Azure DevOps Tools for Scalable and Secure DevOps

Azure DevOps offers a suite of tools that can help you scale and secure your DevOps pipeline. Azure Pipelines is a cloud-based continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tool that supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks.

With Azure Pipelines, you can automate your build, test, and deployment processes, and integrate them with popular version control systems like Git. This allows for faster time-to-market and improved collaboration among team members.

Azure DevOps also provides a secure way to manage access and permissions for your projects and repositories. The tool offers features like role-based access control (RBAC) and fine-grained permissions, which enable you to control who can access and modify your code.

Azure DevOps Services Pricing provides per user costs, making it easier to budget and plan your expenses. Small teams with 5 users or fewer can start for free, which is a great option for new teams or projects.

Unlimited Visual Studio subscribers are free, which is a bonus for developers who already use Visual Studio. You don't need to buy additional licenses for them.

Azure DevOps can be configured for single or multi-organisation user billing, which affects how you're billed for users. To avoid multiple billing for the same user, set up multi-organisation user billing under Organisation settings > Billing.

Here are the access levels and their corresponding costs:

Note: The costs for the access levels are not specified in the provided article sections.

You can choose to run Azure DevOps Server on your own server, giving you full control over the infrastructure.

This option allows you to opt for an Azure DevOps Server license or a per-user CAL, which can be purchased directly through Azure with month-on-month billing.

By choosing this route, you'll also have the flexibility to move to the cloud at your own pace, thanks to the entitlement to use Cloud Services.

If you're considering Azure DevOps Server, you can opt for a license or per user CAL, either through Azure's month-on-month billing or by buying the classic software license.

You have the option to run Azure DevOps Server on your own server, giving you more control over your infrastructure.

Buying through Azure has the bonus of entitling you to use Cloud Services, so you can move to the cloud at your own pace.

Maintenance and upgrades are taken care of for you with Microsoft agents.

A fresh VM is provided each time you run a pipeline with Microsoft agents.

You can choose from Windows Server with Visual Studio, Ubuntu, or MAC with Microsoft agents.

However, not all build software is available in a Microsoft-hosted agent, so you'll need to install it first and run jobs.

Self-hosted agents give you more control to install any dependent software needed beforehand.

Azure Pipelines can just run code while not reducing run time by not running the additional tasks of installing build software with self-hosted agents.

Processors play a crucial role in migrating data between different systems, and Azure DevOps offers a range of processors to help with this process.

The AzureDevOpsPipelineProcessor is a beta processor that migrates Taskgroups, Build- and Release Pipelines.

Some processors are still in development, such as the TfsWorkItemBulkEditProcessor, which is missing XML code comments.

The TfsExportUsersForMappingProcessor is a ready processor that exports users for mapping context, used to create a starter mapping file for users between the source and target systems.

Processors can be categorized based on their status, target, and usage:

Azure Repos is a set of version control tools that you can use to manage your code. It provides two types of version control: Git and Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC).

Git is the default version control provider for new projects, and you should use it for version control in your projects. TFVC is considered feature complete and will only receive maintenance, not new investment.

Azure Repos with Git is a distributed version control system, which means you can have multiple copies of the code on different machines. This allows for flexibility and collaboration.

TFVC, on the other hand, is a centralized version control system that lets you apply granular permissions and restrict access down to a file level.

You can use TFVC to scale from small to large projects, and by using server workspaces, you can scale up to very large code bases with millions of files per branch and large binary files.

Here are the two types of version control provided by Azure Repos:

With compare and annotate, you can identify the exact changes that team members made in TFVC. This feature is especially useful for large projects with many contributors.

CI/CD is a crucial aspect of Azure DevOps, and it's essential to understand how it works.

Azure Pipelines is a service that enables continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) of your code.

You can build, test, and deploy your code using automated workflows anywhere, which is perfect for DevOps tasks that need to carry out hundreds or even thousands of operations like software tests and deployments.

Continuous Integration ensures you don't ship broken code by automatically running tests continually, increasing code coverage, and building faster by splitting test and build runs.

Here are the key benefits of Continuous Integration:

Continuous Delivery automatically deploys code to production, ensuring deployment targets have the latest code and using tested code from the CI process.

Azure Pipelines is a workflow of automated tasks that can be made up of multiple jobs, each needing an Agent (Server) for Compute resources to Run.

A job is a collection of tasks, and Azure Pipelines is a collection of jobs.

