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LLBLGen Pro v3.1 released!

- by FransBouma

Yesterday we released LLBLGen Pro v3.1! Version 3.1 comes with new features and enhancements, which I'll describe briefly below. v3.1 is a free upgrade for v3.x licensees. What's new / changed? Designer Extensible Import system. An extensible import system has been added to the designer to import project data from external sources. Importers are plug-ins which import project meta-data (like entity definitions, mappings and relational model data) from an external source into the loaded project. In v3.1, an importer plug-in for importing project elements from existing LLBLGen Pro v3.x project files has been included. You can use this importer to create source projects from which you import parts of models to build your actual project with. Model-only relationships. In v3.1, relationships of the type 1:1, m:1 and 1:n can be marked as model-only. A model-only relationship isn't required to have a backing foreign key constraint in the relational model data. They're ideal for projects which have to work with relational databases where changes can't always be made or some relationships can't be added to (e.g. the ones which are important for the entity model, but are not allowed to be added to the relational model for some reason). Custom field ordering. Although fields in an entity definition don't really have an ordering, it can be important for some situations to have the entity fields in a given order, e.g. when you use compound primary keys. Field ordering can be defined using a pop-up dialog which can be opened through various ways, e.g. inside the project explorer, model view and entity editor. It can also be set automatically during refreshes based on new settings. Command line relational model data refresher tool, CliRefresher.exe. The command line refresh tool shipped with v2.6 is now available for v3.1 as well Navigation enhancements in various designer elements. It's now easier to find elements like entities, typed views etc. in the project explorer from editors, to navigate to related entities in the project explorer by right clicking a relationship, navigate to the super-type in the project explorer when right-clicking an entity and navigate to the sub-type in the project explorer when right-clicking a sub-type node in the project explorer. Minor visual enhancements / tweaks LLBLGen Pro Runtime Framework Entity creation is now up to 30% faster and takes 5% less memory. Creating an entity object has been optimized further by tweaks inside the framework to make instantiating an entity object up to 30% faster. It now also takes up to 5% less memory than in v3.0 Prefetch Path node merging is now up to 20-25% faster. Setting entity references required the creation of a new relationship object. As this relationship object is always used internally it could be cached (as it's used for syncing only). This increases performance by 20-25% in the merging functionality. Entity fetches are now up to 20% faster. A large number of tweaks have been applied to make entity fetches up to 20% faster than in v3.0. Full WCF RIA support. It's now possible to use your LLBLGen Pro runtime framework powered domain layer in a WCF RIA application using the VS.NET tools for WCF RIA services. WCF RIA services is a Microsoft technology for .NET 4 and typically used within silverlight applications. SQL Server DQE compatibility level is now per instance. (Usable in Adapter). It's now possible to set the compatibility level of the SQL Server Dynamic Query Engine (DQE) per instance of the DQE instead of the global setting it was before. The global setting is still available and is used as the default value for the compatibility level per-instance. You can use this to switch between CE Desktop and normal SQL Server compatibility per DataAccessAdapter instance. Support for COUNT_BIG aggregate function (SQL Server specific). The aggregate function COUNT_BIG has been added to the list of available aggregate functions to be used in the framework. Minor changes / tweaks I'm especially pleased with the import system, as that makes working with entity models a lot easier. The import system lets you import from another LLBLGen Pro v3 project any entity definition, mapping and / or meta-data like table definitions. This way you can build repository projects where you store model fragments, e.g. the building blocks for a customer-order system, a user credential model etc., any model you can think of. In most projects, you'll recognize that some parts of your new model look familiar. In these cases it would have been easier if you would have been able to import these parts from projects you had pre-created. With LLBLGen Pro v3.1 you can. For example, say you have an Oracle schema called CRM which contains the bread 'n' butter customer-order-product kind of model. You create an entity model from that schema and save it in a project file. Now you start working on another project for another customer and you have to use SQL Server. You also start using model-first development, so develop the entity model from scratch as there's no existing database. As this customer also requires some CRM like entity model, you import the entities from your saved Oracle project into this new SQL Server targeting project. Because you don't work with Oracle this time, you don't import the relational meta-data, just the entities, their relationships and possibly their inheritance hierarchies, if any. As they're now entities in your project you can change them a bit to match the new customer's requirements. This can save you a lot of time, because you can re-use pre-fab model fragments for new projects. In the example above there are no tables yet (as you work model first) so using the forward mapping capabilities of LLBLGen Pro v3 creates the tables, PK constraints, Unique Constraints and FK constraints for you. This way you can build a nice repository of model fragments which you can re-use in new projects.

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Community Conversation

- by ultan o'broin

Applications User Experience members (Erika Webb, Laurie Pattison, and I) attended the User Assistance Europe Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. We were impressed with the thought leadership and practical application of ideas in Anne Gentle's keynote address "Social Web Strategies for Documentation". After the conference, we spoke with Anne to explore the ideas further. Applications User Experience Senior Director Laurie Pattison (left) with Anne Gentle at the User Assistance Europe Conference In Anne's book called Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation, she explains how user assistance is undergoing a seismic shift. The direction is away from the old print manuals and online help concept towards a web-based, user community-driven solution using social media tools. User experience professionals now have a vast range of such tools to start and nurture this "conversation": blogs, wikis, forums, social networking sites, microblogging systems, image and video sharing sites, virtual worlds, podcasts, instant messaging, mashups, and so on. That user communities are a rich source of user assistance is not a surprise, but the extent of available assistance is. For example, we know from the Consortium for Service Innovation that there has been an 'explosion' of user-generated content on the web. User-initiated community conversations provide as much as 30 times the number of official help desk solutions for consortium members! The growing reliance on user community solutions is clearly a user experience issue. Anne says that user assistance as conversation "means getting closer to users and helping them perform well. User-centered design has been touted as one of the most important ideas developed in the last 20 years of workplace writing. Now writers can take the idea of user-centered design a step further by starting conversations with users and enabling user assistance in interactions." Some of Anne's favorite examples of this paradigm shift from the world of traditional documentation to community conversation include: * Writer Bob Bringhurst's blog about Adobe InDesign and InCopy products and Adobe's community help * The Microsoft Development Network Community Center * ·The former Sun (now Oracle) OpenDS wiki, NetBeans Ruby and other community approaches to engage diverse audiences using screencasts, wikis, and blogs. * Cisco's customer support wiki, EMC's community, as well as Symantec and Intuit's approaches * The efforts of Ubuntu, Mozilla, and the FLOSS community generally Adobe Writer Bob Bringhurst's Blog Oracle is not without a user community conversation too. Besides the community discussions and blogs around documentation offerings, we have the My Oracle Support Community forums, Oracle Technology Network (OTN) communities, wiki, blogs, and so on. We have the great work done by our user groups and customer councils. Employees like David Haimes are reaching out, and enthusiastic non-employee gurus like Chet Justice (OracleNerd), Floyd Teter and Eddie Awad provide great "how-to" information too. But what does this paradigm shift mean for existing technical writers as users turn away from the traditional printable PDF manual deliverables? We asked Anne after the conference. The writer role becomes one of conversation initiator or enabler. The role evolves, along with the process, as the users define their concept of user assistance and terms of engagement with the product instead of having it pre-determined. It is largely a case now of "inventing the job while you're doing it, instead of being hired for it" Anne said. There is less emphasis on formal titles. Anne mentions that her own title "Content Stacker" at OpenStack; others use titles such as "Content Curator" or "Community Lead". However, the role remains one essentially about communications, "but of a new type--interacting with users, moderating, curating content, instead of sitting down to write a manual from start to finish." Clearly then, this role is open to more than professional technical writers. Product managers who write blogs, developers who moderate forums, support professionals who update wikis, rock star programmers with a penchant for YouTube are ideal. Anyone with the product knowledge, empathy for the user, and flair for relationships on the social web can join in. Some even perform these roles already but do not realize it. Anne feels the technical communicator space will move from hiring new community conversation professionals (who are already active in the space through blogging, tweets, wikis, and so on) to retraining some existing writers over time. Our own research reveals that the established proponents of community user assistance even set employee performance objectives for internal content curators about the amount of community content delivered by people outside the organization! To take advantage of the conversations on the web as user assistance, enterprises must first establish where on the spectrum their community lies. "What is the line between community willingness to contribute and the enterprise objectives?" Anne asked. "The relationship with users must be managed and also measured." Anne believes that the process can start with a "just do it" approach. Begin by reaching out to existing user groups, individual bloggers and tweeters, forum posters, early adopter program participants, conference attendees, customer advisory board members, and so on. Use analytical tools to measure the level of conversation about your products and services to show a return on investment (ROI), winning management support. Anne emphasized that success with the community model is dependent on lowering the technical and motivational barriers so that users can readily contribute to the conversation. Simple tools must be provided, and guidelines, if any, must be straightforward but not mandatory. The conversational approach is one where traditional style and branding guides do not necessarily apply. Tools and infrastructure help users to create content easily, to search and find the information online, read it, rate it, translate it, and participate further in the content's evolution. Recognizing contributors by using ratings on forums, giving out Twitter kudos, conference invitations, visits to headquarters, free products, preview releases, and so on, also encourages the adoption of the conversation model. The move to conversation as user assistance is not free, but there is a business ROI. The conversational model means that customer service is enhanced, as user experience moves from a functional to a valued, emotional level. Studies show a positive correlation between loyalty and financial performance (Consortium for Service Innovation, 2010), and as customer experience and loyalty become key differentiators, user experience professionals cannot explore the model's possibilities. The digital universe (measured at 1.2 million petabytes in 2010) is doubling every 12 to 18 months, and 70 percent of that universe consists of user-generated content (IDC, 2010). Conversation as user assistance cannot be ignored but must be embraced. It is a time to manage for abundance, not scarcity. Besides, the conversation approach certainly sounds more interesting, rewarding, and fun than the traditional model! I would like to thank Anne for her time and thoughts, and recommend that all user assistance professionals read her book. You can follow Anne on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/annegentle. Oracle's Acrolinx IQ deployment was used to author this article.

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SOA Suite Integration: Part 2: A basic BPEL process

- by Anthony Shorten

This is the next in the series about SOA Suite integration with Oracle Utilities Application Framework. One of the first scenarios I am going to illustrate in this series is building a basic BPEL process using Web Service calls to the Oracle Utilities Application Framework. The scenario is this. I will pass in the userid and the BPEL process will call our the AS-User Web Service we created in Part 1. This is just a basic test and illustrate how to import the Web Service into SOA Suite. To use this scenario, you will need access to Oracle SOA Suite, access to a copy of any Oracle Utilities Application Framework based product and Oracle JDeveloper (to build the process). First of all you need to start Oracle JDeveloper and create a new SOA Project to house the BPEL process in. For the purposes of this example I will call the project simpleBPEL and verify that SOA is part of the project. I will select "Composite with BPEL" to denote it as a BPEL process. I can also the same process to create a Mediator or OSB project (refer to the JDeveloper documentation on these technologies). For this example I will use BPEL 1.1 as my specification standard (BPEL 2.0 can also be used if desired). I give the individual BPEL process as simpleBPEL (you can use a different name but I wanted to keep the project and process the same for this example). I will also build a Synchronous BPEL Process as I want a response from the Web Service. I will leave the defaults to save time. I have no have a blank canvas to build my BPEL process against. Note: for simplicity I am going to use as much defaulting as possible. In fact I am not going to specify an input schema for the incoming call as I will use the basic single field used by BPEL as default. The first step is to import the AS-User Web Service into my BPEL project. To do this I use the standard Web Service BPEL component from the Component Palette to import the WSDL into the BPEL project. Now the tricky part (a joke), you drag and drop the component from the Palette onto the right side of the canvas in the Partner Links swim lane. This swim lane is reserved for Partner Links that have a Partner Role (i.e. being called rather than calling). When you drop the Web Service onto the canvas the Create Web Service wizard is invoked to ask for details of the Web Service. At this point you give the BPEL node a name. I have used the name RetrieveUser as a name. I placed the WSDL URL from the XAI Inbound Service screen in the WSDL URL. Once you specify the URL you can press the Find existing WSDL's button to load the information into BPEL from the call. You will notice the Port Type is prefilled with the port from the WSDL. I also suggest that you check copy wsdl and it's dependent artifacts into the project if you intending to work on the BPEL process offline. If you do not check this your target application must be accessible when you work on the BPEL process (that is not always convenient). Note: For the perceptive of you will notice that the URL specified in this example is different to the URL in the last post. The reason is for the demonstrations I shifted to a new server and did not redo all of the past screen captures. If you copy the WSDL into the project you will get an information screen about Localize Files. It is just a confirmation screen. The last confirmation screen is a summary of the partner link (the main tab is locked for editing at this stage). At this stage you have successfully imported the Web Service. To complete the setup of the Web Service you need to set the credentials for the Web Service to use. Refer to the past post on how to do that. Now to use the Web Service. To call the Web Service (as it is just imported not connected to the BPEL process yet), you must add an Invoke action to your BPEL Process. To do this, select Invoke action from the BPEL Constructs zone on the Component Palette and drop it on the edit nodes between the receiveInput and replyOutput nodes This will create an empty Invoke action. You will notice some connectors on the Invoke node. Grab the node closest to your Web Service and drag it to connect the Invoke to your Web Service. This instructs BPEL to use the Invoke to call the Web Service. Once the Invoke action is connected to the Web Service an Edit Invoke edit dialog is displayed. At this point I suggest you name the Invoke node. It is important to name the nodes straightaway and name them appropriately for you to trace the logic. I used InvokeUser as the name in this example. To complete the node configuration you must create Variables to hold the input and output for the call. To do this clock on Automatically Create Input Variable on the Edit Invoke dialog. You will be presented with a default variable name. It uses the node name (that is why it is important to name the node before hitting this button) as a prefix. You can name the variable anything but I usually take the default. Repeat the same for the output variable. You now have a completed node for invoking the service. You have a very basic BPEL process which contains an input, invoke and output node. It is not complete yet though. You need to tell the BPEL process how to pass data from the input to the invoke step and how to take the output from the service call and pass it back to the service. You need to now add an Assign node to assign the input to the Web Service. To do this select Assign activity from BPEL Constructs zone in the Component Palette. Drag and drop the Assign activity between the receiveInput and InvokeUser nodes as you want to pass data between these two nodes. You have now added a new Assign node to your BPEL process Double clicking the node allows you to specify the name of the node. I use AssignUser to describe that I am assigning user data. On the Copy Rules tab you can specify the mapping between the input variable InputVariable/payload/process/input string and the input variable for the Web Service call. We are passing data from the input to BPEL to the relevant input variable on the Web Service. This is simply drag and drop between the two data structures. In the example, I am using the input to pass to the user element in my Web Service as the user is the primary key for the object. The fields become linked (which means data from source will be copied to target). Almost there. You now need to process the output from the Web Service call to the outputVariable of the client call. I have decided to pass back one piece of data, the name associated with the user by concatenating the firstName and lastName elements from the Web Service call. To do this I will use a Transform as it is not just a matter of an Assign action. It is a concatenation operation. This also illustrates how you can use BPEL functionality to transform data from a Web Service call. As with the other components you drag and drop the Transform component to the appropriate place in the BPEL process. In this case we want to transform the output from the Web Service call so we want it after the InvokeUser action and the replyOutput action. The Transform component is actually part of the Oracle Extensions to the BPEL specification. Double clicking the Transform node will allow you to name the node. In this example I used TransformName. To complete the transform I need to tell the product the source of the transformation and the target of the transform. In the example this is the InvokeUser output variable. I also named the mapper file to TransformName. By clicking the + or pencil icon next to the map I can create the map. The mapping screen is shows the source and target schemas for me to map across. As with the assign I can map the relevant elements. In my example, I first map the firstName from the Web Service to the result element. As I want to concatenate the names, I drop the concat function on the call line. I now attach the last name to the function to indicate the concatenation of the field. By default the names will be concatenated with no space. To make the name legible I add a space between the field by clicking the function and adding a space in the call. I now have a completed mapping. I can now save the whole project as my BPEL process is now complete. As you can see the following happens: We accept input from the client (the userid for the call) in the receiveInput step. We assign that value to the input parameters for the Web Service call in the AssignUser step. We invoke the Web Service call to retrieve the data from the product in the InvokeUser step. We take the output from the InvokeUser step and concatenate the names in the TransformName step. We pass back the data in the replyOutput step. At this point we can deploy the BPEL process to the SOA Suite server. I will not cover this aspect as it really all SOA Suite specific (it is all done via Oracle JDeveloper). Now we need to test the service in SOA Suite. We will use the Fusion Middleware Control test facility. I will assume that credentials have also been setup as per our previous post (else you will get a 401 error). You navigate to the deployed BPEL process within Fusion Middleware Control and select the Test Service option. Specify some test data on the payload at the bottom of the Test Service screen. In my case I am returning my own userid information. On the response tab you will see the result. It works. You can verify the steps using the Audit trace facility on individual calls. As you can see this is a basic BPEL but you get the idea of importing the Web Service is pretty straightforward. You can create more sophisticated BPEL processes using the full facilities in Oracle SOA Suite. I just showed you the basic principals.

