Dev and Ops

Hey Netsuki, what’s DevOps?

You’re asking ME?! Leave it to me — I’m gonna be the clearest explainer in the whole world!

Miko, you listen too! Metaphor mode, GO!

…cutting onions, nya

Okay, first — Dev! Dev means developers. The people who build the software.

In metaphor terms — Dev is a navigator.

They sail through uncharted seas, chasing islands nobody’s found yet. “What if this feature existed?” “What if this service was real?” — they build things in their heads that don’t exist in the world yet.

…stir until golden, nya

Or maybe they’re chefs writing brand-new recipes. Picking ingredients, deciding steps, writing code line by line going “this should work!” — drawing a map of an island that’s never been charted.

Dev’s whole world is possibility. Turning “not yet” into “now it exists” (≧∇≦)

…mix ground beef with egg and breadcrumbs. knead, nya. press out the air, nya

Next — Ops! Ops means operations. The people who keep the finished software running.

In metaphor terms — Ops is a lighthouse keeper.

They keep the light burning even when storms hit. Even if no ships come all night, they polish the lamp at the same time every single day. Nobody’s watching — but if that light goes dark, somewhere out there, a ship goes down.

…check the color, nya. high heat for the crust, then drop to low, nya

They wake up at 3am when the server goes down. They read logs, spot warning signs, fix things before they break.

Ops’s whole world is stability. Keeping “it exists” as “it keeps existing.” Unglamorous, thankless, invisible — but the second they’re gone, everything stops.

…sauce, nya. ketchup, worcestershire, red wine. simmer it down, nya

HERE’s the thing! Back in the day, there was a wall between Dev and Ops.

It was called the “Wall of Confusion.”

The navigator bursts in — “WE FOUND IT! A new island! Here’s the map!!” — and shoves it through a hole in the wall. The lighthouse keeper on the other side stares at a chart of somewhere they’ve never heard of, completely lost. “…what is this place. where am I even supposed to build a lighthouse here?”

…taste, nya

…needs salt, nya. adding more, nya

It goes the other way too. The lighthouse keeper says “these waters are rough, make the lighthouse stronger.” But the navigator’s already thinking “gotta find the NEXT island” and won’t listen.

Dev: “done when it ships.” Ops: “starts when I receive it.” Same thing, completely different view.

So! In 2009, in Ghent, Belgium — a guy named Patrick Debois said “hey, what if we broke down this wall?” Connect Dev and Ops. Build together, run together — THAT’s where DevOps started!

…cover it. low heat. simmer 20 minutes, nya

…Netsuki-chan

Hm? What’s up Miko! There’s more — Docker, Kubernetes——

…Netsuki-chan. you just said there’s a wall between Dev and Ops, nya

Yeah! That’s how it used to be. But DevOps broke down that wall——

…Netsuki-chan’s explanation has a wall too, nya

…wait, what?

…“first, Dev.” “next, Ops.” Explained them separately, nya. Navigator and lighthouse keeper — two different people, nya

…

…talked about when the wall existed, nya. nothing about after it came down, nya

——oh

…I wasn’t explaining DevOps. I was explaining Dev and Ops…

…nya

…so what does “tearing down the wall” actually look like

…lifting the lid, nya

…Miko?

…Miko’s been doing it this whole time — thinking through the recipe while cooking. tasting as she goes. if something’s missing, fixing it right then, nya

…right

…if the person who writes the recipe, the person who cooks it, and the person who tastes it were all different — this nikomi hamburg wouldn’t exist, nya

…

…think while cooking. taste while cooking. adjust while tasting. all at once, nya. there was never a wall to begin with, nya

——that’s DevOps!

…Miko doesn’t know anything about DevOps, nya. just cooking, nya

…

…I worked so hard on the navigator and the lighthouse keeper. I talked about the wall. But — I never once said what things look like after the wall comes down.

While talking about tearing down walls, I was building one in my own explanation.

…nikomi hamburg is done, nya

…Onii-chan

Yeah

…can I start over?

DevOps is — Miko’s nikomi hamburg.

…don’t drag Miko into this, nya