How to become Site Reliability Engineer?


1. What is a site reliability engineer?

In the past, the phrase "reliability engineer" referred to a more open-ended position that, regardless of the type of product, was in charge of overseeing the systems and procedures involved in its creation.

Separately, as computer technology expanded in the 2000s, so did the size of the associated daily tasks, which gave rise to a brand−new profession in reliability engineering: the site reliability engineer. The management of computer networks, websites, and software development processes then gave rise to this position.

Similar to a DevOps engineer in that both manage current operations, a site reliability engineer also creates software to enhance user experience while adopting a more immersive approach to quality assurance for mostly automated systems. Site reliability engineering serves as a link between information technology and software development in this way.

2. What is role of a site reliability engineer?

A site reliability engineer may work in conjunction with various tech departments, depending on the organization, sometimes as a programmer and other times more as a systems analyst. In light of this crossover, some typical duties for a site responsibility engineer include 

  • Building software to simplify (or automate) daily tasks

    The primary goal of site reliability engineering is to automate as much manual labour as is practical. Because of this, the SRE develops, maintains, and upgrades software to ensure that the IT department runs efficiently and with little room for human mistake.

  • IT support services implementation and documentation

    An SRE not only responds to calls for assistance in resolving system problems as they occur, but they also keep a log of the problems they encounter, their remedies, and any best practices they come across. The SRE's objective is to identify the processes that are working, need improvement, and anything else that could require attention in order to further simplify procedures.

  • Identifying and resolving issues with support escalation

    A site reliability engineer is well-versed in IT problems and their solutions, which enables them to handle complex problems as well as try to avoid new ones in the future.

  • Taking action after resolving incident reports

    Once more, a site reliability engineer not only resolves problems but also returns to address the outcomes. They approach debugging holistically, obtaining data that may be utilized to further automate procedures.

  • Collaborating together with software developers

    In addition to working closely with software developers to assure other performance factors like security and maintainability, a site reliability engineer focuses on effectiveness and solutions.

3. Are you considering working as a site reliability engineer?

An effective site reliability engineer is well-organized, has a systematic way of thinking, and has a troubleshooting approach. A site reliability engineer's main objective is to have systems function as autonomously as possible. They are a hybrid of a systems administrator and a DevOps engineer.

This job also has a strong focus on technology. You should generally have no trouble with programming and advanced math if you want to have the best chance of succeeding in this career.

A site reliability engineer is usually someone who is interested by both knowing how software functions and considering how it may function more effectively. It's possible that you're already on the SRE route if you've thought about pursuing a degree in computer science or programming.

4. Skill sets required to succeed as an SRE

  • Knowledge of Development and Coding − These skills are essential for automating operations and interacting with technology.

  • Understanding of Operating Systems − SRE engineers must work with servers on a huge scale, which might be demanding if you don't have a strong operating systems background.

  • Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) are processes that are not just used by DevOps developers. SRE engineers should be able to create a CI/CD pipeline from scratch.

  • How to implement version control tools − Understanding code versioning is essential when working in a team, especially while coding. So, you must add lean version control systems to your skill set if you want to work as a site reliability engineer.

  • How to utilize monitoring tools − For SRE engineers, monitoring tools are a lifesaver. Without using monitoring tools, system performance and problems cannot be traced.

  • Knowledge of databases − For an engineer to grasp what a data model is, why data models are important, and how the data model should influence your choice of database and your service design, you must have a working knowledge of databases.

  • Applications that are "cloud-native" − Having a solid understanding of these programmes can help you complete your work more quickly. SRE engineers need to be familiar with container applications like Docker and Kubernetes.

  • Distributed computing − Because SRE engineers must work with big, distributed systems, it is essential that they have a working knowledge of how distributed computing operates and a grasp of the principles of microservices.

  • Working together through communication − As an SRE engineer, you must interact and communicate with a variety of stakeholders, including software engineers who are working on the same project as you, the chief executive officer, the chief technical officer, or your management. Any major incidents that may be occurring or incidents that may have an impact on the application must also be reported.

Conclusion

Being a software engineer who is considering a career in SRE or a newcomer who wants to start career in SRE. SRE is a very young field, and it's continuously developing today. In general, the SRE may be a good fit for you if you like working with distributed systems and creating dependable platforms for engineers to create. The majority of SRE issues are open-ended and need constant movement in the right direction. There are times when you could go through days or even weeks without creating a single line of code. You ought to be able to accept that. There is a lot I don't know yet in my little adventure as an SRE. I'm eager to see what the future holds, though.

Updated on: 10-Nov-2022

643 Views

Kickstart Your Career

Get certified by completing the course

Get Started
Advertisements