Can somebody explain (better than the technet/msdn docs) what the auto provider exactly does, how it works, and when to use it.
This is in regard to Web Deploy. I've seen a lot of documentation specifying -dest:auto and it's not really making sense to me.
The auto provider specifies that the provider on a destination will be
the same as the source provider.
Example
msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:appHostConfig="MySite"
-dest:auto,computername=Server1
The auto provider enables you to avoid entering the full path for the
-dest argument when the destination argument is the same as the
-source argument. It also removes the need to copy the manifest file
separately from an archive or package.
The auto provider takes the source that you specify and uses a
corresponding location on the destination computer. For example, if
you specify appHostConfig=Site1 as the source, the destination on the
target computer will be Site1. This is useful when you want to
synchronize a Web site "as is" to a remote machine.
technet docs for auto provider
Example that doesn't make sense:
msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:package=myapp.zip -dest:auto
Why would you ever set the destination exactly to the source? What is the point? Aren't you simply overwiting the source with iteslf?
The generated cmd file generated from publishing a package in VS2010 generates something like this:
"C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy V2\\msdeploy.exe" -source:package='MySourcePath' -dest:auto"
Doesn't auto mean the source will just overwrite itself? But it doesn't, it actually updates the IIS web site (based on the settings in the manifest)
I've tried using package as the destination and in this case it did update the source package and not the IIS site.
The catalyst for this question is that I'm implementing CI and I 've always used msbuild/xcopy in the past. I want to utilize msdeploy now. I want to understand it rather than simply calling the myproject.cmd that's generated from visual studio.
For example, this SO link specifies using the auto provider for the dest argument.
Thanks
I think you've actually figured out the answer for yourself.
If the source is a package and the destination is auto, that simply means that the components specified inside the package will be "unzipped" and placed on the destination server. In the -source:package -dest:auto syntax, "auto" does not mean that the package itself is the destination.
And, as you observe, if you specify a package as the destination, whatever you specify for the source will indeed be packaged up as a zip file that you can later use as a source to deploy elsewhere.
Related
The question is a follow up to this one: Generate Web.Debug config which could be debugged](Generate Web.Debug.config which could be debugged)
I have defined a transformation for web.debug.config. During compilation I see the following:
Transformed Web.config using C:\data\Main\WebRole\Web.Debug.config into
C:\data\Main\obj\obj\x64\Debug\WebRole.csproj\TransformWebConfig\ [...]
transformed\Web.config.
Checked Web.config in the specified location - it is correct (transformation succeeded)
But when I start the service in the azure emulator I get an alert that
Why does it happen? Looks that incorrect web.config is taken. Where should I specify the location of correct (transformed) file?
The key thing to realise with web.config Transforms (and is mentioned in the answer to your linked question) is that they are only part of the story.
When you build your sources, the transformed web.config file is built into the /obj/ folder, ready for deployment.
It is only the act of deploying your solution somewhere that puts the transformed config file into use - as noted in the docs:
When you deploy the Web application by using the selected build configuration and by using either a deployment package or one-click publish, the Web.config file is transformed according to your specifications.
How are you running the application after you build it? You need to publish or deploy it using one of the built in mechanisms that support web transforms to see those changes on your site.
If you are running the emulator against the original source files, they won't see the transformed web.config file - which is why typically the debug build doesn't have any transforms and you then turn off debugging with your Release build which is then deployed to production.
As you're trying to test this in the emulator you should be able to do the following:
In the Solution Explorer, ensure you've selected a file within the project that runs in the emulator.
From the Build menu, select "Publish [Project Name".
In the Publish Wizard, create a new "Profile" using the "Custom" publish target.
In the "Connection" pane select "File System" as the publish method, and give it a suitable target location.
In the "Settings" pane choose the appropriate configuration (in your case probably "Debug"), and set any other options that you'd like.
Then press "Publish", and the project should be built, and then deployed to the new file location.
You should then be able to start the emulator from this newly published location, which will be using your transformed web.config.
