Site versioning and rollback management

Site versioning and rollback management are critical components of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) for Power Pages. These processes allow teams to maintain consistent portal versions, track changes, and, when necessary, revert to previous stable versions of a site, ensuring minimal downtime and reduced risk of errors during deployment.

Given that Power Pages is a dynamic and customizable platform, site versioning and rollback management help ensure that customizations, settings, and configurations are systematically managed and protected.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to implement site versioning and rollback management effectively in Power Pages:

1. Understanding Site Versioning in Power Pages

Versioning refers to the process of tracking different versions of portal configurations, settings, and customizations. It allows teams to maintain historical data of the portal, including content, web pages, forms, and other custom components. By having versions of these components stored, it is possible to track changes, revert to previous versions, and ensure that the latest updates are in line with the project’s objectives.

Key Aspects of Site Versioning:

Portal Components: Track changes in portal components, including pages, web files, forms, views, and entities.
Solution Management: Power Pages configurations are typically exported and stored as part of a solution. Each solution version is saved with its own metadata and configuration.
Change Tracking: Keep track of what changes were made, who made them, and when they were made.

2. Version Control with Power Platform Solutions

Power Pages allows portal configurations to be packaged into solutions. Solutions are the primary means of versioning and managing the portal’s customizations. By using solutions, users can export configurations from a development environment and import them into other environments, such as testing and production. This process also enables easy rollback if needed.

Best Practices for Version Control:

Use Managed and Unmanaged Solutions:
- Unmanaged Solutions are used in development environments and can be customized further. They allow you to make changes and test them within your environment.
- Managed Solutions are used in production environments and cannot be further modified. These should be used for final versions that are ready for deployment.
Solution Export and Import:
- Export solutions regularly from your development environment. When a change is made, create a new solution version and export it to ensure all updates are tracked.
- For rollback, import an earlier version of the solution into your environment.
Track Version History:
- Always label and tag solution versions properly. This makes it easy to identify when specific changes occurred and helps in the rollback process if something goes wrong.
- You can view the solution history in the Power Platform Admin Center to identify the changes made.

3. Using the Power Platform CLI for Versioning and Rollback

The Power Platform CLI (Command Line Interface) provides a programmatic way to interact with Power Pages and other Power Platform tools. With the CLI, you can automate versioning tasks and perform rollbacks without needing to manually navigate through the user interface.

Power Platform CLI Commands for Versioning:

Export Solutions: You can use the Power Platform CLI to export the portal configuration as a solution, making it easy to store different versions. Example command to export a solution: pac solution export --name <solution-name> --path ./solutions --managed
Import Solutions: To roll back to a previous version, you can import an earlier version of the solution that was previously exported. Example command to import a solution:
pac solution import --path ./solutions/<solution-name>.zip
Solution History: Use the pac CLI to inspect the version history of solutions and track what has been modified in each version.

4. Rollback Strategy and Implementation

When a deployment goes wrong, it’s essential to have a well-defined rollback strategy. This ensures minimal disruption to the portal’s functionality and a quick recovery to a stable version.

Key Steps for Effective Rollback Management:

Test Before Deploying: Always ensure that the new version of your site has been thoroughly tested in a non-production environment before moving it to production. Use a staging environment to simulate the production environment as closely as possible.
Backup Before Changes: Before making changes, always back up the existing solution or export the current configuration. This provides a quick restoration point in case the new changes are problematic.
Versioned Solutions: As previously mentioned, export each solution version and save it securely. Having versioned solutions stored allows for easier rollback.
Automate Rollback Process: Using the Power Platform CLI, automate the process of rolling back to the last stable version of your portal. This can be integrated into your CI/CD pipeline to ensure consistency. Example script for rolling back:
pac solution import --path ./solutions/<previous-stable-solution>.zip
Rollback Testing: After performing a rollback, ensure the portal is tested to verify that the previous stable version is working correctly. This will confirm that the rollback was successful and that no other issues were introduced.

5. Monitoring and Auditing Changes

Effective monitoring and auditing play a critical role in managing portal versioning and rollback. By tracking changes over time, you can ensure that every modification is documented and traceable. If a rollback is necessary, having a clear audit trail makes it easier to understand which changes caused the issues.

Best Practices for Monitoring:

Audit Logs: Enable auditing for changes made to the portal. Power Platform offers auditing features that track changes to entities, users, and configurations. This provides a record of who made changes, when they were made, and what was changed. In the Power Platform Admin Center, you can enable and view audit logs.
Change Requests: When making changes to Power Pages, require a formal change request and approval process. This ensures that changes are documented, tested, and tracked before being deployed to production.

6. Versioning for Custom Web Files and Scripts

For more granular control over the versioning process, manage individual web files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and custom scripts as part of your source control system. This gives developers the ability to track changes in custom code separate from the portal’s configuration.

Steps to Version Custom Web Files:

Export Web Files: Export web files from Power Pages as part of the solution. Each time a change is made, increment the version number and export the new solution.
Use Git for Custom Code: Store custom code files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) in a version-controlled repository (like Git). This provides easy rollback capabilities for code-specific changes without needing to revert the entire portal.
Track Changes with Git: Each time you update a web file, commit the changes in Git, making sure the commit history reflects the changes made to the files.