I have several .NET applications that are hosted In Azure on virtual machines IIS. I want to automate deployment process directly from my machine or visual studio without using Azure portal because we are doing several deliveries each day. The biggest challenge for me now is to do backup before deployment. So I need to backup specific folder on VM remotely. Could anyone tell me how I can do it?
Are there any best practices for automation delivery from visual studio to Azure VM? Backup of app is required.
First, I'm assuming that you would like to back up some specific folders in your VM to an Azure Blobs or Azure Files storage. There are two parts you'd need to complete your continuous deployment:
Automate backing up some folders in your virtual machine.
Integrate task #1 into a CICD (Continuous Integration Continuous Deployment) tool, which I'd suggest VSTS (Visual Studio Team Services) for your beginning.
Approach #1
You can expose Windows Remote Management (WinRM) endpoint publicly and use PowerShell to perform a folder backup task. You will also need to invoke some scripts to write/copy your backup to Azure Blobs Storage. Your script must be authenticated silently so you don't need to key in Azure subscription admin or VM admin.
Once you have a PowerShell script, you can invoke this PowerShell by creating a new PowerShell task in your Build or Release definition. I'd suggest to define in Release definition.
Approach #2
It's more Cloud native and you don't have to expose WMI of your virtual machine which would lead to security threat. Instead, you utilize Azure Automation Worker to automate the entirely backup & copy to another Azure services (Blobs, Files, another backup/file server virtual machine..). In your run book, you need to use PowerShell DSC (Desired State Configuration) to interact with resources inside your virtual machine.
In VSTS, you have two ways to start your runbook
Invoke runbook's webhook: you can create a webhook for your runbook and call this webhook by creating a Http Task
Start runbook by PowerShell: similar to the approach #1, just create PowerShell task then use Start-AzureAutomationRunbook cmdlet with sample here.
Build an ARM template for your Runbook then define in Build definition. Here is the sample reference to deploy an ARM template in VSTS,
The reason I have to give several references because you might not have familiarity with CICD and DevOps concept, as well as some useful tools in Azure and VSTS which supports your continuous deployment. There are some awesome CICD solutions in the market you should also explore, such as Chef, Ansible, Puppet. They support CICD very well. Below are some references to get started with DevOps on Azure:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts/deploy-azure/
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/automation-dsc-overview
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts/build-release/apps/cd/azure/azure-devops-project-aspnetcore
Related
I am using an Azure DevOps pipeline that is basically a series of steps that call PowerShell scripts that take in parameter values and within the PS script the "Az module commands" are called - these commands create the infrastructure on Azure.
For example...
Create a public static IP address - this I can do.
Create a NIC and link static IP address - this I can do.
Create a Synapse Workspace and 'Self Integration Runtime' - this I can do accept link Synapse SHIRT to the self-hosted integrated runtime on the Azure VM.
Create a Windows VM (datacenter 2019) - this I can do.
Create a Azure Windows VM self-hosted integration runtime via devOps pipeline???
I now want to create a step in the devOPs pipeline (maybe an ARM template or PS script that calls an Az module) that automatically installs the 'self hosted integration runtime' on the Azure Windows VM - the VM is attached to an Vnet/subnet. The runtime on the Azure VM will be linked to the Synapse runtime. (note I am not using Data Factory)
I have read the following. But can't workout if setting up a runtime on the Azure VM and Synapse and linking them is possible and if it can be automated in a devOPs pipeline?
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/create-self-hosted-integration-runtime?tabs=data-factory#considerations-for-using-a-self-hosted-ir
The below link is very near to what I want to achieve....
https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/tree/master/quickstarts/microsoft.compute/vms-with-selfhost-integration-runtime
Have added one manually step once the devOps pipeline finishes.
Open RDP port on Azure VM. I know the admin. username and password. Log on to the Azure VM.
Turn off advanced security features on the VM temporally.
Download and install the SHIRT from the Microsoft web-site.
Config. SHIRT with the "Key1" value from the SHIRT in Synapse.
Turn on advanced security features on the VM temporally.
I mark this site down -2 for poor editing buttons, worst I seen in 25 years in IT.
I have a build pipeline that is working pretty well currently in Azure DevOps. As part of the pipline/build process, I create an artifact, which is published and reachable. After that, I'd like to do the following:
Create/Start Up a new VM (Windows)
Grab the now published artifact, unzip it and run the executable within
Run the integration tests
Close the VM
I've looked around the Azure documentation but cannot find much that discusses this sort of solution. Please help!
There is nothing built-in (like a readymade task create a vm), so you can use any way to create a VM in Azure. Azure powershell, Azure Cli, ARM Templates, SDK calls. whatever works for you.
You would need to open ssh\winrm to talk to that vm to deploy stuff to it. thats about it. You can find lots of examples on how to create a VM online. VSTS got tasks for Azure Powershell\Cli\ARM Tempaltes so you dont need to handle auth.
You can create a VM using ARM templates with the task 'Azure Resource Group Deployment'
With a separate task 'Powershell on target machine' you can run a powershell script on the target VM, if you put the downloading, unzipping and running of this exe in this script you should be able to perform the tasks you need.
You could also look into the 'invoke-azurermvmruncommand' powershell command, this allows you to run a powershell script in the vm. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/azurerm.compute/invoke-azurermvmruncommand?view=azurermps-6.11.0
I just need to deploy a aspnet core app into a Linux Service Plan.
I tried pre-creating the Linux service plan (into it's own Resource Group) from portal, and then starting the publish profile creating process in VS, but it does not show the linux Resource Group or Service Plan.
