Top Azure Pipeline Interview Questions (2024)
What is Azure Pipelines?
What are the key components of Azure Pipelines?
What are agent pools in Azure Pipelines?
How to publish artifacts in Azure Pipelines?
How to define a pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
What are agents in Azure Pipelines?
What is a deployment job in Azure Pipelines?
What is a stage in Azure Pipelines?
How to trigger a pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
How to define variables in Azure Pipelines?
How to define a job in Azure Pipelines?
How to parameterize Azure Pipelines?
How to define deployment environments in Azure Pipelines?
How to integrate Azure Pipelines with source code repositories?
What are pipeline artifacts in Azure Pipelines?
How to control access and permissions in Azure Pipelines?
What is a release pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
How to monitor and troubleshoot pipelines in Azure Pipelines?
What is the difference between a pipeline and a release pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
How to extend Azure Pipelines with custom tasks?
Q: What is Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Microsoft Azure's Azure Pipelines is a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) technology that runs in the cloud. It gives developers the ability to create, test, and deploy apps across many cloud providers and platforms.
Q: What are the key components of Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The following are the primary components that make up Azure Pipelines:
Pipelines
The main components that make up your CI/CD workflow.Jobs
A series of actions carried out one after the other by the same agent.Steps
Independent tasks that carry out particular duties inside a job.Agents
The environment in which jobs are executed.Artifacts
The output produced by a pipeline like deployment packages and build artifacts.Variables
Configurable parameters that can be used to regulate pipeline actions.
Q: What are agent pools in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The agents used in Azure Pipelines can be managed and organised using agent pools. They can be utilised to classify agents according to their attributes, such as availability or ownership. Agent pools offer a logical division and assist in managing the distribution of agents among pipelines.
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Q: How to publish artifacts in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The output of a pipeline, such as build binaries or deployment packages, are known as artifacts.
The PublishPipelineArtifact task in Azure Pipelines can be used to publish
artifacts. We can choose the source folder and the destination directory for the artifacts to
be published using this activity.
Q: How to define a pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The YAML configuration file format, which is user readable and version controlled,
is used to
define a pipeline in Azure Pipelines. The YAML file provides an overview of the
numerous jobs,
stages and steps that make up the CI/CD process.
Q: What are agents in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Agents are the execution environments are where a pipeline's jobs are executed. Microsoft-hosted agents and self-hosted agents are the two types of agents that Azure Pipelines offers. While self-hosted agents are deployed and managed by users in their own infrastructure, Microsoft-hosted agents are offered by Azure and managed by Microsoft.
Q: What is a deployment job in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
In Azure Pipelines, a deployment job is a specific kind of job that can be utilised for deployment of infrastructure or applications. We can specify the deployment process and the target environments, such as virtual machines, Azure Web Apps, or Kubernetes clusters.
Q: What is a stage in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
A pipeline's logical division is called a stage. A phase of the CI/CD process, such as build, test, or deployment is represented by it. A pipeline can have one or more stages, and the stages can operate simultaneously or one after the other.
Q: How to trigger a pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
There are various ways to start Azure Pipelines:
Continuous Integration (CI) trigger
When modifications are committed to the related source code repository, the Continuous Integration (CI) pipeline is triggered.Scheduled trigger
The pipeline is activated at predetermined periods or times.Manual trigger
A user manually initiates the pipeline.
Q: How to define variables in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Variables in Azure Pipelines can be defined at many levels, such as pipeline, stage, and task. They can be used to parameterize and manage the pipeline's behavior. Variables can be set dynamically at runtime or declared in the YAML file.
Q: How to define a job in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
A job is a set of steps that are carried out sequentially on the same agent. You can specify one
or more jobs for a stage in the YAML file. The steps, environment variables, and
agent setup can
vary depending on the job.
Q: How to parameterize Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Parameterization is supported by Azure Pipelines using Variables. In the YAML file, variables can be defined and used to set up pipeline behaviour. Variables can be given as part of pipeline triggers or dynamically set during runtime.
Q: How to define deployment environments in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The environment keyword in the YAML file is used to define deployment environments in Azure Pipelines. The environment's name, resources, and other details can all be specified. Applications or infrastructure can be deployed to particular target environments using environments.
Q: How to integrate Azure Pipelines with source code repositories?
Ans:
Various source code repositories, such as Azure Repos, GitHub, Bitbucket, and others, can be integrated with Azure Pipelines. Continuous integration is made possible by configuring a pipeline to launch immediately each time changes are sent to the repository.
Q: What are pipeline artifacts in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The files and directories created during the execution of a pipeline are known as pipeline
artefacts. They can be utilised to transfer output between pipeline stages. The
PublishPipelineArtifact task and the DownloadPipelineArtifact task
both allow for to be
published and consuming of artifacts.
Q: How to control access and permissions in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Azure DevOps security roles and permissions are used to control access and permissions in Azure Pipelines. Users or groups can be assigned to particular roles, like project administrators, contributors, or readers. The actions that users can take within the pipeline and with related resources are determined by these roles.
Q: What is a release pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
The deployment of apps across many environments and phases can be automated with the help of an Azure Pipelines release pipeline. You can specify the release procedure, along with approvals, gates, and deployment approaches.
Q: How to monitor and troubleshoot pipelines in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Azure Pipelines offers a range of monitoring and troubleshooting options, such as:
Pipeline run logs
Exact records of how each job and step were carried out.Diagnostic logs
Extra logs that offer information on the performance and behavior of the pipeline.Execution history
A list of all pipeline runs, along with their current standing and any accompanying artifacts.Monitoring tool integration
To track metrics and performance, Azure Pipelines may be integrated
with Azure Monitor and other monitoring software.
Q: What is the difference between a pipeline and a release pipeline in Azure Pipelines?
Ans:
Pipeline in Azure Pipelines is used for building, testing, and packaging apps which are all part of the CI/CD process. Whereas a release pipeline is made especially for managing the release process and deploying applications to various environments.
Q: How to extend Azure Pipelines with custom tasks?
Ans:
Through the use of custom tasks, Azure Pipelines capability can be expanded. A variety of scripting languages or programming languages can be used to build custom jobs. These jobs can be bundled as extensions and added to the task catalog of pipeline.