* [Topics](/en/topics "Topics") * [DevOps](/en/topics/devops "DevOps") * What is blue green deployment? What is blue green deployment? ============================== Published February 9, 2026•*3*-minute read Copy URL Jump to section --------------- OverviewHow does it work?Deployment and KubernetesWhy choose Red Hat? Overview -------- Blue green deployment is an application release model that gradually transfers user traffic from a previous version of an app or microservice to a nearly identical new release—both of which are running in production. The old version can be called the blue environment while the new version can be known as the green environment. Once production traffic is fully transferred from blue to green, blue can standby in case of rollback or pulled from production and updated to become the template upon which the next update is made. There are downsides to this continuous deployment model. Not all environments have the same uptime requirements or the resources to properly perform [CI/CD](/en/topics/devops/what-is-ci-cd) processes like blue green. But many apps evolve to support such continuous delivery as the enterprises supporting them digitally transform. How does blue green deployment work? ------------------------------------ [![Blue green deployment model](/rhdc/managed-files/blue-green-deployment-model.gif "Blue green deployment model")](/rhdc/managed-files/blue-green-deployment-model.gif) *Think about it like this.* You’ve developed a simple [cloud-native app](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps)—a [mobile](/en/topics/mobile) game where users earn points tapping multicolored balloons that fly across the screen. The game’s back end is supported by multiple [container](/en/topics/containers)-based [microservices](/en/topics/microservices) that handle game achievements, scoring, mechanics, communication, and player identification. Hundreds of users start playing the game after its initial release. They’re logging thousands of transactions every minute. Your [DevOps](/en/topics/devops) team has encouraged you to release early and often, which is why you’re about to release a minor update to the mechanics microservice that increases the size and speed of the red balloon. Instead of waiting until midnight to push the update to the production environment (when the least amount of users are active), you’re using a blue green deployment model to update the app during peak use. And you’re going to do it with zero downtime. You’re able to do this because you took the mechanics microservice in the production environment (blue) and copied it to an identical—but separate—container (green). After you increased the size and speed of the red balloons in the green environment, it passed through Q/A and staging (which were perhaps [automated](/en/topics/automation) by an open source stress test project like [Jenkins](https://jenkins.io/)) before it’s pushed to the production environment alongside the active blue environment. The ops team can use a load balancer to redirect each user’s next transaction from blue to green, and—once all production traffic is filtered through the green environment—the blue environment is brought offline. Blue can either standby as a disaster recovery option, or it can become the container for the next update. This video can't play due to privacy settings To change your settings, select the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer and opt in to "Advertising Cookies or try disabling adblockers." Red Hat resources ----------------- [Keep reading](/en/resources "Keep reading") Blue green deployment and Kubernetes ------------------------------------ [Kubernetes](/en/topics/containers/what-is-kubernetes) is a natural fit with all the elements associated with the blue green deployment process, including cloud-native apps, microservices, containers, continuous integration, continuous delivery, continuous deployment, [SRE](/en/topics/devops/what-is-sre), and DevOps. As an [open source](/en/topics/open-source/what-is-open-source-software) platform that automates [Linux®](/en/topics/linux) container operations, Kubernetes not only helps orchestrate the containers that package cloud-native apps’ microservices, but Kubernetes is also supported by a collection of architectural patterns that developers can reuse instead of creating application architectures from scratch. One of those Kubernetes patterns is known as the Declarative Deployment pattern. Since microservices are inherently small, they can multiply in number very quickly. The Declarative Deployment pattern reduces the manual effort needed to deploy new pods—the smallest and simplest unit in the [Kubernetes architecture](/en/topics/containers/kubernetes-architecture). Why choose Red Hat? ------------------- Because we’ve hardened the leading enterprise Kubernetes platform—[Red Hat® OpenShift](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift)—with CI/CD capabilities at its core. And we’ve [already documented](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/3.9/html/upgrading_clusters/upgrading-blue-green-deployments?extIdCarryOver=true&intcmp=7013a000002qBDoAAM&sc_cid=7013a000002gXjsAAE) step-by-step command line prompts and arguments to roll out blue green deployments within your Red Hat OpenShift environment. And when you keep your enterprise Kubernetes platform open source, you retain control over the entire platform and everything that relies on it, allowing your applications and services to just work—regardless of where they are or what’s supporting them. So go ahead: Inspect, modify, and enhance the source code behind our technologies. With products trusted by more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies[1], there’s very little you can’t do with an infrastructure built on Red Hat products and technologies. [1] [Red Hat](/en/about) client data and [Fortune 500](https://fortune.com/ranking/fortune500/) list, September 2025. (purchase required) Resource Red Hat named a Leader in 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Container