The software development process has evolved, and there is now a greater need than ever to balance the needs of quicker development and slower deployment and operational procedures.
In the field of software development, DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) are two concepts that have been contemporaneous for more than a decade. Upon first appearance, they can appear to be rivals. But they are actually competitors. And like parts of a puzzle that fit together perfectly.
Professionals with knowledge of key strategies and tools are in more demand as DevOps processes expand. Operations staff members have access to new prospects and a clear career path thanks to DevOps. Site Reliability Engineering is a specific DevOps execution that is required.
In this article, we’ll discuss how SRE and DevOps support the development of reliable software, their similarities and differences, and the situations in which they complement one another well. Now let’s get to the real subject. Check out the DevOps online training to learn more.
1.Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)
Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is a unique software-first approach to IT operations, backed by a set of related best practices. System reliability, which is regarded as the most fundamental component of any product, is the primary emphasis of SRE.
When the system is sufficiently dependable, SRE begins to develop new features and goods. It also pays careful attention to automating operational chores, tracking results, and improving performance noticeably.
2.DevOps
Patrick Debois coined the phrase “DevOps,” which stands for “Development and Operations,” in 2009. Nothing more than a collection of procedures used during the whole service life cycle, between development and operations. It operates on the same tenets as SRE:
- Application of engineering techniques to operations work, assessment of outcomes, and conviction in automation as an alternative to manual labour. However, its scope is far wider.
- It initially manifested as a mindset and culture that was vague about how its principles should be applied.
- It’s sometimes viewed as an inference of the primary SRE techniques to enable a wider variety of companies to adopt them.
Similarities and Differences Between DevOps and SREs
DevOps and SRE vary primarily in that whereas SRE discusses how something can be done, DevOps focuses on what needs to be done.
Representing similarities and differences between the two
1.Reduce Organisational Silos
Big companies typically have a siloed organisational structure with many teams operating within it. Because each team is designing the product in a distinct sequence and isn’t interacting with the rest of the organisation, they are unable to understand the overall large picture. This may result in annoyance, a deployment hiccup, and expensive delays.
The goal of DevOps is to break down organisational silos and make it clear that no other teams are not affiliated with any other businesses.
SREs focus more on how to include everyone in the conversation than they do on the number of silos within the organisation. The organisation as a whole uses the same methods and resources to accomplish this, which facilitates sharing ownership across everyone.
2.Accept Failure as Normal
DevOps tackles this by accepting that failure is inevitable and that it can aid in the teams’ learning and development.
Even if there are mistakes or failures that can be learned from, SREs do not want them.
3.Implement Gradual Change
Companies want to work more quickly than they did in the past. They desire frequent releases, ongoing product updates, and team member engagement with emerging and pertinent technologies.
Changes should be made with care and gradually, according to DevOps.
SREs and DevOps both strive for speed, however research indicates that SREs incur less failure cost than DevOps.
4.Leverage Tooling and Automation
Automation is, as we have previously established, the main component of both DevOps and SREs. As much automation and tooling as is practical should be included until it starts to benefit developers and operations by eliminating manual activities. This is known as tooling and automation.
5.Measure Everything
The main distinction lies in the fact that SREs adopt the perspective of operations as a software issue, which prompted them to establish prescriptive metrics for accessibility, labour, uptime, and outages.
It also guarantees that there is consensus within the organisation on how to measure dependability and what to do in the event that availability deviates from expectations.
SRE vs. DevOps: key differences
The primary distinction is that DevOps teams develop software and then improve it. SRE teams, on the other hand, work with software that has already been developed to make sure that it performs correctly and interacts with other programs and systems. Although there are several key differences between SRE and DevOps, they also have many commonalities.
Deeper differences exist between the SRE and DevOps methodologies, as well as in how they approach work fundamentally. Whereas the SRE method is more practice-oriented, the DevOps approach is more conceptual.
DevOps’ primary goal is to remove the obstacles separating the development and operations teams into two distinct entities in order to enable quicker and better work. In this way, DevOps is guided by concepts rather than methods, and its units aim to provide the best product possible through the steady implementation of innovations.
DevOps environment vs. SRE environment
Another distinction between SRE and DevOps culture is the focus on dismantling organisational silos. As an engineer in a DevOps team, you will interact with a wide range of colleagues. Alongside you will be testers, QA specialists, UX designers, and more. The top DevOps engineers have strong interpersonal skills and perform effectively in group environments. Once you’ve established yourself solidly in a DevOps team, you could be able to contribute to many product areas.
SRE, on the other hand, is more methodical and pragmatic. SRE teams seek to maintain the functionality of current products rather than concentrating on developing new ones. They do not view issues as chances for improvement. Rather, they search for mistakes that could jeopardise the dependability and availability of the service. They move swiftly to correct any mistakes once they are discovered. The goal of the SRE ethos is to increase usability and efficiency.
As an SRE engineer, you will work with other software engineers in a team that has comparable, but usually not identical, skill sets. You’ll be surrounded by others who share your views and who often tackle issues in comparable ways. You will still work together, but the most of your day will be devoted to coding automations that maintain the functionality of websites or goods. The main responsibility of an SRE engineer is issue solving.
Conclusion Although there are certain fundamental principles that both emphasise, their work focuses on managing the operations lifecycle through SRE and the application lifecycle through DevOps. Despite this, they both serve to link the Development and Operation teams and have comparable duties. Additionally, they have the same objective in mind: improving product stability and the release cycle. To learn more about DevOps, check out the online DevOps course.