I can only find references to doing this from a Linux machine using Git-integration.
Thanks in advance,
Jose Parra
Unfortunately, for now we cannot deploy web app to Azure linux service plan through VS. It's by design that we can only see windows service plan in VS publish process.
However there are alternatives for us to choose.
FTP-- Upload pre-compiled files(under ~/bin/Debug(Release) folder) to website. Here's the reference.
Local Git--You may have read this tutorial. Note that Git bash can also be used in Windows.
GitHub--Follow this reference to connect VS with your GitHub, then config Deployment option in portal. After that your code will be deployed automatically once pushed to GitHub.
There are some other deployment ways like CI/CD aka Continuous Delivery in portal and another source control tool BitBucket. I recommend you to use GitHub as it's simple to operate in VS after configuration.
I have TFS 2015 and i was able to automated the build process from the branch and get the files from the drop folder as shown below:
It has release for multiple projects like Web API and Windows Service
I want Azure VM on which i want to automate the deployment process - continuous delivery.
Deploy the Web API on IIS on Azure VM
Deploy the Windows Services On Azure VM.
Run Scripts SQL.
I have credentials of Azure VM. How i can perform the three above steps.
I have worked on a similar problem in the past so can probably help you out (MSFT, if it helps).
Web Api on IIS on Azure VM
This is almost completely automated in the form of WinRM - IIS Web App Deployment task that you can find and add in your release definition. The link provides complete instructions on what parameters to provide and tweaks to be done for Azure VM compared to on-premise ones. There are a few prerequisites to running this task, like installing and configuring IIS on the VM which the documentation discusses in detail. As a necessary input to this task, you need to provide the web deploy package which I am assuming was generated as your build output. If not, you can refer to this SO post to get the required output. If you have parameters like connection strings that you wish to modify at deploy time, using a parameters.xml file in the above task.
Windows Service on Azure VM
There is no completely automated task for this requirement, but it is pretty straight-forward. It can be achieved by using the PowerShell on Target Machines task along with Azure File Copy task. For the first task, all that is required as input is the .exe of the windows service that you wish to deploy, which should be generated as the output of your build process (build artifacts). Much of the remote machine inputs for this task is similar to the previous one so you should not have any problem there. You will need to check-in the Powershell script that does the actual windows service installation, in your source code as part of the same windows service project (copy local = True). This will ensure that as the build output, you will have access to the powershell script which you can use in the second task. Azure File Copy is required to copy your powershell script to the Azure VM so that the Powershell task can execute it. Let's assume you copied the powershell script to a folder C:\Data\ on the Azure VM.
$serviceName = "MyWindowsService"
$exeFullName = "path\\to\\your\\service.exe"
$serviceDisplayName = "MyWindowsService"
$pss = New-Service $serviceName $exeFullName -DisplayName $serviceDisplayName
-StartupType Automatic
Add this content to the checked in powershell file and name it installWindowsService.ps1. Then in the powershell task provide the path of the powershell file to execute as C:\Data\installWindowsService.ps1.
Run SQL Scripts on Azure VM
I haven't personally worked on this so the best I can do is point you in the right direction. If you are using DACPAC for your SQL deployment, you can use the WinRM - SQL Server Database Deployment task. If you just intend to execute scripts, use the remote powershell task from above and refer this post that will help you with running SQL commands through powershell script
Seems you want the CD release process picks up the artifacts published by your CI build and then deploys them to your IIS servers/Windows Services on Azure VM.
If you've just completed a CI build, then you should create a new release definition that's automatically linked to the build definition.
Open the Releases tab of the Build & Release hub, open the + drop-down in the list of release definitions, and choose Create release definition.
For 2, write a powershell script to handle this, ensure build outputs
were available to copy from the ‘Drop’ folder on the build and that
they are copied to C:\xxx\ on the target VM(s). More detail steps
please refer this blog.
For 3, you could use Azure SQL Database Deployment task. Either
select the SQL Script file on the automation agent or on a UNC path
that is accessible to the automation agent. Or directly enter the
InLine SQL Script to run against the Azure SQL Server Database. Also take a look at the tutorial.
Maybe not all the task is fully Compatible with TFS2015 version, you could upgrade your TFS version to get more new features or customize your own build/release task to handle it.
I want to host a .Net application on azure VM using IIS. I know the basics of Windows azure like creating a VM & other things.
I want to automate this whole process of creating a VM & hosting an application on IIS on that VM using VSTS (Visual Studio Team System). I know its possible to do it using VSTS (DevOps) also I know basics of VSTS like creating a build definition on it, but I am facing problems in automating my current scenario using DevOps on azure.
All I want to know is how to initiate things like creating VM & installing IIS & hosting application on it automatically using VSTS build steps.
There are a few ways you could go about creating a VM with IIS+App in Azure. To create resources in Azure in an automated workflow, I usually think of using Azure Resource Manager Templates for the configuration. To do that in VSTS, you can take a look at this article.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vs-azure-tools-resource-groups-ci-in-vsts
There are two ways to use AzureRM templates in VSTS build/release tasks, both are doc'd there. The doc shows how to use an Azure Resource Group project in VSTS, but you could also just pull raw files from github (no project needed).
For a template that creates a VM, installs IIS and installs a web deploy package take a look at this sample:
https://github.com/bmoore-msft/AzureRM-Samples/tree/master/VMDSCWebDeploy
This uses DSC to install IIS, install and start web deploy and deploy a package/app. That will do everything in the DSC script, but you could separate deployment if you wanted to.
That help?