Hand-on demo – Setting up Deployment Stages in Azure DevOps

Hand-on demo – Setting up Deployment Stages in Azure DevOps

In this demo, we will walk through the steps to set up deployment stages in Azure DevOps for a simple CI/CD pipeline.

Step 1: Create a New Azure DevOps Project

1. Sign in to Azure DevOps.

2. Create a new project:

   • Navigate to Projects > New Project.

   • Choose a project name, select the appropriate version control system, and create the project.

Step 2: Set Up a CI Pipeline

Create a Build Pipeline:

• Go to Pipelines > + New Pipeline.

• Choose the source (e.g., GitHub, Azure Repos, etc.).

• Select the repository where your application code resides.

• Define a simple build task to compile or build the application.

Step 3: Create Deployment Stages

1. Create a Release Pipeline:

   • Navigate to Pipelines > + New Pipeline.

   • Choose Azure Repos Git or any other source where your artifacts will come from.

2. Add Stages:

   • Click Add stage.

   • Define the name of the stage (e.g., Development, Staging, Production).

3. Set Up Environments: For each stage, configure the target environment:

   • Development: Deploy to virtual machines or containers.

   • Staging: Use staging environments (e.g., AKS, Azure VMs).

   • Production: Deploy to a production-ready infrastructure.

4. Add Tasks to Stages: Click Add task to perform actions in the deployment stage:

   • Deploy Web App.

   • Deploy Containers.

   • Run Tests.

   • Publish Artifacts.

5. Configure Deployment Gates: Add approvals or conditions between stages:

   • Use Gates to introduce manual approval steps before deploying to production.

   • Set checks for automated validations (e.g., automated tests, performance checks).

6. Configure Artifacts: In each stage, link artifacts (e.g., build outputs, packages, container images) from earlier pipelines.

Step 4: Validate and Execute Pipelines

1. Validate Pipelines:

   • Ensure all stages are configured correctly and linked appropriately.

   • Validate tasks and check for errors in configurations.

2. Run Pipelines: Trigger the build and release pipelines to verify deployments across environments.

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize

1. Monitor Stages:

   • Use Azure Monitor and Application Insights to monitor deployments.

   • Review logs, errors, and performance in each stage.

2. Optimize Deployments: Refine stages and tasks based on feedback from monitoring and testing.

Summary

This demo walks through setting up a simple deployment pipeline with multiple stages in Azure DevOps, ensuring deployments flow from development through to production smoothly.