I have found this solution and it works perfectly
https://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sascha-dittmann.de%2Fpost%2FWebConfig-Transformation-im-Windows-Azure-Compute-Emulator.aspx&anno=2
I think this might be an IIS7 permissions thing, but I'm tagging it with OpenWrap because I might be wrong. When I try to publish a wrap to an HTTP repository I get the following error:
PS C:\OpenWrapExamples\Ninject> o publish-wrap -Name Ninject -remote MyHttpRepo
# OpenWrap Shell 2.0.0.10
# Copyright © naughtyProd Limited 2009-2011
# Using C:\OpenWrapExamples\Ninject\wraps\_cache\openwrap-1.0.1.81349963\bin-net35\OpenWrap.dll (1.0.0.0)
Publishing package 'Ninject-2.2.0.85378492.wrap' to 'MyHttpRepo'
The repository OpenWrap.Repositories.Http.HttpRepositoryNavigator is read-only.
I've tried setting the permissions on the folder, but that doesn't work either.
If you just exposed an indexed-folder (one you added with file:///path/) as an IIS site, it will be read-only (as there's little we can do with that).
If you use OpenWrap 1.0, , you can simply add two remotes, one for the UNC path (so you can publish) and the other one for the http one (so you can read the content back).
If you use the upcoming OpenWrap 2.0.1, you can simply add both in one go
o add-remote http://server/ -publish file://server/path/to/share
If you want a repository writeable over HTTP, you can implement that feature yourself rather easily: have your index file at /index.wraplist, add an endpoint that support a POST with some content (that's the package), say at /upload, and add the following to your index.wraplist:
OpenWrap will then happily upload to an http endpoint.
How I make the package
I make the msdeploy package like this:
msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:iisApp=c:\content\ -dest:package=c:\pkg.zip
The c:\content directory has a single index.html file.
Result
The output looks like this:
Info: Adding package (package).
Info: Adding child iisApp (c:\content\).
Info: Adding child createApp (c:\content\).
Info: Adding child contentPath (c:\content\).
Info: Adding child dirPath (c:\content\).
Info: Adding child filePath (c:\content\index.html).
Total changes: 6 (6 added, 0 deleted, 0 updated, 0 parameters changed, 0 bytes copied)
If I extract the content of c:\pkg.zip into directory c:\pkg it looks like this:
archive.xml
systemInfo.xml
Content\c_C
Content\c_C\content
Content\c_C\content\index.html
If I dump the package like this:
msdeploy.exe -verb:dump -source:package=c:\pkg.zip -xml
I get:
<output>
<MSDeploy.iisApp>
<iisApp path="c:\content\">
<createApp
path="c:\content\"
isDest="False"
managedRuntimeVersion=""
enable32BitAppOnWin64=""
managedPipelineMode=""
applicationPool=""
appExists="True" />
<contentPath path="c:\content\">
<dirPath
path="c:\content\"
securityDescriptor="D:"
parentSecurityDescriptors=""
attributes="Directory">
<filePath
path="index.html"
size="0"
attributes="Archive"
lastWriteTime="07/07/2011 20:58:00"
securityDescriptor="D:" />
</dirPath>
</contentPath>
</iisApp>
</MSDeploy.iisApp>
</output>
How I want it to be
I don't want the package to depend upon the current location of the site files. I'm going to send the package to a customer, and I don't want any detailes about the packaging process to get shipped with the package. I want the content of the package c:\pkg.zip to be like this:
archive.xml
systemInfo.xml
Content\index.html
I want the package to be able to create an IIS application, so I need a virtual path. I also want to install the package into the default location. So the physical path also has to change. I want the dump to look something like this:
<output>
<MSDeploy.iisApp>
<iisApp path="Default Web Site\Site">
<createApp
path="Default Web Site\Site"
isDest="False"
managedRuntimeVersion=""
enable32BitAppOnWin64=""
managedPipelineMode=""
applicationPool=""
appExists="False" />
<contentPath path="c:\inetpub\wwwroot\site">
<dirPath
path="c:\inetpub\wwwroot\site"
securityDescriptor="D:"
parentSecurityDescriptors=""
attributes="Directory">
<filePath
path="index.html"
size="0"
attributes="Archive"
lastWriteTime="07/07/2011 20:58:00"
securityDescriptor="D:" />
</dirPath>
</contentPath>
</iisApp>
</MSDeploy.iisApp>
</output>
I have changed the iisApp and createApp provider path attributes to be Default Web Site\Site. And I changed the contentPath and dirPath provider path attributes to be c:\inetpub\wwwroot\site.
