DevOps Roadmap
Are you interested in joining any operations role in IT, like DevOps Engineer or Site Reliability Engineer? This roadmap takes you on a path to learn and master DevOps.
DevOps Roadmap
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To kick-start your learning journey for any operations role, first you need to learn and practice different programming languages. Make sure to get well-versed with a few programming languages. Though you may not need to write code as DevOps Engineer, you may need to review and debug it.
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Python is a general-purpose programming language designed by Guido Van Rossum in 1991. Task automation, data analysis, and data visualization are some primary applications of Python that make it an ideal language to use in DevOps.
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C++ is an object-oriented programming language designed as an extension to the C language by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1985. For writing highly-optimized and high-performance code, C++ is an ideal programming language.
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Java is a high-level, class-based programming language developed by James Goslings in 1995. The Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA) feature of Java makes it more popular among developers. Many platforms and companies leverage Java for creating solutions, and having Java in your skillset is beneficial.
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Ruby is a high-level, general-purpose programming language developed by Yukihiro Matsumoto in 1995. It is an ideal language for web development, along with infrastructure management. The flexibility Ruby offers while writing code makes it a great choice to use for DevOps infrastructure.
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JavaScript is a scripting language and one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web (WWW) developed by Brendan Eich in 1995. As it enables the development of the client-side as well as server-side, it has a lot of use in the DevOps environment.
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Go or Golang is quite a new language as compared to others developed by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson in 2009. It offers excellent flexibility that the DevOps environments need, and hence, is very useful in DevOps.
Operating systems is another significant technology stack that any professional in DevOps needs to work with. They play a vital role in running the servers that host deployed applications. Linux, Unix, and Windows are three popular operating systems you must consider learning.
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Linux is a group of Unix-like, open-source operating systems developed in 1991. It is based on the Linux kernel, which is an operating system kernel developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991. This operating system is for computers, servers, mobile devices, mainframes, and embedded devices.
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Unix is a family of multi-tasking and multi-user computer operating systems developed in 1969 by some professionals at AT&T lab. It was one of the first operating systems written in the C language. In addition, it is widely used in PCs, servers, and mobile devices.
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Windows is one of the most popular and widespread operating systems developed by Microsoft. It is a graphical user interface (GUI), having the two most common editions, Windows Home and Windows Professional. It is used in a wide range of devices, including PCs, mobile devices, tablets, servers, and game consoles.
As a developer, it is essential to possess a profound knowledge of the basic concepts of OS. You may encounter a lot of issues while developing applications that may be due to operating systems. So, it is important to understand the core concepts and working of OS.
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A process is simply any program written in a text file and is currently in execution. It is generally divided into four parts, namely stack, heap, text, and data. Process management is a systematic approach to creating, scheduling, and terminating processes and avoiding a deadlock.
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A terminal, often called a console or command line, allows users to automate and accomplish different tasks on computer systems without a graphical user interface (GUI). It lets users send simple text commands to their computer systems and perform various tasks, like copying a file or navigating through a particular directory.
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Operating system virtualization is the last type of virtualization in cloud computing. In OS virtualization, the kernel makes it possible for the existence of multiple isolated user-space instances. Such instances are called virtual environments, virtual kernels, containers, or zones.
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A file system is at the core of any operating system. It refers to the data structure for storing data or information on storage devices, such as floppy disks or hard drives, and making the retrieval of data easy for users. Each OS has its own file system, but all of them have the same features.
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Memory management is the ability of an operating system to manage the primary memory. While executing any task, the processes move back and forth between the primary memory and the disk. The primary objective of memory management is to efficiently utilize the main memory.
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For two-way communication, there is a need for two end-points. Out of the two endpoints, the socket is the one that links two different programs running on a network. In OS, sockets act as a link between two processes.
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A network protocol is a set of standard rules that defines how the data transmission between different devices, such as routers, switches, servers, and end-points, connected in the same network should take place.
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A thread is the smallest unit of processing that takes place in an OS. Simply, multiple threads make up a process. The execution of multiple threads concurrently is called concurrency.
Version control is the practice of tracking and managing the changes made to the source code. To do so, a lot of version control systems are available out there. For any developer, having sound knowledge of the version control system is a must.
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Git is one of the most popular and widely employed version control systems. It enables multiple programmers to work on a single project and collaborate effectively. This open-source version control system can manage any size of a project, from small to large.
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GitHub is an internet hosting provider for software development and the Git version control system. It is responsible for offering the distributed version control and source code management feature of Git. You can your team members can work on a single project from anywhere in the world using GitHub.
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GitLab is a DevOps software package that enables developers to develop, secure, and operate software applications in a single application. In other words, this software packet lets developers automate the builds, integration, and verification of their code.
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BitBucket is a Git repository management solution or Git-based source code repository hosting service managed by Atlassian. You can easily manage all your repositories in one place using BitBucket.
A server is simply a computer program or device that provides services to other computer programs and their users. In other words, a computer system on which the server program runs is referred to as a server. For any role in DevOps, it is essential to know about a server, how to manage it, network protocols, security, and many other networking concepts.
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Linux server is a server operating system built on top of the open-source Linux operating system.
A Unix server is a medium to a large-sized computer system in a network that runs under the Unix operating system.
Windows server is basically a set of server operating systems that Microsoft has been developing since 2003.
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Terminal commands are simple text commands that you can provide to your computer system to perform various tasks. You should have a better grasp of these commands in order to manage servers.
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A network or computer network is a combination of two or more computers interconnected with the aim to share resources, exchange files, or communicate.
