Day 16: Environment Configuration

Lab 1: Create Variable Groups 📦

Objective: Create variable groups for different environments
Time: 30 minutes

Exercise 1.1: Create Development Variable Group

1 Access Library

Go to Azure DevOps → Pipelines
Click "Library" (in left menu)
You'll see Variable groups page

2 Create Dev Variable Group

Click "+ Variable group"
Variable group name: dev-config
Description: Development environment configuration

3 Add Variables

Click "+ Add" and add these variables:

Name	Value
dbServer	dev-sql.database.windows.net
dbName	CalculatorDB_Dev
apiUrl	https://dev-api.example.com
logLevel	DEBUG
environment	Development

4 Save Variable Group

Review all variables
Click "Save" button (top-right)
Variable group is now created!

Exercise 1.2: Create Staging and Production Groups

1 Create Staging Variable Group

Name: staging-config

Name	Value
dbServer	staging-sql.database.windows.net
dbName	CalculatorDB_Staging
apiUrl	https://staging-api.example.com
logLevel	INFO
environment	Staging

2 Create Production Variable Group

Name: prod-config

Name	Value
dbServer	prod-sql.database.windows.net
dbName	CalculatorDB_Production
apiUrl	https://api.example.com
logLevel	ERROR
environment	Production

3 Verify All Groups Created

Go to Pipelines → Library
See 3 variable groups:
✅ dev-config
✅ staging-config
✅ prod-config

✅ Checkpoint: Three variable groups created with environment-specific values

Lab 2: Use Variable Groups in Pipeline 🔗

Objective: Reference variable groups in multi-stage pipeline
Time: 35 minutes

Exercise 2.1: Update Pipeline with Variable Groups

1 Navigate to Project

cd $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\testing-demo\calculator
notepad azure-pipelines-multistage.yml

2 Add Variable Groups to Stages

Update your DeployDev stage:

- stage: DeployDev
  displayName: 'Deploy to Development'
  dependsOn: Build
  variables:
  - group: dev-config  # Load dev variables
  
  jobs:
  - deployment: DeployDev
    environment: 'Development'
    strategy:
      runOnce:
        deploy:
          steps:
          - task: DownloadPipelineArtifact@2
            inputs:
              artifactName: 'calculator-app'
          
          # Display configuration
          - script: |
              echo "===== DEPLOYMENT CONFIGURATION ====="
              echo "Environment: $(environment)"
              echo "Database Server: $(dbServer)"
              echo "Database Name: $(dbName)"
              echo "API URL: $(apiUrl)"
              echo "Log Level: $(logLevel)"
              echo "===================================="
            displayName: 'Show Configuration'

3 Add to Staging Stage

- stage: DeployStaging
  displayName: 'Deploy to Staging'
  dependsOn: DeployDev
  variables:
  - group: staging-config  # Load staging variables
  
  jobs:
  - deployment: DeployStaging
    environment: 'Staging'
    strategy:
      runOnce:
        deploy:
          steps:
          - script: |
              echo "Environment: $(environment)"
              echo "Database: $(dbServer)"
            displayName: 'Show Staging Config'

4 Add to Production Stage

- stage: DeployProduction
  variables:
  - group: prod-config  # Load production variables
  
  jobs:
  - deployment: DeployProduction
    environment: 'Production'
    strategy:
      runOnce:
        deploy:
          steps:
          - script: |
              echo "PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENT"
              echo "Database: $(dbServer)"
              echo "Log Level: $(logLevel)"
            displayName: 'Production Config'

Save and close

5 Commit and Run

git add .
git commit -m "Add variable groups to pipeline"
git push

6 Watch Different Configs

Pipeline runs
Dev stage shows: dev-sql.database.windows.net
Staging shows: staging-sql.database.windows.net
Production shows: prod-sql.database.windows.net
Same code, different configs! ✅

✅ Checkpoint: Variable groups used successfully in pipeline

Lab 3: Working with Secret Variables 🔒

Objective: Store and use sensitive data securely
Time: 25 minutes

Exercise 3.1: Add Secret Variable

1 Open Variable Group

Go to Pipelines → Library
Click on prod-config variable group

2 Add Secret Variable

Click "+ Add" to add new variable
Name: dbPassword
Value: MySecureP@ssw0rd123
🔒 Click the lock icon to mark as secret
Click "Save"

⚠️ After saving: Value shows as "***" - you can't view it again!

