Challenges in Monitoring Object Usage

Currently, operational limits like pipeline usage and top commands can be monitored through the Usage tab, giving some insight into resource consumption. However, object limits—such as the number of projects, dashboards, or teams—have not been similarly traceable. This lack of visibility has posed challenges, especially for heavy users managing multiple organizations and projects. Without a clear view of these limits, users may face unexpected disruptions when limits are reached, leading to confusion and workflow delays.

Introducing Object Limit Tracker in Azure DevOps

To make the process more user-friendly, we’re now visualizing real-time usage for each organization and project directly within Azure DevOps. This enhancement provides visibility into commonly asked object limits, making it easier for users to manage resources proactively and avoid potential issues. While this new feature streamlines access to critical information, you can still refer to our detailed article for a comprehensive overview of all limits.

Organizational Level Limits

• Number of Projects: Maximum of 1,000 projects per organization.
• Work Item Tags: Maximum of 150,000 tags per organization.

Project Level Limits

• Number of Area Paths: Maximum of 10,000 per project, 300 per team.
• Number of Iteration Paths: Maximum of 10,000 per project, 300 per team.
• Number of Teams: Maximum of 5,000 teams per project.
• Number of Project Dashboards: Maximum of 500 per project, 500 per team.
• Number of Delivery Plans: Maximum of 1,000 per project.

Get Started Today

This feature is now available in Azure DevOps. We encourage you to check out our Object Limit Tracker in your organization and project settings and start managing your usage more effectively. As always, we’re here to help—if you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to email us directly or reach out to our support team.

The post Introducing Object Limit Tracker in Azure DevOps appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

Here’s a quick refresher on the New Boards Hub and what you can expect.

How do I know New Boards is the default?

As we roll out to each customer, you’ll receive a welcome message the first time you open a new page in Azure Boards. If you come across this message, it means you’re now on the New Boards Hub.

Is New Boards Hub better?

While the core functionality remains largely the same, you can expect the following improvements:

• Modern design
• Responsive reflows
• Enhanced performance
• Accessibility compliance

We’ve also introduced several new features that are exclusive to the New Boards Hub. For more details, check out the links below.

• Move to column position on Kanban board
• Assigned To children in Kanban cards
• Filter on work item history
• Move to column and move to swimlane
• Option to maintain hierarchy with filters
• Copy work item attachment URL
• Edit work item link types
• Copy link to comment
• Swimlane colors
• Sticky “Save” and “Save and Close”
• Swimlane rules
• Copy link to work item
• Markdown support on work item comments
• Team automation rules
• Add link to GitHub commit or pull request
• Show GitHub pull request details (preview)
• AB# links on GitHub pull requests (preview)
• Connect to GitHub repository search improvements
• Create GitHub branch from work item

What happens if I find an issue?

If you find a problem, please don’t turn off the New Boards Hub. Report the issue via Feedback Ticket or email me directly. We need to know if there is an issue so we can fix it. All feedback is appreciated.

The post New Boards Hub Rollout Update appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

Previously, our public roadmap included Server columns that reflected when we expected the feature to be shipped in Azure DevOps Server. We’ve received feedback from our Azure DevOps Server customers expressing concerns about not having a clear timeline and that they were struggling to align efforts and prioritize upgrade tasks. In addition, not having a specific list of upcoming features for on-prem was creating uncertainty about the future of the on-prem version of the product.

Today, we published an update to our public roadmap that includes a section for the features that we plan to deliver in Azure DevOps Server. This section is not a comprehensive list but will provide a view of our plans and upcoming enhancements for our on-premises solution. The Azure DevOps Server roadmap includes information on feature enhancements, and timelines, ensuring that you have the insights needed to plan and prepare for future deployments and transitions. We believe this will be an invaluable resource for our customers.

Stay tuned to the Azure DevOps Blog for further updates, and please feel free to reach out with feedback or questions by sharing your comments to this blog post.

The post New Azure DevOps Server Roadmap appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

In Azure DevOps, Microsoft-hosted agents (aka Azure Pipelines agents) provide a fully managed, low overhead way to get started with Azure Pipelines. Many customers find that these agents are not flexible enough to meet their needs – not enough power, not enough memory, an inability to connect to private networks, etc. In these cases, teams can use self-hosted agents for maximum flexibility, but at the cost of a significant increase in overhead and maintenance costs.

Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set agents addressed the overheads problem by enabling teams to create agent pools based on Azure VM Scale Sets with any SKU, image, storage or network that teams wanted. While the maintenance overheads were less than what teams were spending on maintaining self-hosted agents, they were still spending significant amount of time maintaining and troubleshooting their pools. Since the VMs were being created in the team’s subscription, it was also difficult for the user and support teams to troubleshoot when things went wrong. We saw an opportunity to further improve the experience of creating and managing custom Azure DevOps pools.

Today, we’re excited to announce the public preview of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP), a feature of Azure DevOps that enables dev teams or platform engineering teams to quickly spin up custom DevOps pools that suit your team’s unique needs. It combines the flexibility of Scale Set agents and the ease of maintenance of Microsoft Hosted agents. It enables engineering teams to establish consistency and best practices while maximizing performance, security, compliance, and cost-efficiency for their custom DevOps Pools. Managed DevOps Pools was inspired by a Microsoft internal service called “1ES(One Engineering Systems) Hosted Pools”. You can read more about the problems Microsoft solved with “1ES Hosted Pools” in Managed DevOps Pools – An Origin Story.

Managed DevOps Pools for Azure DevOps

The Benefits

By using Managed DevOps Pools, teams can expect to see the following key benefits.

Hosted on your behalf

Managed DevOps Pools is a fully managed service where VMs powering the agents are created/managed by Microsoft services in Microsoft owned Azure subscriptions. VM agents are not created in team’s own Azure subscription like it is in Azure DevOps Elastic/VM Scale Set Pools. The host on behalf model reduces the time spent in managing agents, improves reliability and won’t have other services in the same subscription competing for compute cores with your CI/CD agents.

Time spent in Management

Managed DevOps pools will drastically reduce time spent in management of agents that are based on on-premises infrastructure or manually maintained. Teams that are using Azure Virtual Machine Scale Set agents can further reduce the time spent in creating, managing and troubleshooting Scale Sets, by switching to Managed DevOps Pools. Teams that used the service in private preview were able to create new pools in under a minute and spent little time actively managing the pool.

Specific Pools

Due to the ease with which new pools can be created, organizations can very easily create multiple team-specific or workload-specific pools. Creation of specific pools helps teams tailor pools to accelerate the workloads that run on it and eliminates the noisy neighbor problem. A team in private preview created a pool with a memory-optimized SKU, for a build workload that was memory intensive. They then switched only the pipelines that would benefit from a more expensive SKU to the new pool to significantly reduce the duration of their build pipelines.

DevOps Billing

Managed DevOps Pools helps optimize a team’s DevOps bill through many features. It makes it easy for teams to find an optimal balance between a pool’s QoS/performance and cost. Managed DevOps Pools offers advanced features to manage Standby agents and therefore helps teams to better manage cost than Scale Set agent pools. We observed private preview customers that were able to reduce their Azure billing by as much as 50%.

Scalable

Teams that use on-premises infrastructure are limited to the hosts they own. Teams that create agents manually are limited in scale to the maximum agents they create. Scale Set pools perform less optimally when its scale approaches 100 parallel agents. Managed DevOps Pools solves the scaling problem by automatically orchestrating multiple virtual machine scale sets under the hood and enables Managed DevOps Pools to scale to 1000s of agents in a single pool. This also helps Azure DevOps pools better respond to bursty traffic and reduce queuing of pipelines.

Notable Features

Microsoft-hosted Quick-starter Images

Teams can create pools with quick-starter images that contain the same software present in Microsoft hosted agents. This provides an easy transition for teams currently using Microsoft hosted agents that want to use a more powerful agent, require the agents to be stateful, or need to connect securely to their private network.

Standby Agents

Teams can choose to make their pipelines start more quickly by deciding how many agents they want pre-warmed during specific hours of the week or choose the “automatic” option that uses historical data to create standby agents.

Private Networking

Teams can create pools that connect to resources on their private network, such as package registries, secret managers, and other on-premises services.

Bring your own Image

Teams can create pools with images that the team has created with pre-requisites that are unique to their scenario.

