Add Azure DevOps Server to Visual Studio for Seamless Collaboration

To add Azure DevOps Server to Visual Studio, you'll need to follow a few simple steps. First, make sure you have the Azure DevOps Server extension installed in your Visual Studio.

By doing so, you'll be able to connect to your Azure DevOps Server instance and start collaborating with your team. This extension is available for both Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2022.

Once you've installed the extension, you can connect to your Azure DevOps Server instance by navigating to the Team Explorer in Visual Studio. From there, you can enter your server URL and credentials to authenticate.

To add Azure DevOps Server to Visual Studio, you'll need to meet some prerequisites first.

You'll need a single computer that satisfies the system requirements.

For a smooth installation, it's recommended to use a supported version of SQL Server, especially if you don't plan to use SQL Server Express. SQL Server Express is best suited for personal or evaluation deployments.

The account you use to configure the installation must be a member of the sysadmin server role in SQL Server.

This is necessary to support the complex operations required for installation and configuration.

You'll also need to provide a user name and password for the Search extension, which supports Code, Work Item, and Wiki search features.

Note that user names can't include a hyphen or special characters.

Here are the system requirements for the Search extension:

Finally, be aware that you have a choice of web site settings when configuring the application-tier. Review the Web site settings to understand the choices and requirements.

To add Azure DevOps Server to Visual Studio, you'll need to go through the installation and configuration process. Download and install Azure DevOps Server through one of the official channels.

The installer will copy files onto your machine and start the Azure DevOps Server Configuration Center wizard. You can configure your installation by choosing Start Wizard, or return at a later time and launch the Server Configuration Wizard wizard.

To configure your Azure DevOps Server using the Basic option, follow these steps: choose your options and then select Next on the Welcome page. Choose your deployment type, and then select Next on the New Deployment page. Select New Deployment - Basic, and then select Next.

Choose your preferred Language option and then select Next on the Language page. Select the SQL Server instance you want to use, which can be Install SQL Server Express for evaluation purposes or Use an existing SQL Server Instance for production purposes. Then, choose Next.

If you chose Use an existing SQL Server Instance, enter the database information and choose Test to verify. Then, choose Next. Select whether to install and configure Search features or use an existing search service on the Search page.

Review your selections on the Review page and choose Verify to run readiness checks. If all checks pass, you're ready to complete the configuration by choosing Configure.

Here's a summary of the steps:

To set up a project in Azure DevOps, start by creating a new project. Provide a project name and optional description, keeping in mind that the name can't contain spaces or special characters, and must be 64 characters or less.

The default settings configure a Git repository for version control and the Agile process for work tracking. You can choose different options by expanding Advanced.

To create a project, follow these steps:

Once your project is created, the project summary page appears.

Integration with Other Tools is a key aspect of working with Azure DevOps. You can integrate Azure DevOps with various third-party applications to streamline your workflow.

Azure Boards, Azure Repos, and Azure Pipelines provide integrated tool support for monitoring and interacting with Azure DevOps from a third-party application. This allows you to leverage the strengths of multiple tools to get the job done efficiently.

Here are some of the tools that provide integrated support:

You can integrate Azure DevOps with Jira Data Center/Server using the Git Integration for Jira app. This app supports Azure Repos.

To integrate Azure DevOps Server/TFS with Jira Data Center/Server, you'll need to connect the Azure DevOps Server/TFS git repository to your Jira server via the Git Integration for Jira app.

The Git Integration for Jira app supports Azure Repos, allowing you to integrate Azure DevOps Server/TFS with Jira Data Center/Server.

To manually integrate a single repository, you'll need an existing Azure DevOps Server/TFS git repository. Look for the repository URL on the repository project page and choose between SSH or HTTPS.

Here's a step-by-step guide to manually integrating a single repository:

Once you've completed these steps, the repository is now connected to Jira Data Center/Server.

To integrate VSCode with Terraform, you'll need to create a project in Azure DevOps and clone it in VS Code.

You can do this by clicking on the three dots on the right-hand side, which will prompt you to clone the project in any IDE, including VS Code.

By default, VS Code is the selected option, so you just need to click on the block and follow the pop-up instructions to clone the entire project.

Now your project will be visible in VSCode.

Full Feature Integration is the way to go if you want to connect multiple repositories from your Azure DevOps Server/TFS to Jira Data Center/Server.

