Learn about the components in Azure DevOps Pipeline

Learn about the components in Azure DevOps Pipeline

Azure DevOps pipelines are structured with several key components that define how automation is performed across different stages of the software delivery lifecycle. Below is an expanded view of these components along with deployment strategies and lifecycle hooks.

1. Pipeline

A pipeline represents a CI/CD workflow that automates building, testing, and deploying software. It includes stages, jobs, steps, and other configuration elements that manage the flow of the pipeline.

2. Stage

A stage is a logical grouping of jobs within a pipeline. Each stage represents a specific phase, such as Build, Test, or Deploy. Multiple stages can be used for different environments (e.g., Development, Staging, Production).

Example:

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stages:
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- stage: Build
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  jobs:
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   - job: BuildJob
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    steps:
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   - script: echo "Building..."
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      displayName: 'Run Build Command'

3. Job

A job represents a set of steps executed on a specific agent. Jobs within a stage can run in parallel or sequentially.

Example:

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jobs:
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- job: DeployJob
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  steps:
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   - script: echo "Deploying..."

4. Steps

Steps are the individual actions or tasks performed within a job. They can execute scripts, run tasks, or invoke other pipelines.

Example:

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steps:
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- script: dotnet restore
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  displayName: 'Restore Dependencies'

5. Tasks

Tasks are pre-defined actions or operations that are added to a step. Tasks provide functionality like running scripts, installing tools, or managing deployments.

Example:

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steps:
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- task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
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  inputs:
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    buildDirectory: $(Pipeline.Workspace)/artifacts

6. Deployment Strategies

Deployment strategies define how a release or deployment is managed and can vary based on how the release is rolled out to different environments.

a. RunOnce

Deploys once to a specified environment.

Example:

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jobs:
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- deployment: DeployOnce
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  environment: 'Production'
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  strategy:
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    runOnce:
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      deploy:
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        steps:
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       - script: echo "Deploying to Production"

b. Rolling

Deploys to multiple environments incrementally, rolling forward.

Example:

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jobs:
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- deployment: RollingUpdate
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  environment: 'Staging'
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  strategy:
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    rolling:
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      deploymentTimeoutInMinutes: 30
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      batchCount: 2
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      rollBackOnFailure: true

c. Canary

Deploys a subset of traffic to a new environment and monitors performance before expanding to the full environment.

Example:

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jobs:
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- deployment: CanaryRelease
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  environment: 'Staging'
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  strategy:
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    canary:
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      firstExitCriteria:
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        count: 50
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        intervalInMinutes: 5
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      secondExitCriteria:
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        count: 100
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        intervalInMinutes: 15

7. Lifecycle Hooks

Lifecycle hooks define steps that execute before or after key deployment stages, enabling more control and flexibility. They can handle actions such as rolling back deployments, verifying configurations, or managing routing of traffic.

Lifecycle Hooks

• preDeploy: Runs before deployment begins.

• deploy: Executes immediately after deployment.

• routeTraffic: Handles traffic routing after deployment.

• postRouteTraffic: Runs after traffic is successfully routed.

• on:failure: Executes specific steps when a deployment or stage fails.

• on:success: Executes specific steps when a deployment or stage succeeds.

Example:

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jobs:
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- deployment: ProductionDeployment
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  environment: 'Production'
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  strategy:
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    runOnce:
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      deploy:
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        steps:
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       - script: echo "Deploying to Production"
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    postRouteTraffic:
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      steps:
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     - script: echo "Post-deployment monitoring"

Example Full Pipeline with Deployment Strategies and Lifecycle Hooks

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trigger:
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- main
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variables:
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  buildConfiguration: 'Release'
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pool:
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  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
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stages:
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- stage: Build
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  displayName: 'Build Stage'
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  jobs:
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   - job: BuildJob
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    steps:
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   - checkout: self
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   - script: dotnet restore
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      displayName: 'Restore Dependencies'
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   - script: dotnet build --configuration $(buildConfiguration)
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      displayName: 'Build Solution'
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- stage: Deploy
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  displayName: 'Deploy Stage'
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  jobs:
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   - deployment: DeployToProduction
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    environment: 'Production'
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    strategy:
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      runOnce:
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        deploy:
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          steps:
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         - script: echo "Deploying to Production"
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    preDeploy:
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      steps:
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     - script: echo "Running pre-deployment checks"
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    routeTraffic:
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      steps:
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     - script: echo "Routing traffic to new deployment"
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    postRouteTraffic:
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      steps:
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     - script: echo "Post-deployment monitoring"
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- stage: Canary
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  displayName: 'Canary Release'
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  dependsOn: Deploy
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  jobs:
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   - deployment: CanaryDeployment
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    environment: 'Canary'
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    strategy:
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      canary:
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        firstExitCriteria:
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          count: 50
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          intervalInMinutes: 5
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        secondExitCriteria:
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          count: 100
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          intervalInMinutes: 15

Summary