DevOps & Scripting Interview Questions Guide

1. Linux Scripting

Common Questions:
Q: Write a script to find files older than 30 days and delete them

bash

#!/bin/bash
find /path/to/directory -type f -mtime +30 -delete
# Or with confirmation:
find /path/to/directory -type f -mtime +30 -exec rm -i {} \;

Q: How to check disk usage and send alert if > 80%?

bash

#!/bin/bash
THRESHOLD=80
DISK_USAGE=$(df -h | grep '/dev/sda1' | awk '{print $5}' | sed 's/%//')
if [ $DISK_USAGE -gt $THRESHOLD ]; then
echo "Disk usage is ${DISK_USAGE}%" | mail -s "Disk Alert" [email protected]
fi

Q: Script to monitor a service and restart if down

bash

#!/bin/bash
SERVICE="nginx"
if ! systemctl is-active --quiet $SERVICE; then
systemctl restart $SERVICE
echo "$(date): $SERVICE restarted" >> /var/log/service-monitor.log
fi

Key Linux Commands:

grep , awk , sed , cut , sort , uniq

ps , top , htop , netstat , lsof

systemctl , service , crontab

chmod , chown , umask

2. Git & Version Control

Essential Git Questions:

Q: Explain Git branching strategy

Main/Master: Production-ready code

Develop: Integration branch for features

Feature branches: Individual feature development

Release branches: Prepare releases

Hotfix branches: Emergency fixes

Q: How to revert a commit that's already pushed?

bash

# Create a new commit that undoes changes

git revert <commit-hash>

# Force rewrite history (dangerous for shared repos)

git reset --hard <commit-hash>
git push --force

Q: Difference between git merge and git rebase ?

Merge: Creates a merge commit, preserves branch history

Rebase: Replays commits on top of another branch, linear history

Git Workflow Best Practices:

1. Feature Branch Workflow
2. Gitflow Workflow

3. GitHub Flow

4. GitLab Flow

3. CI/CD Pipeline Tools

Popular CI/CD Tools:

1. Jenkins - Open source, highly customizable

2. GitHub Actions - Integrated with GitHub

3. GitLab CI/CD - Built into GitLab

4. Azure DevOps - Microsoft's solution

 5. AWS CodePipeline - AWS native
6. CircleCI - Cloud-based

7. Travis CI - Simple for open source

CI/CD Pipeline Stages:

1. Source - Code commit triggers pipeline

2. Build - Compile and package application

3. Test - Unit, integration, security tests

4. Deploy to Staging - Deploy to test environment

5. Production Deployment - Deploy to live environment

6. Monitor - Track application performance

4. Git Branches & Deployment Control

Branch Protection Rules:

yaml

# GitHub Actions - Deploy only from main

name: Deploy
on:
push:
branches: [ main, release/* ]

jobs:
deploy:
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/release/')
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Deploy
run: ./deploy.sh

 

Branch-based Deployment Strategy:

Main branch → Production

Release branches → Staging/Pre-prod

Feature branches → Development environment

PR-based → Review apps/temporary environments

5. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Popular IaC Tools:

1. Terraform - Multi-cloud, declarative
2. AWS CloudFormation - AWS-specific

3. Azure Resource Manager (ARM) - Azure-specific

4. Pulumi - Programming language based

5. Ansible - Configuration management + IaC

Terraform Example:

hcl

resource "aws_instance" "web" {

ami = "ami-0c02fb55956c7d316"
instance_type = "t2.micro"

tags = {
Name = "WebServer"
Environment = "Production"
}
}

6. DevOps Lifecycle

8 Phases of DevOps:
1. Plan - Requirements and project planning
2. Code - Development and version control

3. Build - Compilation and packaging

4. Test - Automated testing

5. Release - Release management

6. Deploy - Deployment automation

7. Operate - Production operations

8. Monitor - Performance monitoring and feedback

7. Containerization & Orchestration

Docker Key Concepts:

Q: What is Docker? Docker is a containerization platform that packages applications with their
dependencies into lightweight, portable containers.

Q: Docker vs Virtual Machines?

Docker: Shares OS kernel, lightweight, faster startup

VMs: Full OS isolation, heavier, more secure isolation

Kubernetes Essentials:
Q: What is Kubernetes? Kubernetes is a container orchestration platform that automates
deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

Key Components:

Pods - Smallest deployable units

Services - Network abstraction

Deployments - Manage replica sets

ConfigMaps/Secrets - Configuration management

Ingress - External access management

Ansible Overview:
Q: What is Ansible? Ansible is an agentless automation tool for configuration management,
application deployment, and task automation.