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Getting WCF Services in a Silverlight solution to play nice on deployment

- by brendonpage

I have come across 2 issues with deploying WCF services in a Silverlight solution, admittedly the one is more of a hiccup, and only occurs if you take the easy way out and reference your services through visual studio. The First Issue This occurs when you deploy your WFC services to an IIS server. When browse to the services using your web browser, you are greeted with “This collection already contains an address with scheme http. There can be at most one address per scheme in this collection.”. When you make a call to this service from your Silverlight application, you get the extremely helpful “NotFound” error, this error message can be found in the error property of the event arguments on the complete event handler for that call. As it did with me this will leave most people scratching their head, because the very same services work just fine on the ASP.NET Development Web Server and on my local IIS server. Now I’m no server/hosting/IIS expert so I did a bit of searching when I first encountered this issue. I found out this happens because IIS supports multiple address bindings per protocol (http/https/ftp … etc) per web site, but WCF only supports binding to one address per protocol. This causes a problem when the WCF service is hosted on a site with multiple address bindings, because IIS provides all of the bindings to the host factory when running the service. While this problem occurs mainly on shared hosting solutions, it is not limited to shared hosting, it just seems like all shared hosting providers setup sites on their servers with multiple address bindings. For interests sake I added functionality to the example project attached to this post to dump the addresses given to the WCF service by IIS into a log file. This was the output on the shared hosting solution I use: http://mydomain.co.za/Services/TestService.svc http://www.mydomain.co.za/Services/TestService.svc http://mydomain-co-za.win13.wadns.net/Services/TestService.svc http://win13/Services/TestService.svc As you can see all these addresses are for the http protocol, which is where it all goes wrong for WCF. Fixes for the First Issue There are a few ways to get around this. The first being the easiest, target .NET 4! Yes that's right in .NET 4 WCF services support multiple addresses per protocol. This functionality is enabled by an option, which is on by default if you create a new project, you will need to turn on if you are upgrading to .NET 4. To do this set the multipleSiteBindingsEnabled property of the serviceHostingEnviroment tag in the web.config file to true, as shown below: <system.serviceModel> <serviceHostingEnvironment multipleSiteBindingsEnabled="true" /> </system.serviceModel> Beware this ONLY works in .NET 4, so if you don’t have a server with .NET 4 installed on that you can deploy to, you will need to employ one of the other work a rounds. The second option will work for .NET 3.5 & 4. For this option all you need to do is modify the web.config file and add baseAddressPrefixFilters to the serviceHostingEnviroment tag as shown below: <system.serviceModel> <serviceHostingEnvironment> <baseAddressPrefixFilters> <add prefix="http://www.mydomain.co.za"/> </baseAddressPrefixFilters> </serviceHostingEnvironment> </system.serviceModel> These will be used to filter the list of base addresses that IIS provides to the host factory. When specifying these prefix filters be sure to specify filters which will only allow 1 result through, otherwise the entire exercise will be pointless. There is however a problem with this work a round, you are only allowed to specify 1 prefix filter per protocol. Which means you can’t add filters for all your environments, this will therefore add to the list of things to do before deploying or switching dev machines. The third option is the one I currently employ, it will work for .NET 3, 3.5 & 4, although it is not needed for .NET 4. For this option you create a custom host factory which inherits from the ServiceHostFactory class. In the implementation of the ServiceHostFactory you employ logic to figure out which of the base addresses, that are give by IIS, to use when creating the service host. The logic you use to do this is completely up to you, I have seen quite a few solutions that simply statically reference an index from the list of base addresses, this works for most situations but falls short in others. For instance, if the order of the base addresses where to change, it might end up returning an address that only resolves on the servers local network, like the last one in the example I gave at the beginning. Another instance, if a request comes in on a different protocol, like https, you will be creating the service host using an address which is on the incorrect protocol, like http. To reliably find the correct address to use, I use the address that the service was requested on. To accomplish this I use the HttpContext, which requires the service to operate with AspNetCompatibilityRequirements set on. If for some reason running you services with AspNetCompatibilityRequirements on isn’t an option, you can still use this method, you will just have to come up with your own logic for selecting the correct address. First you will need to enable AspNetCompatibilityRequirements for your hosting environment, to do this you will need to set it to true in the web.config file as shown below: <system.serviceModel> <serviceHostingEnvironment AspNetCompatibilityRequirements="true" /> </system.serviceModel> You will then need to mark any services that are going to use the custom host factory, to allow AspNetCompatibilityRequirements, as shown below: [AspNetCompatibilityRequirements(RequirementsMode = AspNetCompatibilityRequirementsMode.Allowed)] public class TestService { } Now for the custom host factory, this is where the logic lives that selects the correct address to create service host with. The one i use is shown below: public class CustomHostFactory : ServiceHostFactory { protected override ServiceHost CreateServiceHost(Type serviceType, Uri[] baseAddresses) { // // Compose a prefix filter based on the requested uri // string prefixFilter = HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Scheme + "://" + HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.DnsSafeHost; if (!HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.IsDefaultPort) { prefixFilter += ":" + HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Port.ToString() + "/"; } // // Find a base address that matches the prefix filter // foreach (Uri baseAddress in baseAddresses) { if (baseAddress.OriginalString.StartsWith(prefixFilter)) { return new ServiceHost(serviceType, baseAddress); } } // // Throw exception if no matching base address was found // throw new Exception("Custom Host Factory: No base address matching '" + prefixFilter + "' was found."); } } The most important line in the custom host factory is the one that returns a new service host. This has to return a service host that specifies only one base address per protocol. Since I filter by the address the request came on in, I only need to create the service host with one address, since this address will always be of the correct protocol. Now you have a custom host factory you have to tell your services to use it. To do this you view the markup of the service by right clicking on it in the solution explorer and choosing “View Markup”. Then you add/set the value of the Factory property to the full namespace path of you custom host factory, as shown below. And that is it done, the service will now use the specified custom host factory. The Second Issue As I mentioned earlier this issue is more of a hiccup, but I thought worthy of a mention so I included it. This issue only occurs when you add a service reference to a Silverlight project. Visual Studio will generate a lot of code for you, part of that generated code is the ServiceReferences.ClientConfig file. This file stores the endpoint configuration that is used when accessing your services using the generated proxy classes. Here is what that file looks like: <configuration> <system.serviceModel> <bindings> <customBinding> <binding name="CustomBinding_TestService"> <binaryMessageEncoding /> <httpTransport maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647" maxBufferSize="2147483647" /> </binding> <binding name="CustomBinding_BrokenService"> <binaryMessageEncoding /> <httpTransport maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647" maxBufferSize="2147483647" /> </binding> </customBinding> </bindings> <client> <endpoint address="http://localhost:49347/services/TestService.svc" binding="customBinding" bindingConfiguration="CustomBinding_TestService" contract="TestService.TestService" name="CustomBinding_TestService" /> <endpoint address="http://localhost:49347/Services/BrokenService.svc" binding="customBinding" bindingConfiguration="CustomBinding_BrokenService" contract="BrokenService.BrokenService" name="CustomBinding_BrokenService" /> </client> </system.serviceModel> </configuration> As you will notice the addresses for the end points are set to the addresses of the services you added the service references from, so unless you are adding the service references from your live services, you will have to change these addresses before you deploy. This is little more than an annoyance really, but it adds to the list of things to do before you can deploy, and if left unchecked that list can get out of control. Fix for the Second Issue The way you would usually access a service added this way is to create an instance of the proxy class like so: BrokenServiceClient proxy = new BrokenServiceClient(); Closer inspection of these generated proxy classes reveals that there are a few overloaded constructors, one of which allows you to specify the end point address to use when creating the proxy. From here all you have to do is come up with some logic that will provide you with the relative path to your services. Since my WCF services are usually hosted in the same project as my Silverlight app I use the class shown below: public class ServiceProxyHelper { /// <summary> /// Create a broken service proxy /// </summary> /// <returns>A broken service proxy</returns> public static BrokenServiceClient CreateBrokenServiceProxy() { Uri address = new Uri(Application.Current.Host.Source, "../Services/BrokenService.svc"); return new BrokenServiceClient("CustomBinding_BrokenService", address.AbsoluteUri); } } Then I will create an instance of the proxy class using my service helper class like so: BrokenServiceClient proxy = ServiceProxyHelper.CreateBrokenServiceProxy(); The way this works is “Application.Current.Host.Source” will return the URL to the ClientBin folder the Silverlight app is hosted in, the “../Services/BrokenService.svc” is then used as the relative path to the service from the ClientBin folder, combined by the Uri object this gives me the URL to my service. The “CustomBinding_BrokenService” is a reference to the end point configuration in the ServiceReferences.ClientConfig file. Yes this means you still need the ServiceReferences.ClientConfig file. All this is doing is using a different end point address than the one specified in the ServiceReferences.ClientConfig file, all the other settings form the ServiceReferences.ClientConfig file are still used when creating the proxy. I have uploaded an example project which covers the custom host factory solution from the first issue and everything from the second issue. I included the code to write a list of base addresses to a log file in my implementation of the custom host factory, this is not need for the custom host factory to function and can safely be removed. Download (WCFServicesDeploymentExample.zip)

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Oracle Coherence & Oracle Service Bus: REST API Integration

- by Nino Guarnacci

This post aims to highlight one of the features found in Oracle Coherence which allows it to be easily added and integrated inside a wider variety of projects. The features in question are the REST API exposed by the Coherence nodes, with which you can interact in the wider mode in memory data grid.Oracle Coherence and Oracle Service Bus are natively integrated through a feature found in the Oracle Service Bus, which allows you to use the coherence grid cache during the configuration phase of a business service. This feature allows you to use an intermediate layer of cache to retrieve the answers from previous invocations of the same service, without necessarily having to invoke the real business service again. Directly from the web console of Oracle Service Bus, you can decide the policies of eviction of the objects / answers and define the discriminating parameters that identify their uniqueness.The coherence REST APIs, however, allow you to integrate both products for other necessities enabling realization of new architectures design. Consider coherence’s node as a simple service which interoperates through the stardard services and in particular REST (with JSON and XML). Thinking of coherence as a company’s shared service, able to have an implementation of a centralized “map and reduce” which you can access by a huge variety of protocols (transport and envelopes).An amazing step forward for those who still imagine connectors and code. This type of integration does not require writing custom code or complex implementation to be self-supported. The added value is made unique by the incredible value of both products independently, and still more out of their simple and robust integration.As already mentioned this scenario discovers a hidden new door behind the columns of these two products. The door leads to new ideas and perspectives for enterprise architectures that increasingly wink to next-generation applications: simple and dynamic, perhaps towards the mobile and web 2.0.Below, a small and simple demo useful to demonstrate how easily is to integrate these two products using the Coherence REST API. This demo is also intended to imagine new enterprise architectures using this approach.The idea is to create a centralized system of alerting, fed easily from any company’s application, regardless of the technology with which they were built . Then use a representation standard protocol: RSS, using a service exposed by the service bus; So you can browse and search only the alerts that you are interested on, by category, author, title, date, etc etc.. The steps needed to implement this system are very simple and very few. Here they are listed below and described to be easily replicated within your environment. I would remind you that the demo is only meant to demonstrate how easily is to integrate Oracle Coherence and the Oracle Service Bus, and stimulate your imagination to new technological approaches.1) Install the two products: In this demo used (if necessary, consult the installation guides of 2 products) - Oracle Service Bus ver. 11.1.1.5.0 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/service-bus/downloads/index.html - Oracle Coherence ver. 3.7.1 http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/coherence/downloads/index.html 2) Because you choose to create a centralized alerting system, we need to define a structure type containing some alerting attributes useful to preserve and organize the information of the various alerts sent by the different applications. Here, then it was built a java class named Alert containing the canonical properties of an alarm information:- Title- Description- System- Time- Severity 3) Therefore, we need to create two configuration files for the coherence node, in order to save the Alert objects within the grid, through the rest/http protocol (more than the native API for Java, C + +, C,. Net). Here are the two minimal configuration files for Coherence:coherence-rest-config.xml resty-server-config.xml This minimum configuration allows me to use a distributed cache named "alerts" that can also be accessed via http - rest on the host "localhost" over port "8080", objects are of type “oracle.cohsb.Alert”. 4) Below a simple Java class that represents the type of alert messages: 5) At this point we just need to startup our coherence node, able to listen on http protocol to manage the “alerts” cache, which will receive incoming XML or JSON objects of type Alert. Remember to include in the classpath of the coherence node, the Alert java class and the following coherence libraries and configuration files: At this point, just run the coherence class node “com.tangosol.net.DefaultCacheServer”advising you to set the following parameters:-Dtangosol.coherence.log.level=9 -Dtangosol.coherence.log=stdout -Dtangosol.coherence.cacheconfig=[PATH_TO_THE_FILE]\resty-server-config.xml 6) Let's create a procedure to test our configuration of Coherence and in order to insert some custom alerts in our cache. The technology with which you want to achieve this functionality is fully not considerable: Javascript, Python, Ruby, Scala, C + +, Java.... Because the protocol to communicate with Coherence is simply HTTP / JSON or XML. For this little demo i choose Java: A method to send/put the alert to the cache: A method to query and view the content of the cache: Finally the main method that execute our methods: No special library added in the classpath for our class (json struct static defined), when it will be executed, it asks some information such as title, description,... in order to compose and send an alert to the cache and then it will perform an inquiry, to the same cache. At this point, a good exercise at this point, may be to create the same procedure using other technologies, such as a simple html page containing some JavaScript code, and then using Python, Ruby, and so on.7) Now we are ready to start configuring the Oracle Service Bus in order to integrate the two products. First integrate the internal alerting system of Oracle Service Bus with our centralized alerting system based on coherence node. This ensures that by monitoring, or directly from within our Proxy Message Flow, we can throw alerts and save them directly into the Coherence node. To do this I choose to use the jms technology, natively present inside the Oracle Weblogic / Service Bus. Access to the Oracle WebLogic Administration console and create and configure a new JMS connection factory and a new jms destination (queue). Now we should create a new resource of type “alert destination” within our Oracle Service Bus project. The new “alert destination” resource should be configured using the newly created connection factory jms and jms destination. Finally, in order to withdraw the message alert enqueued in our JMS destination and send it to our coherence node, we just need to create a new business service and proxy service within our Oracle Service Bus project.Our business service is responsible for sending a message to our REST service Coherence using as a method action: PUT Finally our proxy service have to collect all messages enqueued on the destination, execute an xquery transformation on those messages in order to translate them into valid XML / alert objects useful to be sent to our coherence service, through the newly created business service. The message flow pipeline containing the xquery transformation: Incredibly, we just did a basic first integration between the native alerting system of Oracle Service Bus and our centralized alerting system by simply configuring our coherence node without developing anything.It's time to test it out. To do this I create a proxy service able to generate an alert using our "alert destination", whenever the proxy is invoked. After some invocation to our proxy that generates fake alerts, we could open an Internet browser and type the URL http://localhost: 8080/alerts/ so we could see what has been inserted within the coherence node. 8) We are ready for the final step. We would create a new message flow, that can be used to search and display the results in standard mode. To do this I choosen the standard representation of RSS, to display a formatted result on a huge variety of devices such as readers for the iPhone and Android. The inquiry may be defined already at the time of the request able to return only feed / items related to our needs. To do this we need to create a new business service, a new proxy service, and finally a new XQuery Transformation to take care of translating the collection of alerts that will be return from our coherence node in a nicely formatted RSS standard document.So we start right from this resource (xquery), which has the task of transforming a collection of alerts / xml returned from the node coherence in a type well-formatted feed RSS 2.0 our new business service that will search the alerts on our coherence node using the Rest API. And finally, our last resource, the proxy service that will be exposed as an RSS / feeds to various mobile devices and traditional web readers, in which we will intercept any search query, and transform the result returned by the business service in an RSS feed 2.0. The message flow with the transformation phase (Alert TO Feed Items): Finally some little tricks to follow during the routing to the business service, - check for any queries present in the url to require a subset of alerts - the http header "Accept" to help get an answer XML instead of JSON: In our little demo we also static added some coherence parameters to the request:sort=time:desc;start=0;count=100I would like to get from Coherence that the results will be sorted by date, and starting from 1 up to a maximum of 100.Done!!Just incredible, our centralized alerting system is ready. Inheriting all the qualities and capabilities of the two products involved Oracle Coherence & Oracle Service Bus: - RASP (Reliability, Availability, Scalability, Performance)Now try to use your mobile device, or a normal Internet browser by accessing the RSS just published: Some urls you may test: Search for the last 100 alerts : http://localhost:7001/alarmsSearch for alerts that do not have time set to null (time is not null):http://localhost:7001/alarms?q=time+is+not+nullSearch for alerts that the system property is “Web Browser” (system = ‘Web Browser’):http://localhost:7001/alarms?q=system+%3D+%27Web+Browser%27Search for alerts that the system property is “Web Browser” and the severity property is “Fatal” and the title property contain the word “Javascript” (system = ‘Web Broser’ and severity = ‘Fatal’ and title like ‘%Javascript%’)http://localhost:8080/alerts?q=system+%3D+%27Web+Browser%27+AND+severity+%3D+%27Fatal%27+AND+title+LIKE+%27%25Javascript%25%27 To compose more complex queries about your need I would suggest you to read the chapter in the coherence documentation inherent the Cohl language (Coherence Query Language) http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E24290_01/coh.371/e22837/api_cq.htm . Some useful links: - Oracle Coherence REST API Documentation http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E24290_01/coh.371/e22839/rest_intro.htm - Oracle Service Bus Documentation http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E21764_01/soa.htm#osb - REST explanation from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_state_transfer At this URL could be downloaded the whole materials of this demo http://blogs.oracle.com/slc/resource/cosb/coh-sb-demo.zip Author: Nino Guarnacci.

