Installing Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server SP1

Topic(s)
Audience

Everyone

I have been trying since SP1 was released to get it installed at Aggreko, but due to our global, three time zones, development team and release schedules it has been very difficult to get some time set aside for it.

Now that I am leaving, last day is Tuesday 17th November, there was more of an apatite to take the hit on time and get it installed.

While I may be late to the game for SP1, I was conscious that a lot of gotchas around the installation had been reported when it was released.

You can find a full list on Brian Harry‘s blog on his Problems installing TFS SP1 post, but I have to say that I have never had an install, except maybe 2010, go more smoothly. Its always the same when you take lots of precautions for Murphy’s Law to rear its head, nothing goes wrong ;).

We have a single virtual server instance of TFS with the only architectural customisation is the link between TFS and our corporate MOSS environment.

Release Plan

  1. Turn off remote access to TFS websites
    image
  2. Verify access to TFS is not possible remotely
    image
  3. Run full SQL backup
    image
  4. Take a snapshot (VM Ware) of the TFS server [Infrastructure Team]
  5. Install VS2008 SP1 if client installed
    image
  6. Install TFS2008 Service Pack 1
    image
    If any problems are encountered refer to Brian Harry’s post on resolving SP1 install issues: http://blogs.msdn.com/bharry/comments/1627061.aspx
  7. Follow test plan
  8. If tests fail, follow back out plan
  9. Done

Test Plan

  1. Check event log for errors
    image
  2. Check all services are running
    image
  3. Test web access
    image
  4. Test Visual Studio Access
    image

Back out Plan

1. Restore last snapshot

2. Start TFS website in IIS

3. Test TFS Services by connecting through Visual Studio 2005 / 2008

4. Test Web Access (http://tfs01.northwind.com)

Conclusion

Although there seemed to be a lot of noise around the time that SP1 was released, the great god Murphy left me alone in this instance. It just goes to show, simpler is better…

Create a conversation around this article

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin

Read more

Martin Hinshelwood
For a long time now I have been searching for that perfect domain that epitomised the vision, the why, of what I am trying to achieve with my customers and the industry at large. Now I have found it in http://nkdagility.com
Martin Hinshelwood
At the MVP Summit I was appalled by the number of people who asked questions about new features for supporting hierarchical tasks! I shared a disgusted look with Peter Provost and we had a quick (and I mean really quick) conversation that resulted in this post. it really comes down …
Martin Hinshelwood
In my journey of delivering an immersive Product Development Mentor Program over the last eight weeks, a compelling narrative unfolded that beautifully illustrates the essence and true strength of Scrum. This story, rooted in the practical application of Scrum through Minecraft, unveils the depth of adaptability and resilience that Scrum …
Martin Hinshelwood
The Boards in Azure DevOps are a powerful tool that your teams can leverage to enable transparent visualization of the current state of value delivery.  However, the inclusion of Blocked columns can stealthily erode the very foundations of efficiency these boards are meant to uphold. By obfuscating the state of …