Devops In 5 Minutes | What Is Devops | Devops Explained
Do You Think Cloud Computing Is for You?
Are you wishing to get started learning DevOps this year? If so, you want to read this article, as I’ll be giving you a quick 5-minute guide on how to get started with DevOps in 2023. By the way, DevOps is one of the most sought-after IT skills this year, and gaining the right skills can easily give you the opportunity to occupy a role related to cloud computing and DevOps.
Understanding DevOps
Now, how do you get started with DevOps? Let me begin this article by sharing some essential points regarding the term “DevOps.”
DevOps is a practice that involves two major teams: the development teams and the operations teams.
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Development Teams
The development teams consist of developers who write application code. This code is written in various programming frameworks, including Python, C, Java, .NET, and many others. These developers are responsible for creating applications.
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Operations Teams
On the other hand, we have the operations teams, which include DevOps engineers, code testers, and quality assurance engineers. The key point you must understand is that DevOps combines these development and operations teams to effectively and efficiently improve the entire lifecycle of the software development process. This foundational understanding of DevOps is crucial.
Getting Started with DevOps
If you want to embark on your journey in DevOps and cloud computing, there are several key things you need to understand. Since DevOps is a practice, there are a set of tools that can help you enforce the principles that guide this practice.
If you’re looking to get started with DevOps or if you’ve been studying it but are unsure if you’re gaining the right knowledge, check the link in my channel description. I offer a comprehensive end-to-end DevOps course that can help you understand these concepts, starting from basic DevOps principles like version control to advanced topics like CI/CD.
Key Principles of DevOps
As I mentioned, DevOps is a practice supported by several principles. Some of these principles include:
Continuous Integration (CI)
Continuous Deployment (CD)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Continuous Monitoring
Collaboration and Communication
These principles form the foundation of the DevOps lifecycle.
Essential Tools for DevOps
Now, let’s discuss the key tools you must master to get started with DevOps this year.
The first tool you should learn is a version control system. Learning a version control system like Git is fundamental for beginning your DevOps journey.
Understanding Cloud Platforms
You must also have a basic to intermediate understanding of a cloud platform. You cannot effectively be a DevOps engineer without this knowledge because many resources you will provision will be on platforms like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Google Cloud.
Build Tools
After understanding a cloud platform, you should familiarize yourself with different build tools. For Java-based applications, some essential tools include:
Apache Maven for builds
SonarQube for code analysis
Nexus Repository for artifact management
Prometheus for continuous monitoring
Grafana for visualization and dashboarding
Having knowledge of these tools is crucial for building applications.
Continuous Integration and Deployment
Once you grasp the build tools, you can explore continuous integration and continuous deployment technologies like Jenkins. However, before diving into learning all the tools, focus on mastering one tool for each principle.
For version control, master Git or GitHub.
For cloud platforms, choose either AWS or Azure to master.
For continuous deployment, pick one tool like GitHub Actions or Jenkins; I recommend starting with Jenkins.
Container Management
After learning Jenkins, consider learning a container management tool like Docker to create containers. Most importantly, you should also learn Kubernetes as a container orchestration tool.
These technologies are essential for establishing yourself as a proficient DevOps engineer in technical conversations or interviews.