In Team foundation server what is build agent and controller?

Question

I am unable to grasp the concept of build server in Team foundation. Can anybody explain ? Also what is the build agent and controller in the foundation server ?

Solution

In TFS, the build system consists of two main constructs: the Build controller and the Build agents.

The Controller's job is to queue build requests and send them to the "most available" build agent. The Agent's job is to perform the actual build.

This setup allows you to easy grow into a "Build Farm", which the controller is dispatching to any number of agents, allowing your build platform to scale without being redesigned.

The phrase "build server" or "build machine" simply indicates a server on which the build controller, the build agent(S), or both run. In a smaller shop, you'd probably only have one build machine and it's likely that box would also be doing some other actions.

The MSDN info is pretty good on this, as are any # of blogs.

MSDN: Build Machines http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181712.aspx

MSDN Build Controllers http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee330987.aspx

MSDN Build Agents http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb399135.aspx