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Cisco PIX 8.0.4, static address mapping not working?

- by Bill

upgrading a working Pix running 5.3.1 to 8.0.4. The memory/IOS upgrade went fine, but the 8.0.4 configuration is not quite working 100%. The 5.3.1 config on which it was based is working fine. Basically, I have three networks (inside, outside, dmz) with some addresses on the dmz statically mapped to outside addresses. The problem seems to be that those addresses can't send or receive traffic from the outside (Internet.) Stuff on the DMZ that does not have a static mapping seems to work fine. So, basically: Inside - outside: works Inside - DMZ: works DMZ - inside: works, where the rules allow it DMZ (non-static) - outside: works But: DMZ (static) - outside: fails Outside - DMZ: fails (So, say, udp 1194 traffic to .102, http to .104) I suspect there's something I'm missing with the nat/global section of the config, but can't for the life of me figure out what. Help, anyone? The complete configuration is below. Thanks for any thoughts! ! PIX Version 8.0(4) ! hostname firewall domain-name asasdkpaskdspakdpoak.com enable password xxxxxxxx encrypted passwd xxxxxxxx encrypted names ! interface Ethernet0 nameif outside security-level 0 ip address XX.XX.XX.100 255.255.255.224 ! interface Ethernet1 nameif inside security-level 100 ip address 192.168.68.1 255.255.255.0 ! interface Ethernet2 nameif dmz security-level 10 ip address 192.168.69.1 255.255.255.0 ! boot system flash:/image.bin ftp mode passive dns server-group DefaultDNS domain-name asasdkpaskdspakdpoak.com access-list acl_out extended permit udp any host XX.XX.XX.102 eq 1194 access-list acl_out extended permit tcp any host XX.XX.XX.104 eq www access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.10 host 192.168.68.17 eq ssh access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.68.0 255.255.255.0 eq ssh access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.68.0 255.255.255.0 eq 5901 access-list acl_dmz extended permit udp host 192.168.69.103 any eq ntp access-list acl_dmz extended permit udp host 192.168.69.103 any eq domain access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.103 any eq www access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.100 host 192.168.68.101 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.100 host 192.168.68.102 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.101 host 192.168.68.101 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.101 host 192.168.68.102 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 host 192.168.68.101 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 host 192.168.68.102 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.104 host 192.168.68.101 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.104 host 192.168.68.102 eq 3306 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 host 192.168.69.104 eq 8080 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 host 192.168.69.104 eq 8099 access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.105 any eq www access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.103 any eq smtp access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.105 host 192.168.68.103 eq ssh access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.104 any eq www access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.100 any eq www access-list acl_dmz extended permit tcp host 192.168.69.100 any eq https pager lines 24 mtu outside 1500 mtu inside 1500 mtu dmz 1500 icmp unreachable rate-limit 1 burst-size 1 no asdm history enable arp timeout 14400 global (outside) 1 interface nat (inside) 1 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 nat (dmz) 1 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 static (dmz,outside) XX.XX.XX.103 192.168.69.11 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (inside,dmz) 192.168.68.17 192.168.68.17 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (inside,dmz) 192.168.68.100 192.168.68.100 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (inside,dmz) 192.168.68.101 192.168.68.101 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (inside,dmz) 192.168.68.102 192.168.68.102 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (inside,dmz) 192.168.68.103 192.168.68.103 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (dmz,outside) XX.XX.XX.104 192.168.69.100 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (dmz,outside) XX.XX.XX.105 192.168.69.105 netmask 255.255.255.255 static (dmz,outside) XX.XX.XX.102 192.168.69.10 netmask 255.255.255.255 access-group acl_out in interface outside access-group acl_dmz in interface dmz route outside 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 XX.XX.XX.97 1 route dmz 10.71.83.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.69.10 1 timeout xlate 3:00:00 timeout conn 1:00:00 half-closed 0:10:00 udp 0:02:00 icmp 0:00:02 timeout sunrpc 0:10:00 h323 0:05:00 h225 1:00:00 mgcp 0:05:00 mgcp-pat 0:05:00 timeout sip 0:30:00 sip_media 0:02:00 sip-invite 0:03:00 sip-disconnect 0:02:00 timeout sip-provisional-media 0:02:00 uauth 0:05:00 absolute dynamic-access-policy-record DfltAccessPolicy no snmp-server location no snmp-server contact snmp-server enable traps snmp authentication linkup linkdown coldstart crypto ipsec security-association lifetime seconds 28800 crypto ipsec security-association lifetime kilobytes 4608000 telnet 192.168.68.17 255.255.255.255 inside telnet timeout 5 ssh timeout 5 console timeout 0 threat-detection basic-threat threat-detection statistics access-list no threat-detection statistics tcp-intercept ! class-map inspection_default match default-inspection-traffic ! ! policy-map type inspect dns preset_dns_map parameters message-length maximum 512 policy-map global_policy class inspection_default inspect dns preset_dns_map inspect ftp inspect h323 h225 inspect h323 ras inspect netbios inspect rsh inspect rtsp inspect skinny inspect esmtp inspect sqlnet inspect sunrpc inspect tftp inspect sip inspect xdmcp ! service-policy global_policy global prompt hostname context Cryptochecksum:2d1bb2dee2d7a3e45db63a489102d7de

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PeopleSoft Upgrades, Fusion, & BI for Leading European PeopleSoft Applications Customers

- by Mark Rosenberg

With so many industry-leading services firms around the globe managing their businesses with PeopleSoft, it’s always an adventure setting up times and meetings for us to keep in touch with them, especially those outside of North America who often do not get to join us at Oracle OpenWorld. Fortunately, during the first two weeks of May, Nigel Woodland (Oracle’s Service Industries Director for the EMEA region) and I successfully blocked off our calendars to visit seven different customers spanning four countries in Western Europe. We met executives and leaders at four Staffing industry firms, two Professional Services firms that engage in consulting and auditing, and a Financial Services firm. As we shared the latest information regarding product capabilities and plans, we also gained valuable insight into the hot technology topics facing these businesses. What we heard was both informative and inspiring, and I suspect other Oracle PeopleSoft applications customers can benefit from one or more of the following observations from our trip. Great IT Plans Get Executed When You Respect the Users Each of our visits followed roughly the same pattern. After introductions, Nigel outlined Oracle’s product and technology strategy, including a discussion of how we at Oracle invest in each layer of the “technology stack” to provide customers with unprecedented business management capabilities and choice. Then, I provided the specifics of the PeopleSoft product line’s investment strategy, detailing the dramatic number of rich usability and functionality enhancements added to release 9.1 since its general availability in 2009 and the game-changing capabilities slated for 9.2. What was most exciting about each of these discussions was that shortly after my talking about what customers can do with release 9.1 right now to drive up user productivity and satisfaction, I saw the wheels turning in the minds of our audiences. Business analyst and end user-configurable tools and technologies, such as WorkCenters and the Related Action Framework, that provide the ability to tailor a “central command center” to the exact needs of each recruiter, biller, and every other role in the organization were exactly what each of our customers had been looking for. Every one of our audiences agreed that these tools which demonstrate a respect for the user would finally help IT pole vault over the wall of resistance that users had often raised in the past. With these new user-focused capabilities, IT is positioned to definitively partner with the business, instead of drag the business along, to unlock the value of their investment in PeopleSoft. This topic of respecting the user emerged during our very first visit, which was at Vital Services Group at their Head Office “The Mill” in Manchester, England. (If you are a student of architecture and are ever in Manchester, you should stop in to see this amazingly renovated old mill building.) I had just finished explaining our PeopleSoft 9.2 roadmap, and Mike Code, PeopleSoft Systems Manager for this innovative staffing company, said, “Mark, the new features you’ve shown us in 9.1/9.2 are very relevant to our business. As we forge ahead with the 9.1 upgrade, the ability to configure a targeted user interface with WorkCenters, Related Actions, Pivot Grids, and Alerts will enable us to satisfy the business that this upgrade is for them and will deliver tangible benefits. In fact, you’ve highlighted that we need to start talking to the business to keep up the momentum to start reviewing the 9.2 upgrade after we get to 9.1, because as much as 9.1 and PeopleTools 8.52 offers, what you’ve shown us for 9.2 is what we’ve envisioned was ultimately possible with our investment in PeopleSoft applications.” We also received valuable feedback about our investment for the Staffing industry when we visited with Hans Wanders, CIO of Randstad (the second largest Staffing company in the world) in the Netherlands. After our visit, Hans noted, “It was very interesting to see how the PeopleSoft applications have developed. I was truly impressed by many of the new developments.” Hans and Mike, sincere thanks for the validation that our team’s hard work and dedication to “respecting the users” is worth the effort! Co-existence of PeopleSoft and Fusion Applications Just Makes Sense As a “product person,” one of the most rewarding things about visiting customers is that they actually want to talk to me. Sometimes, they want to discuss a product area that we need to enhance; other times, they are interested in learning how to extract more value from their applications; and still others, they want to tell me how they are using the applications to drive real value for the business. During this trip, I was very pleased to hear that several of our customers not only thought the co-existence of Fusion applications alongside PeopleSoft applications made sense in theory, but also that they were aggressively looking at how to deploy one or more Fusion applications alongside their PeopleSoft HCM and FSCM applications. The most common deployment plan in the works by three of the organizations is to upgrade to PeopleSoft 9.1 or 9.2, and then adopt one of the new Fusion HCM applications, such as Fusion Performance Management or the full suite of Fusion Talent Management. For example, during an applications upgrade planning discussion with the staffing company Hays plc., Mark Thomas, who is Hays’ UK IT Director, commented, “We are very excited about where we can go with the latest versions of the PeopleSoft applications in conjunction with Fusion Talent Management.” Needless to say, this news was very encouraging, because it reiterated that our applications investment strategy makes good business sense for our customers. Next Generation Business Intelligence Is the Key to the Future The third, and perhaps most exciting, lesson I learned during this journey is that our audiences already know that the latest generation of Business Intelligence technologies will be the “secret sauce” for organizations to transform business in radical ways. While a number of the organizations we visited on the trip have deployed or are deploying Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition and the associated analytics applications to provide dashboards of easy-to-understand, user-configurable metrics that help optimize business performance according to current operating procedures, what’s most exciting to them is being able to use Business Intelligence to change the way an organization does business, grows revenue, and makes a profit. In particular, several executives we met asked whether we can help them minimize the need to have perfectly structured data and at the same time generate analytics that improve order fulfillment decision-making. To them, the path to future growth lies in having the ability to analyze unstructured data rapidly and intuitively and leveraging technology’s ability to detect patterns that a human cannot reasonably be expected to see. For illustrative purposes, here is a good example of a business problem where analyzing a combination of structured and unstructured data can produce better results. If you have a resource manager trying to decide which person would be the best fit for an assignment in terms of ensuring (a) client satisfaction, (b) the individual’s satisfaction with the work, (c) least travel distance, and (d) highest margin, you traditionally compare resource qualifications to assignment needs, calculate margins on past work with the client, and measure distances. To perform these comparisons, you are likely to need the organization to have profiles setup, people ranked against profiles, margin targets setup, margins measured, distances setup, distances measured, and more. As you can imagine, this requires organizations to plan and implement data setup, capture, and quality management initiatives to ensure that dependable information is available to support resourcing analysis and decisions. In the fast-paced, tight-budget world in which most organizations operate today, the effort and discipline required to maintain high-quality, structured data like those described in the above example are certainly not desirable and in some cases are not feasible. You can imagine how intrigued our audiences were when I informed them that we are ready to help them analyze volumes of unstructured data, detect trends, and produce recommendations. Our discussions delved into examples of how the firms could leverage Oracle’s Secure Enterprise Search and Endeca technologies to keyword search against, compare, and learn from unstructured resource and assignment data. We also considered examples of how they could employ Oracle Real-Time Decisions to generate statistically significant recommendations based on similar resourcing scenarios that have produced the desired satisfaction and profit margin results. --- Although I had almost no time for sight-seeing during this trip to Europe, I have to say that it may have been one of the most energizing and engaging trips of my career. Showing these dedicated customers how they can give every user a uniquely tailored set of tools and address business problems in ways that have to date been impossible made the journey across the Atlantic more than worth it. If any of these three topics intrigue you, I’d recommend you contact your Oracle applications representative to arrange for more detailed discussions with the appropriate members of our organization.

