Integrate a TFS Build with Release Management

Question

How do I create a TFS Build which automatically runs a Release (deployment) from Microsoft's Release Management for Visual Studio 2013?

Answer 1

In order to start a release off from your TFS Build, you need to change the Build Definition. Luckily when you install Release Management it creates a Build Template for you to use with an example. In may instances this will be enough to get you going.

Release Management Build Process Template

Release Management Build Process Templates are not installed in TFS by default, so it won’t appear as an available build process template until you add it.

Find the Template in your server install in : C:\Program Files (x86)\ Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\ReleaseManagement\bin\

TFS 2010 : ReleaseDefaultTemplate.xaml
TFS 2012 : ReleaseDefaultTemplate.11.1.xaml
TFS 2013 : ReleaseTfvcTemplate.12.xaml (or ReleaseGitTemplate.12.xaml if using GIT)

To add the release management build process template, you will need to check it in to your TFS source control in the BuildProcessTemplate folder in your project. Then add the build process file when editing (or adding) a Build Definition. Once the release management template has been added to the list of build templates, you can start using it.

Please ensure you use the above templates from the Release Management Server and not the client directory as I did initially. You will get rather odd errors during your build if so, such as:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.targets (3883): Web deployment task failed. (Unknown ProviderOption:DefiningProjectFullPath. Known ProviderOptions are:skipInvalid.)

Package Pickup \ Path to package.

When you set up your components, Release Management needs to know where to pick up your installation files to do something with them. When you created your Release Template it should be connected to a specific build by selecting the build definition that will initiate it (also tick "can trigger a release from a build?"). When you add the components to install as part of your release you specify their Source. "Builds with application" should be selected. The bit that got me was the big empty box next to the Build Drop location which is a mandatory field. My initial reaction was to fill it with the name of the msi file I was trying to deploy. That makes sense right? wrong. If I queued a build from Visual Studio I kept getting the following message.

Package location '\\blah\blah\Build Name\Build Name_20140707.3\A.Product.To.Install.msi' does not exists or Deployer user does not have access.

The file did exist in the location and the user the deployment agent was using did have access to the drop directory. I had also confirmed it was able to access it using ProcMon. After sleeping on it I decided to hover my mouse over the input box and a nice tooltip pops up saying:

The package path relative to the build drop location is required for component bound to a Release Template. If the package is directly at the root of the build drop location, you need to enter the '\' character.

So, after my eureka moment, I deleted the msi file name and replaced it with a "\" and queued the next build. It worked. In retrospect I think they should remove the mandatory requirement for something to be entered to replace the need to enter a "\". It's a little hidden and not intuitive.

See MSDN Article here for more info

For Modified Build Process Templates