<p>Another way to describe differences between <em>Site Reliability Engineering</em> and <em>DevOps</em> is to look at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_reliability_engineer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>'s explanation of a <strong><code>Site Reliability Engineer</code></strong>, which starts like so:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Site reliability engineer (SRE) is a job description given to software engineers focused on reliability, scalability, and the development of cloud computing infrastructure, known as Site Reliability Engineering (SRE).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So you may consider SREs as people involved in <strong><em><code>Building walls</code></em></strong> ...</p>

<p>However, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DevOps" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia's</a> explanation of <strong><code>DevOps</code></strong> starts like so:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>DevOps ... is a term used to refer to a set of practices that emphasize the collaboration and communication of both software developers and information technology (IT) professionals while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes. It aims at establishing a culture and environment where building, testing, and releasing software can happen rapidly, frequently, and more reliably.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What it doesn't say is that all these DevOps practices are actually triggered by a <strong>Demand</strong> from the business side. So combined with building and testing (the <strong>Develop</strong> part of it) and the <strong>Release</strong> of software, DevOps is about a <strong>DDR</strong> (= Demand-Develop-Release) culture and environment, which some people may remember from these <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NjNL4Nsa4Q" rel="nofollow noreferrer">9 seconds of a  historical speach</a> to <strong><code>Tear down this wall</code></strong>.</p>

<p>Refer to the question about <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/295285/286501">Brief outage planned for Wed, May 3, 2017 at 8pm US/Eastern (like a fire drill for computers)</a> for an example about all SE sites ... posted (signed) by a user with job title <strong><em>SRE Manager, Stack Overflow, Inc.</em></strong></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T15:58:11.107Z
I don't follow the argument that SRE involves building walls. Where are you getting that from?
Xiong Chiamiov
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T16:00:48.160Z
Also, Tom Limoncelli is known for [a lot more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Limoncelli?wprov=sfla1) than merely working at Stack Exchange.
Xiong Chiamiov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-02T11:55:31.177Z
2017-04-27T21:16:10.083Z
2017-04-27T21:16:10.083Z
Pierre.Vriens
<p>Dave Swersky already posted an excellent response above with Ben Treynor's definition of SRE, which is as poignant today as it was in 2003.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Fundamentally, it’s what happens when you ask a software engineer to design an operations function.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So, in an attempt to further define "DevOps", here's an excerpt from the book <a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920039846.do" rel="noreferrer"><em>Effective DevOps</em></a> by Jennifer Davis &amp; Katherine Daniels:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Devops is a way of thinking and a way of working. It is a framework
  for sharing stories and developing empathy... [it's] is not just
  another software development methodology.</p>
  
  <p>[P]ractices can include software development methods, or features like
  infrastructure automation and continuous delivery, [although] it is
  much more than just the sum of these parts.</p>
  
  <p>While these concepts are related and may be frequently seen in devops
  environments, focusing solely on them misses the bigger picture--the
  cultural and interpersonal aspects that give devops its power.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In summary: an effective SRE will leverage DevOps practices.</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>Also: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>How do I know which group is responsible for what?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Ownership should not be implicit; communicate!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T19:35:45.853Z
2017-04-28T20:25:43.417Z
2017-04-28T20:25:43.417Z
Woodland
<p><strong>Site Reliability Engineering</strong> falls under more or less traditional operations, but heavily automated and version controlled, what is also called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_as_Code" rel="noreferrer">Infrastructure as Code</a>. It is a well defined <strong>vertical role</strong>. In modern DevOps this is the vertical slice that relates to Operations. You can have a team of SRE.</p>

<p><strong>DevOps</strong> as such is a cultural change for an organization. In addition to the vertical, top down, management structure, it creates a horizontal connection between the teams along the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_delivery" rel="noreferrer">delivery</a> paths of work throughout the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_chain" rel="noreferrer">value chains</a>. For an engineer it is a loosely defined <strong>horizontal role</strong> binding several teams together, ensuring that work passes smoothly and quickly throughout the organization. You cannot have a team of DevOps engineers, that is an <em>oxymoron</em>, as spanning the team boundaries is a crucial part of the role.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-01T00:58:38.577Z
2017-03-01T14:55:02.203Z
2017-03-01T14:55:02.203Z
Jiri Klouda
<blockquote>
  <p>DevOps is about maintaining code, is that correct?</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>DevOps</strong> is not "just" about code, or systems, or any one thing.  DevOps is a very general term that covers <em>all</em> things related to <em>software delivery.</em></p>