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CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, June 09, 2010

CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, June 09, 2010New Projects.NET Transactional File Manager: Transactional File Manager is a .NET API that supports including file system operations such as file copy, move, delete in a transaction. It's an i...3D World Studio Content Pipeline for Windows Phone 7: This is a port of PhotonicGames' project: http://xna3dws.codeplex.com/releases/view/42994 for the Windows Phone 7 tools (XNA 4.0 CTP).Advanced Script Editor for 3D Rad: Advanced Script Editor makes it easier for 3D Rad coders to write scripts. Developed in C#, it features a functions list, a favourites list, object...Ajax ASP.Net Forum: A fast & lightweight open source free forum developed in ASP.Net 3.5, AJAX, CSS, SQL & Javascript Cache (filter-sort-move through table records at ...Axon: Axon is the home automation system that I will be running in my home. It will be a collection of different technologies and projects, often experim...BigBallz: Projeto de site de Bolões para campeonatos diversos. A princípio pensado para copa do mundo de futebol de 2010BigfootMVC: MVC Framework for DotNetNukeBigfootSQL: A StringBuilder for SQL. BigfootSQL was built with simplicity in mind. It assumes that you are comfortable writing SQL but dislike effort required ...Bxf (Basic XAML Framework): Basic Xaml Framework (Bxf) is a simple, streamlined set of UI components designed to demonstrate the minimum framework functionality required to ma...elZerf - elektronische Zeiterfassung: elektronisches Zeiterfassungsystem im Rahmen der Seminararbeit im Modul Web-Anwendungsprogrammierung.IntoFactories.Net - Samples: Project to host samples created by members of the IntoFactories.NET Team blog.Lanchonete: Sistema para controle de lanchonetes. Medieval Dynasties: Medieval Dynasties is a game written in C# 3.5 and XNA 3.1 at the moment. It is inspired by Crusader Kings, Total War and Civilization.PMMsg: A project to replace the standard messaging client on the Windows Mobile platform. Mainly geared towards Windows Mobile 6.5.3 VGA devices. Also an...PunkPong: PunkPong is an open source "Pong" alike game totally written in DHTML (JavaScript, CSS and HTML) that uses keyboard or mouse. This cross-platform a...Renegade Legion Fighter Calculator: In working on assigning fighters to squadrons, flights, and groups for a campaign, I was struck by the sheer amount of calculations I had to make. ...Sharpotify - Spotify .Net Library: Sharpotify is a Spotify library in C#. It is based in Jotify and SharPot projects. It is not a libspotify wrapper, It is a full .Net Spotify protoc...Silverlight load on demand with MEF: With MEF, a Silverlight control can be split in several packages(xap files). Each package can contain one or more pages and it will download on dem...SOLID by example: Source code examples to undestood solid design principles. Most of them were taken from http://www.lostechies.com/SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services RS.EXE Supporting Forms Authentication: A version of RS.EXE that you can use with Forms Authentication in Native Mode. Use the following arguments to specify credentials (just like Basic ...Stripper: Stripper Remove Diacritics and other unwanted caracter to fabric a more standardized file naming.study: studyUncoverPIC: UncoverPIC is a Silverlight Game strongly inspired to the famous Arcade Game "GalsPanic" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gals_Panic ). It was dev...Unity3D Untitled MMO: Unity3D Untitled MMO FrameworkUnnamedShop: UnnamedShopXBStudio.asp.net.automation: A Unit Testing Automation library for asp.netXBStudio.Web: XBStudio Web ApplicationNew Releases3D World Studio Content Pipeline for Windows Phone 7: Initial Release (0.1): This is the first release of the project, with plenty of hackery and kludges to go around, but it mostly works! Let me know if you hit any bugs.Acies: Acies - Alpha Build 0.0.10: Alpha release. Requires Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 3.1 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=53867a2a-e249-4560-...Advanced Script Editor for 3D Rad: Advanced Script Editor - Version 2.6: Despite various previous releases on the 3D Rad forum, this is the first release on CodePlex.Ajax ASP.Net Forum: First Release: First Release prior to CodePlex Publish (send to admins)So, it doesn't all finish VERSION: 0.1.2 FEATURES Main Home Where all the Forums (called ...Artist Follower for Microsoft Access: Artist Follower 0.5.1: Artists Follower changes: Just one form to manage artists and links!!!Artist Follower for Microsoft Access: Artists Follower 0.5.0: This is the first release of Artist Follower.ASP.NET MVC SiteMap provider - MvcSiteMapProvider: MvcSiteMapProvider 2.0.0 CTP1: This is a community technology preview of MvcSiteMapProvider version 2.0. It is not backwards compatible with older MvcSiteMapProvider versions. ...B&W Port Scanner: Black`n`White Port Scanner 4.0: Version 4 includes: - Improved vulnerability detection tools - Report Creation - Improved Stability - Much better port information database - Nume...BaseCalendar: BaseControls 1.1: BaseControls 1.1 contains the BaseCalendar ASP.NET control. Changes: Rendering TH by default inside THEAD. Added option (ShowMinNumWeeks) to r...BigfootSQL: BigfootSQL Source Code: BigfootSQL C# Version 01Commerce Server 2009 Orders using Pipelines in a Console Application: ConsoleApplication To PLace Orders: ConsoleApplication To PLace Orders with Commerce Server 2009 foundationCommunity Forums NNTP bridge: Community Forums NNTP Bridge V33: Release of the Community Forums NNTP Bridge to access the social and anwsers MS forums with a single, open source NNTP bridge. This release has ad...Community Forums NNTP bridge: Community Forums NNTP Bridge V34: Release of the Community Forums NNTP Bridge to access the social and anwsers MS forums with a single, open source NNTP bridge. This release has ad...ContainerOne - C# application server: V0.1.2.0: New minor release containing: Integration test component for runtime testing Refactored and cleaned solution files First unit testsExtend SmallBasic: Teaching Extensions v.020: Moved Tortoise.approve to ProgramWindow.TakeScreenShot()fleet It: v0.06 Alpha: v0.06 Alpha - Features Caching implemented for fleets Various Bug fixes Implemented Settings. Resolved logical issue with Getting fleets U...Frotz.NET: Frotz.NET B2: In addition to B1 changes: - Added ZTools to enable debugging view of zcode files - Added rudimentary scroll back buffer. B1 Changes: - Got Adapt...FsObserver: FsObserver 2.0: This is basically the same as FsObserver 1.0 but the "-help" documentation has been cleaned up somewhat and the code has been refactored so that it...GPdotNET - Genetic Programming Tool: GPdotNETv1.0: GPdotNET v.1.0 - more details on http.bhrnjica.wordpress.com/gpdotnetHERB.IQ: Alpha 0.1 Source code release 8: Alpha 0.1 Source code release 8imdb movie downloader: myImdb 0.9.3: myImdb 0.9.3imdb movie downloader: myImdb 0.9.4: myImdb 0.9.4jccc .NET smart framework: jccc .NET smart framework version 1.2010.06.07: jccc .NET smart framework version 1.2010.06.07 added oracle databases supportLongBar: LongBar 2.1 Build 313: - Fixed library and updates to work with updated live services - Options: You can disable shadow nowMDownloader: MDownloader-0.15.17.59623: Fixed FileFactory provider. Improvied postpone policies. Added network request limiter.MediaCoder.NET: MediaCoder.NET v1.0 beta 1.1: Installer for MediaCoder.NET v1.0 beta1.1. It can now convert files with spaces in the path or filename. I have also created filter for the SaveFil...MediaCoder.NET: MediaCoder.NET v1.0 beta 1.1 Source Code: Source Code for MediaCoder.NET v1.0 beta 1.1.mesoBoard: mesoBoard - 0.9.1 beta: Fixed file download permissions Released under the New BSD License.MPCLI: Alpha Release (0.1.0.0): This release has core functionality and is considered a potential candidate for a feature complete release of this library. However, suggestions fo...N2 CMS: 2.0: N2 is a lightweight CMS framework for ASP.NET. It helps professional developers build great web sites that anyone can update. Major Changes (1.5 -...NHTrace: NHTrace-47571: NHTrace-47571NodeXL: Network Overview, Discovery and Exploration for Excel: NodeXL Class Libraries, version 1.0.1.125: The NodeXL class libraries can be used to display network graphs in .NET applications. To include a NodeXL network graph in a WPF desktop or Windo...NSoup: NSoup 0.2: NSoup 0.2 corresponds to jsoup version 1.1.1. List of changes can be viewed here.Opalis Community Releases: Integration Pack for Data Manipulation: The Integration Pack for Data Manipulation enables you to perform a wider variety of data manipulation tasks as well as aggregate data into common ...Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool: PAL v2.0 Beta 1: Fixed Counter Sorting: Fixed a minor bug where duplicate counter expression paths were not being removed. Analysis Added: Added LogicalDisk Read/...RoTwee: RoTwee (12.0.0.0): Trial version. 17925 Make it possible to change window sizeSharpotify - Spotify .Net Library: Sharpotify.Library 1.0: Sharpotify Library: Stable release. You can connect with spotify, search, browse (tracks, albums, artists), get a music stream, create and edit you...Silverlight load on demand with MEF: mal.Web.Silverlight.MEF 1.0.0.0: mal.Web.Silverlight.MEF 1.0.0.0sMAPtool: sMAPtool v0.7e (without Maps): + Added: color value expansion bar for hmap (right click to select color scheme) + Added: more complex hmap editing, uses now 4 point bounding rect...SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services RS.EXE Supporting Forms Authentication: Initial release: Enjoy!Stripper: Stripper 0.1.1 (CLi): Stripper Remove Diacritics and other unwanted caracters to fabric a more standardized file naming. Especially French caracter and maybe other lang...Unity3D Untitled MMO: v1: versionUrzaGatherer: UrzaGatherer 2.01a: New version with some minors bugs corrected.VCC: Latest build, v2.1.30608.0: Automatic drop of latest buildVCC: Latest build, v2.1.30608.1: Automatic drop of latest buildWatermarker.NET: 0.1.3811: A newer version with some improvements. I release this as a .zip archive, because settings are added here, so there will be .exe and .config files.Yet Another GPS: Alfa Release: Alfa working releaseMost Popular ProjectsDozer Enterprise Library for .NETEmployee Management SystemWiiMote PhysicsVisualStudio 2010 JavaScript OutliningSpider CompilerConcurrent CacheOil Slick Live FeedsCSUFVGDC Summer JamWinGetSiteMap Utility for DNN Blog ModuleMost Active ProjectsCommunity Forums NNTP bridgepatterns & practices – Enterprise LibraryRhyduino - Arduino and Managed CodejQuery Library for SharePoint Web ServicesRawrNB_Store - Free DotNetNuke Ecommerce Catalog ModuleAndrew's XNA HelpersBlogEngine.NETStyleCopCustomer Portal Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

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Customize Team Build 2010 – Part 13: Get control over the Build Output

In the series the following parts have been published Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Add arguments and variables Part 3: Use more complex arguments Part 4: Create your own activity Part 5: Increase AssemblyVersion Part 6: Use custom type for an argument Part 7: How is the custom assembly found Part 8: Send information to the build log Part 9: Impersonate activities (run under other credentials) Part 10: Include Version Number in the Build Number Part 11: Speed up opening my build process template Part 12: How to debug my custom activities Part 13: Get control over the Build Output Part 14: Execute a PowerShell script Part 15: Fail a build based on the exit code of a console application In the part 8, I have explained how you can add informational messages, warnings or errors to the build output. If you want to integrate with other lines of text to the build output, you need to do more. This post will show you how you can add extra steps, additional information and hyperlinks to the build output. Add an hyperlink to the end of the build output Lets start with a simple example of how you can adjust the build output. In this case we are going to add at the end of the build output an hyperlink where a user can click on to for example start the deployment to the test environment. In part 4 you can find information how you can create a custom activity To add information to the build output, you need the BuildDetail. This value is a variable in your xaml and is thus easily transferable to you custom activity. Besides the BuildDetail the user has also to specify the text and the url that has to be added to the end of the build output. The following code segment shows you how you can achieve this. [BuildActivity(HostEnvironmentOption.All)] public sealed class AddHyperlinkToBuildOutput : CodeActivity { [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<IBuildDetail> BuildDetail { get; set; } [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<string> DisplayText { get; set; } [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<string> Url { get; set; } protected override void Execute(CodeActivityContext context) { // Obtain the runtime value of the input arguments IBuildDetail buildDetail = context.GetValue(this.BuildDetail); string displayText = context.GetValue(this.DisplayText); string url = context.GetValue(this.Url); // Add the hyperlink buildDetail.Information.AddExternalLink(displayText, new Uri(url)); buildDetail.Information.Save(); } } If you add this activity to somewhere in your build process template (within the scope Run on Agent), you will get the following build output Add an line of text to the build output The next challenge is to add this kind of output not only to the end of the build output but at the step that is currently executing. To be able to do this, you need the current node in the build output. The following code shows you how you can achieve this. First you need to get the current activity tracking, which you can get with the following line of code IActivityTracking currentTracking = context.GetExtension<IBuildLoggingExtension>().GetActivityTracking(context); Then you can create a new node and set its type to Activity Tracking Node (so copy it from the current node) and do nice things with the node. IBuildInformationNode childNode = currentTracking.Node.Children.CreateNode(); childNode.Type = currentTracking.Node.Type; childNode.Fields.Add("DisplayText", "This text is displayed."); You can also add a build step to display progress IBuildStep buildStep = childNode.Children.AddBuildStep("Custom Build Step", "This is my custom build step"); buildStep.FinishTime = DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(10); buildStep.Status = BuildStepStatus.Succeeded; Or you can add an hyperlink to the node childNode.Children.AddExternalLink("My link", new Uri(http://www.ewaldhofman.nl)); When you combine this together you get the following result in the build output You can download the full solution at BuildProcess.zip. It will include the sources of every part and will continue to evolve.

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Announcing Windows Azure Mobile Services

- by ScottGu

I’m excited to announce a new capability we are adding to Windows Azure today: Windows Azure Mobile Services Windows Azure Mobile Services makes it incredibly easy to connect a scalable cloud backend to your client and mobile applications. It allows you to easily store structured data in the cloud that can span both devices and users, integrate it with user authentication, as well as send out updates to clients via push notifications. Today’s release enables you to add these capabilities to any Windows 8 app in literally minutes, and provides a super productive way for you to quickly build out your app ideas. We’ll also be adding support to enable these same scenarios for Windows Phone, iOS, and Android devices soon. Read this getting started tutorial to walkthrough how you can build (in less than 5 minutes) a simple Windows 8 “Todo List” app that is cloud enabled using Windows Azure Mobile Services. Or watch this video of me showing how to do it step by step. Getting Started If you don’t already have a Windows Azure account, you can sign up for a no-obligation Free Trial. Once you are signed-up, click the “preview features” section under the “account” tab of the www.windowsazure.com website and enable your account to support the “Mobile Services” preview. Instructions on how to enable this can be found here. Once you have the mobile services preview enabled, log into the Windows Azure Portal, click the “New” button and choose the new “Mobile Services” icon to create your first mobile backend. Once created, you’ll see a quick-start page like below with instructions on how to connect your mobile service to an existing Windows 8 client app you have already started working on, or how to create and connect a brand-new Windows 8 client app with it: Read this getting started tutorial to walkthrough how you can build (in less than 5 minutes) a simple Windows 8 “Todo List” app that stores data in Windows Azure. Storing Data in the Cloud Storing data in the cloud with Windows Azure Mobile Services is incredibly easy. When you create a Windows Azure Mobile Service, we automatically associate it with a SQL Database inside Windows Azure. The Windows Azure Mobile Service backend then provides built-in support for enabling remote apps to securely store and retrieve data from it (using secure REST end-points utilizing a JSON-based ODATA format) – without you having to write or deploy any custom server code. Built-in management support is provided within the Windows Azure portal for creating new tables, browsing data, setting indexes, and controlling access permissions. This makes it incredibly easy to connect client applications to the cloud, and enables client developers who don’t have a server-code background to be productive from the very beginning. They can instead focus on building the client app experience, and leverage Windows Azure Mobile Services to provide the cloud backend services they require. Below is an example of client-side Windows 8 C#/XAML code that could be used to query data from a Windows Azure Mobile Service. Client-side C# developers can write queries like this using LINQ and strongly typed POCO objects, which are then translated into HTTP REST queries that run against a Windows Azure Mobile Service. Developers don’t have to write or deploy any custom server-side code in order to enable client-side code below to execute and asynchronously populate their client UI: Because Mobile Services is part of Windows Azure, developers can later choose to augment or extend their initial solution and add custom server functionality and more advanced logic if they want. This provides maximum flexibility, and enables developers to grow and extend their solutions to meet any needs. User Authentication and Push Notifications Windows Azure Mobile Services also make it incredibly easy to integrate user authentication/authorization and push notifications within your applications. You can use these capabilities to enable authentication and fine grain access control permissions to the data you store in the cloud, as well as to trigger push notifications to users/devices when the data changes. Windows Azure Mobile Services supports the concept of “server scripts” (small chunks of server-side script that executes in response to actions) that make it really easy to enable these scenarios. Below are some tutorials that walkthrough common authentication/authorization/push scenarios you can do with Windows Azure Mobile Services and Windows 8 apps: Enabling User Authentication Authorizing Users Get Started with Push Notifications Push Notifications to multiple Users Manage and Monitor your Mobile Service Just like with every other service in Windows Azure, you can monitor usage and metrics of your mobile service backend using the “Dashboard” tab within the Windows Azure Portal. The dashboard tab provides a built-in monitoring view of the API calls, Bandwidth, and server CPU cycles of your Windows Azure Mobile Service. You can also use the “Logs” tab within the portal to review error messages. This makes it easy to monitor and track how your application is doing. Scale Up as Your Business Grows Windows Azure Mobile Services now allows every Windows Azure customer to create and run up to 10 Mobile Services in a free, shared/multi-tenant hosting environment (where your mobile backend will be one of multiple apps running on a shared set of server resources). This provides an easy way to get started on projects at no cost beyond the database you connect your Windows Azure Mobile Service to (note: each Windows Azure free trial account also includes a 1GB SQL Database that you can use with any number of apps or Windows Azure Mobile Services). If your client application becomes popular, you can click the “Scale” tab of your Mobile Service and switch from “Shared” to “Reserved” mode. Doing so allows you to isolate your apps so that you are the only customer within a virtual machine. This allows you to elastically scale the amount of resources your apps use – allowing you to scale-up (or scale-down) your capacity as your traffic grows: With Windows Azure you pay for compute capacity on a per-hour basis – which allows you to scale up and down your resources to match only what you need. This enables a super flexible model that is ideal for new mobile app scenarios, as well as startups who are just getting going. Summary I’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do with Windows Azure Mobile Services – there are a lot more features to explore. With Windows Azure Mobile Services you’ll be able to build mobile app experiences faster than ever, and enable even better user experiences – by connecting your client apps to the cloud. Visit the Windows Azure Mobile Services development center to learn more, and build your first Windows 8 app connected with Windows Azure today. And read this getting started tutorial to walkthrough how you can build (in less than 5 minutes) a simple Windows 8 “Todo List” app that is cloud enabled using Windows Azure Mobile Services. Hope this helps, Scott P.S. In addition to blogging, I am also now using Twitter for quick updates and to share links. Follow me at: twitter.com/scottgu

