Skip to main content
Welcome to this comprehensive guide on building and releasing pipelines with Azure DevOps. By reinforcing best practices and key concepts, you’ll streamline your CI/CD workflows for faster delivery and higher quality.

​
Azure Pipelines Overview

Azure Pipelines is a fully managed CI/CD service that automates builds, tests, and deployments. With cloud-hosted agents and support for containers, it scales to meet teams’ needs—delivering consistent results and accelerating time to market.

​
Initial Pipeline Configuration

To kick off your CI/CD journey, follow these steps:
  1. Create an Azure DevOps account and set up your project.
  2. Integrate source control using Git, GitHub, or Azure Repos.
  3. Define your pipeline via the Classic editor or a YAML file.
Proper setup lays the foundation for repeatable, reliable pipelines.
Cache dependencies (e.g., NuGet, npm) to reduce build times and save costs.

​
Cost Management

Azure Pipelines billing factors:
  • Concurrent jobs – number of parallel executions
  • Agent type – Microsoft-hosted vs. self-hosted
  • Parallelism level – maximum simultaneous runs
Optimize costs by:
  • Caching dependencies between builds
  • Limiting parallel jobs to critical workflows
  • Leveraging self-hosted agents for predictable workloads
The image is a slide titled "Evaluating Cost" with two sections: "Cost estimation approaches" and "Azure Pipelines pricing models."

​
Tool Selection

Choose the right tools by evaluating:
ConsiderationDetailsExample
Project requirementsFrameworks, languages.NET, Node.js, Python
Azure DevOps extensionsMarketplace integrationsTest plans, SonarCloud, Slack notifications
ScalabilityCommunity support, plugin updatesActive GitHub repos, frequent releases
Align your toolchain with project goals for end-to-end visibility.

​
Licensing

Azure Pipelines offers:
  • Free tier: Ideal for open-source projects and small teams
  • Paid tiers: Additional parallel jobs, self-hosted agents, advanced features
Best practices for license management:
  • Conduct regular usage audits
  • Match license counts to team size and workload
  • Scale license tiers on demand to avoid over-provisioning
Exceeding free tier limits can incur unexpected charges. Monitor job usage in the Azure DevOps portal.
The image is a slide titled "Licensing" with three sections: Azure Pipelines licensing requirements, understanding license tiers, and license management best practices.

​
Connectivity

Network reliability is crucial for pipeline triggers and service hooks:
  • Use dedicated networks for build traffic
  • Configure firewalls and VNet integration for secure access
  • Monitor latency and throughput to detect bottlenecks
The image displays three colored boxes labeled 01, 02, and 03, each describing aspects of connectivity: ensuring reliable connectivity, Azure Pipelines and network configuration, and connectivity best practices.

​
Triggers

Pipeline triggers automate runs based on events:
Trigger TypeDescriptionExample
Push triggerLaunch on code committrigger: branches: include: - main
PR validation triggerValidate pull requestspr: branches: include: - develop
Scheduled triggerRun at specified timesCron: 0 2 * * *
Fine-tune triggers with path filters and conditions to avoid unnecessary builds.

​
Classic Pipelines

The Classic (GUI) editor provides a visual, drag-and-drop experience:
  • Quick setup for simple workflows
  • Access to built-in tasks and marketplace extensions
  • Limited version control compared to YAML
Use when your team prefers a graphical interface and rapid prototyping.
The image is a slide titled "Classic Pipelines" with three colored boxes labeled 01, 02, and 03, each describing different aspects of classic pipelines.

​
YAML Pipelines

Version pipelines as code for full control, reuse, and auditing: 
trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main

jobs:
  - job: Build
    pool:
      vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
    steps:
      - script: echo "Building application..."
      - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
        inputs:
          pathToPublish: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
YAML pipelines excel in complex, multi-stage deployments and infrastructure-as-code scenarios.

​
Build Agents and Parallelism

Build agents execute your CI/CD jobs—choose between:
  • Microsoft-hosted agents for out-of-the-box convenience
  • Self-hosted agents for custom environments and compliance
Parallelism strategies:
  • Configure parallel jobs in pipeline settings
  • Use matrix builds for multiple OS and framework combinations
  • Optimize job dependencies to reduce idle time
The image is a slide titled "Understanding Build Agents and Parallelism," featuring three sections: "Role of build agents in pipelines," "Implementing parallel builds," and "Maximizing efficiency with parallelism."
For more details, visit the Azure Pipelines documentation and explore best practices for CI/CD on the Microsoft Learn portal. Thank you for following along!

Watch Video