The connection string from the Visual Studio's project web.config over rides the connection string set in the web deploy package parameters file upon deployment of the package. Meaning, the connection string defined in the in the web.config is connectionString="Server=ServerA and web deploy package has a parameter value of connectionString="Server=ServerB and the end result of the deployment is connectionString="Server=ServerA appears in the web.config. The ServerA is used for testing by the development team and ServerB is the production server and is the expected value as it is setup in the deployment process for the environment.

It appears the Web Deploy process auto-adds the connection strings to the deployment package and additional steps are required to prevent this from happening during the deployment as it can lead to two connection strings with the same name in the web.config file and also for the production web applications to point to the dev servers.

The resolutions are described in this StackOverflow post and the easiest method to resolve the issue is to change the name of the connection string variable in the Parameters.xml file from name="SQLServerConn" (Original value) to name="SQLServerConn-Web.config Connection String"

This does not require an update to the Visual Studio project file and is the easiest to implement. You can stop reading this blog post if this makes sense. If not, please continue and I will try to explain in as much detail as possible.

The process described below uses the following deployment methodology:

• Web Deploy package is created for deployment and parameters are defined using the Parameters.xml file in the Visual Studio project
• Release Manager uses the tokenization process to replace values in the parameters.xml file with the variables to use for each environment
• Batch file is run on the local IIS server using the Web Deploy command to update the website and uses the values in the SetParameters.xml file to replace the values in the Web Deploy package with the parameters specified in the Release Manager deployment for the environment.

Visual Studio Project Configuration:

The Visual Studio project is called DemoWebFormsApp

Original connection string value in the Web.config file within Visual Studio:

<connectionStrings>

<add name="SQLServerConn" connectionString="Server=SQL2016\InstanceOne;Database=Shredder;User Id=myUsername;Password=myPassword;" />

Added Parameters.xml file and added to Visual Studio project.

Added parameter value to the Parameters.xml file in Visual Studio with the default value of _SQLServerConn_ with the prefix and suffix of _ in order for the tokenization process to find parameter and change value upon the Release Management deployment.

The other important difference is the addition of the -Web.config Connection String value in the parameter name. This prevents the Web Deploy command from appending the default value during the deployment process.

<parameter name="SQLServerConn-Web.config Connection String" description="doesn't matter" defaultvalue="__SQLServerConn__" tags="">

    <parameterentry kind="XmlFile" scope="\\web.config$" match="/configuration/connectionStrings/add[@name='SQLServerConn']/@connectionString">

</parameterentry>

</parameter>

Build Definition:

Create the build definition and in the Visual Studio build, add the MSBuild argument /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:PackageLocation=$(build.artifactstagingdirectory)

OR

/p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) /p:DeployIisAppPath="Default Web site/FarmToken" /p:DeployOnBuild=true

The MSBuild argument will create the Web Deploy package and generate the Parameters file

Verify the SetParameters.xml file has the correct parameters created and values after the first build.

Release Management Definition:

Download the Colin's ALM Corner Build and Release extension and enable

The release definition will have the following steps:

• Replace tokens in the SetParameters.xml file with the correct values for the environment
• Copy the Web Deploy package to a location on the IIS server, like C:\Deployments\Latest
• Run the Web Deploy package command to update the website files

Replace Token Task:

Within the Replace Token task, select the folder in the Drop folder where the build artifacts are stored:

Change the search pattern to the SetParameters.xml file

The Token Regex pattern is __(\w+)__ in order to find the values in the SetParameter.xml to replace

Copy Files Task:

Set the location of the Web Deploy package on the IIS server. Can either copy to each machine in the farm. Or, copy to gold server and deploy. Test, and then use Web Deploy to copy to the other servers in the farm. This requires an additional batch file for the Web Deploy command.

The target folder is a location on the IIS server where the files are to be copied

Batch File Script to Deploy:

The batch file is created as part of the Web Deploy package creation and this task calls the command with the /Y switch to overwrite files in the web site.

This is the batch file created as part of the Web Deploy package and will have the same name as the web deploy package.

Add the Environment Variables:

For each variable in the Parameters.xml file, add a variable to the environment. The RM tokenizer will replace the value in the Parameters.xml file with the variable value.

Use Release scoped variables in order to reuse the variables for each of the environments:

SQLServerConn is the name of the connection string in the web.config file and the tokenizing task will find _SQLServerConn_ in the SetParameters.xml file and replace it with the value of Server=Server02\InstanceOne;Database=Shredder;User Id=myUsername;Password=myPassword; during the Web Deploy deployment.

