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My Question: How can I run a deployment script from the TFS 2010 build template on a remote system that has only a MSTest agent running?

I know this can be done by activating the Deployment section in the test settings configuration file, but this is not flexible enough. At night a build runs. When the build is successful, a deployment script is placed at a drop location. The drop location is date, project and build definition specific. These parameters are available in the TFS build template we use.

I do not have Lab Management available, just a physical server. I would rather not spoil the physical server with an additional build agent to only do the deployment. The MSTest agent is apparently capable of running deployment scripts, but how do I use that functionality from the TFS build workflow. For example, can I use the RunDeploymentScript activity without having Lab Management?

kroonwijk
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1 Answers1

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PSExec is a great tool for running scripts on remote computers. I use this in Team Deploy that allows you to install MSIs on remote computers from Team Build. You can also run PowerShell on remote computers but it is a little more complicated to set up. Another option is to use MSDeploy. There is a command option that you can run any command on a remote computer. I usually use an InvokeProcess activity to call a PowerShell script on the build server. From the PowerShell script I have called MSDeploy to run a remote PowerShell script on a target server. It sounds bad but worked good.

You can't run the RunDeploymentScript on the target machine. You can use a modified template to deploy to a physical environemnt. Here is a good post on doing this.. The options I mentioned above do not need any agent on it. You can use the ExecuteRemoteTestRun lab management activity without Lab Management to run the MTM Tests with the Test Agent with a Test Controller that is registered to the project collection (Test Manager).

Let me know if you have any questions on any of these options.

MikeDouglasDev
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  • your answer aligns with the approach we also adopted going forward. Yesterday we identified PSExec as a possible workaround to the problem. It is just so anoying to see the a test agent IS capable of executing deployment scripts, but there seems to be no direct way to use this functionality from a build workflow. Anyway, for the bigger audience, this is the correct answer, thanks! – kroonwijk Oct 19 '11 at 07:58
  • Great! Yes, it would be nice to take advantage of more of those features. The Lab Mangement build definition and the physical environment deployment modifications both use the build agent to run the deployment scripts. In TFS 11, the Lab Management deployments will support physical environments with what is called "standard environments". They have also simplified the agent installations and only require the test agent. No more lab and build agents for machines in the environments. Let me know if you run into any challenges with PSExec. – MikeDouglasDev Oct 19 '11 at 13:34