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Customize Team Build 2010 – Part 13: Get control over the Build Output

In the series the following parts have been published Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Add arguments and variables Part 3: Use more complex arguments Part 4: Create your own activity Part 5: Increase AssemblyVersion Part 6: Use custom type for an argument Part 7: How is the custom assembly found Part 8: Send information to the build log Part 9: Impersonate activities (run under other credentials) Part 10: Include Version Number in the Build Number Part 11: Speed up opening my build process template Part 12: How to debug my custom activities Part 13: Get control over the Build Output Part 14: Execute a PowerShell script Part 15: Fail a build based on the exit code of a console application In the part 8, I have explained how you can add informational messages, warnings or errors to the build output. If you want to integrate with other lines of text to the build output, you need to do more. This post will show you how you can add extra steps, additional information and hyperlinks to the build output. UPDATE 13-12-2010: Thanks to Jason Pricket, it is now also possible to not show every activity in the build log. This is really useful when you are doing for-loops in your template. To see how you can do that, check out Jason's blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jpricket/archive/2010/12/09/tfs-2010-making-your-build-log-less-noisy.aspx Add an hyperlink to the end of the build output Lets start with a simple example of how you can adjust the build output. In this case we are going to add at the end of the build output an hyperlink where a user can click on to for example start the deployment to the test environment. In part 4 you can find information how you can create a custom activity To add information to the build output, you need the BuildDetail. This value is a variable in your xaml and is thus easily transferable to you custom activity. Besides the BuildDetail the user has also to specify the text and the url that has to be added to the end of the build output. The following code segment shows you how you can achieve this. [BuildActivity(HostEnvironmentOption.All)] public sealed class AddHyperlinkToBuildOutput : CodeActivity { [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<IBuildDetail> BuildDetail { get; set; } [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<string> DisplayText { get; set; } [RequiredArgument] public InArgument<string> Url { get; set; } protected override void Execute(CodeActivityContext context) { // Obtain the runtime value of the input arguments IBuildDetail buildDetail = context.GetValue(this.BuildDetail); string displayText = context.GetValue(this.DisplayText); string url = context.GetValue(this.Url); // Add the hyperlink buildDetail.Information.AddExternalLink(displayText, new Uri(url)); buildDetail.Information.Save(); } } If you add this activity to somewhere in your build process template (within the scope Run on Agent), you will get the following build output Add an line of text to the build output The next challenge is to add this kind of output not only to the end of the build output but at the step that is currently executing. To be able to do this, you need the current node in the build output. The following code shows you how you can achieve this. First you need to get the current activity tracking, which you can get with the following line of code IActivityTracking currentTracking = context.GetExtension<IBuildLoggingExtension>().GetActivityTracking(context); Then you can create a new node and set its type to Activity Tracking Node (so copy it from the current node) and do nice things with the node. IBuildInformationNode childNode = currentTracking.Node.Children.CreateNode(); childNode.Type = currentTracking.Node.Type; childNode.Fields.Add("DisplayText", "This text is displayed."); You can also add a build step to display progress IBuildStep buildStep = childNode.Children.AddBuildStep("Custom Build Step", "This is my custom build step"); buildStep.FinishTime = DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(10); buildStep.Status = BuildStepStatus.Succeeded; Or you can add an hyperlink to the node childNode.Children.AddExternalLink("My link", new Uri(http://www.ewaldhofman.nl)); When you combine this together you get the following result in the build output You can download the full solution at BuildProcess.zip. It will include the sources of every part and will continue to evolve.

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SQL SERVER – A Quick Look at Logging and Ideas around Logging

- by pinaldave

This blog post is written in response to the T-SQL Tuesday post on Logging. When someone talks about logging, personally I get lots of ideas about it. I have seen logging as a very generic term. Let me ask you this question first before I continue writing about logging. What is the first thing comes to your mind when you hear word “Logging”? Now ask the same question to the guy standing next to you. I am pretty confident that you will get a different answer from different people. I decided to do this activity and asked 5 SQL Server person the same question. Question: What is the first thing comes to your mind when you hear the word “Logging”? Strange enough I got a different answer every single time. Let me just list what answer I got from my friends. Let us go over them one by one. Output Clause The very first person replied output clause. Pretty interesting answer to start with. I see what exactly he was thinking. SQL Server 2005 has introduced a new OUTPUT clause. OUTPUT clause has access to inserted and deleted tables (virtual tables) just like triggers. OUTPUT clause can be used to return values to client clause. OUTPUT clause can be used with INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE to identify the actual rows affected by these statements. Here are some references for Output Clause: OUTPUT Clause Example and Explanation with INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE Reasons for Using Output Clause – Quiz Tips from the SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Output Clause in Simple Examples Error Logs I was expecting someone to mention Error logs when it is about logging. The error log is the most looked place when there is any error either with the application or there is an error with the operating system. I have kept the policy to check my server’s error log every day. The reason is simple – enough time in my career I have figured out that when I am looking at error logs I find something which I was not expecting. There are cases, when I noticed errors in the error log and I fixed them before end user notices it. Other common practices I always tell my DBA friends to do is that when any error happens they should find relevant entries in the error logs and document the same. It is quite possible that they will see the same error in the error log and able to fix the error based on the knowledge base which they have created. There can be many different kinds of error log files exists in SQL Server as well – 1) SQL Server Error Logs 2) Windows Event Log 3) SQL Server Agent Log 4) SQL Server Profile Log 5) SQL Server Setup Log etc. Here are some references for Error Logs: Recycle Error Log – Create New Log file without Server Restart SQL Error Messages Change Data Capture I got surprised with this answer. I think more than the answer I was surprised by the person who had answered me this one. I always thought he was expert in HTML, JavaScript but I guess, one should never assume about others. Indeed one of the cool logging feature is Change Data Capture. Change Data Capture records INSERTs, UPDATEs, and DELETEs applied to SQL Server tables, and makes a record available of what changed, where, and when, in simple relational ‘change tables’ rather than in an esoteric chopped salad of XML. These change tables contain columns that reflect the column structure of the source table you have chosen to track, along with the metadata needed to understand the changes that have been made. Here are some references for Change Data Capture: Introduction to Change Data Capture (CDC) in SQL Server 2008 Tuning the Performance of Change Data Capture in SQL Server 2008 Download Script of Change Data Capture (CDC) CDC and TRUNCATE – Cannot truncate table because it is published for replication or enabled for Change Data Capture Dynamic Management View (DMV) I like this answer. If asked I would have not come up with DMV right away but in the spirit of the original question, I think DMV does log the data. DMV logs or stores or records the various data and activity on the SQL Server. Dynamic management views return server state information that can be used to monitor the health of a server instance, diagnose problems, and tune performance. One can get plethero of information from DMVs – High Availability Status, Query Executions Details, SQL Server Resources Status etc. Here are some references for Dynamic Management View (DMV): SQL SERVER – Denali – DMV Enhancement – sys.dm_exec_query_stats – New Columns DMV – sys.dm_os_windows_info – Information about Operating System DMV – sys.dm_os_wait_stats Explanation – Wait Type – Day 3 of 28 DMV sys.dm_exec_describe_first_result_set_for_object – Describes the First Result Metadata for the Module Transaction Log Impact Detection Using DMV – dm_tran_database_transactions Log Files I almost flipped with this final answer from my friend. This should be probably the first answer. Yes, indeed log file logs the SQL Server activities. One can write infinite things about log file. SQL Server uses log file with the extension .ldf to manage transactions and maintain database integrity. Log file ensures that valid data is written out to database and system is in a consistent state. Log files are extremely useful in case of the database failures as with the help of full backup file database can be brought in the desired state (point in time recovery is also possible). SQL Server database has three recovery models – 1) Simple, 2) Full and 3) Bulk Logged. Each of the model uses the .ldf file for performing various activities. It is very important to take the backup of the log files (along with full backup) as one never knows when backup of the log file come into the action and save the day! How to Stop Growing Log File Too Big Reduce the Virtual Log Files (VLFs) from LDF file Log File Growing for Model Database – model Database Log File Grew Too Big master Database Log File Grew Too Big SHRINKFILE and TRUNCATE Log File in SQL Server 2008 Can I just say I loved this month’s T-SQL Tuesday Question. It really provoked very interesting conversation around me. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Optimization, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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Windows Azure VMs - New "Stopped" VM Options Provide Cost-effective Flexibility for On-Demand Workloads

- by KeithMayer

Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/KeithMayer/archive/2013/06/22/windows-azure-vms---new-stopped-vm-options-provide-cost-effective.aspxDidn’t make it to TechEd this year? Don’t worry! This month, we’ll be releasing a new article series that highlights the Best of TechEd announcements and technical information for IT Pros. Today’s article focuses on a new, much-heralded enhancement to Windows Azure Infrastructure Services to make it more cost-effective for spinning VMs up and down on-demand on the Windows Azure cloud platform. NEW! VMs that are shutdown from the Windows Azure Management Portal will no longer continue to accumulate compute charges while stopped! Previous to this enhancement being available, the Azure platform maintained fabric resource reservations for VMs, even in a shutdown state, to ensure consistent resource availability when starting those VMs in the future. And, this meant that VMs had to be exported and completely deprovisioned when not in use to avoid compute charges. In this article, I'll provide more details on the scenarios that this enhancement best fits, and I'll also review the new options and considerations that we now have for performing safe shutdowns of Windows Azure VMs. Which scenarios does the new enhancement best fit? Being able to easily shutdown VMs from the Windows Azure Management Portal without continued compute charges is a great enhancement for certain cloud use cases, such as: On-demand dev/test/lab environments - Freely start and stop lab VMs so that they are only accumulating compute charges when being actively used. "Bursting" load-balanced web applications - Provision a number of load-balanced VMs, but keep the minimum number of VMs running to support "normal" loads. Easily start-up the remaining VMs only when needed to support peak loads. Disaster Recovery - Start-up "cold" VMs when needed to recover from disaster scenarios. BUT ... there is a consideration to keep in mind when using the Windows Azure Management Portal to shutdown VMs: although performing a VM shutdown via the Windows Azure Management Portal causes that VM to no longer accumulate compute charges, it also deallocates the VM from fabric resources to which it was previously assigned. These fabric resources include compute resources such as virtual CPU cores and memory, as well as network resources, such as IP addresses. This means that when the VM is later started after being shutdown from the portal, the VM could be assigned a different IP address or placed on a different compute node within the fabric. In some cases, you may want to shutdown VMs using the old approach, where fabric resource assignments are maintained while the VM is in a shutdown state. Specifically, you may wish to do this when temporarily shutting down or restarting a "7x24" VM as part of a maintenance activity. Good news - you can still revert back to the old VM shutdown behavior when necessary by using the alternate VM shutdown approaches listed below. Let's walk through each approach for performing a VM Shutdown action on Windows Azure so that we can understand the benefits and considerations of each... How many ways can I shutdown a VM? In Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, there's three general ways that can be used to safely shutdown VMs: Shutdown VM via Windows Azure Management Portal Shutdown Guest Operating System inside the VM Stop VM via Windows PowerShell using Windows Azure PowerShell Module Although each of these options performs a safe shutdown of the guest operation system and the VM itself, each option handles the VM shutdown end state differently. Shutdown VM via Windows Azure Management Portal When clicking the Shutdown button at the bottom of the Virtual Machines page in the Windows Azure Management Portal, the VM is safely shutdown and "deallocated" from fabric resources. Shutdown button on Virtual Machines page in Windows Azure Management Portal When the shutdown process completes, the VM will be shown on the Virtual Machines page with a "Stopped ( Deallocated )" status as shown in the figure below. Virtual Machine in a "Stopped (Deallocated)" Status "Deallocated" means that the VM configuration is no longer being actively associated with fabric resources, such as virtual CPUs, memory and networks. In this state, the VM will not continue to allocate compute charges, but since fabric resources are deallocated, the VM could receive a different internal IP address ( called "Dynamic IPs" or "DIPs" in Windows Azure ) the next time it is started. TIP: If you are leveraging this shutdown option and consistency of DIPs is important to applications running inside your VMs, you should consider using virtual networks with your VMs. Virtual networks permit you to assign a specific IP Address Space for use with VMs that are assigned to that virtual network. As long as you start VMs in the same order in which they were originally provisioned, each VM should be reassigned the same DIP that it was previously using. What about consistency of External IP Addresses? Great question! External IP addresses ( called "Virtual IPs" or "VIPs" in Windows Azure ) are associated with the cloud service in which one or more Windows Azure VMs are running. As long as at least 1 VM inside a cloud service remains in a "Running" state, the VIP assigned to a cloud service will be preserved. If all VMs inside a cloud service are in a "Stopped ( Deallocated )" status, then the cloud service may receive a different VIP when VMs are next restarted. TIP: If consistency of VIPs is important for the cloud services in which you are running VMs, consider keeping one VM inside each cloud service in the alternate VM shutdown state listed below to preserve the VIP associated with the cloud service. Shutdown Guest Operating System inside the VM When performing a Guest OS shutdown or restart ( ie., a shutdown or restart operation initiated from the Guest OS running inside the VM ), the VM configuration will not be deallocated from fabric resources. In the figure below, the VM has been shutdown from within the Guest OS and is shown with a "Stopped" VM status rather than the "Stopped ( Deallocated )" VM status that was shown in the previous figure. Note that it may require a few minutes for the Windows Azure Management Portal to reflect that the VM is in a "Stopped" state in this scenario, because we are performing an OS shutdown inside the VM rather than through an Azure management endpoint. Virtual Machine in a "Stopped" Status VMs shown in a "Stopped" status will continue to accumulate compute charges, because fabric resources are still being reserved for these VMs. However, this also means that DIPs and VIPs are preserved for VMs in this state, so you don't have to worry about VMs and cloud services getting different IP addresses when they are started in the future. Stop VM via Windows PowerShell In the latest version of the Windows Azure PowerShell Module, a new -StayProvisioned parameter has been added to the Stop-AzureVM cmdlet. This new parameter provides the flexibility to choose the VM configuration end result when stopping VMs using PowerShell: When running the Stop-AzureVM cmdlet without the -StayProvisioned parameter specified, the VM will be safely stopped and deallocated; that is, the VM will be left in a "Stopped ( Deallocated )" status just like the end result when a VM Shutdown operation is performed via the Windows Azure Management Portal. When running the Stop-AzureVM cmdlet with the -StayProvisioned parameter specified, the VM will be safely stopped but fabric resource reservations will be preserved; that is the VM will be left in a "Stopped" status just like the end result when performing a Guest OS shutdown operation. So, with PowerShell, you can choose how Windows Azure should handle VM configuration and fabric resource reservations when stopping VMs on a case-by-case basis. TIP: It's important to note that the -StayProvisioned parameter is only available in the latest version of the Windows Azure PowerShell Module. So, if you've previously downloaded this module, be sure to download and install the latest version to get this new functionality. Want to Learn More about Windows Azure Infrastructure Services? To learn more about Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, be sure to check-out these additional FREE resources: Become our next "Early Expert"! Complete the Early Experts "Cloud Quest" and build a multi-VM lab network in the cloud for FREE! Build some cool scenarios! Check out our list of over 20+ Step-by-Step Lab Guides based on key scenarios that IT Pros are implementing on Windows Azure Infrastructure Services TODAY! Looking forward to seeing you in the Cloud! - Keith Build Your Lab! Download Windows Server 2012 Don’t Have a Lab? Build Your Lab in the Cloud with Windows Azure Virtual Machines Want to Get Certified? Join our Windows Server 2012 "Early Experts" Study Group