<p><strong>Site Reliability Engineering</strong> is a term popularized by Google. From this article <a href="https://landing.google.com/sre/interview/ben-treynor.html" rel="noreferrer">https://landing.google.com/sre/interview/ben-treynor.html</a> we can distill their TL;DR:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Fundamentally, it’s what happens when you ask a software engineer to
  design an operations function.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Operations, Engineering, and Software Development are blurring together.  The degree of automation required to create and maintain a mature infrastructure requires skills from all three.  SREs are admins, <em>and</em> engineers, <em>and</em> developers.</p>

<p>See also: 
<a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041528.do" rel="noreferrer">http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041528.do</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-25T21:45:01.537Z
I've yet to understand the distinction between `DevOps Engineering` and `SRE work` beyond that one is an acronym developed by Google and backed up by a pretty cool (free!) book.
BlackVegetable
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-11T19:30:33.213Z
Site Reliability Engineer is an actual title and job description. It implies just what it says. A title that can imply DevOps on the software side is Platform Engineer, where you're building and automating a platform for developers to deploy on. Meanwhile a SRE is the person who is responsible for what used to be typical operations. These are a bit anecdotal but can probably help your understanding @BlackVegetable.
Matt O.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-29T20:18:08.120Z
There are a bunch of great YouTube videos from Seth Vargo and Liz Fong (Google them.)  They make it clear: "class SRE implements DevOps." SRE is a concrete, formalized practice that follows many DevOps principles.
Dave Swersky
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-18T00:56:36.827Z
See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTEL8Ff1Zvk&t=2s
sethvargo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-01T01:14:58.807Z
DevOps is not restricted simply to software, that is a misconception. It should tie all the way to product design, product requirements, documentation, etc. It is supposed to follow the entire value chain from a customer back to customer. Restricting the view leads to reduction in the impact and eventually to misunderstanding of the role as more sophisticated release engineer.
Jiri Klouda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T18:54:47.077Z
2017-02-28T20:14:40.353Z
2017-02-28T20:14:40.353Z
Dave Swersky
<p>What is the difference between SRE and DevOps?</p>

<p>Site Reliability Engineering and Development Operations seem to overlap a lot in detail. How do I know which group is responsible for what, and how do I know what jobs would be appropriate for my skillset?</p>

<p>It seems like SRE is about maintaining servers and network, and DevOps is about maintaining code, is that correct? Isn't there still a fair amount of overlap between those two?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-28T00:02:17.557Z
I think DevOps has been so abused as a term that it means anything or nothing at this point.
chicks
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-01T16:43:25.957Z
A company I talked to had both an SRE and an DevOps team. They told me DevOps was used for creating new applications (0-6 months) and SRE was maintaining old applications. Both were developers that used automation, coded and released apps.
Paul Totzke
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-14T12:02:36.573Z
I think Googles book on SRE would be a good read to understand what it is: https://landing.google.com/sre/
Kyle Steenkamp
<terminology><sre><job-role><team-role>
What is the difference between SRE and DevOps?
jcolebrand
# What is the difference between SRE and DevOps?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-28)

What is the difference between SRE and DevOps?

Site Reliability Engineering and Development Operations seem to overlap a lot in detail. How do I know which group is responsible for what, and how do I know what jobs would be appropriate for my skillset?

It seems like SRE is about maintaining servers and network, and DevOps is about maintaining code, is that correct? Isn't there still a fair amount of overlap between those two?

**Tags:** terminology, sre, job-role, team-role

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think DevOps has been so abused as a term that it means anything or nothing at this point.  
> **username_2**: A company I talked to had both an SRE and an DevOps team. They told me DevOps was used for creating new applications (0-6 months) and SRE was maintaining old applications. Both were developers that used automation, coded and released apps.  
> **username_3**: I think Googles book on SRE would be a good read to understand what it is: https://landing.google.com/sre/  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2017-02-28. Score: 56 | Accepted answer

> DevOps is about maintaining code, is that correct?

**DevOps** is not "just" about code, or systems, or any one thing. DevOps is a very general term that covers *all* things related to *software delivery.*

**Site Reliability Engineering** is a term popularized by Google. From this article <https://landing.google.com/sre/interview/ben-treynor.html> we can distill their TL;DR:

> Fundamentally, it’s what happens when you ask a software engineer to
> design an operations function.

Operations, Engineering, and Software Development are blurring together. The degree of automation required to create and maintain a mature infrastructure requires skills from all three. SREs are admins, *and* engineers, *and* developers.

