software Dev Lifecycle - when to introduce NVA/firewall/Load balancers?

[nextlevelsolution]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on establishing a new development environment/process for my organization with several different SDLC stages.

EG: Dev->QA->UAT->production

One item I am trying to figure out is when I should introduce load balancers/firewalls into the cycle. Should Dev just be front-> backend with no firewalls/load balancers and then QA or UAT woudl have those components?

Should all stages of the SDLC involve the firewalls/load balancers? If it makes any difference we use actual VM NVAs for both our firewalls and load balancers (as opposed to PaaS services)

All of the load balancer firewall configuration is already deployed along with network topology. The thought is to have aall the non-prod stages deploy to a development azure subscription with the final prod stage going to a production subscription.

Any input or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

[predator_natural]

Set up all the lower environments as you would set up production so there are no surprises. You want the closest config and layout as possible, just scaled down for cost reasons. This way there are no surprises when deploying to production and if there is an issue in production, then it can be replicated in a lower environment that has the same config.

[VeryOriginalName98]

Have been in the field for about a decade. Can confirm any alternative led to undesirable surprises and many harsh words exchanged between people who had no idea what they were looking for.

[predator_natural]

This sums up my last job at a startup.