The document outlines enhancements in release management for Team Foundation Server (TFS) and the transition to a more robust web-based interface in 2015. Key features include improved client-side performance, the introduction of vNext builds, and emphasized cross-platform capabilities, alongside migration guidance from classic release templates. Upcoming webcasts are provided for clients to understand the new functionalities and prepare for TFS 2015 upgrades.

1. Daniel Mann
Senior Software Development Consultant
InCycle Software
Release Management in TFS 2015

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3. • What’s new in 2015?
• What’s coming?
• Why is it coming?
• How do I prepare for it?
• When it coming?

4. • Client-side performance improvements
• Client-side display tweaks (builds are ordered
alphabetically)
• Ability to release “vNext” (task-based) Builds

5. • Release Management 2013 / 2015
vs
• Release Management Service
• Agent-based release template
vs
• vNext release template

6. Release Management Server is not
going anywhere!

7. • Release capabilities natively integrated into Team
Foundation Server
• Robust web UI – no more client software
• Some concepts will carry over, some will not
• Separation of Release and Deployment

8. Release:
• What software am I releasing?
• To what environment am I releasing it?
• Who is responsible for approving/validating the release?
• Release metrics (time between releases, length of release, etc)
Deployment:
• How do I configure this environment so it can run my software?
• How do I install my software?

9. Design
Approval
Workflow
Design
environment
configuration
Choose
build
artifacts to
release
Execute
Release
Capture
metrics
Design
Software
Installation

10. • Ease of use
• Tighter integration with TFS / VSO
• Huge focus on going cross-platform and cross-technology
• Existing RM deployment model was tightly coupled to Windows
and .NET
• Plenty of other deployment tools out there that are already
mature and feature-rich
• “Classic” release templates don’t scale well
• “Classic” release templates don’t enforce Configuration As Code

11. • Your environment configuration and deployment
should ideally be:
Comprehensible (to everyone!)
Source-controlled
Versioned along with the application(s) being deployed
• Why?
Prevents configuration drift
Better auditing
Better understanding of environment capabilities

12. • If you’re using actions in “classic” (agent-based)
release templates, avoid using that model for new
projects
• Start deploying new projects with PowerShell
scripts, DSC, or Chef
• Use Release Management to invoke those scripts
and manage the approval workflows
• Consider redesigning existing releases using the
above model

14. + Easy to write (for developers)
+ Mature -- lots of documentation available
- Hard to write / understand (for non-developers)
- Not a configuration management tool
- Fundamentally still tightly coupled to Windows /
Microsoft products

15. + Easy to write and read for everyone
- May require additional education
- Limited resources out of the box for common tasks
- Linux support exists, but is in its infancy
- Difficult to discover new resources (PowerShell 5
helps with this)

16. + Large community
+ Large repository of cookbooks for common tasks
- Chef server requires Linux
- Recipes are all written in Ruby
- Requires Chef client to be installed on all target
machines

17. • Existing RM release templates cannot be imported
to Release Management Service
• Guidance and tooling to help smooth the
migration will be released

18. There is no specific release date.
Availability in VSO sometime in 2015.*
Available in on-prem TFS in mid-2016.*

20. Book Your TFS
2015 Upgrade
by December
31st!
Microsoft
Program
/InCycleSoftware @InCycleSoftware /company/incycle-software incyclesoftware.com/blog/
Contact us: info@incyclesoftware.com
1-(800) 565-0510

21. Upcoming webcasts:
What’s New & Why You Need to Upgrade – November 3rd 11am PT/2pm ET
TFS 2015 Upgrade Scenarios & How to Avoid Surprises – November 20th 10am PT/1pm ET