As I sit down to share my latest experience with setting up release management tools on my server, I can’t help but reflect on how straightforward the process has become over the years. Today, I’ll walk you through the steps I took to install the release management server, client, and deployment agent, all while keeping things simple and efficient.
Getting Started with the Release Management Server
First things first, I kicked off the installation with the release management server. The process was remarkably quick, which is always a bonus. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps I followed:
- Launch the Installer: I initiated the server installation, and it completed in no time.
- Configuration Tool: Once installed, I launched the configuration tool. I prefer to keep things simple, so I opted for the default settings, using the network service and leaving the web service port as the default (8080).
- Database Server: Since I was working on a local server, I simply entered the server name and clicked ‘go’.
And just like that, I had my release management server set up and configured. It’s always satisfying to see things come together so smoothly.
Installing the Release Management Client
Next up was the release management client. Again, the installation was quick and easy. Here’s how I approached it:
- Run the Client Installer: I executed the client installer, which was also a small install.
- Configuration Steps: After installation, I opened the client and went through a couple of configuration steps. Since this was on the local machine, I left the settings as localhost.
With the client installed, I moved on to manage the Team Foundation Server (TFS).
Managing TFS and Permissions
This part can sometimes be a bit tricky, but I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. Here’s what I did:
- Add TFS Server: I navigated to the administration section and added the local TFS server. I had to ensure I was using the correct default collection.
- Service Account Permissions: I encountered an access denied error when verifying the TFS service account. This was a reminder that the TFS service needs specific permissions, particularly the ability to make requests on behalf of others.
To resolve this, I created a new group called Release Management Service Accounts at the collection level. This way, I could manage permissions more effectively without granting excessive power at the server level.
- Adding Users: After setting up the group, I added the necessary accounts, including the TF service. A quick verification, and I was greeted with a green tick—always a good sign!
Installing the Deployment Agent
With the server and client in place, it was time to install the deployment agent. Here’s how I wrapped that up:
- Run the Deployment Agent Installer: I executed the deployment agent installation, which was just as quick as the previous steps.
- Configuration: I launched the configuration tool, selected the network service, and entered the URL of my release management server.
Final Steps and Configuration
After configuring the deployment agent, I opened the release management client tool again. I scanned for new servers and registered the agent locally. It took a few moments for everything to communicate properly, but soon enough, I had successfully installed and configured the release management server, client, and agent.
Conclusion
Reflecting on this process, I’m reminded of how far we’ve come in terms of ease and efficiency in setting up release management tools. Each step was straightforward, and the ability to keep everything on one server simplified the entire experience.
If you’re considering setting up your own release management environment, I encourage you to follow these steps. Keeping things simple and sticking to default settings can often lead to a smoother installation process. Remember, the goal is to create a system that works for you, allowing for flexibility and ease of use as your projects evolve.
Happy managing!
We’re going to install the release management tools on my server btar here and I’m going to start with the server then do the client and then install the deployment agent and set that up. Um, so let’s get going with the server. It is a fairly straightforward install process. It’s a very small install, so let me just get that going.
Awesome, completed really quickly. So we want to launch that and configure it, so let’s do that. Now we have the configuration tool up and we can, um, I have very few settings to fill out. I’m going to use network service. Um, I prefer having everything the default and everything on one server in this environment, so that should be no bother. And the web service port I’m going to leave as the default, which is a th, and then everybody knows where it is. And I need to put the DB server in, and as it’s just the local server, I can just put in the server name and click, uh, go. Here we go.
So now we have a release management server all set up and configured. It’s very straightforward. We’re going to install the client, um, so let me just run this client installer. Again, it’s a very small install. We’re doing it all in the one server, so there probably some of the bits are already on there. There we go, release management client installed. I’m going to spin that up and just do a couple of configuration steps. Here we go. And as this is the local machine, we can just leave that at Local Host. We could change it to the server name, and I’m just going to leave it.
Okay, now we have the release management client installed. I’m just going to pop over to Administration and going to go to, um, the manage TFS. I’m going to add the TFS server or local TFS server. So, oh, I forgot the beat and our default collection is default collection. Um, let me verify that and that will fail. And we need to put in an account that’s going to be used to access this. So in this case, I can actually pick our TFS service account.
Always make sure you got the password right. Okay, so we put in our TFS service account and we hit the verify. So the error message access denied. Um, TFS service needs the following permission: make requests on behalf of others needs to actually be applied at the collection level only. So let me open up, uh, TFS.
And to make things, uh, a little bit more manageable at the TFS level, I’m going to create a new group called release management service accounts. And then I’m going to go to the collection level and I’m going to administer security and I’m going to add that security group that I just created. So release management service accounts and I’m going to give it just the permission to make requests on behalf of others. Now you can apply this at the server level, uh, but that’s not recommended as it gives, uh, somebody too much power at the server level. And if you make it just at the collection level, there we go. And then go to our, um, group membership, our release management service accounts group, and we can add in whatever accounts we need, um, at this level. So I’m just going to add in TF service.
And now if we head on over to release management and hit the verify button, we get our green tick and all is good. So now I’ve added the collection in, um, I can have multiple users access this and I’m just going to add a group of users because the only person that can access it right now is me. Good, Dem with users add that in. And if I go to manage users, I have a bunch of users that have been given permission. Awesome, now we’ve got the client installed. Um, we can go over and install the rest of the services.
So we’re now going to install the, um, deployment agent. So if I just run the deployment agent here, again, it’s a very small install. Shouldn’t take long. And there we go, and we’ll launch the configuration tool. And in here again, I’m going to pick network service because I like to keep things simple. And we have to type the URL of our release management server and that should get us there. Awesome, we also have the release management agent configured.
Now if I open up the client tool, open up the RE Management client tool and go to configure paths, I can go to servers, scan for new, find our agent, register that agent locally, and that will take a little while to do the communication properly. Um, it’ll figure out is online in a few minutes. And there we go, we’ve installed and configured um, release management server, release management client, and an agent um, in our release management environment.
