Learning path
GitLab Platform Delivery at Scale
A practical path for designing GitLab CI/CD pipelines, runner capacity, cache strategy, release gates, and troubleshooting workflows for shared delivery platforms.
Outcomes
- Design pipeline topology that separates fast merge request feedback from slower governance and release checks.
- Operate GitLab runners with capacity, isolation, cache correctness, and timeout discipline.
- Build release gates and rollback checks without turning CI/CD into an opaque approval machine.
Milestones
1) Pipeline architecture and feedback loops
- DAG design with explicit job dependencies
- Rules, path filters, and fast-fail checks for merge requests
- Artifact and cache boundaries that avoid stale or cross-branch state
2) Runner operations and capacity
- Executor choice, runner isolation, and privileged job controls
- Queue time, concurrency limits, cache hit rate, and retry causes
- Dashboard and alert patterns for saturated shared runners
3) Delivery governance and incident readiness
- Protected environments, approvals, and release evidence
- Helm and Argo CD handoff points from pipeline to cluster
- Rollback workflow, deployment freeze behavior, and incident communication