How do I use GitLab with Azure Container Instances?

Overview

In this guide, we will demonstrate how to deploy GitLab Runners on Azure Container Instances (ACI). This setup is beneficial for leveraging the scalability and management capabilities of ACI while integrating with your CI/CD pipelines in GitLab.

What You Will Learn

1. How to set up Azure resources to support GitLab Runners.
2. How to define and manage GitLab Runners within ACI.
3. Deployment of GitLab Runners on ACI using Infrastructure as Code.

Detailed Explanation

Steps Involved:

1. Resource Group: Create a resource group to contain all your Azure resources.
2. Container Group: Define the container group in ACI where the GitLab Runner will be hosted.
3. Network: Configure networking to allow the container instances to communicate with GitLab.
4. Environment Variables: Set up necessary environment variables/credentials for GitLab integration.

Infrastructure Definition

Below is the code that sets up all necessary configurations to deploy GitLab Runners on Azure Container Instances.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as azure from "@pulumi/azure";

// Define the resource group
const gitlabRg = new azure.core.ResourceGroup("gitlab_rg", {
    name: "gitlab-rg",
    location: "East US",
});
// Define the container group for GitLab Runner
const gitlabRunner = new azure.containerservice.Group("gitlab_runner", {
    name: "gitlab-runner",
    location: gitlabRg.location,
    resourceGroupName: gitlabRg.name,
    osType: "Linux",
    containers: [{
        name: "gitlab-runner",
        image: "gitlab/gitlab-runner:latest",
        cpu: 1,
        memory: 1.5,
        ports: [{
            port: 8080,
            protocol: "TCP",
        }],
        environmentVariables: {
            CI_SERVER_URL: "https://gitlab.com/",
            RUNNER_EXECUTOR: "shell",
            REGISTRATION_TOKEN: "your-registration-token",
        },
    }],
});
export const resourceGroupName = gitlabRg.name;
export const containerGroupName = gitlabRunner.name;

Key Points

• Resource Group: Centralizes management of Azure resources.
• Container Group: Hosts the GitLab Runner in a Linux container, defining resource needs.
• Environment Variables: Configure the ACI instance for GitLab communication.
• Output: Displays key information post-deployment, such as resource names.

Summary

This guide demonstrated setting up GitLab Runners on Azure Container Instances. We covered the creation of a resource group, container group definition, and environment variable configurations. This setup ensures that your CI/CD pipeline in GitLab can leverage Azure’s scalable container solutions.