The Evolution of Devops at Netflix

Abstract:

Over the years Netflix has adopted various operational and organizational models. In our data centers we had monolithic systems and centralized operations. When we moved to the cloud we fully embraced distributed services and the devops model. Now, with experience, we’ve uncovered real-world challenges with this model and, as a result, have embraced more effective hybrid approaches.

The devops model is a perfect fit for Netflix’s freedom and responsibility culture. We like to move fast and we value autonomy. However, we’ve discovered challenges along the way. Specifically, how do we reconcile local agility and ownership with the achievement of system-wide objectives, such as the overall quality and reliability of a large scale distributed environment?

As an exercise, we’ll follow Netflix’s evolution from monolithic systems in traditional data centers, with centralized operations, to distributed functions and services in the cloud. We’ll delve into the challenges of centralization and decentralization at the extremes, then share more nuanced and effective models which balance the two.

Ideally attendees will learn what pitfalls to avoid when embracing devops and their organizations.

Speaker:

Josh Evans, Director of Operations Engineering; Jeremy Edberg, Data Wrangler