Deployment API and multi-stage YAML pipelines - an update

Recap

It has been almost 2 years since my last blog on reusable multi-stage YAML pipelines to manage Optimizely DXP deployments.

A lot has changed since then so wanted to take the opportunity to give them a much needed update.

To recap, I created these portable YAML pipelines to use across projects for quick and consistent setup of CI/CD workflows. These pipelines directly use the EpiCloud Powershell module so you have full control and access to the scripts if you need to change anything to fit your requirements or quickly leverage any updates to the EpiCloud module.

What's New?

The following changes have been made to the YAML pipelines

• The `Integration` pipeline updated to support direct deploy to the Integration environment using the code package approach. 
• The old Integration pipeline renamed to `Integration-WebDeploy` for deploying using the Azure App Service Deploy method. This is provided for legacy purposes and can be used to deploy to an additional DXP environment that serves as the Development / Integration environment.
• The 'Release` pipeline updated to support Smooth / Zero downtime deployments
• The `Release` pipeline updated to allow for manual validation step before completing Production deployment
• Support for variable groups
• Added runtime parameters

What about .Net 5?

While the pipelines currently don't support .Net 5 build process, they can be easily repurposed for a .Net 5 / CMS 12 project. Apart from the build and publish commands, the rest of the processes should be the same. Otherwise stay tuned for .Net 5 YAML pipelines in the next update.

Summary

Traditionally, the Azure DevOps Classic UI editor is preferred for build and release pipelines. However, there are some benefits to using YAML pipelines including source-controlled pipeline files and having a unified view of your build and deployment processes. Read more about the differences between YAML and Classic pipelines and decide if YAML suits your DevOps approach.

For the latest pipeline files and documentation, please refer to my GitHub repository

I'd love to get any feedback/comments/questions.