IBM DevOps Deploy vs. JFrog Artifactory

IBM UrbanCode Deploy is excellent for code deployments such as Java, .Net, C++, etc. It can also deploy and run SQLs reasonably well. Where it lacks is the ability for executables, Jars, WARs, EARs, etc.

Incentivized

It works at scale and a large number of accessible pipelines for searching, repository updates and indexing will become easier. JFrog provides end-to-end solutions for all DevOps needs. With this, Jfrog Artifactory specifically implements the management of highly available repositories, with a smooth interface and integration with all the main CI tools on the market.

Incentivized

• Consistently deploys to multiple environments with no changes to the process. Having reusable processes across environments from Dev to Production make deployments more consistent and easier to manage.
• IBM UrbanCode Deploy has an easy to understand UI, to be able to review if a deployment has successfully completed or not, and details if it did not work. Using the UI is simple and easy to understand.
• Scheduling and approvals are built-in as configured for the deployments. This allows us to use the same deployment process, but get approvals as needed when code is moved up to the upper environments.

Incentivized

• Stores and Manages build artifacts and packages.
• Works as container registry as well.
• Easily manages local and remote repositories along with live replication.

Incentivized

• Use of the internal API for public API use.
• Less cryptic CLI output on commands.
• Better use of custom variables that don't interfere with UCD's use.

Incentivized

• CI/CD integration. We understood they do have a pipeline, so our organization already started with Jenkins, and my understanding is that not many orgs are using the JFrog pipeline.

Incentivized

It's challenging to get a working knowledge of the product without having someone show you the ropes. Linking components with applications and applications with resource trees and resource trees with application deploys is not intuitive. However, once past that learning curve, the possibilities open up, and things become easier to understand and allow for further granularity.

Incentivized

The main problem that seems intractable is getting the checksum of the artifact. Managing container artifacts is a game changer for us during project execution, as the container artifact type exposes all base image and Docker file steps. This makes debugging or analysis easier. Jfrog Artifactory provides promotion feature and can automated from one environment repo to another environment repo before the deployment occurs.

Incentivized

I've not worked directly with IBM UrbanCode Deploy support. My DevOps team administers the environment and deals with that.

Incentivized

Support tickets take days to respond. The most basic of questions that should be knocked out in a few hours don't get answers for days. Tickets are also closed without resolution.

JFrog pipelines are being used in the same ecosystem as an integrated environment, to support CI-CD devops journey. This eventually helps the existing team to use both the features of the same product in a seamless way.Similar Xray, can be used as a secure measure to protect your containers and can be used as a Static Code analysis tool which can also be integrated in a Devops CI pipeline as a Left shift security strategy.

Incentivized

• Push button deployments.
• Consistency and ability to focus on other tasks.
• Required quite a bit of upfront customization with certain web deployments (WebSphere, etc.)
• Opened the door to other types of deployments and other automation.

Incentivized

• We now have a solid, reliable binary repository that can survive a regional outage in AWS when deployed properly
• It has allowed us to focus on building mature CICD pipelines without having to worry about an unreliable binary repository.

Incentivized