3 Use Secret in Pipeline

notepad azure-pipelines-multistage.yml

Update Production deployment:

- stage: DeployProduction
  variables:
  - group: prod-config
  
  jobs:
  - deployment: DeployProduction
    environment: 'Production'
    strategy:
      runOnce:
        deploy:
          steps:
          - script: |
              echo "Database Server: $(dbServer)"
              echo "Password: $(dbPassword)"
            displayName: 'Show Config with Secret'

4 Run and Verify Secret Masking

git add .
git commit -m "Add secret variable usage"
git push

In pipeline logs, you'll see:

Database Server: prod-sql.database.windows.net
Password: ***

✅ Secret masked! Value is hidden in logs for security

✅ Checkpoint: Secrets stored and used securely

Lab 4: Environment-Specific Config Files 📄

Objective: Create and use different config files per environment
Time: 40 minutes

Exercise 4.1: Create Config Files (.NET Example)

1 Navigate to .NET Project

cd $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\testing-demo\CalculatorApp

2 Create Base Configuration

notepad appsettings.json

Add base configuration:

{
  "AppSettings": {
    "ApplicationName": "Calculator API",
    "Version": "1.0.0"
  },
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=localhost;Database=CalculatorDB"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information"
    }
  }
}

Save and close

3 Create Development Config

notepad appsettings.Development.json

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=dev-sql.database.windows.net;Database=CalculatorDB_Dev"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Debug"
    }
  },
  "ApiSettings": {
    "BaseUrl": "https://dev-api.example.com"
  }
}

4 Create Production Config

notepad appsettings.Production.json

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=prod-sql.database.windows.net;Database=CalculatorDB_Prod"
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Error"
    }
  },
  "ApiSettings": {
    "BaseUrl": "https://api.example.com"
  }
}

5 Set Environment in Pipeline

notepad azure-pipelines.yml

Add ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT variable:

- stage: DeployDev
  jobs:
  - deployment: DeployDev
    environment: 'Development'
    strategy:
      runOnce:
        deploy:
          steps:
          - script: |
              set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
              echo "Using appsettings.Development.json"

6 Commit and Test

git add .
git commit -m "Add environment-specific config files"
git push

✅ Checkpoint: Different config files for each environment

Lab 5: Replace Tokens in Config Files 🔄

Objective: Replace placeholders in config files with pipeline variables
Time: 35 minutes

Exercise 5.1: Create Config Template

1 Create Template File

notepad appsettings.template.json

Add template with tokens:

{
  "AppSettings": {
    "ApplicationName": "Calculator API",
    "Environment": "__ENVIRONMENT__"
  },
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=__DB_SERVER__;Database=__DB_NAME__;User=__DB_USER__;Password=__DB_PASSWORD__"
  },
  "ApiSettings": {
    "BaseUrl": "__API_URL__",
    "Timeout": 30
  },
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "__LOG_LEVEL__"
    }
  }
}

Save and close

2 Update Production Variable Group

Go to Library → prod-config
Add these variables:

Name	Value
DB_USER	prod_admin
DB_PASSWORD	(secret value) 🔒

3 Add Token Replacement Task

notepad azure-pipelines-multistage.yml

Add to deployment steps:

- task: replacetokens@5
  displayName: 'Replace Config Tokens'
  inputs:
    rootDirectory: '$(Pipeline.Workspace)'
    targetFiles: '**/appsettings.template.json => appsettings.json'
    encoding: 'auto'
    tokenPattern: 'doubleUnderscore'
    writeBOM: true

💡 Install Extension:
Go to Marketplace and install "Replace Tokens" extension if needed

✅ Checkpoint: Token replacement working in deployment

🎯 Lab Summary

What You've Accomplished:

✅ Created variable groups for each environment
✅ Used variable groups in pipeline stages
✅ Stored secret variables securely
✅ Created environment-specific config files
✅ Implemented token replacement
✅ Verified different configs per environment

⚙️ Day 16: Environment Configuration - Hands-On Guide

Lab 1: Create Variable Groups 📦

Exercise 1.1: Create Development Variable Group

Exercise 1.2: Create Staging and Production Groups

Lab 2: Use Variable Groups in Pipeline 🔗

Exercise 2.1: Update Pipeline with Variable Groups

Lab 3: Working with Secret Variables 🔒

Exercise 3.1: Add Secret Variable

Lab 4: Environment-Specific Config Files 📄

Exercise 4.1: Create Config Files (.NET Example)

Lab 5: Replace Tokens in Config Files 🔄

Exercise 5.1: Create Config Template

🎯 Lab Summary

What You've Accomplished:

Configuration Management Mastered! ⚙️

🎉 Day 16 Complete!