Questions
How can I accomplish this?
You need to look at MS Deploy replace rules, a useful feature well hidden on the MS Deploy Team Blog.
In your case, you will need to extend your command line with a pile of replace expressions, something like this:
msdeploy.exe
-verb:sync
-source:iisApp=c:\content\
-dest:package=c:\pkg.zip
-replace:objectName=iisApp,targetAttributeName=path,
replace="Default Website\Site"
-replace:objectName=createApp,targetAttributeName=path,
replace="Default Website\Site"
-replace:objectName=contentPath,targetAttributeName=path,
replace="c:\inetpub\wwwroot\site"
-replace:objectName=dirPath,targetAttributeName=path,match="^c:\content",
replace="c:\inetpub\wwwroot\site"
Running this should produce your desired output.
In the above sample, the first 3 replace rules match by tag name (objectName) and attribute name (targetAttributeName), and overwrites with the specified replace string.
The last replace rule will match all path attributes of all dirPath tags beginning with "c:\content" and will replace only that part of the attribute value with the replace string.
Finally, I haven't found a way to avoid having the package zip-file contain the original source folder names. The only workaround would be to package from a neutral, temporary location like "c:\site".
So the procedure is:
Copy your stuff to a neutral, temporary location.
Create your package from here.
Use the verb:dump to see the generated xml.
Create your package again with added replace rules for everything you want changed in the package.
Take a headache pill ;-)
I had more or less the same problems.
First things first:
The long deployment-machine-specific paths
To that effect, I used a trick found at http://sedodream.com/2013/01/13/WebPackagingFixingTheLongPathIssue.aspx
As suggested in the post, one can modify the desired (you can have several) .pubxml file under the Properties/PublishProfiles folder in your project. This is the approach I followed since it allowed me to customize the behavior per publishing profile.
If I'm not mistaken though, I believe you can apply the same modification to the {project-name}.wpp.targets file (which probably doesn't exists yet) on the project root directory. Changes here though, affect the web publishing pipeline (wpp) and thus all publishing profiles found in the project.
However...
This approach is just about to spoil your deployment when it comes time to replace your connection strings with those provided by your publishing profile. The reason: the above trick doesn't affect connection strings since they are being created automatically by the wpp at build time. Buh-huh!
The solution I found for that problem was twofold:
1.) Created a parameters.xml file where I manually declared the connection strings. Ok, maybe I copied them from the parameters.xml file within my package's .zip file since I was deploying to a package. That helped.
They look somegthing like this:
<parameter name="myConnection-Web.config Connection String" defaultValue="" tags="SqlConnectionString"
description="myConnection Connection String used in web.config by the application to access the database.">
<parameterEntry kind="XmlFile" scope="DeploymentPackage\\Web\.config$" match="/configuration/connectionStrings/add[#name='myConnection']/#connectionString" />
</parameter>
2.) Included the following line at the top of the same .pubxml file we modified earlier
<AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings>false</AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings>
And... Voilà!
Create ISS App
With the above approach hopefully you declared several parameters, including the connection strings.
When you create a package, however, regardless of wheter you created a parameters.xml or not, a *.SetParameters.xml template file is created for you. Within it you will see as the very first parameter the "IIS Web Application Name", which will default to whatever you inserted in your publishing profile. You can change that; to whatever you want.
