Setting up Azure DevOps

Azure DevOps is a collection of development tools, services, and features that enable teams to plan, develop, deliver, and maintain software more efficiently. It provides version control, work tracking, and agile tools for planning and tracking work, as well as tools for testing and releasing software.

To set up Azure DevOps, you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Sign up for an Azure DevOps account: (duh 😁) Go to the Azure DevOps website and click on “Start free” or “Start free with GitHub”. Follow the prompts to create a new account.

  2. Create an organization: After you have signed up for an Azure DevOps account, you will need to create an organization. An organization is a group of related projects, and it helps to keep your work organized and isolated from other projects. To create an organization, click on the “Create an organization” button on the dashboard, and follow the prompts to enter the name and location of your organization.

  3. Create a project: After you have created an organization, you will need to create a project within it. A project is a container for all the work that you do in Azure DevOps. To create a project, click on the “New Project” button on the dashboard, and follow the prompts to enter the name and description of your project.

  4. Set up Git for version control: Azure DevOps provides support for Git, the global standard for version control. Select version control or Git to learn more if you are new to either. You will need to have Git installed locally, if you need help click here. Next you will need to setup your Git repository. You have two options to create a Git repo. You can create one from the code in a folder on a computer, or clone one from an existing repo. If you are creating a new repository in Azure Devops select “Repo” from the left menu and then “Files”, from the top menu bar select the drop-down menu and then “+ New repository” as seen in this image. Screenshot of repository menu, select New repository.If the code is in another Git repo, such as a GitHub repo or a different Azure Repo instance, import it into a new or existing empty Git repo, if the code is on your local computer and not yet in version control, either create a new Git repo in your project or add your code to an existing repository. You can also do this through Visual Studio instead of through the web but I am going to assume you already know how to setup a repro if you are using VS.

  5. Invite team members: To collaborate on your project, you will need to invite other team members to join your organization and project. To do this, click on the “Organization Settings” cog in the dashboard, it’s in the lower left-hand corner, and then click on the “Users” tab. From here, you can invite new users to join your organization and assign them to specific projects.

  6. Set up work tracking: Azure DevOps provides tools for tracking and managing work, including work items, Kanban boards, and agile tools. To set up work tracking for your project, click on the “Boards” tab in the project dashboard, and then click on “Boards” below it on the left and finally on the ‘board’ click “New item” button. Follow the prompts to choose a work tracking process and set up a Kanban board or agile tools for your project. You could also add new work items by going to “Boards” and then “Work items”. If you created an item on the board it will also be listed in Work items. Add new item, Kanban board, Agile process.Added item, Agile process.If you select your new item, you can also add more details to the item.

  7. Set up a build pipeline: A build pipeline is a set of automated steps that are used to build, test, and deploy your code. Azure DevOps provides a powerful build system that can be used to automate your build and deployment process. To set up a build pipeline, click on the “Pipelines” tab in the project dashboard, and then click on the “New Pipeline” button and follow the prompts. 

  8. Set up a release pipeline: A release pipeline is a set of automated steps that are used to deploy your code to a production environment. Azure DevOps provides a release management system that can be used to automate the deployment process. To set up a release pipeline, click on the “Releases” tab under “Pipelines”, and then click on the “New Pipeline” button. Follow the prompts to choose a build pipeline and configure your release pipeline.

  9. Set up testing tools: Azure DevOps provides tools for testing your code, including manual testing, automated testing, and load testing. Test plans are not free; however you can get a free 30-day trial. And because the setup and running of test plans is rather extensive, I won’t get into the details of setting them up and using them here, instead see this article on Azure DevOps website for more details on what test plans are and this article on creating test plans in Azure DevOps.

At this point you have a working repo. There are other tasks you can do in Azure DevOps; this is just a very brief overview on getting setup in Azure DevOps. 
 
To learn more about each Azure DevOps service select from the following articles: 

Azure DevOps also provides the following collaboration services.

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Securing Your Azure Environment

Securing Azure is an essential part of using Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Azure provides a range of security features and tools to help protect your data, applications, and infrastructure from threats. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the key steps you can take to secure your Azure environment.

  1. Use Azure Active Directory (AD) for identity and access management: Azure AD is a cloud-based identity and access management service that provides single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Azure resources. You can use Azure AD to manage user accounts and control access to your resources. See Identity and access management best practices.

  2. Enable network security: Azure provides several options for securing your network, including virtual private networks (VPNs), network security groups (NSGs), and Azure Firewall. VPNs (also called VPN gateway) allow you to securely connect your on-premises network to your Azure resources, while NSGs allow you to control inbound and outbound traffic to your Azure resources. Azure Firewall is a cloud-based network security service that provides protection against external threats.

  3. Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Defender for Cloud is a Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) for all of your Azure, on-premises, and multicloud (Amazon AWS and Google GCP) resources. It provides a centralized dashboard for monitoring your security posture score, provides recommendations and alerts you to potential threats.

  4. Implement data security: Azure provides several options for securing your data, including Azure Storage Service Encryption, Azure Disk Encryption (you should be using managed disks), and Azure Key Vault. Azure Storage Service Encryption automatically encrypts your data at rest in Azure Storage, while Azure Disk Encryption encrypts your virtual machine (VM) disks. Azure Key Vault is a secure, cloud-based service for storing and managing sensitive information, such as cryptographic keys and secrets.

  5. Use Azure Identity Protection: Azure Identity Protection is a security service that helps you protect your users from identity-based threats. It provides features such as risk-based multifactor authentication, suspicious sign-in alerts, and passwordless authentication.

  6. Enable Azure Monitor: Azure Monitor is a monitoring service that helps you understand how your resources are performing and enables you to diagnose and resolve issues. It provides alerts and notifications when issues arise, so you can take action to prevent them from becoming major problems.

  7. Use Azure Policy: Azure Policy is a tool that helps you ensure compliance with your organization’s standards and best practices. It allows you to define policies that enforce rules on your resources, such as requiring VMs to have the latest patches or prohibiting the use of certain types of resources. Again, the number one reason cloud projects fail is because of lack of governance.

  8. Enable Azure Backup: Azure Backup is a cloud-based backup service that helps you protect your data and recover from data loss. It provides features such as scheduled backups, point-in-time recovery, and the ability to restore data to any point in time. 

  9. Use Azure Site Recovery (ASR): Azure Site Recovery is for disaster recovery, not to be confused with Azure Backup which is for backups. ASR is used for snapshots and restoring your physical and virtual machines during a disaster.  

In conclusion, securing your Azure environment is an essential part of using the platform and the items listed here are really just the tip of the iceberg. But by following best practices and using the security features and tools provided by Azure, you can protect your data, applications, and infrastructure from threats. It is important to regularly review and update your security measures to ensure that they are effective in protecting your resources.

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