[Updated 5 Apr 2016]

Like what you see in the new Release Management service in VS Team Services and in TFS server? Are you currently using the rich client to connect to the previous version of Release Management service in VS Team Services or to an on-premises Release Management 2013 or 2015 server? Would you like to move to the new web-based version of RM? If your answer to these questions is Yes, then read on for some guidance on how to move to the new RM.

Move from vNext release templates in Release Management Server 2013 or 2015

In case you are currently connecting to an on-premises Release Management Server and have configured a vNext release template, then you would have done the following –

• Added the on-premises TFS Server that hosts the build system to RM
• Created PS/DSC scripts for deployment and included them in the build output
• Setup dedicated machines for servers to execute the deployment scripts on

In the web-based RM, you would create release definitions and leverage the same PS/DSC scripts for deploying to remote servers. See this article for more information.

Move from Agent-based release templates in Release Management Server 2013 or 2015

In case you are currently connecting to an on-premises Release Management Server and have configured agent-based release templates, you would have to do one of the following:

• Look for tasks that are equivalent to the tools and actions you are used to. The Visual Studio Marketplace has a number of Build and Release extensions that provide similar functionality.
• The ALM Rangers have put together a great tool and guidance to help you with this migration. The tool generates Powershell scripts from your release templates, which can then be used as part of the release definitions in the new service. You can find all the details here.

FAQs

1. I get the following error when connecting from the Release Management client to the Release Management service in VSTS: “Current client version is not compatible. You must upgrade the client.” Why and what should I do?

You can no longer connect to the RM service in VSTS using WPF client. You should start using the Release hub in web access.

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