed just like any other server. It needs to be installed, configured, and maintained before using it. On the other hand, a cloud-based CI/CD platform does not require any maintenance. A company can immediately start using it in the cloud.

●       Regular patches and updates are required to keep the hosted platform secure. Since the cloud provides all the required machine power, scalability is not an issue in cloud-based CI/CD platforms.

●       Any failure in the hosted server can disrupt the development and deployment processes. On the other hand, the cloud service level agreement (SLA) ensures the reliability of the cloud-based platforms.

16. What is trunk-based Development?

In answering this CI/CD interview question, you can say that trunk-based development helps maintain the software and keep it up-to-date. This is done by integrating small and frequent updates into the main branch, also known as a trunk.

 

It can be used to achieve CI/CD and increase the speed & efficiency of software delivery through its ability to streamline the merge and integration phases.

 

The trunk-based development is a branching model that contains the majority of the work that happens in a single trunk. The developers merge the changes they make into the trunk daily.

 

It is so popular because it simplifies version control and minimizes any merge conflicts. This is because of the trunk’s single source of truth.

Multiple Choice CI/CD Interview Questions with Answers

17. What is the full form of CI/CD?

1. Comprises Integration/Continous Delivery
2. Continuous Integration/Constant Delivery
3. Construct Delivery/Continous Integration
4. Continuous Integration/Continous Delivery

 

The correct answer to this CI/CD multiple choice interview questions is ‘d’. CI/CD is the abbreviation of Continuous Integration/Continous Delivery

18. By Using Which Method, any Changes to the Code can be Immediately Tested?

1. Continuous Delivery
2. Continuous Pipeline
3. Continuous Integration
4. Continuous Testing

 

The correct answer is ‘c’. Continuous integration should be used to immediately test any changes to the code.

 

Also read: Google SRE Interview Preparation

19. What are the Key Components of Chef?

1. Chef Server
2. Chef Node
3. Chef Workstation
4. All of the Above

 

Workstation, server, and node, all are the key components of the chef. So, the correct answer to this CI/CD interview questions is ‘d’.

20. From Among the Following, Which are Used to Create Containers?

1. Docker
2. Jenkins
3. Jira
4. Chef

 

The right answer to this CI/CD interview questions is ‘a’. Docker is used to create containers.

21. From the Following, Which is Not a Feature of the CD?

1. Automate Everything
2. Continuous Improvement
3. Information Gathering
4. Bugs Fixes and Experiments

 

‘C’ is the right answer to this question. Information gathering is not a feature of the CD.

22. Which of the Following Uses a Central Repository Where Teammates can carry out Changes to Files and Sets of Files?

1. Version Control
2. Central Repository
3. Risk Filters
4. All of the Above

 

‘D’ is the correct answer to this CI/CD interview questions. All three - version control, central repository, and risk filters use a central repository for teammates to carry out their changes to files and sets of files.

23. From the Following, Which are the Best Testing Tools Used in continuous testing?

1. Testsigma
2. Selenium
3. Tricentis Tosca
4. All of the Above

 

The right answer to this question is ‘d’, and Testsigma, Selenium, and Tricentis Tosca, all are the best tools for continuous testing.

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FAQs: CI/CD Interview Questions

1. I Don't Know any Coding Languages. Can I still get a CI/CD Job?

While some knowledge of scripting languages like Bash or Python might be beneficial, it's not always mandatory for entry-level positions. Familiarity with version control systems like Git and a strong understanding of CI/CD principles are more crucial.

 

2. How can I Showcase my Problem-Solving Skills in a CI/CD Interview?

Be prepared to discuss real-world scenarios where you implemented CI/CD pipelines and overcame challenges. Highlight how you identified bottlenecks, optimized processes, or ensured efficient deployments.

 

3. What are Some Advanced CI/CD Concepts I Should be Familiar With?

Explore topics like Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform, containerization technologies like Docker, and security best practices for CI/CD pipelines.

 

4. What are Some Salary Expectations for CI/CD Professionals?

Salary expectations can vary depending on experience, location, and industry. Research online resources or consult with recruiters to get a sense of the current market range for CI/CD professionals in your area.

 

5. What are Some Tips for Acing a CI/CD Interview with No Prior Experience?

●       Focus on core concepts like version control, Git, and basic CI/CD principles.

●       Highlight your eagerness to learn and showcase your adaptability.

●       Research common CI/CD tools and demonstrate your understanding of their functionalities.

 

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