A network protocol is a set of pre-defined rules that determines how the communication between computer systems within a network should take place.
Network security is a set of rules, practices, or policies that organizations adopt with the intent to prevent, detect, and monitor threats to a computer network.
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A firewall is a network security device that controls the flow of traffic to and from a network.
A proxy server is a server application that offers a gateway between the internet and the end-users.
Caching refers to using cache or temporary memory to store the copies of files in order to access them quickly.
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A web server is simply a computer system that hosts multiple websites and makes them run. There are various web servers out there that are paid and free. Some popular web servers that you learn about are Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), Lighttpd, Jigsaw Server, and Sun Java System.
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery. It is an approach to continuously delivering a particular software application to customers by introducing automation in the phases of the development process. In short, CI/CD involves doing multiple changes to the codebase simultaneously.
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Jenkins is an open-source automation server for building, testing, and deploying applications. It also facilitates continuous integration and continuous delivery. This server makes it easy for developers to integrate changes to their software and quickly obtain a fresh build.
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Travis CI is a hosted continuous integration service that lets developers build and test their software applications hosted on BitBucket and GitHub. It was the first service to offer the services to open-source projects and still, it continues.
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Bamboo is an automation server for continuous integration that enables developers to build, document, integrate, and test the source code automatically and make an application ready for deployment. In addition, it offers built-in deployment support, built-in Git branch workflows, build agent management, and automated merging.
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Azure DevOps Server provides a collection of collaborative software development tools that are hosted on-premises. It offers version control, automated builds, project management, reporting, requirements management, and testing and release management functionalities.
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Teamcity is a build management and continuous integration server developed by JetBrains in Java. It enables software developers to build and test applications in an automated manner. It simultaneously runs builds on different platforms and environments.
Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual version of something, such as an operating system (OS), server, storage device, or network resources, rather than the original one.
A container is a unit of software that combines the application code and all its dependencies so that the application can run in every environment.
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Docker is a software platform that enables developers to build, test, and deploy applications quickly. The primary idea behind Docker is it packages software into containers, along with everything it requires to run, such as libraries, code, system tools, etc., irrespective of the environment.
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Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration tool that helps developers to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It automates the operational tasks of container management.
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VirtualBox is an open-source software that lets developers virtualize the x86 computer architecture. Basically, it acts as a hypervisor that creates a virtual machine on which developers can run another operating system. The OS on which VirtualBox runs is the ‘host OS’, while the OS that runs on VirtualBox is the ‘guest OS.’
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LXC stands for Linux Containers. It is an OS-based Linux virtualization technology that lets developers create and run multiple isolated Linux virtual environments (VE) on a single Linux kernel.
In DevOps methodology, monitoring is the practice of observing the applications under development and their underlying infrastructure for any signs of trouble or unwanted events.
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Infrastructure monitoring is the process of collecting data based on the health and performance from web servers, containers, databases, and other backend components in the technology stack.
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Application monitoring is the process where the developers collect the log data to keep track of the availability, bugs, resource use, and changes in the performance of applications under development that may have an effect on user experience (UX).
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Log monitoring is the process that IT administrators leverage to analyze, organize, and understand a network’s performance.
A cloud provider is any third-party organization that provides cloud computing-based services and solutions to other organizations or individuals. Cloud providers offer these services or solutions on-demand and on a pay-as-you-go basis.
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AWS stands for Amazon Web Services, which is one of the most widely adopted cloud platforms offered by Amazon. It offers more than 200 fully-fledged cloud computing services, which are more than any other cloud provider. It combines IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
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Azure or Microsoft Azure is the second-most widely adopted cloud platform offered by Microsoft. It provides a wide range of cloud computing services, including computer, analytics, networking, and storage. It is a combination of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and serverless computing.
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Google Cloud is a cloud computing platform managed by Google, which provides a set of cloud computing services that run on the same infrastructure as the other internal products of Google work. Some popular cloud services of Google Cloud include storage, networking, compute, and big data.
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Digital Ocean is a cloud computing vendor offering an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform. Though Digital Ocean offers various services, its primary services focus on application and website hosting.
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Linode is a cloud hosting vendor managed by Linode, LLC. that provides virtual private servers. It provides various cloud services, including compute, networking, storage, and management tools.
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MonoVM is a one-stop solution for all your web hosting needs. It provides dedicated servers, VPS hosting, web hosting, and SSL. Also, you can get a domain name for your websites here.
After learning all the essentials, you need to practice them. Also, you can consider pursuing a certification that showcases your DevOps skills and increases your credibility and chances of getting hired.
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The Docker Certified Associate (DCA) is a Docker certification that intends to educate you on various topics, including Docker Hub, Docker Images, Docker Swarm, Docker Containers, Docker Engine, Docker Daemon, and Docker Storage. You get this certification after passing an exam consisting of real-world questions designed by expert DevOps Practitioners.
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Kubernetes certifications validate your skills in using Kubernetes. There are five popular Kubernetes certifications out there, namely Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS), Certified Kubernetes Service Provider (KCSP), and Certified Kubernetes Conformance Program.
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AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional is a certification that validates professionals for their abilities in automating the testing and deployment of AWS infrastructure and applications. The certification exam is for individuals with two to three years of experience managing, operating, and monitoring AWS infrastructure.
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Azure DevOps Solution Certification exam requires individuals to possess in-depth knowledge of Agile practices, proficiency in designing and implementing DevOps practices, and expertise in streamlining the delivery of products or services.
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Microsoft offers a free DevOps training course that intends to help individuals learn all the basics of DevOps.
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