CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment) is the foundation of a modern DevOps pipeline. For Kubernetes workloads, CI/CD automation is even more critical due to the complexity of container orchestration, Helm charts, YAML configurations, and environment consistency.

When using AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS), automating CI/CD helps teams:

• Eliminate manual deployment errors
•  Speed up development cycles
• Improve security and traceability
• Scale delivery with confidence

In this blog, we’ll focus on how to implement robust CI/CD for Kubernetes using Jenkins – a widely adopted and powerful automation server—and we’ll also explore alternative tools like GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, ArgoCD, and FluxCD.

Why Jenkins for Kubernetes CI/CD?

Jenkins is a veteran CI/CD tool with strong community support and plugin flexibility. While newer tools offer cloud-native experiences, Jenkins remains a top choice because:

• Highly customizable with plugins (Kubernetes, Git, Docker, Helm, etc.)
• Can be extended to fit any workflow
• Easy to integrate with EKS and AWS services
• Supports fine-grained security and access control

CI/CD Architecture Overview

CI Phase (Continuous Integration)

• Source code pushed to Git
• Jenkins builds Docker image
• Image scanned for vulnerabilities
• Image pushed to Amazon ECR

CD Phase (Continuous Deployment)

• Kubernetes manifests or Helm charts updated
• Jenkins triggers deployment using kubectl or Helm
• ArgoCD or FluxCD (optional) implements GitOps strategy
• Prometheus/Grafana monitor performance post-deployment

Step 1: Setting Up Jenkins for Kubernetes CI/CD

Required Plugins:

• Kubernetes plugin
• Git plugin
• Docker plugin
• Amazon ECR plugin
• Helm plugin
• Pipeline plugin

Install Jenkins on an EC2 instance or inside EKS:

Create IAM Role with Access to:

• ECR
• EKS (via eks:DescribeCluster, eks:UpdateClusterConfig, etc.)
• S3 (optional for artifacts)

Step 2: Automating the CI Pipeline with Jenkins

Here’s a basic Jenkins pipeline for building, scanning, and pushing Docker images to Amazon ECR:

Step 3: Automating the CD Pipeline with Jenkins

Security Best Practices for CI/CD on AWS EKS

• Use IAM roles for service accounts (IRSA)
  
• Store secrets in AWS Secrets Manager
  
• Scan images regularly with Trivy or Amazon Inspector
  
• Implement RBAC in Kubernetes
  
• Audit using AWS CloudTrail and Kubernetes audit logs

Monitoring & Rollback Strategy

• Use Prometheus and Grafana to monitor application health.
  
• Automate rollback with tools like Argo Rollouts.
  
• Test with canary or blue-green strategies before full rollout.
  

Conclusion: Automate Early, Deploy Often

Automating CI/CD for AWS EKS using Jenkins enables teams to deliver faster, with better consistency and control.

• Jenkins gives you complete flexibility for complex pipelines.
• Combine it with GitOps tools like ArgoCD for declarative, scalable deployments.

CloudLaunchpad helps you bootstrap secure, production-grade CI/CD pipelines quickly.