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exporting bind and keyframe bone poses from blender to use in OpenGL

- by SaldaVonSchwartz

I'm having a hard time trying to understand how exactly Blender's concept of bone transforms maps to the usual math of skinning (which I'm implementing in an OpenGL-based engine of sorts). Or I'm missing out something in the math.. It's gonna be long, but here's as much background as I can think of. First, a few notes and assumptions: I'm using column-major order and multiply from right to left. So for instance, vertex v transformed by matrix A and then further transformed by matrix B would be: v' = BAv. This also means whenever I export a matrix from blender through python, I export it (in text format) in 4 lines, each representing a column. This is so I can then I can read them back into my engine like this: if (fscanf(fileHandle, "%f %f %f %f", &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[0], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[1], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[2], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[3])) { if (fscanf(fileHandle, "%f %f %f %f", &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[4], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[5], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[6], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[7])) { if (fscanf(fileHandle, "%f %f %f %f", &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[8], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[9], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[10], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[11])) { if (fscanf(fileHandle, "%f %f %f %f", &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[12], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[13], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[14], &skeleton.joints[currentJointIndex].inverseBindTransform.m[15])) { I'm simplifying the code I show because otherwise it would make things unnecessarily harder (in the context of my question) to explain / follow. Please refrain from making remarks related to optimizations. This is not final code. Having said that, if I understand correctly, the basic idea of skinning/animation is: I have a a mesh made up of vertices I have the mesh model-world transform W I have my joints, which are really just transforms from each joint's space to its parent's space. I'll call these transforms Bj meaning matrix which takes from joint j's bind pose to joint j-1's bind pose. For each of these, I actually import their inverse to the engine, Bj^-1. I have keyframes each containing a set of current poses Cj for each joint J. These are initially imported to my engine in TQS format but after (S)LERPING them I compose them into Cj matrices which are equivalent to the Bjs (not the Bj^-1 ones) only that for the current spacial configurations of each joint at that frame. Given the above, the "skeletal animation algorithm is" On each frame: check how much time has elpased and compute the resulting current time in the animation, from 0 meaning frame 0 to 1, meaning the end of the animation. (Oh and I'm looping forever so the time is mod(total duration)) for each joint: 1 -calculate its world inverse bind pose, that is Bj_w^-1 = Bj^-1 Bj-1^-1 ... B0^-1 2 -use the current animation time to LERP the componets of the TQS and come up with an interpolated current pose matrix Cj which should transform from the joints current configuration space to world space. Similar to what I did to get the world version of the inverse bind poses, I come up with the joint's world current pose, Cj_w = C0 C1 ... Cj 3 -now that I have world versions of Bj and Cj, I store this joint's world- skinning matrix K_wj = Cj_w Bj_w^-1. The above is roughly implemented like so: - (void)update:(NSTimeInterval)elapsedTime { static double time = 0; time = fmod((time + elapsedTime),1.); uint16_t LERPKeyframeNumber = 60 * time; uint16_t lkeyframeNumber = 0; uint16_t lkeyframeIndex = 0; uint16_t rkeyframeNumber = 0; uint16_t rkeyframeIndex = 0; for (int i = 0; i < aClip.keyframesCount; i++) { uint16_t keyframeNumber = aClip.keyframes[i].number; if (keyframeNumber <= LERPKeyframeNumber) { lkeyframeIndex = i; lkeyframeNumber = keyframeNumber; } else { rkeyframeIndex = i; rkeyframeNumber = keyframeNumber; break; } } double lTime = lkeyframeNumber / 60.; double rTime = rkeyframeNumber / 60.; double blendFactor = (time - lTime) / (rTime - lTime); GLKMatrix4 bindPosePalette[aSkeleton.jointsCount]; GLKMatrix4 currentPosePalette[aSkeleton.jointsCount]; for (int i = 0; i < aSkeleton.jointsCount; i++) { F3DETQSType& lPose = aClip.keyframes[lkeyframeIndex].skeletonPose.jointPoses[i]; F3DETQSType& rPose = aClip.keyframes[rkeyframeIndex].skeletonPose.jointPoses[i]; GLKVector3 LERPTranslation = GLKVector3Lerp(lPose.t, rPose.t, blendFactor); GLKQuaternion SLERPRotation = GLKQuaternionSlerp(lPose.q, rPose.q, blendFactor); GLKVector3 LERPScaling = GLKVector3Lerp(lPose.s, rPose.s, blendFactor); GLKMatrix4 currentTransform = GLKMatrix4MakeWithQuaternion(SLERPRotation); currentTransform = GLKMatrix4Multiply(currentTransform, GLKMatrix4MakeTranslation(LERPTranslation.x, LERPTranslation.y, LERPTranslation.z)); currentTransform = GLKMatrix4Multiply(currentTransform, GLKMatrix4MakeScale(LERPScaling.x, LERPScaling.y, LERPScaling.z)); if (aSkeleton.joints[i].parentIndex == -1) { bindPosePalette[i] = aSkeleton.joints[i].inverseBindTransform; currentPosePalette[i] = currentTransform; } else { bindPosePalette[i] = GLKMatrix4Multiply(aSkeleton.joints[i].inverseBindTransform, bindPosePalette[aSkeleton.joints[i].parentIndex]); currentPosePalette[i] = GLKMatrix4Multiply(currentPosePalette[aSkeleton.joints[i].parentIndex], currentTransform); } aSkeleton.skinningPalette[i] = GLKMatrix4Multiply(currentPosePalette[i], bindPosePalette[i]); } } At this point, I should have my skinning palette. So on each frame in my vertex shader, I do: uniform mat4 modelMatrix; uniform mat4 projectionMatrix; uniform mat3 normalMatrix; uniform mat4 skinningPalette[6]; attribute vec4 position; attribute vec3 normal; attribute vec2 tCoordinates; attribute vec4 jointsWeights; attribute vec4 jointsIndices; varying highp vec2 tCoordinatesVarying; varying highp float lIntensity; void main() { vec3 eyeNormal = normalize(normalMatrix * normal); vec3 lightPosition = vec3(0., 0., 2.); lIntensity = max(0.0, dot(eyeNormal, normalize(lightPosition))); tCoordinatesVarying = tCoordinates; vec4 skinnedVertexPosition = vec4(0.); for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) { skinnedVertexPosition += jointsWeights[i] * skinningPalette[int(jointsIndices[i])] * position; } gl_Position = projectionMatrix * modelMatrix * skinnedVertexPosition; } The result: The mesh parts that are supposed to animate do animate and follow the expected motion, however, the rotations are messed up in terms of orientations. That is, the mesh is not translated somewhere else or scaled in any way, but the orientations of rotations seem to be off. So a few observations: In the above shader notice I actually did not multiply the vertices by the mesh modelMatrix (the one which would take them to model or world or global space, whichever you prefer, since there is no parent to the mesh itself other than "the world") until after skinning. This is contrary to what I implied in the theory: if my skinning matrix takes vertices from model to joint and back to model space, I'd think the vertices should already be premultiplied by the mesh transform. But if I do so, I just get a black screen. As far as exporting the joints from Blender, my python script exports for each armature bone in bind pose, it's matrix in this way: def DFSJointTraversal(file, skeleton, jointList): for joint in jointList: poseJoint = skeleton.pose.bones[joint.name] jointTransform = poseJoint.matrix.inverted() file.write('Joint ' + joint.name + ' Transform {\n') for col in jointTransform.col: file.write('{:9f} {:9f} {:9f} {:9f}\n'.format(col[0], col[1], col[2], col[3])) DFSJointTraversal(file, skeleton, joint.children) file.write('}\n') And for current / keyframe poses (assuming I'm in the right keyframe): def exportAnimations(filepath): # Only one skeleton per scene objList = [object for object in bpy.context.scene.objects if object.type == 'ARMATURE'] if len(objList) == 0: return elif len(objList) > 1: return #raise exception? dialog box? skeleton = objList[0] jointNames = [bone.name for bone in skeleton.data.bones] for action in bpy.data.actions: # One animation clip per action in Blender, named as the action animationClipFilePath = filepath[0 : filepath.rindex('/') + 1] + action.name + ".aClip" file = open(animationClipFilePath, 'w') file.write('target skeleton: ' + skeleton.name + '\n') file.write('joints count: {:d}'.format(len(jointNames)) + '\n') skeleton.animation_data.action = action keyframeNum = max([len(fcurve.keyframe_points) for fcurve in action.fcurves]) keyframes = [] for fcurve in action.fcurves: for keyframe in fcurve.keyframe_points: keyframes.append(keyframe.co[0]) keyframes = set(keyframes) keyframes = [kf for kf in keyframes] keyframes.sort() file.write('keyframes count: {:d}'.format(len(keyframes)) + '\n') for kfIndex in keyframes: bpy.context.scene.frame_set(kfIndex) file.write('keyframe: {:d}\n'.format(int(kfIndex))) for i in range(0, len(skeleton.data.bones)): file.write('joint: {:d}\n'.format(i)) joint = skeleton.pose.bones[i] jointCurrentPoseTransform = joint.matrix translationV = jointCurrentPoseTransform.to_translation() rotationQ = jointCurrentPoseTransform.to_3x3().to_quaternion() scaleV = jointCurrentPoseTransform.to_scale() file.write('T {:9f} {:9f} {:9f}\n'.format(translationV[0], translationV[1], translationV[2])) file.write('Q {:9f} {:9f} {:9f} {:9f}\n'.format(rotationQ[1], rotationQ[2], rotationQ[3], rotationQ[0])) file.write('S {:9f} {:9f} {:9f}\n'.format(scaleV[0], scaleV[1], scaleV[2])) file.write('\n') file.close() Which I believe follow the theory explained at the beginning of my question. But then I checked out Blender's directX .x exporter for reference.. and what threw me off was that in the .x script they are exporting bind poses like so (transcribed using the same variable names I used so you can compare): if joint.parent: jointTransform = poseJoint.parent.matrix.inverted() else: jointTransform = Matrix() jointTransform *= poseJoint.matrix and exporting current keyframe poses like this: if joint.parent: jointCurrentPoseTransform = joint.parent.matrix.inverted() else: jointCurrentPoseTransform = Matrix() jointCurrentPoseTransform *= joint.matrix why are they using the parent's transform instead of the joint in question's? isn't the join transform assumed to exist in the context of a parent transform since after all it transforms from this joint's space to its parent's? Why are they concatenating in the same order for both bind poses and keyframe poses? If these two are then supposed to be concatenated with each other to cancel out the change of basis? Anyway, any ideas are appreciated.

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Restful Services, oData, and Rest Sharp

