Alexis Kestler
Version control is the backbone of modern software development. And as a developer, Git has likely become your close companion. But operating your own Git server comes with non-trivial maintenance overhead. This is where GitLab shines – providing not just stellar Git repository management, but an entire integrated DevOps platform.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore everything you need to know about GitLab as a fellow developer – what makes it special, how to choose the right hosting provider, and insider tips to make GitLab work for you. Strap in for the full scoop!
What Makes GitLab So Special?
As developers, we‘re lucky to have excellent open source tools like Git, Jenkins, and Docker at our fingertips. But cobbling them together can be a headache. GitLab integrates all these tools and more into a single intuitive platform. Let‘s break down what makes GitLab special:
Consolidated DevOps Platform
GitLab consolidates source code management, CI/CD, monitoring, security, and issue tracking into a single application. This saves enormous headaches juggling different tools. Other competitors like GitHub focus narrowly on excellent Git repository management but fail to provide this integrated DevOps experience.
Slick CI/CD Capabilities
GitLab‘s baked-in CI/CD pipeline orchestration empowers rapid iterations and constant integration. And impressively, it‘s available for free to all users – no enterprise subscription required! Teams I‘ve worked with have chopped deployment cycles by half after switching to GitLab‘s savvy CI/CD automation.
Fanatical About Security
Application security is a rising concern these days. GitLab eases my mind with extensive security scanning during the DevOps pipeline to catch vulnerabilities early. It provides static analysis, dynamic analysis, dependency checking, container scanning, and more security testing capabilities out-of-the-box. Other competitors only offer partial solutions.
Breathtaking Commit Visualizations
Good visuals make all the difference in development. GitLab really shines here with intuitive UIs and rich visualizations for reviewing commit histories, CI/CD pipelines, code quality metrics, and more. It makes digging through repositories much more enjoyable!
Totally Open Source
Open source freedom ensures no vendor lock-in or hidden gotchas. As developers, we can fully customize GitLab to our team‘s needs. With over 2,600 contributors, GitLab‘s community keeps growing stronger contributing features and enhancements.
For these reasons and more, leading enterprises like NASA, Sony, and IBM entrust GitLab as their DevOps platform.
By The Numbers: GitLab‘s Meteoric Growth
The numbers speak for themselves – GitLab is one of the fastest growing platforms among developers today. Here are some key statistics:
- Repository count has grown 6x to 35+ million in under 3 years
- 100,000+ organizations and counting use GitLab including major Fortune 500 brands
- >$150 million in annual recurring revenue making GitLab a thriving DevOps unicorn
- 1 new feature shipped every single day demonstrating incredible velocity
Clearly, GitLab is winning over developers across all sizes of organizations with its integrated DevOps capabilities. Adoption is skyrocketing with no signs of slowing down.
How Does GitLab Stack Up to Rivals?
GitLab is in a highly competitive DevOps tool space with rivals like GitHub, Bitbucket, GitKraken, and more. How does GitLab compare against these alternatives? Let‘s evaluate key differences:
GitLab vs. GitHub
GitHub pioneered the Git repository hosting model and enjoys enormous adoption among open source projects. However, GitLab aims to provide complete DevOps lifecycle coverage rather than just Git repository management. For teams wanting an end-to-end DevOps solution, GitLab has distinct advantages.
GitLab also includes more advanced permissions configurations for access control. And its CI/CD capabilities are more mature including auto devops and pipeline graphs.
GitLab vs. Bitbucket
Like GitHub, Bitbucket focuses primarily on Git hosting capabilities and Jira integration. Bitbucket lacks the integrated DevOps capabilities and single dashboard offered by GitLab. However, Bitbucket does come built-in with Confluence wiki and issue tracking at a lower price point.
GitLab vs. GitKraken
Gitkraken provides a beautifully designed Git GUI client for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It makes Git commands more intuitive and visual. However, GitKraken is a desktop client that still requires a remote Git hosting provider like GitHub.GitKraken does not provide the integrated DevOps toolchain offered by GitLab. But the two can complement each other well.
In summary, GitLab aims to provide the full DevOps lifecycle in a single tightly integrated application. This eliminates tool switching and fragmentation compared to alternatives.
To Self-Host or Use a Managed Provider?
