DevOps VS SRE: Is There Really A Difference?

NovelVista

Last updated 09/06/2022

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DevOps and SRE. Is there really a difference? 

If yes, then what?

As you know, DevOps and SRE both are pretty new frameworks. And it’s not new that whenever there is a new technology in the market the whole internet goes gaga over it which somehow puts IT, professionals, into doubts, and confusion. Something like that is happening since 2003 when Benjamin Treynor took his first step to set up the SRE team for Google. It was the very beginning of the tug of war in the IT Industry - DevOps vs. SRE. 

And so the question mark keeps getting prolonged: What should the organizations implement? Which way to go? 

In this blog, we are going to help you find out the answer to that question, by helping you understand the differences between DevOps and SRE.

But first, let us tell you about both of them in brief.

What is DevOps?

DevOps was designed to help IT organizations to move quickly and perform better. DevOps team basically doesn’t code or solve anything at their level because they are not software developers. Their role is to raise the problem and give it to the development team to solve. Unless it’s absolutely necessary DevOps team leaves the production environment untouched. The role is more focused on bridging the problematic gap between development and production. 

In a nutshell, DevOps is the combination of the excellent coders and operations handlers as a  team and has hands-on experience with a variety of automated tools that are process-focused.

What is Site Reliability Engineering?

A few years back Google came to the realization that the R&D and Operation team are pulling in opposite directions. The reason for tension between the two teams was due to the different backgrounds, skill sets, incentives, and metrics. The operation team was more focused on keeping production as stable as possible whereas the R&D team was focused on innovation and new features. To finish this tug of war Benjamin Treynor was given the responsibility to change the outlook toward production management and that’s how the SRE position was created. 

SRE is the team is basically composed of 50% of software engineers and 50% of the system administrators. Site Reliability Engineers were able to integrate easily with the development team which helped in automation testing and perfection. As SRE’s were having knowledge of the software they were also able to solve problems and code at first hand up to some level.

Differences Between DevOps vs Site Reliability Engineering:

• Considering DevOps as a team activity and can only be performed using some tools when given the right training on DevOps to be applied in the process But SRE involves producing high-end results to be derived by the software professionals. 
• Another streamlined difference between the two is a DevOps specifically knows about the implementation part, i.e. the technicalities of coding and the exact area of improvement. And the SRE professional would make sure that the live functionality of the platform is working well and in coordination with the set standards.
• The focal point for SRE is checking on the parameters of availability of systems, how they are performing, and specifically its scalability. While  DevOps functionalities can sometimes be performed by the SRE itself where the prime concern of the company is on the tech mechanism part. 
• The DevOps performance cannot be considered as a mainframe for the anticipated results, some SRE inputs are necessary to get those results.  Both the terms are not contradictory rather one is assisting in completing the activities of the other. 
• SRE is the add-on to the codes that the developers usually generate. The reason is the Developer’s code inefficiency cannot be tossed initially and later on can be a big crisis to the company and would involve a lot of time,  again. While implementing SRE to the projects, improved results are seen in the process. 

Which Is Better, DevOps Or SRE?

SRE is the improvised version of what DevOps is from a company’s perspective.  While DevOps manage the delivery of the assigned project based on the priory measured metrics, SRE can provide solutions after discussing with the senior panel about the probable requirements that the company will have in the near future and then navigate through the SRE techniques to achieve those. 

So,  it’s totally up to you however keeping few things in mind while choosing the right training for yourself will give more clarity. For example, think about the role you want to handle. If you want to be involved in new features and first-level coding then SRE will be the best option for you. If you want to be involved only in operations then DevOps will the right choice. Actually, when you take a look at Jd for DevOps and SRE on job portals you will not find much difference. 

Few organizations like Netflix have implemented SRE but that doesn’t mean the whole IT industry is going to so. Especially mid-level organizations and start-ups are still sticking to DevOps. For IT professionals there is no need to worry about the future Job market. There will be equal opportunities for DevOps as well as SRE. 

Conclusion:

There are a huge number of training and certification centers present both offline and online. Thorough research of the perks and further career scope is required to get enrolled into any. Also, the aforementioned points create a difference in the cost of both the courses, making the SRE certificate course cost higher and get you to attain a good career henceforth.  

Based on your bandwidth, choose a platform, and make a difference!

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