Module Deployment Strategies

Deploying a module update to a running agent system is not the same as deploying a web application. Web applications serve HTTP requests — if the new version has a bug, users see an error page. Agent modules process tasks autonomously — if the new version has a bug, the agent produces wrong output, acts on it, and potentially triggers downstream actions before anyone notices. Module deployment strategies must account for this autonomy risk.

Three deployment strategies, in order of increasing safety. Rolling deployment: update one instance at a time while others continue serving. Fast but risky — a bug affects production traffic immediately. Blue-green deployment: deploy the new version to an idle set of instances, validate, then switch traffic. Safer — the old version is available for instant rollback. Canary deployment: deploy the new version to 5-10% of traffic, monitor for anomalies, then gradually increase. Safest — bugs affect a small subset of operations and are caught before full deployment.

1. 1. Choose by Risk Profile Patch versions: rolling deployment (low risk, fast). Minor versions: blue-green deployment (moderate risk, instant rollback). Major versions: canary deployment (high risk, gradual exposure).
2. 2. Define Rollback Triggers Before deploying, define the metrics that trigger an automatic rollback: error rate > 2%, response time > 2x baseline, output quality score drop > 10%. Automate the rollback — human reaction time is too slow for autonomous systems.
3. 3. Validate Post-Deployment After deployment stabilizes, run a validation suite: the module's test cases against production data, a smoke test of the most common workflows, and a comparison of output quality between the old and new versions.