DevOps is a term that refers to various functions or practices related to technology and software. It comes from Development and Operations, which in Spanish we can translate as development and operations. It is something that we can find very often in the IT environment. In this article we are going to explain what its main functions are, what studies allow us to apply for this type of job and what certifications we can have.
Studies to be DevOps
If you want to be a DevOps engineer , you will have to focus your studies on computing and technology. There are different university degrees that can be valid to acquire the necessary knowledge to carry out this profession. In addition, it is a job that requires constant training and learning.
You can study computer engineering (management, systems or software), telecommunications engineering and other similar ones in which you teach subjects related to programming and software development. In general, everything related to the computer field is going to open doors for you in this type of work.
Regarding certifications , some highly valued are Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), which shows that you have advanced knowledge of Linux and is very useful to stand out as a developer; AWS DevOps Engineer-Professional Certification, an Amazon certification to demonstrate knowledge on a wide variety of topics and know how to respond to possible incidents; also different Microsoft certificates, such as Azure Fundamentals, Azure Administrator Associate or DevOps Engineer Expert.
But beyond the university degrees and certifications you obtain, to be a good DevOps engineer, continuous training is essential. This means training you to learn new programming languages, broaden your knowledge of networks, computing in general, technology, etc.
Its duties
You may be wondering what exactly does a DevOps engineer have. We are going to show which are the main ones, although it will depend on each specific job position and the needs that exist. However, there are issues that are generic and are usually always present.
Gather all the necessary resources
One of the functions of a DevOps engineer is to collect all the resources that are necessary to carry out a project. This will be based on the needs, since there may be notable differences between the development of an application, for example, and a platform that may be more complex.
It is important that you make a list of all the resources that need to be provisioned, as well as the infrastructure that is necessary for it. All this must gather it so that it is available for the rest of the workers.
Monitor software development
It is also responsible for constantly monitoring software development. The different stages of development are supervised and managed. It is a task that is linked to others that are part of development. Check that the objectives are met and that each stage of development is carried out correctly.
This is an important task in order to avoid production failures that could affect any of the development stages of an application or any type of software that the team is working on.
Design and manage tests
The next step, the next task that he also performs, is to design and manage the different tests to test the software. It is necessary to carry out a protocol so as not to overlook anything and to be able to correct any possible problem that may appear during development in time.
This test phase can have different stages as well. It is something that will be done throughout the production of a computer program, for example. In this way they can solve those errors that may arise.
Analyze results in each phase
It is also the role of the DevOps engineer to analyze the results after having performed those tests in each of the stages . This is very important to see if the expected objective has been achieved or, on the contrary, there are some factors that could not be achieved correctly.
In case you have to make changes and modify something, it’s time. Once the results of each phase are analyzed, they can see if it is convenient to introduce some improvements, remove something that does not work, etc.
Maintain communication with other sections
On the other hand, the DevOps engineer will be in charge of maintaining constant communication with other sections of the company. They can communicate potential problems in production or improvements that need to be made. It acts partly as a connection point between the different sections.
They can also act as a link with customers. Its function is to collect the requests they make and transfer them to the appropriate person within the software development chain and thus carry it out.
Deliver security and software updates
One more function is to take care of delivering application updates . Here we must mention updates and improvements of both the software itself (for example, new functions, changes made to make it go faster, etc.) and security. The latter is very important to correct problems that may appear.
These updates can be periodic or punctual. It is important in order to keep the software always in good condition and adapt to possible changes that may appear or customer requests.
Profile and knowledge
Mainly, something fundamental in the profile is to have good technical skills . It is important to properly monitor every aspect of development and have a broad understanding of the tools being used, which means having the ability to adapt to change and continuous learning.
It is convenient to be a person with analytical capacity to be able to understand complex situations that may arise, as well as knowing how to solve the problems that may appear. It is also important to identify these errors and find a way to solve them as soon as possible, which is why time management is another key point in the profile of this type of job.
A DevOps engineer must have experience and knowledge in Linux operating systems (in different distributions), virtual machines and with Windows Server. In addition, it is essential to know how to work with containers, with tools such as Docker, Kubernetes or Swarm, among others.
It is also important to have knowledge about code repositories and to know how to use them correctly. For example GitHub, Git and others. This will be very useful to be able to coordinate the code between different developers within the same software project that they are developing.
On the other hand, having knowledge in the cloud is highly valued. Know how to use platforms such as Amazon’s AWS, Google Cloud or Azure DevOps. A DevOps engineer must be able to make use of this type of tools in the cloud and make them part of their day to day.
