Introduction to DevOps #1. What is DevOps
Source: Dev.to
Short Intro (Why I’m Writing This)
I’m currently learning DevOps and decided to learn in public by documenting my journey.
This blog is part of my DevOps 101 series, where I’m learning DevOps step by step from scratch.
The series is not written by an expert — it’s a beginner learning out loud, sharing:
- what I understand,
- what confuses me,
- and what I learn along the way.
The goal is to build consistency, clarity, and invite discussion.
What This Blog Covers
In this post I’ll cover:
- What DevOps actually means
- What DevOps is not (common misconceptions)
- Why DevOps exists
- How DevOps thinks about software delivery
- DevOps as culture, not a job title
- A simple mental model to understand DevOps
This blog focuses only on fundamentals, no tools yet.
GitHub Repository
All my notes, diagrams, and learning resources for this series live in a public repository. The repo is updated as I continue learning.
Learning Notes
1. What Is DevOps?
At the most basic level:
DevOps = Development + Operations
It’s a way of building, deploying, and running software together, instead of working in silos.
DevOps is about:
- collaboration
- automation
- faster feedback
- reliable software delivery
That’s the core idea.
2. A Slightly Better Definition
DevOps is a set of practices, culture, and mindset that helps teams:
- build software faster
- deploy more frequently
- reduce failures
- recover quickly when things break
Important points:
- DevOps is not a single tool
- DevOps is not just CI/CD
- DevOps is not one person’s job
3. What DevOps Is NOT (Very Important)
Common confusions cleared:
- ❌ a programming language
- ❌ a tool like Docker or Jenkins
- ❌ a single engineer doing everything
- ❌ just writing YAML files
DevOps is about how teams work, not just what tools they use.
4. Life Before DevOps (The Problem)
Traditionally, teams worked like this:
- Developers wrote code
- Operations deployed and maintained it
Dev and Ops worked separately, throwing problems over the wall. Typical issues:
- “Works on my machine”
- Slow releases
- Manual deployments
- Blame culture
- Late‑night production failures
This gap created friction and delays.
5. Why DevOps Came Into Existence
As software demand grew:
- Users expected faster updates
- Companies wanted frequent releases
- Downtime became expensive
DevOps emerged to:
- break silos between teams
- automate repetitive work
- make releases predictable and safe
- improve communication
DevOps is a response to pain, not a trend.
6. DevOps as a Culture
At its heart, DevOps promotes:
- shared responsibility
- ownership
- trust between teams
- continuous improvement
Instead of “That’s not my job,” DevOps encourages “We own this system together.” This mindset shift is more important than any tool.
7. A Simple DevOps Mental Model
Think of DevOps as a loop:
- Plan
- Build
- Test
- Deploy
- Monitor
- Improve
The loop repeats continuously. The goal is to:
- shorten the loop
- reduce errors
- learn faster from feedback
8. Why DevOps Matters
DevOps helps organizations achieve:
- faster delivery
- better stability
- happier teams
- more reliable systems
Modern software companies rely on DevOps principles to survive at scale.
9. Real‑World Example (High Level)
When you use an app like Instagram:
- Code changes are deployed multiple times a day
- Bugs are detected quickly
- Systems scale automatically
- Failures are handled gracefully
DevOps practices make this possible behind the scenes.
10. Where Tools Fit (Just a Preview)
Tools support DevOps, but they are not DevOps.
Examples:
- Git → collaboration
- CI/CD → automation
- Docker → consistency
- Cloud → scalability
- Monitoring → feedback
We’ll cover these later in the series.
11. Why Understanding DevOps Fundamentals Matters
Before learning tools, it’s critical to understand:
- why DevOps exists
- what problems it solves
- what mindset it promotes
Without this foundation:
- tools feel confusing
- learning feels fragmented
- concepts don’t connect
Key Learnings & Takeaways
- DevOps is a culture and mindset, not just tools.
- It exists to solve real problems in software delivery.
- DevOps focuses on collaboration and automation.
- Tools enable DevOps, but don’t define it.
- Understanding fundamentals comes before tooling.
If you faced any issues or have questions, feel free to comment 🙂
Feedback & Discussion
I’d love your feedback! If you notice something incorrect, have a better explanation, or suggestions to improve my understanding, please comment below. I’m happy to learn and correct mistakes.
Support the Learning Journey
If you find these notes useful, consider giving the GitHub repo a star—it really motivates me to keep learning and sharing publicly.
Stay Updated (Twitter / X)
I share learning updates, notes, and progress regularly.
What’s Next
In the next post I’ll cover:
- Why DevOps Was Needed (Problems with Traditional Software Delivery)
I’ll also continue updating the GitHub repo as I progress.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! If you’re also learning DevOps, feel free to follow along, share your experience, or drop questions in the comments.