Using Nginx to implement grayscale release

Grayscale release refers to a release method that can smoothly transition between black and white. AB testing is a grayscale release method , where some users continue to use A, while some users start using B. If users have no objection to B, then the scope is gradually expanded and all users are migrated to B.

Grayscale release can ensure the stability of the overall system. Problems can be discovered and adjusted during the initial grayscale release to ensure their impact.

There are generally three ways to release grayscale:

• Nginx+LUA method
• Grayscale release based on Cookie
• Grayscale release based on the source IP

This article will mainly explain how to implement simple grayscale publishing based on cookies and source IP. The Nginx+LUA method involves too much content and will not be expanded in this article.

A/B Testing Process

Nginx implements grayscale release based on Cookie

According to the Cookie query, the Cookie key is the value of version. If the Cookie value is V1, it is forwarded to hilinux_01. If it is V2, it is forwarded to hilinux_02. If the cookie values ​​do not match, the server corresponding to hilinux_01 will be used by default.

The two servers are defined as:

• hilinux_01 192.168.1.100:8080
• hilinux_02 192.168.1.200:8080

Implemented with if instruction

upstream hilinux_01 {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream hilinux_02 {
  server 192.168.1.200:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream default {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

server {
 listen 80;
 server_name www.hi-linux.com;
 access_log logs/www.hi-linux.com.log main;

 #match cookie
 set $group "default";
  if ($http_cookie ~* "version=V1"){
    set $group hilinux_01;
  }

  if ($http_cookie ~* "version=V2"){
    set $group hilinux_02;
  }

 location / {            
  proxy_pass http://$group;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
  index index.html index.htm;
 }
 }

Implemented with the map directive

Configure a mapping in Nginx, $COOKIE_version可以解析出Cookie里面的version字段. $group is a variable, and {} contains mapping rules.

If a user with version V1 accesses the system, $group will be equal to hilinux_01. When used in the server, it will proxy to http://hilinux_01. If the user with version V2 accesses the system, $group is equal to hilinux_02. When used in the server, it will proxy to http://hilinux_02. If the cookie values ​​do not match, the server corresponding to hilinux_01 will be used by default.

upstream hilinux_01 {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream hilinux_02 {
  server 192.168.1.200:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream default {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

map $COOKIE_version $group {
~*V1$ hilinux_01;
~*V2$ hilinux_02;
default default;
}

server {
 listen 80;
 server_name www.hi-linux.com;
 access_log logs/www.hi-linux.com.log main;

 location / {            
  proxy_pass http://$group;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
  index index.html index.htm;
 }
 }

Nginx implements grayscale release based on the incoming IP

If it is an internal IP, the reverse proxy is sent to hilinux_02 (pre-release environment); if not, the reverse proxy is sent to hilinux_01 (production environment).

upstream hilinux_01 {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream hilinux_02 {
  server 192.168.1.200:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

upstream default {
  server 192.168.1.100:8080 max_fails=1 fail_timeout=60;
}

server {
 listen 80;
 server_name www.hi-linux.com;
 access_log logs/www.hi-linux.com.log main;

 set $group default;
 if ($remote_addr ~ "211.118.119.11") {
   set $group hilinux_02;
 }

location / {            
  proxy_pass http://$group;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
  index index.html index.htm;
 }
}

If you only have a single server, you can set up different website root directories according to different IP addresses to achieve the same purpose.

server {
 listen 80;
 server_name www.hi-linux.com;
 access_log logs/www.hi-linux.com.log main;

 set $rootdir "/var/www/html";
  if ($remote_addr ~ "211.118.119.11") {
    set $rootdir "/var/www/test";
  }

  location / {
   root $rootdir;
  }
}

This is the end of the most basic method for implementing grayscale release. If you want to do a more fine-grained grayscale release, you can refer to the ABTestingGateway project.

ABTestingGateway is an open source dynamic routing system from Sina. ABTestingGateway is a grayscale release system that can dynamically set diversion strategies. It works at Layer 7 and is developed based on nginx and ngx-lua. It uses redis as the diversion strategy database and can implement dynamic scheduling functions.

ABTestingGateway: https://github.com/CNSRE/ABTestingGateway

Reference Documentation
http://www.google.com
http://www.jianshu.com/p/88f206f48278
http://blog.chinaunix.net/uid-531464-id-4140473.html

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