Stateful Agents

By default, MDP pools are stateless and a new agent is created for every pipeline job. However, teams can choose to reuse the same agent in multiple jobs to improve performance of their pipelines because of not needing to re-download files or not needing to re-compute operations due to local cache hits. Managed DevOps Pools implements best practices for stateful agents by auto-recycling agents based on time or the agent running out of disk space.

Pick any SKU

Azure offers a variety of compute families that are tailored for various workload requirements. Teams can pick an Azure SKU family and a size that matches their workload’s unique core/memory/disk usage profile to make them more performant or cost effective.

Additional Storage

If teams need extra disk space but are content with the number of cores and memory on their SKU size, they can just add an additional disk without needing to go up a SKU size.

Geographic co-location

Teams can create pools in a geographic location that is closest to the rest of their resources for improved performance due to low network latency or to meet compliance requirements.

Get started now

Managed DevOps Pools for Azure DevOps is now available public preview, and you can access the service directly in the Azure Portal. During the public preview period, you can get started with no extra service-related billing apart from the cost of Azure resources created as part of the environment. To learn more about pricing for compute, storage, networking, and other Azure resources, check out the Azure pricing calculator. 

To learn more about Managed DevOps Pools and getting started with the service, visit the Managed DevOps Pools page. You can request features or report bugs in the Azure DevOps Developer Community portal.

The post Announcing Public Preview of Managed DevOps Pools (MDP) for Azure DevOps appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

Create GitHub branch from work item (new)

You can now create a GitHub branch directly from a work item within Azure DevOps. The “New GitHub Branch” link is available whenever a GitHub connection is configured for your project. This link can be found in all work item context menus, including the work item form, card, backlog, and queries. To create a new branch, simply enter the branch name, select the desired repository, and choose the base branch.

Connect to GitHub repository search improvements (new)

We have enhanced the process of connecting an Azure DevOps project to a GitHub organization, particularly for those managing thousands of GitHub repositories. Previously, you may have encountered challenges such as timeout errors and long wait times. The experience is now optimized, allowing you to search and select repositories without performance issues.

AB# links on GitHub pull requests

AB# links will now appear directly in the Development section of GitHub pull requests. This means you can view the linked work items without navigating through descriptions or comments, providing easier access to those AB# links.

These links will only be available when you use AB# in the pull request description. They won’t appear if you link directly from the work item to the pull request. Removing the AB# link from the description will also remove it from the Development section.

This feature is complete, but it is still in the process of being released.

Show GitHub pull request details (on hold)

You can now see if the GitHub pull request is in draft mode, needs a review, or has status checks running directly from the links on the work item form.

Unfortunately, this feature is currently on hold from being globally released as we work through some outstanding bugs. However, we expect to resolve these issues within the next few weeks, after which we can begin rolling it out to all customers.

Improved AB# validation

We’ve enhanced the Azure Boards app to better notify users about the validity of work item links, helping them spot and fix any issues before merging with a pull request.

What is next?

There are a few more scenarios we have yet to complete. You can expect to see more information about these features on the Azure DevOps Roadmap in the coming weeks.

The post Update on Azure Boards + GitHub Integration appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

8/5 Update: We are currently testing a fix for the loading Teams names issue. We will continue sharing updates in this blog post and expect to announce a release date by the end of this week.

7/19 Update: The issue affecting Boards Team Configuration was successfully resolved with the Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 RTW release. We are still investigating the issue with loading Teams names and will continue to share updates in this blog.

7/16 Update: We are currently investigating issues with loading Boards Team Configuration and loading Teams names. You can use Security settings as a workaround to manage Team members.

We will share updates in this blog as we make progress investigating these issues.

Today, we released Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 RTW. This is our final release of Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 and will be the new supported version for the Azure DevOps Server 2022 server listing.

You can directly install Azure DevOps Server 2022 Update 2 or upgrade from any version of Azure DevOps or TFS, including Team Foundation Server 2015 and newer. You can find the full details in our release notes.

Here are some key links:

• Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 ISO

• Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 Web Install

• Release Notes

• Download Azure DevOps Server 2022.2

• Azure DevOps Server requirements and compatibility

• Installation documentation

We’d love for you to install this release and provide any feedback at Developer Community.

