This presentation takes a look at our approach on how we have set up a build and deployment system for a JSS Solution in Azure DevOps. It will go into technical details, learnings and considerations which we have gathered during the setup.

1. JSS Build and
Deployment
In Azure DevOps
For OnPrem and Azure

2. whoami
David Szöke
Application Engineer @ Unic, Switzerland

3. How did we get here?

4. Neuland
New Sitecore Project
JSS
Embrace the Cloud and SaaS
Chance to revisit our current CI/CD Approach
TeamCity
Octopus

5. Goals
Extensible and accessible
Template for further projects
Reduce complexity in Tooling and CI/CD process
Single build approach for On-Prem and Azure artifacts

6. Azure DevOps &
Context

7. Capabilities
Formerly TFS
Version Control
Reporting
Requirements Managment
Project Management
Testing Management
Automated Builds
Release Management

8. Azure Pipelines
Automatically build, test and deploy
Set of defined steps running in agents
Jobs can be parallelized
Definable in both, .yaml and GUI
Large ecosystem
Out of the box tasks
Marketplace
Custom tasks

9. Repository
Monolithic repo
Single versioning of frontend, backend, test,
infrastructure, build and deployment code
Using gitflow

10. JSS Solution
Based on React Typescript Starter Project https://bit.ly/2HKycMj
Allows to build headless proxy once, deploy many
Pre-defined build scripts
Storybook

11. Sitecore Solution
Standard .NET Sitecore Project
Following Helix Principles
Sitecore 9.2
Unicorn
Rule based configuration

12. Build

13. Definitions
Split into Pipeline and Template definitions
Allows re-usability of jobs
Allows to define specific triggers

15. Available Pipelines
Split into concerns
Frontend (JSS)
Backend (Sitecore)
Testing
Infrastructure
Build Pipelines for Developer Feedback
Build Pipelines for Artifact generation

16. JSS Build
npm ci / npm build
Verifies linting
Runs unit tests
Publishes test and coverage result
Generates artifacts for Integrated and
Headless mode

17. Sitecore Build
Builds .NET Solution
Generates base artifact contains
solution output
Binaries
Config files
Run unit tests
Publishes test and coverage result

18. Full Build
Runs JSS and Sitecore Build in parallel
Invokes a magic blackbox
Generates web deploy packages for CM, CD,
REP and PRC

19. Sitecore Azure Toolkit
Official Sitecore Product
Tool for deploying ARM templates to Azure
Can create web deploy packages
Solution
Sitecore Modules
https://bit.ly/2T5CLpR

20. Web deploy package generation
Solution Output
Cargo PayloadsTopology Configuration
Azure Toolkit
Web Deploy Packages
- CM
- CD
- REP
- PRC
Vanilla Webroot

21. Cargo Payloads
Proprietary definition of transformations
.sccpl
Supports several ways of modifying web deploy packages
CopyToWebsite
CopyToRoot
Xdts
IOAction
Out of the box payloads (ApplicationInsights, Redis session store, etc.)
https://bit.ly/32fEsoO

24. Unicorn Items
Only specifically deployed to CM instances
Full Build pipeline prepares cargo payload

25. Removing DB operations from .scwdps
.dacpac generation during build
Remove ConnectionStrings.config from the input package before invoking SAT
https://schwindelig.io/sitecore/azure/2019/08/21/skip-dacpac-generation-sitecore-azure-toolkit.html
.scwdps contain SQL scripts like CreateUser.Core.sql
Undocumented cmdlet: Remove-SCDatabaseOperations
https://schwindelig.io/sitecore/azure/2019/08/24/remove-db-operations-from-scwp.html

26. Preparing Sitecore Modules
Used to have items, binaries and configs within the solution
Split into individual deployable components (JSS, SPE, SPS)
Convert to .scwdp using SAT
ConvertTo-SCModuleWebDeployPackage
2 variations: On-Prem and Azure
Use DisableDacPacOptions to create tables or users when you are deploying. You must disable
SqlDatabaseOptions for the module WDP package if you want to deploy them to an on-premise
instance. If you do not disable SqlDatabaseOptions, msDeploy will try to convert the contained
database into an uncontained database and the attempts to apply these options while deploying
the module package produces the wrong result.
https://bit.ly/39ZsceC

27. Ready for deployment
JSS Distribution
JSS Headless Proxy
Solution Web Deploy packages Module Web Deploy packages

28. Deployment
:shipit:

29. Environments
On-Prem DEV On-Prem TST Azure QA Azure INT Azure PRD
Azure Infrastructure is set up prior to software deployment

30. Release Pipelines
Classic Pipelines
GUI
Multi Stage Pipelines
YAML
Preview feature
Stages

31. Variables
Can be defined in GUI
Scoped to either release or stage
Can reference other variables, mainting context

32. On-Prem Deployments
Targets
Deployment Pools
Targets can be tagged
Tags can then be used within release
pipelines

34. Sitecore Deployment
Mostly out of the box steps
Unicorn sync is a free market place task
Separate deployment of modules

35. Proxy Deployment Tasks
Variable substitution
PM2
Process.json
API Key
Layout Service Host
Solution Version
Telemetry Key

36. Task Groups
Re-usable elements
Don’t use templates
Can be versioned
Change history

37. Azure Deployments
Very similar to On-Prem
App Service Deploy
Staging Slots

38. Staging Slots
Live Apps with their own host names
App content and configs can be swapped
Validate changes before swapping
Swap with preview
User
production.customer.comdeployment.customer.com
Swap
Automated tests &
Health checks

39. Connection Strings
Can be defined in Azure
Responsibility of OPs

40. web.configs
IIS and App Service deploy tasks support .xml
transformations
Variable substitution
Applied by convention: web-<stage>.config

41. Learnings

42. Azure DevOps
Great documentation. Read it
Seamless integration to Azure, Github, etc.
Team is transparent. Short sprints
Hit or miss
.NET Code Coverage reports
Parallelism
Consider using multi stage instead of classic pipelines
Check Teams integration
Stay within the box

43. Azure
RTM
Apply ASE strategy early
Don’t rely on single blog posts
Deployments (Infrastructure + Software) take time
App Services for Linux are weird

44. Organisational
Don’t be afraid to delegate responsibility
Include developers early
Monolithic repos bring awareness
Dev and Ops need to stay in close contact
Have a proper backlog
POC and ship early

45. Thank you!