Prepare SetParameters.xml:

The DemoWebFormsApp.deploy.cmd will perform the actual web.config updates and other areas of the website at the point of the deployment of the website. The SetParameters.xml file will contain the correct values to apply to the website.

Can use the command file created by the build process, or create own file to use to update the website.

Verify the Replacements in Parameter File was successful:

Check the Replace Tokens task in the logs

SetParameters.xml Final Values

The SetParameters.xml file on the IIS server will have the value from the RM variable.

Update Website w/Web Deploy Command:

The Batch Script executes the

C:\_Agent\LatestDeployments\FarmDemo_Token\LatestPackage\DemoWebFormsApp.deploy

WebSite Web.config Value

Verify the connection string in the web.config contains the correct value:

Fini!

From the comments in the prc_OptimizeDatabase stored procedure, it appears the tbl_content table is skipped in this job and it is the only entry in the tbl_ReindexExclusions table.

-- First we defragment all existing indices

-- Iterate through all tables and call ALTER INDEX

-- Exclude tbl_Content as it gets to be really large and does not need re-organization

This article explains some basic SQL admin tasks there is nothing different for TFS databases compared to other transactional databases.

Scenario:

The TFS deploy Agent is setup to use built in account Network Service as the identity to conduct actions on server. Using Web Deploy to update the web site using a batch file and Web Deploy package to update a website folder.

Error Encountered:

Upon execution of the batch file, the following error occurs:

2018-05-09T00:24:30.2375370Z Info: Adding directory (Default Web Site/BIO_POC\bin).

2018-05-09T00:24:30.2531618Z Error Code: ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS_TO_SITE_FOLDER

2018-05-09T00:24:30.2531618Z More Information: Unable to perform the operation ("Create Directory") for the specified directory ("C:\inetpub\wwwroot\BIO_POC\bin"). This can occur if the server administrator has not authorized this operation for the user credentials you are using. Learn more at: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=221672#ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS_TO_SITE_FOLDER.

Problem:

The TFS build/deploy agent is using the credential of the server's built-in Network Service account and the agent is setup to run as a server. The Network Service account did not have Full control permissions on the folder where the website is located to add/delete files and folders as needed.

Resolution:

One of the following

1. Change the identity of the account the agent is using to a local account with membership in the Local Admin group on the server
2. Change the identity of the account the agent is using to a Domain account with membership in the Local Admin group on the server
3. Add the NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE account to the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\DefaultWebSite\<site> folder with FULL PERMISSIONS

The Code Search service is considered an ancillary service to TFS and would not impact the developers ability to complete source control check-in/out and other actions to deliver code if the server hosting the server were to go offline.

Here are instructions on how to setup multiple Application Tiers (AT) and configuring Code Search with multiple ATs in the TFS environment:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/tfs/server/install/multiple-server

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/tapas_sahoos_blog/2017/09/28/configuring-search-for-tfs-in-a-multi-application-tier-setup/

The TFS build/release agent is configured to use the built in account Network Service (or a domain account that is not a member of the local admin group) when running as service. A file permission error occurs when the release is attempting to update files in the IIS for the website using Web Deploy and the TFS agent is configured as a service to run under the security context of Network Service.

This example uses the following syntax for the update:

msdeploy -verb:sync -source:Package=C:\_Agent\LatestDeployments\FarmDemo\LatestPackage\DemoWebFormsApp.zip -dest:Auto

Problem Encountered:

Upon execution of the batch file, the following error occurs:

• Skipping backup because it failed due to the following error 'System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Filename: redirection.config
• Error: Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions
• Info: Adding sitemanifest (sitemanifest).
• Info: Creating application (Default Web site/FarmDemo)
• Error: An error occurred when reading the IIS Configuration File 'MACHINE/REDIRECTION'. The identity performing the operation was 'NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE'.
• Error: Filename: \\?\C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\config\redirection.config
• Error: Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions

Resolution:

The account conducting the deployment lacks read permissions on the redirection file:

1. Change the identity of the account the agent is using to a local account with membership in the Local Admin group on the server
2. Change the identity of the account the agent is using to a Domain account with membership in the Local Admin group on the server
3. Add the NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE account to the Windows\System32\Inetsrv\Config directory with Read and List folder contents permissions

_PublishedWebsite folder

Just the _PublishedWebsite folder:

/p:outdir=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)

Creates a Published Site within the drop location for the build:

/p:outdir=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)\drop

Or use the Publish Artifact task to copy the contents of the package just created and upload to the drop zone:

Web Deploy Package:

Create Just the Web Deploy Package:

/p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true /p:PackageLocation=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)

Transform Web.config and create Web Deploy Package

/p:DeployOnBuild=True /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:PublishProfile=$(DeploymentConfiguration) /p:TransformConfigFile=true

On Variables tab page DeploymentConfiguration has to be configured. It must be the Name of the publish Profile (filename of the pubxml file). If the file Name is Build.pubxml the publish profile is Build. More Details.

