We have a solution which consists of several projects. Some of the projects are windows tasks, some are windows services and some are mvc-websites which are running on a remote server. On this server we are currently implementing TeamCity as CI server for automating our builds and deployments. As of now, the projects are deployed on this same server. The build, test steps etc works fine but I am not sure how to deploy the tasks and services. All tutorials about this subject (at least those I have seen) only concerns deployment of websites.
The most obvious way is to have a post-build step running a powershell script which are uninstalling the current running windows service, removes the old service, copy the new dll and start the service again. The windows task files could simply be replaced directly with the new version.
However, I do not like this solution, it feels very blunt and could perhaps be hard to implement if the deployment server is remote.
Does anyone have any better suggestion on how to make the deployment?
Have a nice day!
Try to look at Octopus depoy: http://octopusdeploy.com/. You can easy integrate it with TeamCity. It has abillity to star/stop service and much more. Moreover it use nuget packages.
You can deploy windows services via Web Deployment Tool as well. All you have to do is to create manifest.xml file with runCommand (un/install and start/stop service) and dirPath (deploy service) providers.
My manifest file which deploys also DB and web site looks like:
<sitemanifest>
<dbDacFx path='$dbSource' />
<runCommand path='$presync' waitInterval='30000'/>
<dirPath path='$winSource' />
<runCommand path='$postsync' waitInterval='30000'/>
<IisApp path='$webSource' managedRuntimeVersion='v4.0'/>
<setAcl path='$webSource' setAclResourceType='Directory'/>
<setAcl path='$webSource' setAclResourceType='Directory' setAclUser='anonymousAuthenticationUser'/>
</sitemanifest>
It's generated by build script in Psake, but you can do it as you wish.
I wrote two blogs about this topic, but they are in czech language.
Everything in one package
Parametrization of package
Hope, there is something that can help you.
Inedo's BuildMaster can pick up right where TeamCity leaves off using the BuildMaster TeamCity Extension. There's a free version avaiable that will probably solve your requirements.
We have to solve this own problem when we use BuildMaster to build/deploy BuildMaster (before installers get built), and if you take a look at the BuildMaster Specifics (Inedo.com > Support > Specifics > BuildMaster, you can see precicely how we stop/deploy/start the Windows service.
Related
I am completely new to Azure and PowerShell but have been tasked with setting up a build and deploy solution for several app services.
We currently have a build server (Azure VM) that is running CruiseControl.NET to build and test some C# .NET solutions that should be deployed in Azure.
This build server currently handles the following tasks:
Pulling code from source control when commits happen
Building the projects
Running some unit test cases
Copying output/binaries to an output location
However, as it exists now, developers of each of our app services need to 'Publish' their services manually from their development machines by clicking the button in Visual Studio once they have verified that the build and test cases have passed in the test environment on the server.
As I am hoping for a completely automated solution, I expect I need to use something like PowerShell or the Azure Cross Platform CLI (npm) to do this?
I'm extremely confused with the Azure Service Management vs Azure Resource Management versions with the new Azure Powershell 1.0. All of our services appear to be the newer Resource Management versions, not 'classic'.
The eventual goal is to have the build server do the following
Pulling code from source control when commits happen
Building the projects
Running some unit test cases
Copying output/binaries to an output location
If the build and test cases are successful, update the service in azure to the latest build
I am hoping there is a way to set up these projects, or take the existing binaries that result from the builds, and have them be deployed into Web Apps using the new Azure Resource Management Powershell features.
Any advice or resources for more information about how this can be done?
Hopefully this makes some sense. Please let me know if I am going about this completely the wrong way or direct me to a more correct forum.
Thanks!
have you consider to use Azure App Service? where you can get those build infrastructure for free. e.g https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/web-sites-publish-source-control/
Once you setup continues deployment, you will get below three when there is push event (if you are using git)
Pulling code from source control when commits happen
Building the projects
Copying output/binaries to an output location
and to "Running some unit test cases", you can create your own batch or powershell script with post deployment hook https://github.com/projectkudu/kudu/wiki/Post-Deployment-Action-Hooks
I have created a windows service project using Visual Studio which needs to be installed on to the remote machine using MSBuild. I have had a look at lots of resources on good ways of deploying windows services. Most answer were using PowerShell scripts which i think of as an alternative.
Can anyone provide me with good resource. Any ideas on how to deploy this. There are lots of security issues with deploying (.exe) files in enterprise environment so i am worried on picking any alternatives.