- by jkrebsbach

After a great presentation by Jason Sheehan at MDC about RestSharp, I decided to implement it. RestSharp is a .Net framework for consuming restful data sources via either Json or XML. My first step was to put together a Restful data source for RestSharp to consume. Staying entirely withing .Net, I decided to use Microsoft's oData implementation, built on System.Data.Services.DataServices. Natively, these support Json, or atom+pub xml. (XML with a few bells and whistles added on) There are three main steps for creating an oData data source: 1) override CreateDSPMetaData This is where the metadata data is returned. The meta data defines the structure of the data to return. The structure contains the relationships between data objects, along with what properties the objects expose. The meta data can and should be somehow cached so that the structure is not rebuild with every data request. 2) override CreateDataSource The context contains the data the data source will publish. This method is the conduit which will populate the metadata objects to be returned to the requestor. 3) implement static InitializeService At this point we can set up security, along with setting up properties of the web service (versioning, etc) Here is a web service which publishes stock prices for various Products (stocks) in various Categories. namespace RestService { public class RestServiceImpl : DSPDataService<DSPContext> { private static DSPContext _context; private static DSPMetadata _metadata; /// <summary> /// Populate traversable data source /// </summary> /// <returns></returns> protected override DSPContext CreateDataSource() { if (_context == null) { _context = new DSPContext(); Category utilities = new Category(0); utilities.Name = "Electric"; Category financials = new Category(1); financials.Name = "Financial"; IList products = _context.GetResourceSetEntities("Products"); Product electric = new Product(0, utilities); electric.Name = "ABC Electric"; electric.Description = "Electric Utility"; electric.Price = 3.5; products.Add(electric); Product water = new Product(1, utilities); water.Name = "XYZ Water"; water.Description = "Water Utility"; water.Price = 2.4; products.Add(water); Product banks = new Product(2, financials); banks.Name = "FatCat Bank"; banks.Description = "A bank that's almost too big"; banks.Price = 19.9; // This will never get to the client products.Add(banks); IList categories = _context.GetResourceSetEntities("Categories"); categories.Add(utilities); categories.Add(financials); utilities.Products.Add(electric); utilities.Products.Add(electric); financials.Products.Add(banks); } return _context; } /// <summary> /// Setup rules describing published data structure - relationships between data, /// key field, other searchable fields, etc. /// </summary> /// <returns></returns> protected override DSPMetadata CreateDSPMetadata() { if (_metadata == null) { _metadata = new DSPMetadata("DemoService", "DataServiceProviderDemo"); // Define entity type product ResourceType product = _metadata.AddEntityType(typeof(Product), "Product"); _metadata.AddKeyProperty(product, "ProductID"); // Only add properties we wish to share with end users _metadata.AddPrimitiveProperty(product, "Name"); _metadata.AddPrimitiveProperty(product, "Description"); EntityPropertyMappingAttribute att = new EntityPropertyMappingAttribute("Name", SyndicationItemProperty.Title, SyndicationTextContentKind.Plaintext, true); product.AddEntityPropertyMappingAttribute(att); att = new EntityPropertyMappingAttribute("Description", SyndicationItemProperty.Summary, SyndicationTextContentKind.Plaintext, true); product.AddEntityPropertyMappingAttribute(att); // Define products as a set of product entities ResourceSet products = _metadata.AddResourceSet("Products", product); // Define entity type category ResourceType category = _metadata.AddEntityType(typeof(Category), "Category"); _metadata.AddKeyProperty(category, "CategoryID"); _metadata.AddPrimitiveProperty(category, "Name"); _metadata.AddPrimitiveProperty(category, "Description"); // Define categories as a set of category entities ResourceSet categories = _metadata.AddResourceSet("Categories", category); att = new EntityPropertyMappingAttribute("Name", SyndicationItemProperty.Title, SyndicationTextContentKind.Plaintext, true); category.AddEntityPropertyMappingAttribute(att); att = new EntityPropertyMappingAttribute("Description", SyndicationItemProperty.Summary, SyndicationTextContentKind.Plaintext, true); category.AddEntityPropertyMappingAttribute(att); // A product has a category, a category has products _metadata.AddResourceReferenceProperty(product, "Category", categories); _metadata.AddResourceSetReferenceProperty(category, "Products", products); } return _metadata; } /// <summary> /// Based on the requesting user, can set up permissions to Read, Write, etc. /// </summary> /// <param name="config"></param> public static void InitializeService(DataServiceConfiguration config) { config.SetEntitySetAccessRule("*", EntitySetRights.All); config.DataServiceBehavior.MaxProtocolVersion = DataServiceProtocolVersion.V2; config.DataServiceBehavior.AcceptProjectionRequests = true; } } } The objects prefixed with DSP come from the samples on the oData site: http://www.odata.org/developers The products and categories objects are POCO business objects with no special modifiers. Three main options are available for defining the MetaData of data sources in .Net: 1) Generate Entity Data model (Potentially directly from SQL Server database). This requires the least amount of manual interaction, and uses the edmx WYSIWYG editor to generate a data model. This can be directly tied to the SQL Server database and generated from the database if you want a data access layer tightly coupled with your database. 2) Object model decorations. If you already have a POCO data layer, you can decorate your objects with properties to statically inform the compiler how the objects are related. The disadvantage is there are now tags strewn about your business layer that need to be updated as the business rules change. 3) Programmatically construct metadata object. This is the object illustrated above in CreateDSPMetaData. This puts all relationship information into one central programmatic location. Here business rules are constructed when the DSPMetaData response object is returned. Once you have your service up and running, RestSharp is designed for XML / Json, along with the native Microsoft library. There are currently some differences between how Jason made RestSharp expect XML with how atom+pub works, so I found better results currently with the Json implementation - modifying the RestSharp XML parser to make an atom+pub parser is fairly trivial though, so use what implementation works best for you. I put together a sample console app which calls the RestSvcImpl.svc service defined above (and assumes it to be running on port 2000). I used both RestSharp as a client, and also the default Microsoft oData client tools. namespace RestConsole { class Program { private static DataServiceContext _ctx; private enum DemoType { Xml, Json } static void Main(string[] args) { // Microsoft implementation _ctx = new DataServiceContext(new System.Uri("http://localhost:2000/RestServiceImpl.svc")); var msProducts = RunQuery<Product>("Products").ToList(); var msCategory = RunQuery<Category>("/Products(0)/Category").AsEnumerable().Single(); var msFilteredProducts = RunQuery<Product>("/Products?$filter=length(Name) ge 4").ToList(); // RestSharp implementation DemoType demoType = DemoType.Json; var client = new RestClient("http://localhost:2000/RestServiceImpl.svc"); client.ClearHandlers(); // Remove all available handlers // Set up handler depending on what situation dictates if (demoType == DemoType.Json) client.AddHandler("application/json", new RestSharp.Deserializers.JsonDeserializer()); else if (demoType == DemoType.Xml) { client.AddHandler("application/atom+xml", new RestSharp.Deserializers.XmlDeserializer()); } var request = new RestRequest(); if (demoType == DemoType.Json) request.RootElement = "d"; // service root element for json else if (demoType == DemoType.Xml) { request.XmlNamespace = "http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"; } // Return all products request.Resource = "/Products?$orderby=Name"; RestResponse<List<Product>> productsResp = client.Execute<List<Product>>(request); List<Product> products = productsResp.Data; // Find category for product with ProductID = 1 request.Resource = string.Format("/Products(1)/Category"); RestResponse<Category> categoryResp = client.Execute<Category>(request); Category category = categoryResp.Data; // Specialized queries request.Resource = string.Format("/Products?$filter=ProductID eq {0}", 1); RestResponse<Product> productResp = client.Execute<Product>(request); Product product = productResp.Data; request.Resource = string.Format("/Products?$filter=Name eq '{0}'", "XYZ Water"); productResp = client.Execute<Product>(request); product = productResp.Data; } private static IEnumerable<TElement> RunQuery<TElement>(string queryUri) { try { return _ctx.Execute<TElement>(new Uri(queryUri, UriKind.Relative)); } catch (Exception ex) { throw ex; } } } } Feel free to step through the code a few times and to attach a debugger to the service as well to see how and where the context and metadata objects are constructed and returned. Pay special attention to the response object being returned by the oData service - There are several properties of the RestRequest that can be used to help troubleshoot when the structure of the response is not exactly what would be expected.

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Thinktecture.IdentityModel: WIF Support for WCF REST Services and OData

- by Your DisplayName here!

The latest drop of Thinktecture.IdentityModel includes plumbing and support for WIF, claims and tokens for WCF REST services and Data Services (aka OData). Cibrax has an alternative implementation that uses the WCF Rest Starter Kit. His recent post reminded me that I should finally “document” that part of our library. Features include: generic plumbing for all WebServiceHost derived WCF services support for SAML and SWT tokens support for ClaimsAuthenticationManager and ClaimsAuthorizationManager based solely on native WCF extensibility points (and WIF) This post walks you through the setup of an OData / WCF DataServices endpoint with token authentication and claims support. This sample is also included in the codeplex download along a similar sample for plain WCF REST services. Setting up the Data Service To prove the point I have created a simple WCF Data Service that renders the claims of the current client as an OData set. public class ClaimsData { public IQueryable<ViewClaim> Claims { get { return GetClaims().AsQueryable(); } } private List<ViewClaim> GetClaims() { var claims = new List<ViewClaim>(); var identity = Thread.CurrentPrincipal.Identity as IClaimsIdentity; int id = 0; identity.Claims.ToList().ForEach(claim => { claims.Add(new ViewClaim { Id = ++id, ClaimType = claim.ClaimType, Value = claim.Value, Issuer = claim.Issuer }); }); return claims; } } …and hooked that up with a read only data service: public class ClaimsDataService : DataService<ClaimsData> { public static void InitializeService(IDataServiceConfiguration config) { config.SetEntitySetAccessRule("*", EntitySetRights.AllRead); } } Enabling WIF Before you enable WIF, you should generate your client proxies. Afterwards the service will only accept requests with an access token – and svcutil does not support that. All the WIF magic is done in a special service authorization manager called the FederatedWebServiceAuthorizationManager. This code checks incoming calls to see if the Authorization HTTP header (or X-Authorization for environments where you are not allowed to set the authorization header) contains a token. This header must either start with SAML access_token= or WRAP access_token= (for SAML or SWT tokens respectively). For SAML validation, the plumbing uses the normal WIF configuration. For SWT you can either pass in a SimpleWebTokenRequirement or the SwtIssuer, SwtAudience and SwtSigningKey app settings are checked.If the token can be successfully validated, ClaimsAuthenticationManager and ClaimsAuthorizationManager are invoked and the IClaimsPrincipal gets established. The service authorization manager gets wired up by the FederatedWebServiceHostFactory: public class FederatedWebServiceHostFactory : WebServiceHostFactory { protected override ServiceHost CreateServiceHost( Type serviceType, Uri[] baseAddresses) { var host = base.CreateServiceHost(serviceType, baseAddresses); host.Authorization.ServiceAuthorizationManager = new FederatedWebServiceAuthorizationManager(); host.Authorization.PrincipalPermissionMode = PrincipalPermissionMode.Custom; return host; } } The last step is to set up the .svc file to use the service host factory (see the sample download). Calling the Service To call the service you need to somehow get a token. This is up to you. You can either use WSTrustChannelFactory (for the full CLR), WSTrustClient (Silverlight) or some other way to obtain a token. The sample also includes code to generate SWT tokens for testing – but the whole WRAP/SWT support will be subject of a separate post. I created some extensions methods for the most common web clients (WebClient, HttpWebRequest, DataServiceContext) that allow easy setting of the token, e.g.: public static void SetAccessToken(this DataServiceContext context, string token, string type, string headerName) { context.SendingRequest += (s, e) => { e.RequestHeaders[headerName] = GetHeader(token, type); }; } Making a query against the Data Service could look like this: static void CallService(string token, string type) { var data = new ClaimsData(new Uri("https://server/odata.svc/")); data.SetAccessToken(token, type); data.Claims.ToList().ForEach(c => Console.WriteLine("{0}\n {1}\n ({2})\n", c.ClaimType, c.Value, c.Issuer)); } HTH

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Web Platform Installer bundles for Visual Studio 2010 SP1 - and how you can build your own WebPI bundles

- by Jon Galloway

Visual Studio SP1 is now available via the Web Platform Installer, which means you've got three options: Download the 1.5 GB ISO image Run the 750KB Web Installer (which figures out what you need to download) Install via Web PI Note: I covered some tips for installing VS2010 SP1 last week - including some that apply to all of these, such as removing options you don't use prior to installing the service pack to decrease the installation time and download size. Two Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Web PI packages There are actually two WebPI packages for VS2010 SP1. There's the standard Visual Studio 2010 SP1 package [Web PI link], which includes (quoting ScottGu's post): VS2010 2010 SP1 ASP.NET MVC 3 (runtime + tools support) IIS 7.5 Express SQL Server Compact Edition 4.0 (runtime + tools support) Web Deployment 2.0 The notes on that package sum it up pretty well: Looking for the latest everything? Look no further. This will get you Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 and the RTM releases of ASP.NET MVC 3, IIS 7.5 Express, SQL Server Compact 4.0 with tooling, and Web Deploy 2.0. It's the value meal of Microsoft products. Tell your friends! Note: This bundle includes the Visual Studio 2010 SP1 web installer, which will dynamically determine the appropriate service pack components to download and install. This is typically in the range of 200-500 MB and will take 30-60 minutes to install, depending on your machine configuration. There is also a Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Core package [Web PI link], which only includes only the SP without any of the other goodies (MVC3, IIS Express, etc.). If you're doing any web development, I'd highly recommend the main pack since it the other installs are small, simple installs, but if you're working in another space, you might want the core package. Installing via the Web Platform Installer I generally like to go with the Web PI when possible since it simplifies most software installations due to things like: Smart dependency management - installing apps or tools which have software dependencies will automatically figure out which dependencies you don't have and add them to the list (which you can review before install) Simultaneous download and install - if your install includes more than one package, it will automatically pull the dependencies first and begin installing them while downloading the others Lists the latest downloads - no need to search around, as they're all listed based on a live feed Includes open source applications - a lot of popular open source applications are included as well as Microsoft software and tools No worries about reinstallation - WebPI installations detect what you've got installed, so for instance if you've got MVC 3 installed you don't need to worry about the VS2010 SP1 package install messing anything up In addition to the links I included above, you can install the WebPI from http://www.microsoft.com/web/downloads/platform.aspx, and if you have Web PI installed you can just tap the Windows key and type "Web Platform" to bring it up in the Start search list. You'll see Visual Studio SP1 listed in the spotlight list as shown below. That's the standard package, which includes MVC 3 / IIS 7.5 Express / SQL Compact / Web Deploy. If you just want the core install, you can use the search box in the upper right corner, typing in "Visual Studio SP1" as shown. Core Install: Use Web PI or the Visual Studio Web Installer? I think the big advantage of using Web PI to install VS 2010 SP1 is that it includes the other new bits. If you're going to install the SP1 core, I don't think there's as much advantage to using Web PI, as the Web PI Core install just downloads the Visual Studio Web Installer anyways. I think Web PI makes it a little easier to find the download, but not a lot. The Visual Studio Web Installer checks dependencies, so there's no big advantage there. If you do happen to hit any problems installing Visual Studio SP1 via Web PI, I'd recommend running the Visual Studio Web Installer, then running the Web PI VS 2010 SP1 package to get all the other goodies. I talked to one person who hit some random snag, recommended that, and it worked out. Custom Web Platform Installer bundles You can create links that will launch the Web Platform Installer with a custom list of tools. You can see an example of this by clicking through on the install button at http://asp.net/downloads (cancelling the installation dialog). You'll see this in the address bar: http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/install.aspx?appsxml=&appid=MVC3;ASPNET;NETFramework4;SQLExpress;VWD Notice that the appid querystring parameter includes a semicolon delimited list, and you can make your own custom Web PI links with your own desired app list. I can think of a lot of cases where that would be handy: linking to a recommended software configuration from a software project or product, setting up a recommended / documented / supported install list for a software development team or IT shop, etc. For instance, here's a link that installs just VS2010 SP1 Core and the SQL CE tools: http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/install.aspx?appsxml=&appid=VS2010SP1Core;SQLCETools Note: If you've already got all or some of the products installed, the display will reflect that. On my dev box which has the full SP1 package, here's what the above link gives me: Here's another example - on a fresh box I created a link to install MVC 3 and the Web Farm Framework (http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/install.aspx?appsxml=&appid=MVC3;WebFarmFramework) and got the following items added to the cart: But where do I get the App ID's? Aha, that's the trick. You can link to a list of cool packages, but you need to know the App ID's to link to them. To figure that out, I turned on tracing in Web Platform Installer (also handy if you're ever having trouble with a WebPI install) and from the trace logs saw that the list of packages is pulled from an XML file: DownloadManager Information: 0 : Loading product xml from: https://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9763242 DownloadManager Verbose: 0 : Connecting to https://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9763242 with (partial) headers: Referer: wpi://2.1.0.0/Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 If-Modified-Since: Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:15:27 GMT User-Agent:Platform-Installer/3.0.3.0(Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1) DownloadManager Information: 0 : https://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9763242 responded with 302 DownloadManager Information: 0 : Response headers: HTTP/1.1 302 Found Cache-Control: private Content-Length: 175 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Expires: Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:52:28 GMT Location: https://www.microsoft.com/web/webpi/3.0/webproductlist.xml Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.5 X-AspNet-Version: 2.0.50727 X-Powered-By: ASP.NET Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:53:27 GMT Browsing to https://www.microsoft.com/web/webpi/3.0/webproductlist.xml shows the full list. You can search through that in your browser / text editor if you'd like, open it in Excel as an XML table, etc. Here's a list of the App ID's as of today: SMO SMO32 PHP52ForIISExpress PHP53ForIISExpress StaticContent DefaultDocument DirectoryBrowse HTTPErrors HTTPRedirection ASPNET NETExtensibility ASP CGI ISAPIExtensions ISAPIFilters ServerSideIncludes HTTPLogging LoggingTools RequestMonitor Tracing CustomLogging ODBCLogging BasicAuthentication WindowsAuthentication DigestAuthentication ClientCertificateMappingAuthentication IISClientCertificateMappingAuthentication URLAuthorization RequestFiltering IPSecurity StaticContentCompression DynamicContentCompression IISManagementConsole IISManagementScriptsAndTools ManagementService MetabaseAndIIS6Compatibility WASProcessModel WASNetFxEnvironment WASConfigurationAPI IIS6WPICompatibility IIS6ScriptingTools IIS6ManagementConsole LegacyFTPServer FTPServer WebDAV LegacyFTPManagementConsole FTPExtensibility AdminPack AdvancedLogging WebFarmFrameworkNonLoc ExternalCacheNonLoc WebFarmFramework WebFarmFrameworkv2 WebFarmFrameworkv2_beta ExternalCache ECacheUpdate ARRv1 ARRv2Beta1 ARRv2Beta2 ARRv2RC ARRv2NonLoc ARRv2 ARRv2Update MVC MVCBeta MVCRC1 MVCRC2 DBManager DbManagerUpdate DynamicIPRestrictions DynamicIPRestrictionsUpdate DynamicIPRestrictionsLegacy DynamicIPRestrictionsBeta2 FTPOOB IISPowershellSnapin RemoteManager SEOToolkit VS2008RTM MySQL SQLDriverPHP52IIS SQLDriverPHP53IIS SQLDriverPHP52IISExpress SQLDriverPHP53IISExpress SQLExpress SQLManagementStudio SQLExpressAdv SQLExpressTools UrlRewrite UrlRewrite2 UrlRewrite2NonLoc UrlRewrite2RC UrlRewrite2Beta UrlRewrite10 UrlScan MVC3Installer MVC3 MVC3LocInstaller MVC3Loc MVC2 VWD VWD2010SP1Pack NETFramework4 WebMatrix WebMatrix_v1Refresh IISExpress IISExpress_v1 IIS7 AspWebPagesVS AspWebPagesVS_1_0 Plan9 Plan9Loc WebMatrix_WHP SQLCE SQLCETools SQLCEVSTools SQLCEVSTools_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstaller_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerNew_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_EN_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_JA_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_FR_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_DE_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_ES_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_IT_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_RU_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_KO_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_ZH_CN_4_0 SQLCEVSToolsInstallerRepair_ZH_TW_4_0 VWD2008 WebDAVOOB WDeploy WDeploy_v2 WDeployNoSMO WDeploy11 WinCache52 WinCache53 NETFramework35 WindowsImagingComponent VC9Redist NETFramework20SP2 WindowsInstaller31 PowerShell PowerShellMsu PowerShell2 WindowsInstaller45 FastCGIUpdate FastCGIBackport FastCGIIIS6 IIS51 IIS60 SQLNativeClient SQLNativeClient2008 SQLNativeClient2005 SQLCLRTypes SQLCLRTypes32 SMO_10_1 MySQLConnector PHP52 PHP53 PHPManager VSVWD2010Feature VWD2010WebFeature_0 VWD2010WebFeature_1 VWD2010WebFeature_2 VS2010SP1Prerequisite RIAServicesToolkitMay2010 Silverlight4Toolkit Silverlight4Tools VSLS SSMAMySQL WebsitePanel VS2010SP1Core VS2010SP1Installer VS2010SP1Pack MissingVWDOrVSVWD2010Feature VB2010Beta2Express VCS2010Beta2Express VC2010Beta2Express RIAServicesToolkitApr2010 VS2010Beta1 VS2010RC VS2010Beta2 VS2010Beta2Express VS2k8RTM VSCPP2k8RTM VSVB2k8RTM VSCS2k8RTM VSVWDFeature LegacyWinCache SQLExpress2005 SSMS2005

