Customizing the TFS 2008 build sequence to avoid compilation and deploy SSRS

Question

I'm trying to create a CI process for SQL Server Reporting Services. I am fairly new to TFS but quite experienced with MSBuild. In the past I've used a combination of MSBuild with Team City so the whole build process is more or less custom.

Here lies the start of my problems, as the solution I am deploying only contains Report Server projects (rds), no compilation is required. I thought that I would override the the first default task that TFS runs (EndToEndIteration) to override the default TFS build sequence and inject my own.

The first snag that I have come across is that the build always fails, how can I set the status of the build to success? Currently the EndToEndIteration task is very light and only has a message.

Is this the best method to create a custom build process in TFS where compilation is not required? Or should I use the default sequence and override one of the hook tasks mentioned in

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa337604%28VS.80%29.aspx (ie: AfterCompile)

The core steps that I'd like to achieve are:

1. Bundle the RDL and datasource files
2. Connect to the host server to register/deploy the reports
3. Re-apply any subscriptions that previously existed
4. Run tests to verify the deployment succeeded and is returning results as expected

I have found another article on Report services deployment:

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/88710/reporting-services-deployment

But it doesn't mention the best practice for customizing the standard build process.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

For anyone interested I've just stumbled apon an answer to the first question I asked:

The first snag that I have come across is that the build always fails, how can I set the status of the build to success?

You can find a solution to this at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/aaronhallberg/archive/2007/11/05/how-to-fail-a-build-when-tests-fail.aspx

The options available for this property are:

• Unknown
• Failed
• Succeeded

Don't forget to also set the TestStatus else the build will only partially succeed

Still looking for the best practice for creating a custom build sequence.