Create ASP.NET 4.5 without Visual Studio on the build server

Question

It has been a while since I installed the build server, maybe I forgot something, or maybe .NET 4.5 is different from any version I made with the past, but here is my problem.

I am trying to configure the build server to monitor the version control repository. Whenever something changes, I want the server to pull the changes and build the project. If there are no errors, I want to deploy the site to a website running on the build server.

In the past, when I did this, I thought I could only do this with .NET installed, but when I try to create this project, I get the error message "C: \ Program Files \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v11.0 \ WebApplications \ Microsoft.WebApplication.targets "is missing, and if I go and see, I see that it is missing. There are actually no Visual Studio 11 goal files.

After much thought and head scratches, I went out and got the “Windows 8 / .NET 4.5 SDK”, believing that the .NET 4.5 SDK can install the target file files that I need, but this did not happen if I did not install it incorrectly as- that.

So, what do I need to place on the build server in order to get the project for the build. I would prefer not to install the full version of Visual Studio 2012.

Answer 1

My problem was with installing the Windows Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8 in a Windows 2008 window. If you read further on the page, you will be taken to the heading that says ".NET Framework 4.5 SDK Tools in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008." This tells you:

• Run the Windows SDK for the Windows 8 installer on a supported operating system (such as Windows 7 or Windows 8).
• On the Specify Location screen, select the following option: Download the Windows SDK to install on a separate computer.
• Press "Next".
• Answer the questions on the Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) screen.
• On the next screen, select the .NET Framework 4.5 Software Development Kit. Deselect all other functions that cannot be undone.
• Select the Download button.
• Go to the download folder (indicated in step 2) and find the following .NET Framework 4.5 SDK tool installer files: sdk_tools4.msi, sdk_tools4.cab
• You can copy these files to a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 2008 Server in your organization. These files must be copied to the same directory on a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows 2008 Server. Note. Do not distribute these files outside your organization or as part of any other installer.
• On a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 2008 Server, review the license terms here.
• Verify that the .NET Framework 4.5 is already installed on the computer. Otherwise, download and install the .NET Framework 4.5 from www.microsoft.com.
• Open a command prompt with administrator privileges.
• Change to the directory where the .NET Framework 4.5 SDK Tools installer files were copied.
• Install the SDK.NET Framework 4.5 tools using the command line: Msiexec / i sdk_tools4.msi VSEXTUI = 1

Answer 2

To run on your CI server without Visual Studio, you need to copy several folders from the development machine to the same location on the CI server. No need to install SDK.

VS 2015:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v14.0 \ Web
• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v14.0 \ WebApplications

VS 2013:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v12.0 \ Web
• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v12.0 \ WebApplications

VS 2012:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v11.0 \ Web
• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v11.0 \ WebApplications

VS 2010:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v10.0 \ Web
• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ MSBuild \ Microsoft \ VisualStudio \ v10.0 \ WebApplications

.NET 4.6:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.6

.NET 4.5.2:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.5.2

.NET 4.5.1:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.5.1

.NET 4.5:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.5

.NET 4.0.1:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.0.1

.NET 4.0:

• C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Reference Assemblies \ Microsoft \ Framework \ .NETFramework \ v4.0

Or, as Matt suggested , you can copy them to a subdirectory of your project and change the location of <MSBuildExtensionsPath32> in your MSBuild (usually .csproj or .vbproj ).

Once you do this, your project will be compiled.

You must also explicitly point the VisualStudioVersion environment variable to the version of Visual Studio (10.0 for VS2010, 11.0 for VS2012, 12.0 for VS2013, 14.0 for VS2015) that you are using only to make sure that it is configured correctly in your configuration.

Answer 3

From msdn :

The Windows SDK no longer comes with a full command line. You must install the compiler and assembly environment separately. If you need a complete development environment that includes compilers and a build environment, you can download Visual Studio 2012 Express, which includes the appropriate Windows SDK components.

To fix this, I had to copy the C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.5 from my development machine (which, incidentally, Visual Studio 2012), to the build agents. After this operation, Team City no longer reported errors, and mscorlib.dll was not displayed in the bin folder.

Answer 4

Microsoft Build Tools 2013 will help in this case, as its download page describes:

If you do not have Visual Studio installed on your computer, you can use Build Tools 2013 to create managed applications. Visual Basic and C # compilers are also included in this download. (In the previous version, these tools were included in the standalone .NET. Framework).

Answer 5

My department. He likes to take a minimalist approach to what is installed on our Win 7 build machines. However, we don’t like just copying and pasting files / folders due to potential registry key problems. Instead of installing VS 2013, I installed the following much smaller and free components. The development team can now successfully build VS 2013 web applications.

• .Net Framework v4.5.1 required for installing tools - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40779
• MS Build Tools 2013, we need a C # compiler - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2013/07/24/msbuild-is-now-part-of-visual-studio.aspx
• MS VS 2013, an isolated shell, we need the goals of a web application - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40764 .

Answer 6

I solve this problem with Visual Studio agents.

You can try installing Visual Studio Agents 2012.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38186