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A DevOps team is implementing a hybrid deployment infrastructure for an application that consists of a web frontend in Azure App Service and a backend service running on an on-premises server. The backend service requires custom software and specific network configurations not available in Microsoft-hosted agents. The team needs to ensure the backend service can be deployed and managed by Azure DevOps. Which type of agent should the team use for deploying the on-premises backend service?
- ASelf-hosted agent
- BDeployment Group agent
- CMicrosoft-hosted agent
- DContainer agent
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Self-hosted agent
Self-hosted agents allow you to install all necessary dependencies and software on your own infrastructure, providing the flexibility required for custom environments like an on-premises server with specific network configurations and custom software. This makes them ideal for deploying to environments not accessible by Microsoft-hosted agents.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Deployment Groups are a logical grouping of deployment targets (which can be self-hosted agents), not a type of agent itself.
- C. Microsoft-hosted agents run in Azure and do not have access to on-premises resources or custom software configurations.
- D. Container agents run inside a container, typically on a Microsoft-hosted agent or self-hosted agent, and still wouldn't inherently provide access to on-premises specific network configurations.
Self-hosted Agent (Azure DevOps)
An agent that you set up and manage on your own infrastructure (on-premises or in cloud VMs) to run build and deployment jobs in Azure DevOps.
- Provides full control over dependencies, software, and network access.
- Required for deploying to on-premises environments or custom cloud setups.
- Reduces build/release times by pre-installing necessary tools.
Memory trick: If it's 'your house', you need a 'self-hosted' agent.