Remember I said template before? I meant it; it's just a template. You're suppose to take that *.SetParameters.xml file and make as many copies of it as needed. What are they for? Environment related parameters. You could have a:
DEV.SetParameters.xml
QA.SetParameters.xml
Staging.SetParameters.xml
Production.SetParameters.xml
... and so on and so forth
and then use the parameters file best suited for the job (or the environment) like so:
{yourProjectName}.deploy.cmd /Y /M:{targetServer} [...] -setParamFile:QA.SetParameters.xml
or its equivalent MsDeploy command line of course.
Now, by default, the manifest created for you at build time, and stashed within your package under the archive.xml file, will use an iisApp provider first and foremost. This is good, cause this provider, unlike the createApp provider, will actually create the directory for you if it doesn't exist. At least according to this note from TechNet:
"Unlike the iisApp provider, if the physical folder for the new application does not exist, the createApp provider does not create a physical folder underneath the folder of the parent site; it only creates a reference in configuration to such a folder. If you want a physical folder created, you will have to create it manually before or after using createApp. For this reason, you should normally use the iisApp provider instead. The iisApp provider is the more appropriate choice because it uses the createApp provider as an initial step in a series of steps that include the creation of the application in configuration, the creation of a physical folder for the application if the folder does not exist, and the copying of content files into the folder of the new application."
I would be happy to include the links... but since I don't have 10+ points I'm allowed only one per post. Go figure! :)
So, in short...
... by the work done on the first part, you probably won't need to do much in order to have the folder created at deploy time in the target server.
In case you do need to override that though, you can either define your own manifest file and deploy off of it (a separate topic)... or you can follow #peter_raven advice and override its value using the -Replace rules from MsDeploy.
Either one would work as a charm.
The package prefix is removed by supplying the kind, scope, and match properties as shown below:
"msdeploy.exe" \
-verb:sync \
-source:iisApp="[Path to your website contents]" \
-declareParam:name="IIS Web Application Name",kind="ProviderPath",scope="IisApp",match="^C:\\path\\to\\your\\site\\folder",defaultValue="Default Web Site/SomeSite" \
-dest:package=[WebDeployPackageName].zip
I've managed to resolve a problem with manually defined connection strings while using the solution from #SkyFighter. Now one can use the auto-parameterization feature and have the connection string parameters with correct scopes.
Fortunately there is a place inside WPP to inject into. Unfortunately I had to use AfterTarget/BeforeTarget rather than SomeTargetDependsOn variables to narrow down the new target's placement.
And here is the target itself:
<Target Name="Replace_WebConfigsToAutoParmeterizeCS_TransformScope"
AfterTargets="PreAutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStrings"
BeforeTargets="AutoParameterizationWebConfigConnectionStringsCore"
Condition=" '$(EnableAddReplaceToUpdatePacakgePath)'=='true' ">
<ItemGroup>
<_WebConfigsToAutoParmeterizeCS>
<TransformScope>$([System.String]::Copy('%(TransformScope)').Replace('$([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath($(WPPAllFilesInSingleFolder)))', '$(PackagePath)'))</TransformScope>
</_WebConfigsToAutoParmeterizeCS>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
It is driven by the same variables as in the Sayed's sample for fixing long paths. So place this target anywhere those variables already available.
P.S. This trick/hack requires at least MSBuild v3.5 where metadata manipulation was first introduced.
I created a transformation file "Web.Release.config" with a specific configuration (appsetings,connectionstring, bindings). In the same project, I created the parameters.xml file as well, and added a couple of parameters of my configuration (app setings, bindings).
After this I built the deployment package "mypackage.zip."
I went and modified the setparameters.xml file with the intention of deploying mypackage.zip using a different configuration to the one specified in the transformation file "Web.Release.config". But when I deployed the package, msdeploy ignores the parameterization, even though I specify to use the setparameter.xml during deployment.
are transformation files and parameterization mutually exclusive?
I am not sure if I fully understand your question, but here is a shot.
