Where we started

Our Back-end

• Asp.Net Web API 2 (Service)
   
• DynamoDb (DB)
   
• Psake (Task Runner)
   
• Gis.StratusBuild

Our Front-end

• Angular 4*
   
• Angular Cli
   
• node\npm 

the road

First we met jenkins

Road Bumps

• Lack of Jenkins Knowledge
• Lack of  groovy knowledge
• VSTS Authentication Issues
• Permissions\Access Issues for Remote Team (ongoing)

jenkins Lessons learned

• Setup email notifications ASAP for remote folks
   
• Navigation of the UI is Essential
   
• Be picky about plugins
   
• Test run locally where possible (setup a Jenkins server on your box)

jenkins Lessons learned 2

• Filter your branches as much as possible for improved performance
   
• Use the "Replay" feature in the Build to test changes to your jenkinsfile
   
• Because you will live in the Console Output, you should log judiciously.

then we paid the aws toll

Cost of Crossing

• Cloud Formation Template knowledge
   
• Overwhelming number of tools
   
• Acceptance that you will not remote into every box you work on

Aws Lessons learned

• Reminder: You should treat your servers as cattle, not as pets.
   
• Be prepared to spend a log of time tweaking Cloud Formation Templates
   
• Leverage CodeDeploy and  CloudFormation Logs where possible to troubleshoot deployment issues 

Aws Lessons learned 2

• If your data requires complex filtering\conditionals then consider a traditional db
   
• If your data is lightweight and simply structured and required little configuration then consider DynamoDB
   
• Use the AWS Cli for all configuration tokens\keys etc...

Then we hit .net build ROADBLOCKS

Road Blocks

• Incorrect versions of msbuild
• Invalid\Missing Web Targets
• Binding Redirect Errors
• Environment Inconsistencies 
• Swagger Configuration Errors
• Mixing Net Standard 1.4-2.0 code with Full Framework

.net build Lessons learned

• Do not update nuget assemblies carelessly
   
• Do not mix .net standard versions
   
• YAGNI on refs; Remove what you don't need

.net build Lessons learned

• Verify your build version is the same everywhere
   
• Consider using Paket to lock down build versions
   
• We are still trying to figure this one out.... :(
   

finally we went offroad front-end 

Off Road Action

• Scripting integrations
• IIS Configuration for static js 
• npm version issues
• Ng Tool versions
• npm Global conflicts
• Sass compiler issues

Front-end Lessons learned

• Embrace angular cli tooling
   
• Rely on local node_modules where possible
   
• Avoid installing global npm packages on build server

 

Front-end Lessons learned 2

• Plan for non-trivial effort when upgrading versions of angular and cli
• Consider using Angular Cli Environment variables for use with deployment
   
• Consider Static Hosting on IIS vs Serving via asp.net
   
• Build configuration management tooling into application for fewer endpoint config headaches