Master Jenkins: From Setup to CI/CD Pipelines and User Management

Jenkins from abandonment to beginner: deployment, configuration and application

Jenkins Overview

Jenkins originated from Hudson, an open‑source Java CI tool started by Sun in 2004. After a trademark dispute in 2011 the project was renamed Jenkins, which has since become the leading CI platform.

Why Jenkins is popular

Developer‑driven, active community

Open governance with independent board

Long‑term support releases ensure stability

Extensive plugin ecosystem (>1000 plugins)

Core Features

Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) automation

Build automation (Maven, Gradle, Ant, shell scripts)

Test automation (JUnit, TestNG, etc.)

Deployment automation (Docker, Kubernetes)

Monitoring and detailed reporting

Installation

Steps to install Jenkins on a RHEL‑based host:

# Install Git
yum install -y git

# Install JDK 17
yum install fontconfig java-17-openjdk -y
wget https://download.oracle.com/java/17/latest/jdk-17_linux-x64_bin.rpm
yum -y install ./jdk-17_linux-x64_bin.rpm

# Add Jenkins repository and import key
wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/jenkins.repo https://pkg.jenkins.io/redhat/jenkins.repo
rpm --import https://pkg.jenkins.io/redhat/jenkins.io-2023.key

# Install Jenkins
yum install jenkins -y
systemctl enable jenkins
systemctl start jenkins

Configuration files

Key files used by Jenkins:

/usr/lib/systemd/system/jenkins.service – systemd unit definition

/usr/share/java/jenkins.war – web application archive

/var/lib/jenkins – Jenkins home directory (workspace, plugins, etc.)

Initial admin password

cat /var/lib/jenkins/secrets/initialAdminPassword

User Management

Install the “Role‑Based Authorization Strategy” and “Authorize Project” plugins to define global, project, and agent roles. Manage roles via Manage Jenkins → Manage Users , assign roles to users, and control permissions such as read, build, and configure.

Parameterized Builds

Install the “Extended Choice Parameter” and “Git Parameter” plugins to enable branch selection and custom parameters in jobs, allowing more flexible and interactive builds.

Pipeline Example

pipeline {
    agent any
    parameters {
        string(name: 'version', defaultValue: '2.0.0', description: 'Select version')
        gitParameter(name: 'BRANCH', type: 'PT_BRANCH', defaultValue: 'master', branchFilter: 'origin/(.*)')
    }
    stages {
        stage('pull code') {
            steps {
                cleanWs()
                git branch: "${params.BRANCH}", credentialsId: 'xxxx', url: 'xxxx'
            }
        }
        stage('build') {
            steps {
                sh "mvn clean install -DskipTests"
            }
        }
        // Additional stages for Docker image build and push can be added here
    }
}

Email Notifications

Install the “Email Extension Plugin”, configure SMTP settings under Manage Jenkins → Configure System , and use the plugin in post‑build actions to send build status emails to stakeholders.