Team Foundation Server
The Team Foundation Server (TFS ) is a Microsoft Windows platform for collaborative software projects. About the TFS projects can be planned, created and managed. It can manage up to 2,000 developers and 500 projects. For small projects, there is the Workgroup Edition, which allows a maximum of five users. The current version is called " 2013 ".
Support of the development process
On the basis of process templates TFS supports various development processes. Templates for standard procedures CMMI, Agile Software Development or Scrum are included. Other vendors offer additional process templates. All process templates are in the form of XML files, so that in principle a sufficient ( XML ) editor for their processing. For a simpler and faster adaptation, however, is a tool with which adjustments can be made directly in the development environment. The included documentation in the process ( "Process Guidance" ) is present static, but can be adjusted thanks to the available source files and re-created.
The involved team members can use various tools ( for example Visual Studio, Excel, Project, InfoPath, Word, Outlook, or Web) edit process steps and the corresponding steps ( " workflows " ) trigger. The above programs are integrated directly into the TFS can be so worked that on a uniform platform.
Components of a process template are work items, reports, queries, and miscellaneous documents.
Features
Version Control
TFS integrates its own version control for the source code of projects managed. The common operations of a version control system are supported.
TFS build
The Build Engine of TFS supports the automatic creation of the developed product (" build" ), optional eg with documentation. It can also perform unit tests and statistics and reports ( "reports" ) can be generated.
Reports
Reports ( "reports" ) are an integrated data warehouse automatically created ( as with metrics, error statistics, performance analysis, etc. ) The reports are tailored for different target persons ( Cost Managers, developers, project managers ) and give each an overview of the project status. The technical basis is a so-called "report server", which generates its output through a Microsoft SharePoint Server. As such, they can be used both directly in Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel, and within Microsoft Visual Studio.
User Management
The TFS can be operated either as a server in an Active Directory or individually. For the user management of the server knows about the Windows users and groups and other groups in the TFS. When you create a project, four groups are created automatically: read (Reader ), write ( Contributors), administrators ( Project Administrator ) and an internal group to build management (Build Services).
The permissions for the " SharePoint Server " and the "reporting system" must be set by the administrator manually. For this reason it is advisable to define Windows groups and use.
Server build
TFS is designed on the principle of a layered architecture. Application and data layer can be installed on a single server or on separate servers.
The TFS requires the following software:
- Microsoft SQL Server for data storage and the data warehouse (x86 or x64)
- Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 for the application (x86 or x64)
- TFS build either integrated or separate
- Microsoft Internet Information Server and Windows SharePoint Services
- Microsoft Report Server
From the 2010 version of Team Foundation Server can be installed on a client operating system. For this purpose, a base configuration is provided which uses the Express version of Microsoft SQL Server for data storage. This type of installation is intended for individual developers who want to use the Team Foundation Server. Microsoft wants prejudice to the Team Foundation Server as a successor for the product Microsoft Visual SourceSafe establish which is no longer maintained by Microsoft.
The individual components, with the exception of the Windows Server operating system and SQL Server are part of the product.
Interoperability
There is a utility that creates interoperability between TFS and other version control systems. Such are available for Git as a platform-independent Java utility (Git -tf ) or as a pure Windows program (Git - tfs ). Even an exchange platform for PTC Integrity is available