What does a devops engineer do?

As the planning phase In progresses, DevOps engineers actively contribute to the coding tasks, ensuring that the developed code aligns with deployment requirements and industry best practices. ??Infrastructure as Code (IaC): DevOps engineers may use IaC tools like Terraform or Ansible to define and manage the infrastructure required to support the new feature. ??Version Control: They participate in version control processes, ensuring that code changes are tracked, documented, and can be easily reverted if necessary. ??Continuous Integration (CI): They set up and maintain CI pipelines using tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI, automating the build and testing of code changes to catch issues early in the development process.

DevOps professionals also engage in coding, focusing on automation scripts and creating ARM templates. Additionally, they contribute to architectural planning, collaborate with developers, and manage cloud resources.

A DevOps engineer plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between software development and IT operations. They focus on automating and streamlining the software development and deployment processes to enhance collaboration, speed up releases, and improve overall efficiency. DevOps engineers are responsible for creating and maintaining CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipelines, enabling code changes to move seamlessly from development to testing and production environments. They work on infrastructure as code (IAC), utilizing tools like Docker and Kubernetes for containerization and orchestration.

Think of a DevOps engineer as an e-commerce maestro, conducting the smooth launch of a new app. **Planning Stage Infrastructure: Design & automate server setup, storage, & network - think arranging instruments for optimal sound. CI/CD Pipeline: Craft an automated workflow for code building, testing, & deployment - like rehearsing each piece flawlessly. Monitoring: Set up metrics & alerts to anticipate issues - like placing sound technicians for quick adjustments. **Coding Symphony: Infrastructure Scripts: Write code or use tools to automate server setup . CI/CD Pipeline Melodies: Code build, test, & deploy tasks for seamless flow. Monitoring Mantras: Craft scripts or use tools for custom dashboards & alerts.

DevOps engineers often use tools like Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation to define and provision the necessary infrastructure required for the application. This ensures that the infrastructure is versioned and can be easily reproduced, making deployments more reliable and consistent.

DevOps engineers contribute to the overall quality and reliability of the software, enabling a smoother transition from development to deployment. DevOps engineers play a critical role in ensuring the reliability and compatibility of code changes. They leverage automation to streamline testing processes and seamlessly integrate new features into existing systems.

DevOps engineers might implement Infrastructure as Code patterns like "Immutable Infrastructure" or "Phoenix Servers" to promote consistent and reliable infrastructure deployments. Immutable infrastructure involves replacing servers entirely with each change, while Phoenix Servers involve rebuilding servers from a known state.

Automated Testing: Implement automated testing processes to validate code changes and configurations, reducing the likelihood of introducing errors during the development cycle. Continuous Integration (CI): Integrate code changes into a shared repository regularly to identify and address integration issues early in the development process.

Testing: Automated Testing: DevOps engineers are responsible for implementing and maintaining automated testing processes. Test Automation Frameworks: They may work with and contribute to the development of test automation frameworks. Continuous Testing: DevOps engineers aim to achieve continuous testing throughout the software development lifecycle. Collaboration with QA Teams: DevOps engineers collaborate closely with QA (Quality Assurance) teams to understand testing requirements, address issues, and continuously improve the testing process. Integration: Continuous Integration (CI): DevOps engineers are instrumental in implementing and maintaining CI pipelines. Integration Testing Version Control Integration API Integration

For example, Azure provides a comprehensive set of DevOps services under the Azure DevOps umbrella. These services include Azure Boards (for work tracking), Azure Repos (Git and TFVC repositories), Azure Pipelines (for CI/CD), Azure Test Plans (for testing), and Azure Artifacts (for package management). DevOps engineers can use Azure Pipelines to create automated build and release pipelines, enabling continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD).

Continuous Deployment (CD): Automate the deployment process to move code changes from development through testing and into production seamlessly. Release Orchestration: Coordinate the release of new features or updates, ensuring a smooth and controlled deployment process.

In devops version or source control tools like GitHub, Bitbucket or Gitlab can be used that are decentralized or like SVN that are centralized. In Continuous Integration tools like Jenkins and Bamboo can be used.

Deployment: Continuous Deployment (CD): DevOps engineers implement and manage CD pipelines to automate the deployment process. Deployment Automation: They write scripts and use automation tools to deploy applications and infrastructure changes. Infrastructure Configuration: Before deployment, DevOps engineers ensure that the target infrastructure is properly configured to support the application. Database Migrations: Coordinating database schema changes and migrations is part of the deployment process. Delivery: Artifact Management: DevOps engineers manage the artifacts generated during the build process, including executable files, libraries, and configuration files. Artifact Versioning Environment Promotion Deployment Monitoring

Think about it this way: What use would it be to build/develop a solution if you can't seamlessly get it to users? In my opinion, a DevOps engineer isn't just a person who builds pipelines alone, but someone who understands the culture of delivering solutions on time to users and uses various tools to accomplish this. Deployment and delivery of solutions effectively are one of the most critical aspects of being a DevOps Engineer. The tools, however, are ways to achieve that.

