The documentation found here describes how to deploy to IIS, but the WinRM component requires local admin permissions. Obviously, this isn't going to be available on shared hosting with service providers such as GoDaddy. (We'll be excluding Azure targets for the purposes of this discussion.)
Visual Studio can do this very easily, simply by using an imported .publishsettings file. Doesn't it stand to reason that TFS should be able to do the same thing without needing the extra privileges?
...or are we simply out of luck when trying to use TFS to publish to non-Azure shared hosting configurations?
--EDIT--
I've been working on Patrick's suggested answer all day, and after countless combinations of configurations I'm still coming up empty. MSBuild does look like the way to go for this, yes, but I can't get it working on my TFS 2018.
The output from the Release task is below. As we can see, MSBuild refuses to publish the site to my local testing IIS.
The strange thing is that MSBuild publishes as expected when I run the command from the logs below from a command window on my local workstation (after adjusting for the relevant file paths, of course, and removing the /dl:CentralLogger switch).
One of the things I tried was to edit/delete files on the source/target, to try to force a sync. That didn't work either.
Does anyone see any indication why this isn't working?
Log
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4708105Z ##[section]Starting: Build solution $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/Website/drop/Website.vbproj
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z ==============================================================================
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z Task : Visual Studio Build
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z Description : Build with MSBuild and set the Visual Studio version property
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z Version : 1.120.0
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z Author : Microsoft Corporation
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z Help : [More Information](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=613727)
2018-02-27T04:48:38.4938123Z ==============================================================================
2018-02-27T04:48:41.0024890Z ##[command]"D:\Agent\_work\_tasks\VSBuild_71a9a2d3-a98a-4caa-96ab-affca411ecda\1.120.0\ps_modules\MSBuildHelpers\vswhere.exe" -version [15.0,16.0) -latest -format json
2018-02-27T04:48:41.7115427Z ##[command]"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\msbuild.exe" "D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\Website.vbproj" /nologo /nr:false /dl:CentralLogger,"D:\Agent\_work\_tasks\VSBuild_71a9a2d3-a98a-4caa-96ab-affca411ecda\1.120.0\ps_modules\MSBuildHelpers\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.DistributedTask.MSBuild.Logger.dll";"RootDetailId=6e6502d0-9bea-46af-a5a7-9dac551b9e29|SolutionDir=D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop"*ForwardingLogger,"D:\Agent\_work\_tasks\VSBuild_71a9a2d3-a98a-4caa-96ab-affca411ecda\1.120.0\ps_modules\MSBuildHelpers\Microsoft.TeamFoundation.DistributedTask.MSBuild.Logger.dll" /p:DeployOnBuild=true /p:AllowUntrustedCertificate=true /p:PublishProfile="D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\My Project\PublishProfiles\QA.pubxml" /p:Password=******** /p:platform="AnyCPU" /p:configuration="release" /p:VisualStudioVersion="15.0" /p:_MSDeployUserAgent="TFS_1c911c00-1ecd-4ca9-87b0-d8d34f8c59c4_release_2_24_24_1"
2018-02-27T04:48:42.3456044Z Build started 2/26/2018 7:48:42 PM.
2018-02-27T04:48:44.0457237Z Project "D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\Website.vbproj" on node 1 (default targets).
2018-02-27T04:48:44.0487239Z CoreResGen:
2018-02-27T04:48:44.0487239Z No resources are out of date with respect to their source files. Skipping resource generation.
2018-02-27T04:48:44.2587401Z CoreCompile:
2018-02-27T04:48:44.2597397Z C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\Roslyn\vbc.exe /noconfig /imports:Intexx,Intexx.Linq,Microsoft.VisualBasic,System,System.Collections,System.Collections.Generic,System.ComponentModel,System.Data,System.Data.Common,System.Data.Entity,System.Data.Entity.Migrations,System.Data.SqlClient,System.IO,System.Linq,System.Xml.Linq,System.Diagnostics,System.Collections.Specialized,System.Configuration,System.Text,System.Text.RegularExpressions,System.Web,System.Web.Caching,System.Web.SessionState,System.Web.Security,System.Web.Profile,System.Web.UI,System.Web.UI.WebControls,System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts,System.Web.UI.HtmlControls /optioncompare:Binary /optionexplicit+ /optionstrict:custom /nowarn:42016,41999,42017,42018,42019,42032,42036,42020,42021,42022 /optioninfer+ /nostdlib /rootnamespace:Website /sdkpath:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7" /highentropyva+ /doc:obj\release\Website.xml /define:"CONFIG=\"release\",TRACE=-1,_MyType=\"Custom\",PLATFORM=\"AnyCPU\"" /reference:D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\bin\EntityFramework.dll,D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\bin\EntityFramework.SqlServer.dll,D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\bin\Intexx.Core.dll,D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\bin\itxcorlib.dll,"C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Configuration.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Core.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Data.DataSetExtensions.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Data.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Drawing.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.EnterpriseServices.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.ApplicationServices.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.DynamicData.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.Entity.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.Extensions.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Web.Services.