I will really appreciate any suggestions.
you can use MSBuild
example for install:
<MSBuild.ExtensionPack.Computer.WindowsService TaskAction="Install" ServiceName="SomeWindowsService" User="UserLocal" Password="PassLocal" ServicePath="\\RemoteComp2\PathForYourService\WindowsService.exe" RemoteUser="UserRemoteComp2" RemoteUserPassword="PassRemoteComp2" MachineName="RemoteComp2"/>
for more information look follow link http://www.msbuildextensionpack.com/help/4.0.5.0/html/258a18b7-2cf7-330b-e6fe-8bc45db381b9.htm
You can use Exec Task (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/x8zx72cd.aspx) look at the link.
Using powershell remoting would be another option for sure.
To install service to the remote machine you can try ServiceController task that can control a Windows service. From here.
Have a look at PSExec (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx) depending on your requirements and deployment scenario. It, combined with the MSBuild Exec task, would allow you to install the service remotely.
I am using visual studio web project to install my web application and do some customization like modifying connection string in web.config file during install time.
Now, My requirement is to create a patch for the web application so that next time the web installer only the changed files.
Is there is any one to do it using visualk studio 2010 ide or any other way.We can't use third party products like Installshield,wix,innosetup etc.
Please suggest.
Visual Studio doesn't support patches for setup projects. It supports only major upgrades.
If you really don't want to use other setup authoring tools, you can try creating the patch manually. You can read more about this here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa370578(VS.85).aspx
But it won't be easy.
If it is just Web project, I would recommend re-deploy instead of patching. Meaning you just deploy new version of site, above the previous one.
Except some really comprehensive case that strategy works all the time. I use simple xcopy deploy for all my projects.
You can write a mini C# app to do it. You can have the list of assembly files in a configuration. On loading of the app, it checks the timestamp difference between server and client files. On finding the change, the mini app pushes the changes file.
Hope, it will resolve your issue
There may be better suited solutins to deply websites than using an installer. For one, there's Web Deploy.
It's main purpose is deploying web applications to IIS and it allows you to modify key configuration values through a simple UI.
Web Deploy works with deployment packages; a big zip containing your application and some meta data to help install it. On deployment it will diff the deployed site with the data in the deployment package to update existing files, add new ones and remove obsolete files.
You can build deployment packages directly from Visual Studio and/or from MSBuild, using your favorite build server.
Web Deploy works really well when you need to deploy often or when you have to delegate deployment to IT staff.
Customizing Web Deployment package is a bit tedious though, you may find a blog post I wrote about this useful.
For simpler situations, I recommend good version control practices and xcopy deployment.
If you tag what you deploy to your server, you can zip up the changed files since last deployment and copy those to your server.
I am starting to deploy my desktop application. It is a syntax highlighting notepad. I am considering deploying it on the web. What is like a list of things that I should do before I deploy my application?
Before you deploy an application. On the top of my head (some of what we do before each release)
Test it :-)
Test it on a clean PC. What happens it it does not have .NET installed?
Test it as a standard user (not everyone is an administrator)
"Polish". Use a consistent version on all files (important for later upgrades)
Make sure that licenses, copyright messages are correct. That the year is correct etc.
I am no expert in deploy issues, but perhaps you could deploy to a private server, and see if you can actually do the entire process.
And just as a suggestion, —I know its not directly related to the deployment per se— is it a Web 2.0 style (free/user oriented) app? Perhaps a beta version where people expected to not be perfect would help, although that's more after deployment
As this is a desktop application you could use ClickOnce deployment. This bundles your application and all its dependencies into an installer which you upload to the web. Your customers then either download the installer or run it from the web.
ClickOnce also enables automatic updates. You set the update check frequency on deployment, then just upload the new version to the web. The next time the user runs your application and it's time to check, the new version will get downloaded and installed.
Is it possible to deploy a Windows Service using ClickOnce? If so, how do you achieve this?
Currently we have to use a Deployment project, and the installation process could be simplified greatly by using ClickOnce.
AFAIK you can't really use ClickOnce end-to-end to deploy a service; there are issues with both the file locations (ClickOnce installs into a user's profile) and installation (ClickOnce is largely side-effect free).
You can, however, write a service as an exe that can self-install/uninstall from the services list, like so; basically, you write it as as a console exe and handle some command line args, using AssemblyInstaller to [un]install from the current assembly. Another advantage is that the same approach can be used to help debugging, since you can run it from the command line.
I guess NO according to Choosing Between ClickOnce and Windows Installer
Instead of ClickOnce, I like to use the approach using Inno Setup, like in here https://stackoverflow.com/a/1450051/396200
You have more control over what and how will be copied and executed.
As Marc Gravell said in his answer, I create a exe that self install my service, and then use Inno Setup to pack and deploy it. After Inno setup installed, it automatically run the exe and then my exe install my service.