Create Both Published Web Site and Web Deploy Package using MSBuild: 

/p:OutDir=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) /p:WebPublishMethod=Package /p:PackageAsSingleFile=true /p:SkipInvalidConfigurations=true

This will create the published website folder with the main site and the Web Deploy package:

Web.config Transform

/p:OutDir=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory) /p:UseWPP_CopyWebApplication=true /p:PipelineDependsOnBuild=false

The /p:DeployOnBuild=true parameter will ensure the Web.config transform is completed

• Replace tokens in the SetParameters.xml file with the correct values for the environment
• Copy the Web Deploy package to a location on the IIS server, like C:\Deployments\Latest
• Run the Web Deploy package command to update the website files

Purpose:

Describes steps to setup an IIS website publish method between servers. This method will push web files from the source server to the destination server at the website level.

Install and Configure Web Deploy Service:

Download version 3.6 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=43717

Install on IIS server using Admin level credentials

Select the Change option to adjust the services being installed and make sure the remote agent is installed

Verify the Web Deployment Agent service is installed and the service is to Auto start:

Set System Environment Variable:

On the server, or workstation, where the Web Deploy commands are to be executed, add the path to the MSDeploy.exe to the System Path variable in order to call MSDeploy.exe without a fully qualified path.

Windows Key + X -> System -> Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables -> Path

Add the path C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy V3

How the Web Deploy Service Works:

This method will use the top path to allow only Admins to publish from the source web server to the destination, or target server using the Web Deploy service running on the destination server. The service must be set to auto-start and running to ensure the deployment is successful.

Setup Source IIS Server:

This server maybe part of the release pipeline as the staging, or prod IIS server and hosts the website files to move into the production environment.

Setup the website with the name, bindings, and path to application files comprising the website.

Test website to ensure it is fully functional.

Test the Sync Source to Target:

Verify the Web Deploy service is functional on the target, or destination server, by issuing the following commands from the command line:

msdeploy -verb:sync -source:apphostconfig="FabrikamDev" -dest:apphostconfig="FabrikamDev",computername=10.0.0.2 -whatif -verbose

The -source and -destination websites must be changed to match your environment as well the name, or IP of the remote server.

Here is a breakout of the syntax for Web Deploy:

Setup Script to Publish:

The method to perform the actual publish action is by removing the -verbose command and this will commit the changes to the remote IIS server.

msdeploy -verb:sync -source:apphostconfig="FabrikamDev" -dest:apphostconfig="FabrikamDev",computername=10.0.0.2

Troubleshooting Web Deploy and other Resources:

Blog on different options with Web Deploy: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/ericparvin/tag/web-deploy/

Errors publishing from Visual Studio and Console: https://www.iis.net/learn/publish/troubleshooting-web-deploy/troubleshooting-web-deploy-problems-with-visual-studio

Troubleshooting Common Errors: https://www.iis.net/learn/publish/troubleshooting-web-deploy/troubleshooting-common-problems-with-web-deploy

Web Deploy Error Codes: https://www.iis.net/learn/publish/troubleshooting-web-deploy/web-deploy-error-codes

Log File Location:

C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Local\Temp\MSDepSvc.log

Setup TFS Agent to use built in account Network Service as the identity to conduct actions on server. Using Web Deploy to update the web site using a batch file and Web Deploy package with the following syntax:

msdeploy -verb:sync -source:Package=C:\_Agent\LatestDeployments\FarmDemo\LatestPackage\DemoWebFormsApp.zip -dest:Auto -disableLink:AppPoolExtension

Error Encountered:

2018-04-24T22:09:42.6711726Z 'msdeploy' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

2018-04-24T22:09:42.6711726Z operable program or batch file.

2018-04-24T22:09:42.6711726Z c:\_Agents\Agent_1\_work\r1\a>msdeploy -verb:sync -source:contentPath=C:\_Deployments\OnlineServices\LatestDeploy -dest:contentPath="Default Web Site/OnlineServices"

2018-04-24T22:09:43.6711838Z ##[error]Process completed with exit code 1.

2018-04-24T22:09:43.6711838Z ##[section]Finishing: Run script C:\_Deployments\OnlineServices\OnlineServices_Update.cmd

Problem:

The path to MSDeploy was set after the build agent was installed and the Path variable was cached with the location of MSDeploy not in the path.

Resolution:

Restart the build agent service and the new path variable is picked up.