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Xml.dll","C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.7\System.Xml.Linq.dll" /debug+ /debug:pdbonly /optimize+ /out:obj\release\Website.dll /ruleset:"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\Team Tools\Static Analysis Tools\\Rule Sets\MinimumRecommendedRules.ruleset" /subsystemversion:6.00 /resource:obj\release\Website.Migrations._001.resources /resource:obj\release\Website.Resources.resources /target:library /utf8output App_Code\Enums.vb Bill.aspx.designer.vb Bill.aspx.vb Contact.aspx.designer.vb Contact.aspx.vb Default.aspx.designer.vb Default.aspx.vb Defects.aspx.designer.vb Defects.aspx.vb Donate.aspx.designer.vb Donate.aspx.vb Forum.aspx.designer.vb Forum.aspx.vb Jackson.aspx.designer.vb Jackson.aspx.vb Key.aspx.designer.vb Key.aspx.vb Laws.aspx.designer.vb Laws.aspx.vb Letters.aspx.designer.vb Letters.aspx.vb Losers.aspx.designer.vb Losers.aspx.vb Main.Master.designer.vb Main.Master.vb MenuItem.ascx.designer.vb MenuItem.ascx.vb Migrations\201802040108464_001.Designer.vb Migrations\201802040108464_001.vb Migrations\Configuration.vb Migrations\Defaults.vb Models\Db\Context.vb Models\Db\Loser.vb Models\Db\NewsItem.vb "My Project\AssemblyInfo.vb" "My Project\Application.Designer.vb" "My Project\MyExtensions\MyWebExtension.vb" "My Project\Resources.Designer.vb" "My Project\Settings.Designer.vb" News.aspx.designer.vb News.aspx.vb Oops.aspx.designer.vb Oops.aspx.vb Pocket.aspx.designer.vb Pocket.aspx.vb Seventeenth.aspx.designer.vb Seventeenth.aspx.vb States.aspx.designer.vb States.aspx.vb Store.aspx.designer.vb Store.aspx.vb "D:\Agent\_work\_temp\.NETFramework,Version=v4.7.AssemblyAttributes.vb"
2018-02-27T04:48:44.2917430Z Using shared compilation with compiler from directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\MSBuild\15.0\Bin\Roslyn
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5307644Z
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5357653Z _CopyFilesMarkedCopyLocal:
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5357653Z Touching "D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\obj\release\Website.vbproj.CopyComplete".
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5567658Z CopyFilesToOutputDirectory:
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5577603Z Copying file from "obj\release\Website.dll" to "bin\Website.dll".
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5587611Z Website -> D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\bin\Website.dll
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5597611Z Copying file from "obj\release\Website.pdb" to "bin\Website.pdb".
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5607636Z Copying file from "obj\release\Website.xml" to "bin\Website.xml".
2018-02-27T04:48:44.5967639Z Done Building Project "D:\Agent\_work\r5\a\Website\drop\Website.vbproj" (default targets).
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z Build succeeded.
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z 0 Warning(s)
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z 0 Error(s)
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6257666Z Time Elapsed 00:00:02.29
2018-02-27T04:48:44.6868621Z ##[section]Finishing: Build solution $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/Website/drop/Website.vbproj
QA.pubxml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
This file is used by the publish/package process of your Web project. You can customize the behavior of this process
by editing this MSBuild file. In order to learn more about this please visit https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=208121.
-->
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<WebPublishMethod>MSDeploy</WebPublishMethod>
<LastUsedBuildConfiguration>Release</LastUsedBuildConfiguration>
<LastUsedPlatform>Any CPU</LastUsedPlatform>
<SiteUrlToLaunchAfterPublish>http://www.website.local</SiteUrlToLaunchAfterPublish>
<LaunchSiteAfterPublish>False</LaunchSiteAfterPublish>
<ExcludeApp_Data>False</ExcludeApp_Data>
<MSDeployServiceURL>https://server3:8172/msdeploy.axd</MSDeployServiceURL>
<DeployIisAppPath>website</DeployIisAppPath>
<RemoteSitePhysicalPath />
<SkipExtraFilesOnServer>False</SkipExtraFilesOnServer>
<MSDeployPublishMethod>WMSVC</MSDeployPublishMethod>
<EnableMSDeployBackup>True</EnableMSDeployBackup>
<UserName>DOMAIN\User</UserName>
<_SavePWD>True</_SavePWD>
<PublishDatabaseSettings>
<Objects xmlns="">
<ObjectGroup Name="Website.Db.Context" Order="1" Enabled="False">
<Destination Path="" />
<Object Type="DbCodeFirst">
<Source Path="DBMigration" DbContext="Website.Db.Context, Website" MigrationConfiguration="Website.Migrations.Configuration, Website" />
</Object>
</ObjectGroup>
<ObjectGroup Name="Website.My.MySettings.DbConnectionString" Order="2" Enabled="False">
<Destination Path="" />
<Object Type="DbDacFx">
<PreSource Path="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Website;Integrated Security=False;Persist Security Info=False;User ID=username;Password=password" includeData="False" />
<Source Path="$(IntermediateOutputPath)AutoScripts\Website.My.MySettings.DbConnectionString_IncrementalSchemaOnly.dacpac" dacpacAction="Deploy" />
</Object>
<UpdateFrom Type="Web.Config">
<Source MatchValue="Data Source=(local);Initial Catalog=Website;Integrated Security=False;Persist Security Info=False;User ID=username;Password=password" MatchAttributes="$(UpdateFromConnectionStringAttributes)" />
</UpdateFrom>
</ObjectGroup>
</Objects>
</PublishDatabaseSettings>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<MSDeployParameterValue Include="$(DeployParameterPrefix)Website.Db.Context-Web.config Connection String" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<_ConnectionStringsToInsert Include="Website.Db.Context" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
It turned out that I didn't have the full VS toolset installed on the server. I'd only installed the bare minimum, as I didn't need anything more than the VSTest capability.
So I updated and installed Web and Desktop this time, and the deployment sailed right through.
Credits to Microsoft Support Services for helping me with this.