Helios vs Jenkins: What are the differences?

Helios and Jenkins are both popular continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) tools used in software development processes. Let's explore the key differences between the two.

1. Ease of Use: Helios provides a more user-friendly interface and an intuitive workflow for defining and managing CI/CD pipelines. It offers a simpler and more streamlined user experience compared to Jenkins, making it easier for developers to adopt and use.

2. Configuration as Code: Helios embraces the concept of "Configuration as Code" by allowing developers to define and manage CI/CD pipelines using code-based configurations. This enables version control, easier collaboration, and scalability, unlike Jenkins, which relies more on UI-based configurations.

3. Built-in Containerization Support: Helios has built-in support for containerization technologies like Docker, allowing developers to easily define and manage containerized environments for their CI/CD pipelines. Jenkins, on the other hand, requires additional plugins and configurations to achieve similar functionality.

4. Scale and Performance: Helios is designed to scale horizontally, enabling it to handle larger workloads and distribute jobs across multiple nodes or agents efficiently. Jenkins, although capable of scaling as well, may require additional setups and configurations to achieve similar levels of scalability.

5. Native Continuous Deployment: Helios provides native support for continuous deployment, allowing developers to automatically deploy their applications to various environments (e.g., staging, production) as part of the CI/CD process. Jenkins, while capable of achieving continuous deployment through plugins, may require more configuration and setup.

6. Ecosystem and Integration: Jenkins has been in the market for a longer time, resulting in a more extensive ecosystem of plugins and integrations with other tools and technologies. It offers a wider range of options for customization and integration compared to Helios, which is relatively newer and may have a more limited set of integrations.

In summary, Helios is a cloud-native continuous integration and delivery platform, providing a streamlined and scalable environment for building, testing, and deploying applications. Jenkins, on the other hand, is an open-source automation server that supports building, deploying, and automating any project. While Helios emphasizes cloud-native capabilities, Jenkins is known for its extensibility and community-driven plugins, making it adaptable to a wide range of development environments and workflows.