On Premise DevOps 2022 CI/CD pipeline to Host Application on IIS

Hi Imransh21,

Based on the information you've provided I would approach it in the following way:

CI/CD Pipeline for IIS Deployment

Prerequisites

1. Active Directory Environment: Ensure your servers are part of the Active Directory domain.
2. DevOps Server 2022: Installed and configured on your on-premise server.
3. IIS Server: Ensure IIS is installed and configured on your test server.
4. SQL Server: Ensure your SQL server is up and running.
5. Development Tools: Ensure developers have Visual Studio 2019/2012 configured.

Step 1: Configure the Build Agent

1. Install the Azure Pipelines Agent:

   • Download the agent from your Azure DevOps Server. Go to your Azure DevOps Server, navigate to your project, and select Project settings > Agent pools.
   • Select the default pool (or create a new one), then select New agent.
   • Follow the instructions to download and configure the agent on the server where you want to run builds.

2. Configure the Agent:

   • Run the downloaded agent package and follow the setup wizard.
   • Ensure the agent is running as a service and connected to the correct project and agent pool.

Step 2: Create a Build Pipeline

1. Define the Build Pipeline:

   • Go to your DevOps project and navigate to Pipelines > New pipeline.
   • Select Classic Editor to create a pipeline without YAML.
   • Choose your repository and select Continue.
   • Select the ASP.NET Core template (or a relevant template based on your project).

2. Configure Build Steps:

   • Restore NuGet Packages: Add a task to restore NuGet packages.
   • Build Solution: Add a task to build your solution. Ensure you specify the correct solution file path.
   • Run Tests: If you have unit tests, add a task to run these tests.
   • Publish Build Artifacts: Add a task to publish build artifacts. Set the path to publish (e.g., $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)).

3. Save and Queue the Build:

   • Save the build pipeline and run it to ensure it completes successfully.

Step 3: Create a Release Pipeline

1. Define the Release Pipeline:

   • Navigate to Releases under Pipelines, then select New pipeline.
   • Choose an empty job template.

2. Add an Artifact:

   • Link the build pipeline you created as the source for the release.

3. Define Stages:

   • Add a stage for deployment (e.g., IIS Deployment).
   • In the Tasks tab, add the following tasks:

Step 4: Deploy to IIS

1. Copy Files:

   • Add a Copy Files task to copy files from the build artifact to the IIS server.
     • Source Folder: $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_yourbuildpipeline/build
     • Contents: **
     • Target Folder: \\yourIISServer\c$\inetpub\wwwroot\yourapp

2. Deploy using IIS Web App Deployment:

   • Add an IIS Web App Deployment task:
     • Package or Folder: $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_yourbuildpipeline/build
     • Web App Name: Your IIS site name.
     • Remove Additional Files at Destination: Checked.

Step 5: Configure IIS and SQL Server

1. IIS Configuration:

   • Ensure the application pool and site are configured in IIS.
   • Set appropriate permissions for the deployment account.

2. SQL Server Configuration:

   • Ensure connection strings in your application configuration point to the correct SQL Server instance.
   • Verify that the database is accessible from the IIS server.

Step 6: Automate the Process

1. Continuous Integration:
   • Set up triggers in the build pipeline to trigger a build on every code check-in.
2. Continuous Deployment:
   • Set up triggers in the release pipeline to deploy automatically after a successful build.

Step 7: Test and Monitor

1. Test Deployment:

   • Test the deployment to ensure the application is correctly deployed and running on the IIS server.

2. Monitor:

   • Use Azure Monitor or other monitoring tools to keep track of build and deployment processes.

I hope this will help you with your pipeline

Best regards,

Daniel