Security and Compliance is a top priority in Azure DevOps, and it's everyone's responsibility to ensure it's done correctly. Security is a continuous process that includes infrastructure, architecture design with a high priority for security, continuous security checks, and continuous monitoring for outside threats.

Azure DevOps has a robust set of tools to help with security and compliance, including infrastructure code analysis with tools like ARM Template Test Kit and Checkov/Bridgecrew.

Here are some key areas to focus on:

Some third-party tools integrated with Azure DevOps for security compliance include:

By following these best practices and integrating the right tools, you can ensure your Azure DevOps environment is secure and compliant with industry standards.

Azure DevOps tools offer a robust package management system through Azure Artifacts. This system enables developers to share code packages from different feeds and public registries.

Azure Artifacts support multiple package types, including NuGet, Npm, Python, Maven, and Universal Packages. This makes it easier for teams to collaborate and share code without worrying about compatibility issues.

You can store packages for a wide range of programming languages, including .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, and more. This is particularly useful for teams with diverse backgrounds.

Azure Artifacts takes the guesswork out of package management by allowing developers to control who can access their packages and how they can be used. This ensures that only authorized users can access the packages and reduces the risk of security breaches or unauthorized use.

Azure Artifacts storage is charged on a consumption basis, and it's free up to 2GB. This means you can start using Azure Artifacts without worrying about upfront costs.

Here are the package types supported by Azure Artifacts:

Azure Artifacts integrates seamlessly with other Azure DevOps services, such as Azure Boards, Azure Repos, and Azure Pipelines. This means you can streamline your workflows and manage the entire software development lifecycle in one centralized location.

Work planning and tracking is a crucial aspect of any project, and Azure DevOps tools make it incredibly easy. You can use Agile tools to plan and track work using Scrum and Kanban processes or a mix of both.

Azure Boards is a fantastic tool that allows you to plan and manage projects in an interactive and customizable way. It supports agile, scrum, and Kanban processes, as well as dashboards and reporting.

One of the best things about Azure Boards is its pre-defined work item types, which enable you to track features, user stories, bugs, and tasks with ease. You can also customize it to fit your team's needs.

Azure Boards offers a range of features, including built-in discussions and communication, generous cloud storage, and notifications on changes. It also integrates with M365 Office and has third-party extensions available.

If you're looking to get started with Azure Boards, you can do so for free with up to five users and unlimited stakeholders. It's a great way to test the waters and see if it's a good fit for your team.

Here are some of the key features of Azure Boards:

Azure Boards is part of the Azure DevOps suite of tools, making it a powerhouse for any team that needs to produce software and maintain high visibility for tasks and projects.

You can create seamless connections between different tools and services using Azure DevOps' extensibility framework.

With Marketplace extensions, you can build integrations that provide a simple context menu or toolbar action, or even a complex full UI experience.

You can find marketplace extensions by browsing the Azure DevOps Marketplace.

Some examples of services you can easily integrate with include UserVoice, Zendesk, Trello, Slack, and HipChat.

Service hooks enable integration scenarios by subscribing to events instead of constantly polling for them.

You can use service hooks to send push notifications to your team's mobile devices when a build fails, or create a card in Trello when a work item is created.

Azure DevOps provides industry-standard RESTful APIs that extend its power from your apps and services.

You can integrate from virtually any device, platform, or technology stack, including Android, iOS, Node.js, .NET, and more.

Here are some examples of tools that provide support for monitoring and interacting with Azure DevOps from a third-party application:

As your team grows, you can easily add teams, each focusing on their set of backlog stories. This allows you to scale up your operations without any hassle.

With Azure DevOps Services or Azure DevOps Server, you can create new teams and grant them access to their own dashboards, Agile planning tools, and collaborative tools.

You can get started by signing up for Azure DevOps Services or installing Azure DevOps Server. Once you've done this, take some time to familiarize yourself with the web portal and how to work in both the user and admin contexts.

Here are some essential services you should know about:

You can choose Azure DevOps Services for quick setup and maintenance-free operations. This allows for easy collaboration across domains, elastic scale, and rock solid security.

Cloud hosted services support continuous testing and cloud build servers. This is especially beneficial for small teams that can start for free.

Azure's user-friendly web interface makes it a highly functional platform that helps DevOps teams work efficiently. Businesses can build, deploy, and manage applications and services more easily and affordably through Azure without physical hardware and legacy costs.

You can expect to learn about various features and services in Azure that you'll use when working with DevOps teams. These features and services will help you work efficiently and effectively in the Azure environment.