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A/B Testing with Azure Linux Web Apps for Containers
I love containers. I've said before that I think they're the future. Just as hardly anyone installs on tin any more since we're so comfortable with Virtualization, I think that in a few years time...
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Tips and Tricks for Complex IaaS Deployments Using VSTS Deployment Groups
Recently I was working with a customer that was struggling with test environments. Their environments are complex and take many weeks to provision and configure - so they are generally kept around even...
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Using Linked ARM Templates with VSTS Release Management
If you've ever had to create a complex ARM template, you'll know it can be a royal pain. You've probably been tempted to split out your giant template into smaller templates that you can link to, only...
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Using VSTS to Test Python Code (with Code Coverage)
I recently worked with a customer that had some containers running Python code. The code was written by data scientists and recently a dev had been hired to help the team get some real process in...
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Using Chrome to Solve Identity Hell
This week at MVP summit, I showed some of my colleagues a trick that I use to manage identity hell. I have several accounts that I use to access VSTS and the Azure Portal: my own Microsoft Account...
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Tip: Creating Task Groups with Azure Service Endpoint Parameters
I've been working on some pretty complicated infrastructure deployment pipelines using my release management tool of choice (of course): VSTS Release Management. In this particular scenario, we're...
View ArticleVSTS, One Team Project and Inverse Conway Maneuver
There are a lot of ALM MVPs that advocate the "One Team Project to Rule Them All" when it comes to Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) and Team Foundation Server (TFS). I've been recommending it for a...
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Auditing VSTS Client Access IPs
Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) is a cloud platform. That means it's publicly accessible from anywhere - at least, by default. However, Enterprises that are moving from TFS to VSTS may want to...
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DacPac Change Report Task for VSTS Builds
Most development requires working against some kind of database. Some teams choose to use Object Relational Mappers (ORMs) like Entity Framework. I think that should be the preferred method of dealing...
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Load Balancing DotNet Core Docker Containers with nginx
Yes, I’ve been playing with Docker again – no big surprise there. This time I decided to take a look at scaling an application that’s in a Docker container. Scaling and load balancing are concepts you...
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Using Release Management to Manage Ad-Hoc Deployments
Release Management (RM) is awesome – mostly because it works off the amazing cross platform build engine. Also, now that pricing is announced, we know that it won’t cost an arm and a leg!When I work...
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End to End Walkthrough: Deploying Web Applications Using Team Build and...
I’ve posted previously about deploying web applications using Team Build and Release Management (see Config Per Environment vs Tokenization in Release Management and WebDeploy, Configs and Web Release...
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Managing Config for .NET Core Web App Deployments with Tokenizer and...
Last week I posted an end-to-end walkthrough about how to build and deploy web apps using Team Build and Release Management – including config management. The post certainly helps you if you’re on the...
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You Suck: Or, How to Process Criticism
Recently I received some criticism from a customer. Sometimes I find it difficult to process criticism – I justify or argue or dismiss. Some of that is my personality – I like to be right! Part of that...
View ArticleDevOps Drives Better Architecture–Part 1 of 2
(Read part 2 here)I haven’t blogged for a long while – it’s been a busy few months!One of the things I love about being a DevOps consultant is that I have to be technically proficient – I can’t help...
View ArticleDevOps Drives Better Architecture–Part 2 of 2
In part 1 I introduced some thoughts as to how good architecture makes DevOps easier. And how good DevOps drives better architecture – a symbiotic relationship. I discussed how good source control...
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Running Selenium Tests in Docker using VSTS Release Management
The other day I was doing a POC to run some Selenium tests in a Release. I came across some Selenium docker images that I thought would be perfect – you can spin up a Selenium grid (or hub) container...
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Easy Config Management when Deploying Azure Web Apps from VSTS
A good DevOps pipeline should utilize the principle of build once, deploy many times. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s essential for a good DevOps pipeline. That means that you have to have a way...
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New Task: Tag Build or Release
I have a build/release task pack in the marketplace. I’ve just added a new task that allows you to add tags to builds or releases in the pipeline, inspired by my friend and fellow MVP Rene van...
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Testing in Production: Routing Traffic During a Release
DevOps is a journey that every team should at least have started by now. Most of the engagements I have been on in the last year or so have been in the build/release automation space. There are still...
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