See also:
<http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041528.do>

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: DevOps is not restricted simply to software, that is a misconception. It should tie all the way to product design, product requirements, documentation, etc. It is supposed to follow the entire value chain from a customer back to customer. Restricting the view leads to reduction in the impact and eventually to misunderstanding of the role as more sophisticated release engineer.  
> **username_9**: I've yet to understand the distinction between `DevOps Engineering` and `SRE work` beyond that one is an acronym developed by Google and backed up by a pretty cool (free!) book.  
> **username_10**: Site Reliability Engineer is an actual title and job description. It implies just what it says. A title that can imply DevOps on the software side is Platform Engineer, where you're building and automating a platform for developers to deploy on. Meanwhile a SRE is the person who is responsible for what used to be typical operations. These are a bit anecdotal but can probably help your understanding @username_9.  
> **username_8**: There are a bunch of great YouTube videos from Seth Vargo and Liz Fong (Google them.)  They make it clear: "class SRE implements DevOps." SRE is a concrete, formalized practice that follows many DevOps principles.  
> **username_11**: See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTEL8Ff1Zvk&t=2s  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2017-02-28. Score: 24

username_8 already posted an excellent response above with Ben Treynor's definition of SRE, which is as poignant today as it was in 2003.

> Fundamentally, it’s what happens when you ask a software engineer to design an operations function.

So, in an attempt to further define "DevOps", here's an excerpt from the book [*Effective DevOps*](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920039846.do) by Jennifer Davis & Katherine Daniels:

> Devops is a way of thinking and a way of working. It is a framework
> for sharing stories and developing empathy... [it's] is not just
> another software development methodology.
>
> [P]ractices can include software development methods, or features like
> infrastructure automation and continuous delivery, [although] it is
> much more than just the sum of these parts.
>
> While these concepts are related and may be frequently seen in devops
> environments, focusing solely on them misses the bigger picture--the
> cultural and interpersonal aspects that give devops its power.

In summary: an effective SRE will leverage DevOps practices.

--

Also:

> How do I know which group is responsible for what?

Ownership should not be implicit; communicate!


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2017-03-01. Score: 18

**Site Reliability Engineering** falls under more or less traditional operations, but heavily automated and version controlled, what is also called [Infrastructure as Code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure_as_Code). It is a well defined **vertical role**. In modern DevOps this is the vertical slice that relates to Operations. You can have a team of SRE.

**DevOps** as such is a cultural change for an organization. In addition to the vertical, top down, management structure, it creates a horizontal connection between the teams along the [delivery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_delivery) paths of work throughout the [value chains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_chain). For an engineer it is a loosely defined **horizontal role** binding several teams together, ensuring that work passes smoothly and quickly throughout the organization. You cannot have a team of DevOps engineers, that is an *oxymoron*, as spanning the team boundaries is a crucial part of the role.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-03-02. Score: 2

Another way to describe differences between *Site Reliability Engineering* and *DevOps* is to look at [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_reliability_engineer)'s explanation of a **`Site Reliability Engineer`**, which starts like so:

> Site reliability engineer (SRE) is a job description given to software engineers focused on reliability, scalability, and the development of cloud computing infrastructure, known as Site Reliability Engineering (SRE).

So you may consider SREs as people involved in ***`Building walls`*** ...

However, [Wikipedia's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DevOps) explanation of **`DevOps`** starts like so:

> DevOps ... is a term used to refer to a set of practices that emphasize the collaboration and communication of both software developers and information technology (IT) professionals while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes. It aims at establishing a culture and environment where building, testing, and releasing software can happen rapidly, frequently, and more reliably.

What it doesn't say is that all these DevOps practices are actually triggered by a **Demand** from the business side. So combined with building and testing (the **Develop** part of it) and the **Release** of software, DevOps is about a **DDR** (= Demand-Develop-Release) culture and environment, which some people may remember from these [9 seconds of a historical speach](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NjNL4Nsa4Q) to **`Tear down this wall`**.

Refer to the question about [Brief outage planned for Wed, May 3, 2017 at 8pm US/Eastern (like a fire drill for computers)](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/295285/286501) for an example about all SE sites ... posted (signed) by a user with job title ***SRE Manager, Stack Overflow, Inc.***

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: I don't follow the argument that SRE involves building walls. Where are you getting that from?  
> **username_5**: Also, Tom Limoncelli is known for [a lot more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Limoncelli?wprov=sfla1) than merely working at Stack Exchange.  

---

