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Azure Cloud Service Deployment with Release Management

9 posts · Apr 2014 – Feb 2015

What this trail covers

This thread tracks the evolution of deploying Azure Cloud Services using Release Management. Initially, it focused on enabling users to author PowerShell scripts for deployment. This post details the process of integrating these scripts into the build and release pipelines, including customizing the Visual Studio solution to include deployment scripts and configuring build definitions to generate necessary artifacts. It also covers preparing the target server and authoring the deployment sequence. This update extends the capability to include starting and stopping Azure VMs as part of the deployment process, managing credentials and using PowerShell cmdlets for Azure VM control.

All Microsoft trails
  1. Deploying Azure Cloud Service using Release ManagementThis post provides a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to deploy an Azure Cloud Service using Release Management. It covers customizing the Visual Studio solution to include deployment scripts (deploy.ps1) and publish settings files, ensuring they are copied to the build drop. It also explains how to configure the VSO build definition to generate the cloud service packages and includes instructions for preparing the target deployment server by installing WMF 4.0 and Azure PowerShell. Finally, it outlines how to configure a Release Template in Release Management to execute the deployment scripts, specifying parameters like the target slot, cloud service name, storage account, package location, and publish settings file.
  2. DevOps style deployment in Visual Studio 2015 preview - Sharing deployment configuration with teamIntroduces the concept of sharing deployment configurations (templates) across a team within Visual Studio 2015 Preview. A new 'Environment' node in Team Explorer allows developers to create 'My Environments' and 'Team Environments'. Deployment templates, once checked into source control, can be shared by right-clicking the deployment template file and selecting 'Create Environment Definition'. Team members can then use these definitions to create identical environments, ensuring consistency in deployment configurations.
  3. DevOps style deployment in Visual Studio 2015 preview - A detailed lookThis post details the "DevOps style deployment" capability in Visual Studio 2015 preview, enabling direct deployment to Azure from a developer's local machine. It explains the use of a deployment project, Azure blob storage for packages (using `dropLocation` and `dropLocationSasToken` parameters), building referenced projects, uploading packages, and environment provisioning. It also highlights the "Cloud Deployment" toolbar option and the validation of deployment topology JSON files.
  4. Announcing DevOps style deployments using Visual Studio 2015 Preview and AzureThis post introduces the integration of Visual Studio 2015 Preview and Azure SDK 2.5 for DevOps-style deployments of ASP.NET applications to Azure. It details the creation of 'Cloud Deployment Projects' within Visual Studio, which leverage JSON-based deployment templates (Azure CSM) to define and provision Azure resources like websites and SQL databases. The process involves connecting to Visual Studio Online (VSO), creating environments by specifying parameters for Azure subscriptions, resource groups, and locations, and then deploying the application. The post also explains the behind-the-scenes compilation, upload to Azure storage, and provisioning steps involved in the deployment process, and clarifies the distinction between Azure Resource Groups and Environments.
  5. Deploying and testing web applications using Release ManagementThis post details how to author PowerShell scripts and configure artifacts in Release Management for deploying and validating web applications. It addresses installing PowerShell DSC modules, deploying websites from TFS builds, configuring access to deployed websites, and running automated tests with results published to TFS. It also covers adding deployment scripts to the Visual Studio solution and defining Release Management components.
  7. How to install RM Azure extension and use the Azure VM in Release ManagementThis post details the steps to install the Visual Studio Release Management Azure extension onto an Azure VM and then use that VM within Release Management. It covers selecting the extension from the Azure portal, adding Azure subscription details to Release Management, creating vNext Azure environments, linking Azure VMs to these environments, and configuring server-specific variables for deployment actions.
  8. Deploying using PowerShell Desired State Configuration in Release ManagementIntroduces the ability to use Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) within Microsoft Release Management 2013 Update 3 RC for deployments. Details how to leverage DSC configurations, initialization scripts for environment-specific variables, LCM settings, and custom module installation. Explains the 'PSScriptPath' and 'PSConfigurationPath' action parameters and provides examples for parameterizing DSC scripts, configuring LCM, and installing custom modules.
  9. How to trigger deployments to Chef managed environments from Release Management 2013 with Update 3 RCThis post introduces the integration of Chef-managed environments with Release Management 2013 Update 3 RC. It details the steps to configure Release Management Server as a Chef Workstation, install necessary Ruby gems (knife-windows, knife-reporting), create 'Standard Environments' in Release Management to represent Chef-managed infrastructure, and register Chef nodes. It also explains how to define vNext components with build drop locations and configure the 'Deploy Using Chef' action within a release definition, specifying parameters such as NodeName, IsUnixNode, Username/Password, Component Name, Attribute Name, KnifeInstallationPath, and ChefRepoPath. The post highlights differences between vNext and Agent-based release pipelines, noting limitations in flow controls, environment types, and agent-less deployments.
  10. Deploy automatically to virtual machines in Windows Azure using Visual Studio Release ManagementThis post details the integration of Azure VM start/stop capabilities into Visual Studio Release Management. It outlines the setup of a proxy Release Management Deployer, installation of Azure SDK and PowerShell cmdlets, and configuration of Azure credentials. The post explains how to define release templates that include actions to start, deploy to, and stop Azure VMs, leveraging configuration variables for VM identification and managing VM lifecycle across different deployment stages.