This process requires at least an existing Contributor user access to Azure DevOps Server/TFS git projects. You can use the Add new integration panel to connect multiple repositories, which is a recommended setup.

To get started, go to the Jira Data Center/Server dashboard menu and click on Git ➜ Manage repositories. The git configuration page for connecting repositories is displayed.

On the Add new integration panel, click Microsoft to proceed. You'll see a list of available git repositories from Azure DevOps Server/TFS.

Click Connect to continue, and the Git Integration for Jira app will list available git repositories. You can then enable or disable repositories for use with Jira by ticking or unticking the checkbox for the selected repositories.

Click Import repositories to connect the repositories, and all available accounts will be scanned and corresponding URLs will be created internally. Repositories of the connected Azure DevOps Server/TFS can be automatically connected to Jira Data Center/Server.

Here are the steps to follow:

After the import process, the Settings dialog is displayed, and you can complete the setup by clicking Finish.

Adding Azure DevOps Server to Visual Studio allows you to take advantage of its robust source control and versioning capabilities.

Azure DevOps Server supports two types of source control: Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) and Git, which was added with the release of TFS 2013.

With Git, you can use any Git client, not just the standard Azure DevOps clients, making it a great option for developers who prefer to use their favorite tools.

Using Git with Azure DevOps doesn't limit your ability to use its work item or build system. You can still reference work item IDs in check-in comments and use Team Build to build Git projects.

To work with branches and pull requests, you'll need a Azure DevOps/VSTS git repository and a PAT with at least Code (read and write) scope.

Here's a step-by-step guide to pushing commits to a branch:

The commit is now pushed to the new branch and is ready for merge.

Microsoft's Release Management capabilities give teams the ability to perform a controlled, workflow-driven release to development, test, and production environments.

In mid-2013, Microsoft purchased InRelease from InCycle Software and fully incorporated it into Team Foundation Server 2013, re-branding it as "Release Management" for TFS 2013.

Release Management provides dashboards for monitoring the progress of one or more releases and leverages Windows Workflow Foundation for workflow-driven releases.

The new version of Release Management, rebuilt in 2015 Update 2, relies on the web browser as the client and the same agent architecture as Team Foundation Build.

Release Management enables DevOps capabilities for Azure DevOps.

To choose the right deployment type, you have two options: Basic or Advanced. The Basic scenario is optimized for simplicity and uses default options for most inputs.

You'll need to specify the following settings with the New Deployment - Basic scenario:

The Advanced scenario, on the other hand, gives you full control over all inputs. This means you'll need to specify additional settings, such as:

After you've made your selections, the wizard will run readiness checks to validate your environment and settings. If everything is successful, you can proceed with configuring your deployment.

Release Management is a crucial part of the software development process, allowing teams to perform a controlled release to development, test, and production environments. Microsoft's Release Management capabilities, powered by Windows Workflow Foundation, provide a workflow-driven approach to managing releases.

In 2013, Microsoft acquired InRelease from InCycle Software and fully incorporated it into Team Foundation Server 2013, rebranding it as Release Management. This integrated solution enabled teams to automate build and testing processes, making it a true continuous deployment solution.

The Release Management capabilities also provide dashboards for monitoring the progress of one or more releases, giving teams a clear view of their deployment status. Microsoft rebuilt Release Management for Visual Studio Team Services and on-premises TFS in 2015 Update 2, leveraging the web browser as the client and relying on the same agent architecture as Team Foundation Build.

Release Management enables DevOps capabilities for Azure DevOps, allowing teams to streamline their deployment processes and improve collaboration.

Integration with Third-Party Tools is a key feature of Azure DevOps.

You can integrate Azure DevOps with third-party applications using the following tools: Azure Boards, Azure Repos, and Azure Pipelines.

These tools provide support for monitoring and interacting with Azure DevOps from a third-party application.

With Azure Boards, you can monitor and interact with your work items from a third-party application.

Azure Repos allows you to integrate your code repositories with Azure DevOps, making it easier to manage your code and collaborate with your team.

Azure Pipelines enables you to automate your build, test, and deployment processes from a third-party application.

The Git Integration for Jira app automatically configures web linking for Azure DevOps/VSTS git repositories.

For single repository connections, you don't need to set up web links, but it's optional. However, if you do configure them, you'll be able to see git links in the Git Commits tab.

You can find a detailed step-by-step guide to setting up webhooks in a separate article.

This feature is useful for tracking changes and updates in your repository.