The DevOps approach favors performance optimization.
DevOps is an acronym of the English language composed of the terms development (which translates as "development" ) and operations (referring to "operations" ). The concept refers to the tools, practices and principles that enable the integration and automation of the processes carried out for software development .
It can be said that the DevOps methodology aims to optimize collaboration between teams dedicated to programming and those that execute information technology (IT) operations. In this way, the quality of implementation is increased and times are reduced.
The story
The notion of DevOps emerged in 2008 . Around that time, the lack of integration between software development and IT operations began to be pointed out. Until then, those in charge of writing the code did not intervene in its implementation and maintenance.
With this software development model, there were departments that acted independently and in isolation: on the one hand the developers and on the other hand, those responsible for IT operations. Little by little, various specialists began to promote a new approach and thus the idea of DevOps emerged.
Scalability is one of the benefits that the DevOps model provides.
DevOps Features
The DevOps culture is based on the formation of a team made up of IT operations experts and programmers. These professionals work together and in a coordinated manner throughout the entire product life cycle: that is, from the development stage and the testing phase to the implementation instance and the operations themselves.
In this framework, the DevOps team uses tools to automate tests and promote continuous integration ( CI ) and continuous delivery ( CD ). Infrastructure as code ( IaC ) and microservices architecture are other DevOps practices.
This way of working improves the ability to provide services and applications quickly and ensuring quality. In this way, the organization that works with DevOps teams is more competitive and meets the needs of its clients more efficiently compared to firms that opt for the traditional software development method.
The DevOps philosophy accelerates incident response.
Life cycle
The life cycle contemplated in the DevOps philosophy consists of eight stages . In all of them, which bring together all the capabilities, procedures and instruments needed for development and operations, the teams cooperate with each other and communicate for correct coordination.
- Discovery : It consists of the exploration and organization tasks to carry out the project. The so-called agile methodology is usually applied.
- Planning : Based on the agile methodology, work is divided to optimize quality and speed.
- Compilation : Versions are managed and compiled, generally with a tool that automates these tasks (such as Git ).
- Testing : A shared repository can be used for the development of automated tests.
- Deployment : Features are released periodically through automatic deployment.
- Operation : At this point the provision of services to the client is specified, implementing, configuring and maintaining the IT infrastructure.
- Observation : Any incidents are identified to resolve them quickly.
- Continuous feedback : This phase includes evaluation of reports and feedback by DevOps teams to achieve improvements in future releases.
Advantages of DevOps
The DevOps model brings many advantages to companies. It makes it easier to move quickly through tasks, which helps you respond quickly to customers and adapt to changes in the market. Likewise, it helps increase the frequency of new versions , a feature that promotes faster bug resolution and greater innovation.
The ability to operate at scale, increased reliability through continuous delivery alternatives, and improved collaboration between operations professionals and developers are other benefits of the DevOps philosophy .
The importance of security
To achieve the full potential of the DevOps culture , it is essential to pay attention to security throughout the lifecycle. The method that considers computer security to be a responsibility shared by IT development and operations teams is known as DevSecOps .
The concept of DevSecOps involves analyzing the security of infrastructure and applications from the beginning. To avoid delays in the workflow, it is possible to use the automation of protection tasks.
The vision that involves applying protection resources both in the development area and in the implementation of tests, evaluations and the rest of the actions that follow production is mentioned as shift left and shift right .
DevSecOps , in short, proposes to address security in a comprehensive manner, not only as a safeguard around data and applications. With this approach, long cycles are avoided by verifying safety conditions automatically and constantly.