The post Updated: Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 RTW now available appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

The following version of the product has been patched.

Azure DevOps Server 2022.1 Patch 4

If you have Azure DevOps Server 2022.1, you should install Azure DevOps Server 2022.1 Patch 4.

Release notes

• Fixed an issue in wiki and work items where search results were not available for Projects that had Turkish “I” in their name for Turkish locale.

Verifying Installation

• Run devops2022.1patch4.exe CheckInstall, devops2022.1patch4.exe is the file that is downloaded from the link above. The output of the command will either say that the patch has been installed, or that it is not installed.

The post June patches for Azure DevOps Server appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

What is Test & Feedback Extension

If you are new to the Test and Feedback Extension, we invite you to try it out! Testing should no longer be limited to testers. With shorter agile release cycles, teams need to quickly identify issues and enhance product quality.

You can leverage our extension to improve your development cycle by involving every team member in the testing lifecycle. From product owners to developers, testers, UX designers, and others, everyone can test their web apps and provide feedback directly from the browser on any platform: Windows, Mac, or Linux. Teams can drive quality in three easy steps: capture, create, and collaborate.

Find the extension that works for your browser in our Visual Studio Marketplace.

What is New: Migration to Manifest Version 3

For those already familiar with our extension, rest assured that all the features you rely on remain intact. This latest update involves migrating the extension from manifest version 2 to version 3, bringing improved security and performance for a smoother experience. This change does not affect the functionality you are accustomed to; all existing features will continue to work seamlessly.

Key Benefits of the Update

• Enhanced Security: The update to Manifest version 3 introduces advanced security measures, providing better protection for your data and ensuring a safer testing experience.
• Improved Performance: Benefit from more efficient and reliable performance, ensuring smoother and more seamless testing and feedback processes.
• Seamless Transition: All existing features remain intact, allowing you to continue using the extension without any disruptions or changes to your workflow.

How to Update Your Browser Extension

The updated extension will gradually roll out to both Chrome and Edge browsers in the coming weeks. We will monitor performance and feedback to ensure a smooth transition, and then expand the rollout based on the results.

Updating to the latest version of the Azure DevOps Test and Feedback extension is quick and easy. Follow these steps to ensure you are using the most secure and efficient version:

For Chrome Users:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
3. Go to “Extensions” > “Manage Extensions“.
4. Locate the Test & Feedback extension in the extensions list.
5. Click “Update” in the top left corner, if available.

For Edge Users:

1. Open Edge.
2. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
3. Select “Extensions.”
4. Locate the Test & Feedback extension in the extensions list.
5. Click “Update” in the top right corner, if available.

Share Your Feedback

We value your input. If you encounter any issues or have feedback about the new update, please email us directly or reach out to our support team. Happy testing!

The post Test & Feedback Extension in Manifest V3 appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

The following version of the product has been patched.

Azure DevOps Server 2019.1.2 Patch 9

If you have Azure DevOps Server 2019.1.2, you should install Azure DevOps Server 2019.1.2 Patch 9.

Release notes

• Streamline the deployment of agent and tasks updates from previous patches (Patch 5 and 6).

Verifying Installation

• Run devops2019.1.2patch9.exe CheckInstall, devops2019.1.2patch9.exe is the file that is downloaded from the link above. The output of the command will either say that the patch has been installed, or that it is not installed.

The post May patches for Azure DevOps Server appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.

This release includes new features that have been previously released in our hosted version of the product. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Limits for area and iteration paths
• Bypass approvals and checks in pipelines
• Improved YAML validation
• Azure Artifacts support for Cargo Crates
• New Dashboard directory experience
• Quick Copy and import for Test Plan or Suite ID

There are more features with this release, and you can read all about those features in our release notes.

You can download Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 RC today. A direct upgrade to Azure DevOps Server is supported from any version of TFS, including Team Foundation Server 2015 and newer. Let us know any feedback or questions via the Developer Community.

Resources

• Download Azure DevOps Server 2022.2 RC
• Release notes
• Azure DevOps Server requirements and compatibility
• Installation documentation

The post Azure DevOps Server 2022 Update 2 RC now available appeared first on Azure DevOps Blog.