In Visual Studio 2010 Web.config transformations are executed based on the build configuration that is being used to publish/package. So in your example you stated that you created a config transform, Web.Release.config, and then you said "...with the intention of deploying mypackage.zip using a different configuration...". If you want to deploy a different configuration (i.e. not Release) then your config transformation will not kick in. You will need to create another web.config transformation which has similar content (or the same) as web.release.config.
Can you let me know if that helps, if not can you provide more details?
I'm struggling to get web.config transformations working with automated builds.
We have a reasonably large solution, containing one ASP.NET web application and eight class libraries. We have three developers working on the project and, up to now, each has "published" the solution to a local folder then used file copy to deploy to a test server. I'm trying to put an automated build/deploy solution in place using TFS 2010.
I created a build definition and added a call to msdeploy.exe in the build process template, to get the application deployed to the test server. So far, so good!
I then tried to implement web.config transforms and I just can't get them to work. If I build and publish locally on my PC, the "publish" folder has the correct, transformed web.config file.
Using team build, the transformation just does not happen, and I just have the base web.config file.
I tried adding a post-build step in the web application's project file, as others have suggested, similar to:
<target name="AfterBuild">
<TransformXml Source="Web.generic.config"
Transform="$(ProjectConfigTransformFileName)"
Destination="Web.Config" />
</target>
but this fails beacuse the source web.config file has an "applicationSettings" section. I get the error
Could not find schema information for the element 'applicationSettings'.
I've seen suggstions around adding arguments to the MSBuild task in the build definition like
/t:TransformWebConfig /p:Configuration=Debug
But this falls over when the class library projects are built, presumably because they don't have a web.config file.
Any ideas? Like others, I thought this would "just work", but apparently not. This is the last part I need to get working and it's driving me mad. I'm not an msbuild expert, so plain and simple please!
Thanks in advance.
Doug
I just went through this. Our build was a bit more complicated in that we have 8 class libraries and 9 web applications in one solution. But the flow is the same.
First off get rid of your after build target. You won't need that.
You need to use the MSDeployPublish service. This will require that it be installed and configured properly on the destination server. Check the following links for info on this part:
Note that the server in question MUST be configured properly with the correct user rights. The following sites helped me get that properly set up.
http://william.jerla.me/post/2010/03/20/Configuring-MSDeploy-in-IIS-7.aspx
http://vishaljoshi.blogspot.com/2010/11/team-build-web-deployment-web-deploy-vs.html
How can I get TFS2010 to run MSDEPLOY for me through MSBUILD?
The next part requires that your build definition have the correct MSBuild parameters set up to do the publish. Those parameters are entered in the Process > 3.Advanced > MS Build Arguments line of the build definition. Here's a hint:
(don't change the following for any reason)
/p:DeployOnBuild=True
/p:DeployTarget=MsDeployPublish
/p:CreatePackageOnPublish=False
/p:MSDeployPublishMethod=WMSVC
/p:SkipExtraFilesOnServer=True
/p:AllowUntrustedCertificate=True
(These control where it's going)
/p:MSDeployServiceUrl="https://testserver.domain:8172/msdeploy.axd"
/p:UserName=testserver\buildaccount
/p:Password=buildacctpassword
/p:DeployIisAppPath="MyApp - TESTING"
Obviously the user will have to be configured in IIS on the target server to be allowed access to that axd (see previous links). And the IisAppPath is the name of the website on the target server.
You won't have to do anything special for the config transformations as the build itself will take care of that for you. Just have the correct setting in the line at Process > 1. Required > Items to Build > Configurations To Build.
Instead of trying to do the deploy by adding tasks myself into the build process template, I followed advice in Vishal Joshi's blog post here.
Now the entire project is built and deployed and the web.config transformations work also. Brilliant!
I now have another problem to solve! The web application references web services and the build process results in an XmlSerializers dll. However, although this is built OK, it does not get deployed to the web host. I think this needs a new post!
Doug