DevOps: Learning new technologies an interactive guide

It isn't uncommon for DevOps engineers to be working towards mastering their skills. However, one of the significant aspects of being a DevOps engineer is how rapidly it requires learning new technologies.

This article will discuss how you can learn new technologies and stay up-to-date to enhance your skills as a DevOps engineer.

Advance your knowledge of a programming language

If you're a DevOps engineer, you already know several different programming languages. To learn the programming language, read about some of its advanced features so you can use them in your work as a DevOps engineer. This can help you improve your productivity as a developer and improve your career opportunities as well.

Learn the automation language

As a DevOps Engineer, you will be responsible for automating the deployment process using automation tools. In addition to being familiar with the technologies you use, you must know how to write code in a language like Python or Shell script. Once you've mastered the fundamentals of DevOps, it's time to dive into the world of automation. There are many different tools available for automating your infrastructure and deployments. These include:

• Docker
• Puppet
• Chef
• Ansible

DevOps roles involve automation and knowing which automation language suits your needs is essential

Learn to use one of the configuration management systems and one orchestration tool You should be proficient in using at least one configuration management system (such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef). Additionally, you should also learn one orchestration tool (such as Jenkins or SaltStack).

They are used to manage and deploy applications. They help you install, configure and maintain your application across different environments. In addition, you can use them to install new versions of your application when they become available.

Configuration management systems

As a DevOps engineer, here are some suggestions of technologies that you may want to learn as a Configuration management system:

Ansible is an automation tool that allows you to write playbooks (scripts) describing your infrastructure in code. If a change needs implementation in your infrastructure, then you can use Ansible to automate this process using playbooks rather than manually performing tasks on each server individually.

Chef: Similar to Ansible but with its own unique set of features and functionality. Use Chef to automate configuration management tasks in your environment and provide repeatable configuration across your infrastructure.

Orchestration tools

Orchestration tools handle the details of deploying applications from code repositories, running tests against those deployments, and taking action if tests fail. It automates the process of deploying applications to multiple servers at once.

Learn Docker and Kubernetes to get familiar with containerization technologies

The next step is learning about containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.

Containerization makes it easier to deploy and manage applications across multiple environments, such as staging or production.

Docker containers are lightweight virtual machines that include everything needed to run an application. These include libraries or other dependencies. Kubernetes is an open-source platform for managing containerized applications at scale across multiple hosts or even clusters of hosts (such as on AWS).

Get your hands on cloud computing technology

The DevOps engineer is the one who helps to bridge the gap between software developers and IT operations. But, this role is more challenging than it sounds. The DevOps engineer must be familiar with both development and procedures, so they must understand how to write code and manage servers and other infrastructure.

Cloud computing allows you to quickly spin up new instances of any application without having to worry about the underlying hardware or operating system. This will teach you how to configure virtual machines using automation tools like Ansible, Chef, or Puppet.

Some resources for learning new technologies as a DevOps engineer

Google Compute Engine - Cloud service offering virtual machines and containers on Google's infrastructure platform.

Amazon Web Services - Provides a wide range of cloud services, including computer instances (EC2), storage (S3), database services (RDS), and more.

Microsoft Azure - Offers virtual machines hosted in Microsoft data centers and an application platform (for example, web apps).

Learn how to monitor applications and use log management tools

Monitoring is one of the essential skills for DevOps engineers. Monitoring tools like Zabbix and Nagios gives you insight into what's happening on your servers and applications. You can use these tools to find out where performance bottlenecks are and when they occur, so you can fix them before they cost you time and money.

Log management tools such as Graylog help DevOps engineers analyze log data over their infrastructure. Logs contain helpful information about how apps are running, including errors and downtime. By analyzing logs regularly, DevOps engineers can find problems before they affect customers or cause downtime; then, they can fix them before they happen again.

Explore GitHub

As a DevOps engineer, the tools you work with can be as important as your job. While there are many options for developers to choose from when learning new technologies, some have become more popular than others.

GitHub is one of these tools. It is a social coding website where developers can share their code and collaborate on projects. The site has become an important part of any developer's toolbox and has even been used by companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft for internal collaboration on projects.

GitHub allows users to search through code repositories to find what they're looking for. Also, you can see how many people have contributed to a project and how many times others have downloaded it on the platform. This makes it easier for developers to find open-source projects they can contribute to or learn from.

Stay up to date

Being aware of the changing landscape, new trends, and developments in the field is essential to stay up-to-date. You can keep ahead of the latest developments in your industry by You can keep up with industry peers by following them on social media accounts or blogs focusing on new products.

You can build your skills as a DevOps professional by joining a community of people who are already experts in them. Here are some of the best places to start:

DevOps community Slack channels. Slack is a popular messaging app for teams that offers group chat rooms, private messaging, and other collaboration tools. You can join hundreds of DevOps-related Slack channels, such as DevOpsChat, DevopsNinjas, and DevopsSecrets. These channels are great places to ask questions or discuss ideas with others who share your interests.

You can also subscribe to DevOps-related channels for in-depth tutorials and analysis of the latest trends.

And many more ways, like podcasts, newsletters, and so on.

Conclusion

Learning new technologies is an integral part of the job for any software developer or engineer.

DevOps has many aspects, but a DevOps engineer needs to have a technical background. In addition, IT professionals must constantly keep learning to deal with the fast-paced changes in their field.

New tools are being developed all the time, as well as new ones. To improve your practical skills, you should rely on proven information sources and find the ones that resonate with you most.

If you are interested in getting more brief information then read my blog Platform Engineering vs. DevOps: A Synergistic Approach to Software Delivery

Hi! I am Safoor Safdar a Senior SRE. Read More. Don't hesitate to reach out! You can find me on Linkedin, or simply shoot me an email at me@safoorsafdar.com