Ansible Playbook Example:

yaml

---
- hosts: webservers
tasks:
- name: Install nginx
yum:
name: nginx
state: present
- name: Start nginx service
service:
name: nginx
state: started

8. Cloud Platform Comparison

AWS vs Azure vs GCP for DevOps:

AWS DevOps Services:

CI/CD: CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy

Infrastructure: CloudFormation, CDK

Monitoring: CloudWatch, X-Ray

Container: ECS, EKS, Fargate

Azure DevOps Services:

CI/CD: Azure Pipelines, Azure DevOps

Infrastructure: ARM Templates, Bicep

Monitoring: Application Insights, Azure Monitor

Container: AKS, Container Instances

Google Cloud DevOps:

CI/CD: Cloud Build, Cloud Deploy

Infrastructure: Deployment Manager, Cloud Foundation Toolkit

Monitoring: Cloud Operations Suite

Container: GKE, Cloud Run

On-Premises vs Cloud:
Cloud Advantages:

Scalability and elasticity

Reduced infrastructure management

Global availability

Pay-as-you-use pricing

Managed services

On-Premises Advantages:

Complete control over infrastructure

Enhanced security for sensitive data

No vendor lock-in
Compliance requirements

Predictable costs for stable workloads

9. YAML & Configuration Management

YAML Best Practices:

yaml

# Good YAML structure

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: nginx-deployment
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
replicas: 3
selector:
matchLabels:
app: nginx
template:
metadata:
labels:
app: nginx
spec:
containers:
- name: nginx
image: nginx:1.14.2
ports:
- containerPort: 80

Ansible Script Example:

 yaml

# Install and configure web server

- name: Web Server Setup
hosts: webservers
become: yes
vars:
packages:
- nginx
- git
tasks:
- name: Install packages
package:
name: "{{ item }}"
state: present
loop: "{{ packages }}"

- name: Start and enable nginx

systemd:
name: nginx
state: started
enabled: yes

10. Why CI/CD Pipeline is Essential

Benefits of CI/CD:
1. Faster Time to Market - Automated deployments
2. Reduced Risk - Smaller, frequent releases

3. Improved Quality - Automated testing

4. Better Collaboration - Shared responsibility

5. Faster Feedback - Quick issue identification

6. Consistency - Standardized deployment process

11. Git Actions & Secrets

GitHub Actions Workflow:

 yaml

name: CI/CD Pipeline

on:
push:
branches: [ main ]
pull_request:
branches: [ main ]

jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Run Tests
run: npm test

deploy:
needs: test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Deploy to Production
env:
API_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.API_TOKEN }}
DB_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.DB_PASSWORD }}
run: |
echo "Deploying with secure credentials"
./deploy.sh

Managing Secrets:
Repository Secrets - Specific to one repo
Environment Secrets - Environment-specific

Organization Secrets - Shared across repos

Encrypted at rest and in transit

12. AI vs DevOps Engineer

Why DevOps Engineers are Still Needed:

Strategic Planning:

AI can't understand business context

 Complex architectural decisions require human judgment
Cross-team collaboration and communication

Problem Solving:

Debugging complex, interconnected systems

Incident response and root cause analysis

Custom solutions for unique business requirements

Security & Compliance:

Security strategy and implementation

Compliance with industry regulations

Risk assessment and mitigation

Innovation & Optimization:

Performance tuning and optimization

Cost optimization strategies

Technology evaluation and adoption

AI as a Tool, Not Replacement:

AI enhances DevOps capabilities

Automates repetitive tasks

Provides insights from data analysis

DevOps engineers orchestrate AI tools

The Future Role:

DevOps engineers will focus more on:

Strategic initiatives

Complex problem-solving

AI/ML operations (MLOps)

Platform engineering

Developer experience optimization

Quick Reference Commands

Essential Git Commands:

 bash

git clone <repo-url>

git checkout -b feature/new-feature
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"
git push origin feature/new-feature
git merge main
git rebase main
git log --oneline --graph

Docker Commands:

bash

docker build -t myapp:latest .

docker run -d -p 8080:80 myapp:latest
docker ps
docker logs <container-id>
docker exec -it <container-id> /bin/bash
docker-compose up -d

Kubernetes Commands:

bash

kubectl get pods

kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl scale deployment myapp --replicas=5
kubectl logs -f <pod-name>
kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- /bin/bash

This comprehensive guide covers the most important DevOps concepts and practical examples
you're likely to encounter in interviews. Practice these commands and concepts hands-on for better
understanding!