One key decision is whether to self-manage GitLab on your own infrastructure, or use a fully managed SaaS provider. I‘ve done both extensively, so here‘s my take on the tradeoffs:
Self-Hosted Pros
- Total control and customization for your infrastructure
- Avoid risks of relying on a vendor
- Can tightly integrate with internal systems
- On-premise security for intellectual property
Self-Hosted Cons
- Major ops overhead maintaining updates, security, backups etc.
- Costly dedicated infrastructure requirements
- Slower initial setup and configuration
- Harder to scale flexibly on demand
Managed GitLab Pros
- Fast setup and deployment measured in minutes
- Automatic updates and maintenance by provider
- Usage-based billing allows cost flexibility
- Leverage expertise of provider managing large GitLab fleets
Managed Cons
- Less customization control compared to self-hosted
- Reliance on provider‘s uptime and performance
- Potential vendor lock-in
- Subscription costs, though competitive
My recommendation is to start with a managed provider. This avoids the heavy lifting of managing infrastructure yourself initially. Once your team hits 50+ developers collaborating intensively, transitioning to a self-managed GitLab instance may make sense.
Top GitLab Hosting & Managed Providers Compared
If going the managed route, GitLab can be hosted through the official GitLab.com SaaS as well as many third party providers. Here‘s an overview of leading options:
1. GitLab.com
- Pricing – Free, Premium ($19/user/month), Ultimate ($99/user/month)
- Pros – Managed by GitLab creators, easy to use, fully integrated
- Cons – Less flexibility being SaaS model
As the official SaaS platform, GitLab.com enjoys instant credibility. It provides all GitLab DevOps features through a simple subscription model. Support is top-notch given GitLab‘s familiarity with the software.
2. DigitalOcean
- Pricing – Basic ($50/month), Pro ($100/month), Advanced ($200/month)
- Pros – SSD storage, hourly billing, backups
- Cons – Tied to DigitalOcean infrastructure
I‘m a big fan of DigitalOcean‘s developer experience overall. Their GitLab options offer maximum performance via fast local SSD storage and an intuitive control panel. Costs scale hourly based on needs.
3. RoseHosting
- Pricing – $80/month managed packages
- Pros – Worry-free management, updates, monitoring
- Cons – Less flexibility being fully managed
RoseHosting fully handles infrastructure, security, scaling, backups, and updates for GitLab. If seeking to entirely offload GitLab management, RoseHosting delivers a turnkey experience.
4. Savvii
- Pricing – $7-$49/month based on users
- Pros – Affordable, automated provisioning
- Cons – Less enterprise scale capabilities
For lean startup teams, Savvii offers very competitively priced GitLab hosting starting at just $7/month. They provide convenient templated setups to get running quickly.
5. AWS
- Pricing – Pay per use model
- Pros – Integrates well with other AWS services
- Cons – Requires expertise managing AWS environment
AWS offers cloud infrastructure components like EC2 and load balancers to deploy GitLab yourself. The ideal choice if already committed to AWS, but not for GitLab novices.
Key Criteria for Choosing a GitLab Provider
With the many hosting options available, how should you choose? Here are the criteria I evaluate when selecting a provider:
- Number of concurrent users – More users and activity requires more resources.
- Performance needs – Fast CI and large repositories demand more power.
- Enterprise security – Assess compliance needs if handling sensitive IP.
- Geographic coverage – Determine locations needed for distributed teams.
- In-house DevOps skills – Factor team‘s ability to self-manage complexity.
- Scalability needs – Consider long term growth in users and data.
Take time to carefully assess your organization‘s unique constraints before choosing. I often suggest starting with a managed provider to control costs initially when scope is uncertain.
GitLab Unleashes Your Team‘s Potential
After working on many DevOps initiatives over the years, GitLab stands out as one of the most frictionless platforms I‘ve used. The integrated toolchain saves endless headaches of tool switching and fragmentation.
Self-managed and managed hosting options both have merits depending on your scope. Leading managed platform providers like GitLab.com, DigitalOcean, and RoseHosting offer compelling simplicity.
By selecting the right GitLab deployment approach for your needs, your team can maximize feature velocity and ship better software faster. I encourage you to unleash your team‘s potential by joining the incredible momentum with GitLab!