Management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Container Management to learn why Red Hat OpenShift has been named a “Leader” for the 3rd year in a row. [Read the report](/en/engage/gartner-magic-quadrant-container-management-analyst-report "Red Hat named a Leader in 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Container Management") All Red Hat product trials -------------------------- Our no-cost product trials help you gain hands-on experience, prepare for a certification, or assess if a product is right for your organization. [Keep reading](/en/products/trials "All Red Hat product trials") Keep reading ------------ ### What is observability? Observability refers to the ability to monitor, measure, and understand a system or application by examining its outputs, logs, and performance metrics. [Read the article](/en/topics/devops/what-is-observability "article | what is observability") ### How to approach DevOps metrics DevOps metrics track the effectiveness of DevOps practices, which relate to software development and IT operations. [Read the article](/en/topics/devops/how-approach-devops-metrics "article | how to approach devops metrics") ### What is DevOps automation? DevOps automation is an upgraded form of DevOps technology that performs tasks with limited human intervention, helping you deliver solutions faster. [Read the article](/en/topics/automation/what-is-devops-automation "article | what is devops automation") DevOps resources ---------------- ### Related content * Blog post [The new reality of supply chain trust: Why platform-native security is non-negotiable](/en/blog/new-reality-supply-chain-trust-why-platform-native-security-non-negotiable) * Blog post [Red Hat's Approach to Keyboard Testing for Web Accessibility](/en/blog/beyond-automation-why-manual-keyboard-testing-essential-real-accessibility) * Blog post [The three pillars of trust: The hardened OpenShift foundation](/en/blog/three-pillars-trust-hardened-openshift-foundation) * Blog post [Red Hat Desktop brings Kubernetes-aligned development to the desktop](/en/blog/red-hat-desktop-brings-kubernetes-aligned-development-desktop) ### Related articles * [Red Hat OpenShift for developers](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/developers) * [What is observability?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-observability) * [How to approach DevOps metrics](/en/topics/devops/how-approach-devops-metrics) * [What is DevOps automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-devops-automation) * [What is application lifecycle management (ALM)?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-application-lifecycle-management-alm) * [What is CI/CD?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-ci-cd) * [What is DevOps?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-devops) * [What is GitOps?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-gitops) * [What is Istio?](/en/topics/microservices/what-is-istio) * [What is serverless?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-serverless) * [What is a CI/CD pipeline?](/en/topics/devops/what-cicd-pipeline) * [Stateful vs stateless applications](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/stateful-vs-stateless) * [Platform engineering vs. DevOps](/en/topics/platform-engineering/platform-engineering-vs-devops) * [What is application migration?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/application-migration) * [What is application integration?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/application-integration) * [What is multi-cloud GitOps?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-multicloud-gitops) * [What is a GitOps workflow?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-gitops-workflow) * [What is Argo CD?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-argocd) * [Shift left vs. shift right](/en/topics/devops/shift-left-vs-shift-right) * [What is CI/CD security?](/en/topics/security/what-is-cicd-security) * [What is an internal developer platform?](/en/topics/platform-engineering/what-is-an-internal-developer-platform) * [Why choose Red Hat for a DevOps Platform?](/en/topics/devops/why-choose-red-hat-for-devops) * [What is DevSecOps?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-devsecops) * [What is an application development platform?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-app-dev-platform) * [Security in the software development lifecycle](/en/topics/security/software-development-lifecycle-security) * [What are cloud applications?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-are-cloud-applications) * [What is agile methodology?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-agile-methodology) * [Cloud-native CI/CD on Red Hat OpenShift](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/ci-cd) * [How to deploy Red Hat OpenShift](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/deploy-red-hat-openshift) * [Kubernetes-native Java development with Quarkus](/en/technologies/cloud-computing/openshift/quarkus) * [What is continuous delivery?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-continuous-delivery) * [What is deployment automation?](/en/topics/automation/what-is-deployment-automation) * [What is an SDK?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-SDK) * [What is SRE?](/en/topics/devops/what-is-sre) * [What is a Java runtime environment (JRE)?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-a-Java-runtime-environment) * [Why choose the Red Hat build of Quarkus?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/why-choose-red-hat-quarkus) * [What is an application architecture?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-an-application-architecture) * [What is Quarkus?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-quarkus) * [What are Java frameworks?](/en/topics/cloud-native-apps/what-is-a-Java-framework) * [What is an IDE?](/en/topics/platform-engineering/what-is-ide) [More about this topic](/en/topics/devops "More about this topic")