What are DevOps?
DevOps is a set of practices and tools that aim to automate the process of software delivery and infrastructure management. DevOps is short for “development” and “operations”. It is a term used to describe a new way of working between development and operations teams.
In the past, these two teams often worked in silos, with little communication or collaboration. This could lead to problems when it came to releasing new features or updates, as the development team would hand over code to the operations team, who would then have to figure out how to deploy it. This process was often slow and cumbersome, and led to a lot of finger-pointing when things went wrong.
The aim of DevOps is to make software deployment successful, and nowadays DevOps uses automation to achieve this goal. Automation helps to make releases more frequent and less risky. DevOps also helps to improve communication and collaboration between development and operations teams, so that they can work together more effectively.
How are they important?
There are a number of reasons why DevOps is becoming increasingly important in the software development world.
DevOps help to speed up the the software development process, updates and releases.
Firstly, the speed at which new software features and updates need to be released is increasing all the time. Customers expect to be able to access the latest features and updates as soon as they are available, and they are not willing to wait weeks or months for them. This has led to a need for shorter development cycles, which in turn has put pressure on development and operations teams to work more closely together.
DevOps helps to handle complex applications.
Secondly, the complexity of software applications is increasing. With the rise of microservices (such as Kubernetes and Docker), it is becoming more difficult to deploy and manage software applications. DevOps can help in some of these processes, making it easier to manage complex applications.
DevOps helps companies make better use of data.
Lastly, the amount of data that needs to be processed and stored is increasing exponentially. This is particularly true for companies in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, who are dealing with large volumes of data from sensors and devices. DevOps can help to automate the process of data collection, analysis, and storage, so that companies can make better use of this data.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of a DevOps team are to:
- Manage the IT infrastructure
- Automate the process of software delivery
- Improve communication and collaboration between development and operations teams
- Help to manage and deploy complex software applications
- Help to make better use of data
Top Tools used by DevOps
There are a number of tools and technologies that are often used in DevOps, and it can be difficult to keep up with all of them. Some of the most popular DevOps tools include:
For Distributed Version Control System:
- Git: Git is a free and open source distributed version control system.
- Bitbucket: Bitbucket is a distributed version control system from Atlassian.
For Configuration Management:
- Chef: Chef is a configuration management tool from Opscode.
- Puppet: Puppet is a configuration management tool from Puppet Labs.
For Continuous Integration:
- Jenkins: Jenkins is a free and open source continuous integration tool.
- Bamboo: Bamboo is a continuous integration tool from Atlassian.
For Containerization:
- Docker: Docker is a tool for creating and managing Linux containers.
For Continuous Delivery and Deployment:
- GoCD: GoCD is a free and open source continuous delivery tool from Thoughtworks.
- Spinnaker: Spinnaker is a continuous delivery tool from Netflix.
For Server Provisioning:
- Ubuntu: Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux operating system.
- CentOS: CentOS is a Linux distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution from Red Hat.
For Secure Shell (SSH):
- OpenSSH: OpenSSH is a free and open source implementation of the SSH protocol.
DevOps Engineer vs Software Engineer
The roles of a DevOps engineer and a software engineer are often confused. A DevOps engineer is not the same as a software engineer, although the two roles do have some overlap.
A DevOps engineer helps overcome the siloed working between development and operations teams. They work closely with both teams to help automate the process of software delivery.
A DevOps engineer also helps to manage and deploy complex software applications.
A software engineer, on the other hand, is responsible for developing and maintaining software applications. They may also be involved in the design and implementation of DevOps tools and processes, but their primary focus is on the software itself.
How DevOps can help Improve Software Development
DevOps can help to improve software development in a number of ways.
- Automating the process of software delivery can help to speed up the development cycle, so that new features and updates can be released more quickly.
- Working closely with the operations team can help to identify and fix problems more quickly, so that they don’t cause delays in the development cycle.
- Automating the process of data collection, analysis, and storage can help developers make better use of data, and improve the quality of their software.
- Helping to manage and deploy complex software applications can free up time for developers to focus on the software itself.
Do you need DevOps?
The answer to this question depends on your specific needs and requirements. If you are looking to release new software features and updates more quickly, or if you are working with complex software applications, then DevOps could be a good fit for you.
At Trienpont, we have a team of expert DevOps engineers who can help you transform your business. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
