Technical requirements
Like the previous chapters, you’ll get the most out of this chapter if you have an account on a GitLab instance (SaaS or self-managed). Moreover, the topics and examples in this chapter will increasingly focus on deploying to environments that live outside GitLab. The infrastructure tools that are referenced include the following:
- A server hosting GitLab (or GitLab.com)
- Self-hosted runners (or SaaS runners hosted on GitLab.com)
- Docker (also available on SaaS runners hosted on Gitlab.com)
- Kubernetes
- Cloud platform services (such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, or Heroku)
If you wish to minimize the amount of tooling you need to install and maintain yourself, we recommend using GitLab.com with SaaS runners. We also recommend creating an account on a cloud service platform if you wish to practice deploying to live or complex infrastructure. Just be aware of the potential charges when using these services.