Performance Monitoring: Implement tools for monitoring application and infrastructure performance, detecting issues, and ensuring optimal system health. Feedback Loops: Establish feedback mechanisms to capture insights from monitoring and user interactions, facilitating continuous improvement.

DevOps engineers monitor the performance of software systems and provide feedback to developers to improve the software. We use tools to track the performance of software systems, identify issues, and provide feedback to developers to improve the software.

Monitoring: Infrastructure Monitoring: DevOps engineers implement tools for monitoring the health and performance of infrastructure components such as servers and databases. Application Monitoring: Monitoring the application's behavior, performance, and resource utilization is essential. Logging: DevOps engineers set up logging mechanisms to analyze logs generated by applications and infrastructure components. Alerting Systems: Establishing alerting systems based on predefined thresholds allows DevOps engineers to be notified of potential issues. Feedback: Incident Response: When issues are identified through monitoring, DevOps engineers respond promptly to incidents. Post-Incident Analysis Performance Optimization

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Foster collaboration between development, operations, and other relevant teams. Bridge the gap between traditional silos to streamline processes. Communication Skills: Effectively communicate with team members, stakeholders, and management to provide updates, address concerns, and coordinate activities.

DevOps engineers work with developers, operations staff, and other teams to ensure that software systems are up and running smoothly. They build a culture of shared responsibility, transparency, and faster feedback, which is the foundation of every high-performing DevOps team. Collaboration and problem-solving are the most important elements of a successful DevOps culture. As a soft skill, most recruiters really look out for that.

Collaboration: Cross-Functional Collaboration: DevOps engineers work closely with cross-functional teams, including developers, testers, and operations staff. They bridge the gap. Shared Responsibility: DevOps promotes a culture of shared responsibility, where teams collectively own the entire software delivery process. Continuous Integration and Deployment: DevOps engineers collaborate with development teams to implement and manage continuous integration and deployment processes. Communication: Stakeholder Communication: DevOps engineers communicate with stakeholders, including project managers, product owners, and business leaders. They provide updates on the status of releases, deployments. Status Meetings Incident Communication

A devOps engineer is mostly a one-man department. One really needs to know how to bridge the gap between development and operations literally. As such, it becomes very tedious and overwhelming, as one needs to learn to use lots of tools and processes. Benefits: 1. Continuous testing and improving by the engineer results in positive customer feedback 2. Shared goals and cross-functional teams. In my experience, a devOps engineer is probably the most valuable person in the IT department as he is the bridge between developers and management/customers of the company

Cultural Changes: Implementing DevOps often involves a cultural shift within organizations. Breaking down silos between development and operations teams can be challenging. Toolchain Complexity: Managing and integrating a diverse set of tools for continuous integration, continuous delivery, and infrastructure as code can be complex. Automation: Achieving effective automation across the entire development lifecycle requires careful planning and can be challenging, especially in legacy environments.

DevOps as an organizational culture plays a pivotal role in driving successful digital transformation initiatives, accelerating the delivery of digital products and services. This enhances the customer experience, and enables organizations to respond swiftly to market demands. DevOps empowers businesses to iterate, experiment, and innovate at a rapid pace, ensuring they remain competitive in the digital landscape.

In addition to learning numerous tools (trust me, it's exhausting), to derive solutions from the development phase to production for end-users, also remember that being a DevOps engineer necessitates a strong understanding of network security, system administration, and excellent interpersonal skills. The ability to solve issues during delivery relies heavily on these skills and knowing how to utilize them effectively.

DevOps, short for Development Operations, is a methodology that, while simple in concept, can be both powerful and complex. It involves creating a culture where agile teams collaborate on business requirements, transforming them into deliverables. Depending on their roles, teams may take full or partial responsibility for these deliverables. Amidst this collaboration, DevOps engineers play a crucial role in ensuring smooth transitions between stages, acting as bridges between different teams, particularly development and operations. In essence, DevOps serves as the scouts, leading and paving the way for other teams.

DevOps engineers build, test and maintain infrastructure and tools so that software can be developed and released. DevOps (development operations) is a series of practices and processes that help organisations speed up and automate aspects of developing, testing, releasing and updating software. A DevOps engineer is a versatile IT professional with comprehensive expertise in development and operations. They excel in coding, managing infrastructure, system administration, and utilizing DevOps toolchains.

DevOps engineer focuses on combining software development (Dev) with IT operations (Ops) to shorten the software development life cycle and provide continuous delivery. They automate processes, manage infrastructure, and ensure seamless collaboration between development and operations teams. Some tools they use include: - Configuration & Infrastructure management tools like Terraform, Ansible. - Containerization tools like Docker and Kubernetes. - CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, and GitLab CI/CD. - Monitoring and logging tools like Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana), and Splunk.