The Challenges of On-Call in SRE: Insights and Best Practices
On-call in SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) is a critical, yet often stressful, aspect of maintaining complex systems. As software becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the expectation for reliability has risen significantly. It is no longer acceptable for an application to experience downtime for hours or even minutes. However, the inevitability of incidents means that on-call engineers are essential for responding to problems, keeping systems operational 24/7. But, what are the challenges they face, and how can organizations address them effectively?
In this article, we dive into the challenges of on-call in SRE, share insights from experts, and explore ways to improve incident response through a holistic approach.
On-Call in SRE: More Than Just Reacting to Incidents
In SRE, engineers are often tasked with responding to incidents that impact system reliability. While automated incident response tools can handle routine issues, they are insufficient for complex or unexpected problems. This is where the role of on-call engineers becomes indispensable. According to a recent survey of on-call engineers, common difficulties stem from a lack of practical resources like runbooks and efficient role management.
However, improving the on-call experience requires more than just addressing these immediate pain points. A holistic approach, which includes better tooling, process standardization, and fostering a blameless culture, can create long-term solutions. The aim is to bridge the gap between theoretical SRE practices and practical implementation, focusing on how organizations can structure their on-call operations for better outcomes.
Internal On-Call: As Crucial as External On-Call
Many organizations focus primarily on external on-call, addressing incidents that directly affect end-users. However, internal on-call issues can be just as impactful. Yvonne Lam, a staff software engineer at Kong, highlights that incidents involving internal tools—such as tools preventing deployment or integration—can have significant downstream effects. In some cases, an internal outage might be even more disruptive than an external one, as it hampers the ability of teams to resolve external issues.
Building an effective internal on-call system requires the same attention to reliability as external systems. Internal monitoring, however, presents unique challenges. Unlike external tools, which are monitored through user-facing SLIs (Service Level Indicators) and SLOs (Service Level Objectives), internal systems often lack comprehensive visibility. Engineers may only report that a tool is “slow,” without clear metrics to quantify the impact.
To address this, organizations can adopt universal standards of impact for internal tools, similar to external systems. By treating internal engineers as “internal customers,” organizations can improve incident response by aligning their on-call systems with the tools and processes that engineers rely on most.
The Complexity of Assessing Customer Impact
Another major challenge of on-call in SRE is assessing the true customer impact of an incident. Determining how an incident affects end-users isn’t always straightforward. Several factors must be considered, including the severity of the service disruption, the number of affected users, and the importance of the service to the business.
Charles Cary, CEO of Shoreline, emphasizes that customer impact is not just about metrics—it also involves experience and intuition. Often, SREs will face situations where they instinctively know an incident is more severe than the data suggests. Conversely, following a rigid runbook might worsen the issue if the context isn’t fully understood.
Therefore, it’s important for on-call engineers to build an understanding of customer impact over time, which is something that can’t be taught directly. Instead, it develops through experience and collaboration with more seasoned engineers.
Incident Escalation: A Tool, Not a Defeat
Escalation is another critical aspect of on-call management. Often, engineers hesitate to escalate an issue because they fear it will be seen as a failure. However, escalation should not be viewed as an admission of defeat but as a tool for finding the best solution more efficiently. The key is to create a psychologically safe environment where engineers feel comfortable reaching out for help when needed.
Matt Davis, a Blameless engineer, stresses the importance of building a culture where people are encouraged to escalate without fear of judgment. This culture can significantly improve incident resolution time and reduce the emotional burden on on-call engineers. Additionally, the escalation process should not be linear but rather flexible, involving the right people for each situation.
Lowering the Cost of Being Wrong in On-Call
One of the more subtle challenges of on-call is the fear of being wrong. Engineers may avoid escalating an issue or trying a new solution because they fear judgment. This fear can delay the resolution of an incident, prolonging downtime and affecting system reliability.
To counter this, it’s crucial to create a blameless culture. By lowering the cost of being wrong, engineers can feel free to experiment, escalate when necessary, and learn from their mistakes. A blameless culture encourages growth and innovation, turning incidents into valuable learning opportunities.
Enhancing On-call in SRE with ZippyOPS Services
To optimize on-call practices, organizations can benefit from integrating a range of technologies and processes. ZippyOPS offers comprehensive consulting, implementation, and managed services, including DevOps, DevSecOps, Cloud infrastructure, and more. These solutions help organizations build resilient and efficient systems, automate operational tasks, and foster collaboration between teams.
For example, with ZippyOPS’s DevOps and Automated Operations services, teams can improve deployment pipelines and reduce manual interventions during on-call shifts. Similarly, AIOps and MLOps solutions can help automate incident detection and response, easing the burden on on-call engineers.
If you’re looking to improve your organization’s on-call strategy, ZippyOPS offers expert guidance and solutions that can help streamline incident management and build more reliable systems. Explore our services to learn more about how we can assist with Microservices, Security, and Infrastructure challenges.
For a demo or more details, check out our solutions or visit our products. You can also view our educational YouTube playlist for more insights.
Conclusion for On-call in SRE
The challenges of on-call in SRE are multifaceted, but they are not insurmountable. By building better internal systems, fostering a blameless culture, and continuously assessing customer impact, organizations can improve their on-call practices. Ultimately, on-call should not be viewed as a burden but as a crucial opportunity to learn, grow, and ensure the reliability of systems.
If you’re ready to take your on-call strategy to the next level, don’t hesitate to reach out. Email us at sales@zippyops.com to get started.
