In the world of tech, “DevOps” has become an increasingly important element in modern-day software delivery and development. As a professional or an aspiring engineer, you’re bound to have come across the phrase at the very least at most, if not every day. DevOps (and other similar terms like Platform Engineer, SRE, and Cloud Engineer) see a lot of buzz and much controversy. Which is the best?
We’ll go over the current DevOps landscape and the ways you can develop your skills to become a DevOps engineer by yourself.
What’s DevOps? A brief primer
To ensure all are on the same page, we’ll begin by reintroducing the basics of what DevOps is. At the very minimum, what it was initially intended to be and its overall approach. The current definition of DevOps appears to be somewhat more fluid and has sometimes been heatedly debated which is why we’ll start with a brief history.
The primary goal behind the DevOps movement was to reduce the frustration with the technical and operational divisions that often separated developers and system administrators. Developers would develop features and applications in isolation and only engage with operations teams once the software was almost completed, essentially “kicking them over the fence” for administrators to decide what to deploy to the servers in the fleet.
With DevOps administrators and developers (ops and operations) can work in tandem with a mutual knowledge and a culture that is focused on continual improvement and speedier delivery of software. It’s not all about picking the most recent and best software or programming languages but establishing a culture that is based on trust is vitally essential. One of the most well-known adages in DevOps is”People.
What are the benefits of learning DevOps?
DevOps was named in Pluralsight’s top Technology Skills to Gain in 2023, based on market research and trends in learner behavior. Here are some numbers that illustrate why it’s worth adding to your list of skills:
- In the StackOverflow 2022 Developer Survey, 59.3 percent of companies said they were having the DevOps function.
- DevOps was identified as a “critical need” capability in the report of Gartner in 2022. There are many vacant U.S. jobs requiring DevOps knowledge.
- In the past 3 years, DevOps was among the terms that are most frequently searched on both Pluralsight as well as Cloud Guru.
- The DevOps Foundations was the 9th most sought-after Skills IQ test conducted by Pluralsight.
Learn DevOps in 8 key areas to improve your skills
We’ll refer to the initial stage of improving your skills “Learning the DevOps Methodology”. For clarity, every engineer of any standing should always take advantage of any opportunity to gain knowledge. In this case, “learning” means skills that can be cultivated through the help of self-study, practice, and simple test projects. It isn’t necessary for exposure to them through your job to improve in them. However, you should take every opportunity to learn about them through your current role, if it is possible!
One of the most important aspects that you must focus on while learning is the need to build upon and cross-pollinate these domains of expertise not just master each one separately. Install your Linux node where you can write code, put it into a VCS, and then, after that, deploy the application to your node via CI/CD. Combining learning is much more efficient in the development of skills.
Linux OS Administration
Linux is the preferred operating system that runs the majority of modern web-based computing infrastructure. A majority of mobile applications such as SaaS/PaaS/IaaS platforms and sites that users interact with on regular regularly run Linux. Naturally, if you wish to work in the field of managing software delivery within these types of environments, Linux proficiency is a necessity.
Basic Networking
The transition from on-premise networks using routers and switches has drastically reduced the need for specific, vendor-specific certifications for network operators. But, a general understanding of networks remains extremely valuable and it’s essential to understand how networks function and interact in a cloud-based platform.
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One interpreter language is Recommend Python or TS
Unfortunately, this is often the point at which many people turn around. If you’re a software engineer who wants to pursue a DevOps career, you’ll get an excellent head start in one of the more difficult technical skills to master. If you’re coming from a traditional background in system administration I’m afraid that you’ll have to master this dragon.
It’s a good thing that having a language such as Python or Typescript sufficient to become a successful DevOps doesn’t mean that you need to complete the full rigorousness of a computer science degree. Practice and self-study are enough to bring your skills up to a decent start. Pluralsight offers a variety of courses in the two languages Python as well as Typescript (Are you seeing an underlying pattern?) The number of playgrounds and books is too numerous to offer a comprehensive suggestion here.
Cloud Services and Platforms
Each major cloud service currently provides a free-tier service that users can test and learn, without paying any fees for use. Additionally, you can find credits provided by various platforms and vendors with some elbow grease. Profit! Start by creating a basic application infrastructure and, as you get comfortable, begin to build more complex applications.
Control of the Version Depending on Dev or Sysadmin
Learning about version control is an additional capability that is based on your previous experience. The choice of a tool is straightforward; pick Git. It’s pretty standard currently as well. SVN and Mercurial will likely only be found in old environments. The two largest VCS platforms are GitLab and GitHub are both built upon Git and are the most popular options. Technology and Business: The Role of Technology
Monitoring and Observability
The ability to monitor and observe are crucial elements of the DevOps method of the development and delivery of software; adhering to the principle of continuous improvement implies having an understanding that is comprehensive and of the performance of the application and the health of the infrastructure. If a feature’s deployment results in users experiencing problems with the application it is essential to be able to quickly determine and fix the source.
CI and CD
One of the core infrastructure pillars of modern software delivery is the Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline; a software deployment tool that acts as a “base” for automating most of the processes around the testing and deployment of applications. CI/CD pipelines have led to the most significant speed increase in deployment and allow multiple deployments each day.
IaC-Infrastructure-as-Code
Infrastructure-as-Code is probably a term you’ve heard used in the same breath as DevOps. It could appear as if both are interconnected. While it is possible to execute the DevOps program without using it, this provides capabilities that are nearly essential if you want to deploy and manage software regularly in a cloud-based environment.
How to get into DevOps What you don’t have to study
Here’s where the road meets the rubber or road, as it were. The skills you’ll learn in this section aren’t something that you can acquire through study on your own. They’ll require a professional setting or engineering position with access to a distributed architecture, as well as at least two engineers working on a range of aspects or services.
Incident and Event Management
Management of events and incidents generally refers to how an engineering company responds to issues or outages in its application infrastructure. For big services making this happen is essential. Every second or minute with a degraded service results in a poor customer experience and loss of revenue.
Cross-Team and Org Capabilities
As a DevOps engineer, you’ll frequently be required to work alongside other development teams and their leaders as well as technical and non-technical stakeholders. Being an organizationally dynamic person requires that you are comfortable with these environments and be a highly efficient and compassionate communication expert. DevOps is all about collaboration, that’s why it’s not the job when you work in isolation.
Monitoring and Observability
There are limitations to what can be gained by implementing these tools for the basis of a personal project. The importance of comprehensive monitoring and observability is achieved by using these tools to aid in analyzing large-scale performance and behavior of applications. If your organization currently uses any type of infrastructure for applications you are probably using one or more services to manage monitoring or logging.
The Conclusion
If you’re already in the tech field then getting involved in DevOps does not require a complete re-boot. Make the most of what you’re already doing look for opportunities to increase your skills and then spend some time in the background to acquire new skills. Remember that in DevOps it’s about processes > people tools. You’ll be able to achieve a lot if you look for ways to build relationships and a forward-looking tech culture by working alongside and supporting other engineers.
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