Recommendations for Tier 1 development environment in D365 F&O

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by Rhushikesh R

758

Hi Experts,

Well I have already asked many questions related to Tier 1 development environment on this platform. But I would like to clarify few more points.

Microsoft provides 2 options for Tier 1 environment, Build VM and Develop VM.

It has been recommended by Microsoft that we must use Build VM for only build and deployment process and Development VM only for code development. However I have observed many times below scenarios,

1. Some client use only Development VM and create the deployable package through Visual Studio and upload it to LCS.

2. Some client only use Build VM and they develop, build and deploy the code using Azure Pipeline.

Question 1 : My question is how should I convince my client to have one separate Build environment and one separate Development environment? Is there any supporting MS document to convince my client?

I am asking this question, as one of my client's VM is on PU35 currently which is Development VM. And I am about to deploy new Build VM with PU37 by deleting existing Development one.

The purpose of deploying build VM with PU37 is I want to set the process of deployment through Azure Pipeline and not through Visual Studio.

Question 2 :If my client cannot afford 2 environments, shall I go ahead on deploying Build VM with PU37? Would it cause in any issue in future?

Question 3 :Also recently I received one email as below. Can anybody please tell, does below email has any links with above discussed scenarios?

7416.Email.png

I have the same question (0)

All responses (4)

Answers (2)

Verified answer

nmaenpaa 101,166 Moderator on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

1. You need to create deployable packages using a build environment or a managed build agent. If you use managed build agent, you don't need a separate environment for the build.

You technically can create deployable package from the dev VM Visual Studio, but you should never do that. If you do it', you can't know if the code in the package was actually in source control or not. You just create a package of whatever local code you happened to have on that system. The risk for problems is huge.

docs.microsoft.com/.../continuous-delivery-faq

Do I need build environments?

Yes, you should take advantage of the build and test automation tools provided in the build environments. You can deploy build environments from your Lifecycle Services (LCS) project. Creating daily builds and daily regression tests are key tools to enable the continuous delivery and maintain the quality of your application.

2. Not having a separate build environment or a hosted pipeline will be more expensive than having one. This is because you will eventually have problems and resolving them costs time and money. Cost of your dedicated build system / build automation can be as little as 20-30 EUR / month. But of course depends on your setup and usage.

3. This email means that Microsoft will not provide any Tier1 system anymore with the D365 subscription. Instead you can only use Cloud hosted systems (in your own Azure subscription) or a local VM. But it doesn't have any impact on the discussion about how many environments in total you need to have.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rhushikesh R 758 on at

Like (0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Thank you Nikolaos for detailed replies of my all questions.

You mentioned that, if I use managed build agent, I don't need a separate environment for the build.

Could you please share me any reference link for configure the same? I am not at all aware about the agent configuration. I will be deploying new Development VM with PU37 for one of my clients in next week. And I want to set the deployment process through Azure Pipeline. Which steps I should follow to achieve the same?

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Verified answer

nmaenpaa 101,166 Moderator on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi Rhkushikesh,

I searched the web for "Dynamics 365 Operations build agent" and found this doc: docs.microsoft.com/.../hosted-build-automation

About the deployment process setup, I suggest to search for product documentation and existing community discussions. If you have questions after that, please post a new question.

Let's discuss only "Recommendations for Tier 1 development environment" in this discussion.

Thanks!

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Rhushikesh R 758 on at

Like (1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Thank you Nikolaos. In case I need any more help on deployment process setup I will post separate question.

Your replies clarified all my doubts.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No