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Move Files from a Failing PC with an Ubuntu Live CD

- by Trevor Bekolay

You’ve loaded the Ubuntu Live CD to salvage files from a failing system, but where do you store the recovered files? We’ll show you how to store them on external drives, drives on the same PC, a Windows home network, and other locations. We’ve shown you how to recover data like a forensics expert, but you can’t store recovered files back on your failed hard drive! There are lots of ways to transfer the files you access from an Ubuntu Live CD to a place that a stable Windows machine can access them. We’ll go through several methods, starting each section from the Ubuntu desktop – if you don’t yet have an Ubuntu Live CD, follow our guide to creating a bootable USB flash drive, and then our instructions for booting into Ubuntu. If your BIOS doesn’t let you boot using a USB flash drive, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Use a Healthy Hard Drive If your computer has more than one hard drive, or your hard drive is healthy and you’re in Ubuntu for non-recovery reasons, then accessing your hard drive is easy as pie, even if the hard drive is formatted for Windows. To access a hard drive, it must first be mounted. To mount a healthy hard drive, you just have to select it from the Places menu at the top-left of the screen. You will have to identify your hard drive by its size. Clicking on the appropriate hard drive mounts it, and opens it in a file browser. You can now move files to this hard drive by drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste, both of which are done the same way they’re done in Windows. Once a hard drive, or other external storage device, is mounted, it will show up in the /media directory. To see a list of currently mounted storage devices, navigate to /media by clicking on File System in a File Browser window, and then double-clicking on the media folder. Right now, our media folder contains links to the hard drive, which Ubuntu has assigned a terribly uninformative label, and the PLoP Boot Manager CD that is currently in the CD-ROM drive. Connect a USB Hard Drive or Flash Drive An external USB hard drive gives you the advantage of portability, and is still large enough to store an entire hard disk dump, if need be. Flash drives are also very quick and easy to connect, though they are limited in how much they can store. When you plug a USB hard drive or flash drive in, Ubuntu should automatically detect it and mount it. It may even open it in a File Browser automatically. Since it’s been mounted, you will also see it show up on the desktop, and in the /media folder. Once it’s been mounted, you can access it and store files on it like you would any other folder in Ubuntu. If, for whatever reason, it doesn’t mount automatically, click on Places in the top-left of your screen and select your USB device. If it does not show up in the Places list, then you may need to format your USB drive. To properly remove the USB drive when you’re done moving files, right click on the desktop icon or the folder in /media and select Safely Remove Drive. If you’re not given that option, then Eject or Unmount will effectively do the same thing. Connect to a Windows PC on your Local Network If you have another PC or a laptop connected through the same router (wired or wireless) then you can transfer files over the network relatively quickly. To do this, we will share one or more folders from the machine booted up with the Ubuntu Live CD over the network, letting our Windows PC grab the files contained in that folder. As an example, we’re going to share a folder on the desktop called ToShare. Right-click on the folder you want to share, and click Sharing Options. A Folder Sharing window will pop up. Check the box labeled Share this folder. A window will pop up about the sharing service. Click the Install service button. Some files will be downloaded, and then installed. When they’re done installing, you’ll be appropriately notified. You will be prompted to restart your session. Don’t worry, this won’t actually log you out, so go ahead and press the Restart session button. The Folder Sharing window returns, with Share this folder now checked. Edit the Share name if you’d like, and add checkmarks in the two checkboxes below the text fields. Click Create Share. Nautilus will ask your permission to add some permissions to the folder you want to share. Allow it to Add the permissions automatically. The folder is now shared, as evidenced by the new arrows above the folder’s icon. At this point, you are done with the Ubuntu machine. Head to your Windows PC, and open up Windows Explorer. Click on Network in the list on the left, and you should see a machine called UBUNTU in the right pane. Note: This example is shown in Windows 7; the same steps should work for Windows XP and Vista, but we have not tested them. Double-click on UBUNTU, and you will see the folder you shared earlier! As well as any other folders you’ve shared from Ubuntu. Double click on the folder you want to access, and from there, you can move the files from the machine booted with Ubuntu to your Windows PC. Upload to an Online Service There are many services online that will allow you to upload files, either temporarily or permanently. As long as you aren’t transferring an entire hard drive, these services should allow you to transfer your important files from the Ubuntu environment to any other machine with Internet access. We recommend compressing the files that you want to move, both to save a little bit of bandwidth, and to save time clicking on files, as uploading a single file will be much less work than a ton of little files. To compress one or more files or folders, select them, and then right-click on one of the members of the group. Click Compress…. Give the compressed file a suitable name, and then select a compression format. We’re using .zip because we can open it anywhere, and the compression rate is acceptable. Click Create and the compressed file will show up in the location selected in the Compress window. Dropbox If you have a Dropbox account, then you can easily upload files from the Ubuntu environment to Dropbox. There is no explicit limit on the size of file that can be uploaded to Dropbox, though a free account begins with a total limit of 2 GB of files in total. Access your account through Firefox, which can be opened by clicking on the Firefox logo to the right of the System menu at the top of the screen. Once into your account, press the Upload button on top of the main file list. Because Flash is not installed in the Live CD environment, you will have to switch to the basic uploader. Click Browse…find your compressed file, and then click Upload file. Depending on the size of the file, this could take some time. However, once the file has been uploaded, it should show up on any computer connected through Dropbox in a matter of minutes. Google Docs Google Docs allows the upload of any type of file – making it an ideal place to upload files that we want to access from another computer. While your total allocation of space varies (mine is around 7.5 GB), there is a per-file maximum of 1 GB. Log into Google Docs, and click on the Upload button at the top left of the page. Click Select files to upload and select your compressed file. For safety’s sake, uncheck the checkbox concerning converting files to Google Docs format, and then click Start upload. Go Online – Through FTP If you have access to an FTP server – perhaps through your web hosting company, or you’ve set up an FTP server on a different machine – you can easily access the FTP server in Ubuntu and transfer files. Just make sure you don’t go over your quota if you have one. You will need to know the address of the FTP server, as well as the login information. Click on Places > Connect to Server… Choose the FTP (with login) Service type, and fill in your information. Adding a bookmark is optional, but recommended. You will be asked for your password. You can choose to remember it until you logout, or indefinitely. You can now browse your FTP server just like any other folder. Drop files into the FTP server and you can retrieve them from any computer with an Internet connection and an FTP client. Conclusion While at first the Ubuntu Live CD environment may seem claustrophobic, it has a wealth of options for connecting to peripheral devices, local computers, and machines on the Internet – and this article has only scratched the surface. Whatever the storage medium, Ubuntu’s got an interface for it! Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Backup Your Windows Live Writer SettingsMove a Window Without Clicking the Titlebar in UbuntuRecover Deleted Files on an NTFS Hard Drive from a Ubuntu Live CDCreate a Bootable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive the Easy WayReset Your Ubuntu Password Easily from the Live CD TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows Tech Fanboys Field Guide Check these Awesome Chrome Add-ons iFixit Offers Gadget Repair Manuals Online Vista style sidebar for Windows 7 Create Nice Charts With These Web Based Tools Track Daily Goals With 42Goals

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MySQL – Scalability on Amazon RDS: Scale out to multiple RDS instances

- by Pinal Dave

Today, I’d like to discuss getting better MySQL scalability on Amazon RDS. The question of the day: “What can you do when a MySQL database needs to scale write-intensive workloads beyond the capabilities of the largest available machine on Amazon RDS?” Let’s take a look. In a typical EC2/RDS set-up, users connect to app servers from their mobile devices and tablets, computers, browsers, etc. Then app servers connect to an RDS instance (web/cloud services) and in some cases they might leverage some read-only replicas. Figure 1. A typical RDS instance is a single-instance database, with read replicas. This is not very good at handling high write-based throughput. As your application becomes more popular you can expect an increasing number of users, more transactions, and more accumulated data. User interactions can become more challenging as the application adds more sophisticated capabilities. The result of all this positive activity: your MySQL database will inevitably begin to experience scalability pressures. What can you do? Broadly speaking, there are four options available to improve MySQL scalability on RDS. 1. Larger RDS Instances – If you’re not already using the maximum available RDS instance, you can always scale up – to larger hardware. Bigger CPUs, more compute power, more memory et cetera. But the largest available RDS instance is still limited. And they get expensive. “High-Memory Quadruple Extra Large DB Instance”: 68 GB of memory 26 ECUs (8 virtual cores with 3.25 ECUs each) 64-bit platform High I/O Capacity Provisioned IOPS Optimized: 1000Mbps 2. Provisioned IOPs – You can get provisioned IOPs and higher throughput on the I/O level. However, there is a hard limit with a maximum instance size and maximum number of provisioned IOPs you can buy from Amazon and you simply cannot scale beyond these hardware specifications. 3. Leverage Read Replicas – If your application permits, you can leverage read replicas to offload some reads from the master databases. But there are a limited number of replicas you can utilize and Amazon generally requires some modifications to your existing application. And read-replicas don’t help with write-intensive applications. 4. Multiple Database Instances – Amazon offers a fourth option: “You can implement partitioning,thereby spreading your data across multiple database Instances” (Link) However, Amazon does not offer any guidance or facilities to help you with this. “Multiple database instances” is not an RDS feature. And Amazon doesn’t explain how to implement this idea. In fact, when asked, this is the response on an Amazon forum: Q: Is there any documents that describe the partition DB across multiple RDS? I need to use DB with more 1TB but exist a limitation during the create process, but I read in the any FAQ that you need to partition database, but I don’t find any documents that describe it. A: “DB partitioning/sharding is not an official feature of Amazon RDS or MySQL, but a technique to scale out database by using multiple database instances. The appropriate way to split data depends on the characteristics of the application or data set. Therefore, there is no concrete and specific guidance.” So now what? The answer is to scale out with ScaleBase. Amazon RDS with ScaleBase: What you get – MySQL Scalability! ScaleBase is specifically designed to scale out a single MySQL RDS instance into multiple MySQL instances. Critically, this is accomplished with no changes to your application code. Your application continues to “see” one database. ScaleBase does all the work of managing and enforcing an optimized data distribution policy to create multiple MySQL instances. With ScaleBase, data distribution, transactions, concurrency control, and two-phase commit are all 100% transparent and 100% ACID-compliant, so applications, services and tooling continue to interact with your distributed RDS as if it were a single MySQL instance. The result: now you can cost-effectively leverage multiple MySQL RDS instance to scale out write-intensive workloads to an unlimited number of users, transactions, and data. Amazon RDS with ScaleBase: What you keep – Everything! And how does this change your Amazon environment? 1. Keep your application, unchanged – There is no change your application development life-cycle at all. You still use your existing development tools, frameworks and libraries. Application quality assurance and testing cycles stay the same. And, critically, you stay with an ACID-compliant MySQL environment. 2. Keep your RDS value-added services – The value-added services that you rely on are all still available. Amazon will continue to handle database maintenance and updates for you. You can still leverage High Availability via Multi A-Z. And, if it benefits youra application throughput, you can still use read replicas. 3. Keep your RDS administration – Finally the RDS monitoring and provisioning tools you rely on still work as they did before. With your one large MySQL instance, now split into multiple instances, you can actually use less expensive, smallersmaller available RDS hardware and continue to see better database performance. Conclusion Amazon RDS is a tremendous service, but it doesn’t offer solutions to scale beyond a single MySQL instance. Larger RDS instances get more expensive. And when you max-out on the available hardware, you’re stuck. Amazon recommends scaling out your single instance into multiple instances for transaction-intensive apps, but offers no services or guidance to help you. This is where ScaleBase comes in to save the day. It gives you a simple and effective way to create multiple MySQL RDS instances, while removing all the complexities typically caused by “DIY” sharding andwith no changes to your applications . With ScaleBase you continue to leverage the AWS/RDS ecosystem: commodity hardware and value added services like read replicas, multi A-Z, maintenance/updates and administration with monitoring tools and provisioning. SCALEBASE ON AMAZON If you’re curious to try ScaleBase on Amazon, it can be found here – Download NOW. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: MySQL, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Optimization, SQL Performance, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL

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Flashing your Windows Phone Dummies

- by Martin Hinshelwood

The rate at which vendors release new updates for the HD2 is ridiculously slow. You have to wait for Microsoft to release the new OS, then you wait for HTC to build it into a ROM, and then you have to wait up to 6 months for your operator to badly customise it for their network. Once Windows Phone 7 is released this problem should go away as Microsoft is likely to be able to update the phone over the air, but what do we do until then? I want Windows Mobile 6.5.5 now! I’m an early adopter. If there is a new version of something then that’s the version I want. As long as you accept that you are using something on a “let the early adopter beware” and accept that there may be bugs, sometimes serious crippling bugs the go for it. Note that I won't be responsible if you end up bricking your phone, unlocking or flashing your radio or ROM can be risky. If you follow the instructions then you should be fine, I've flashed my phones (SPV, M300, M1000, M2000, M3100, TyTN, TyTN 2, HD2) hundreds of times without any problems! I have been using Windows Mobile 6.5.5 before it was called 6.5.5 and for long enough that I don’t even remember when I first started using it. I was using it on my HTC TyTN 2 before I got an HD2 a couple of months before Christmas, and the first custom ROM’s for the HD2 were a couple of months after that. I always update to the latest ROM that I like, and occasionally I go back to the stock ROM’s to have a look see, but I am always disappointed. Terms: Soft Reset: Same as pulling out the battery, but is like a reboot for your phone Hard Reset: Reinstalls the Operating system from the Image that is stored on it ROM: This is Image that is loaded onto your phone and it is used to reinstall your phone whenever you do a “hard reset”. Stock ROM: A ROM from the original vendor… So HTC Cook a ROM: Referring to Cooking a ROM is the process a ROM developer goes through to take all of the parts (OS, Drivers and Applications) that make up a running phone and compiling them into a ROM. ROM Kitchen: A place where you get an SDK and all the component parts of the phone: OD, Drivers and Application. There are usually lots of Tools for making it easier to compile and build the image. Flashing: The process of updating one of the layers of your phone with a new layer Bricked: This is what happens when flashing goes wrong. Your phone is now good for only one thing… stopping paper blowing away in a windy place. You can “cook” you own ROM using one of the many good “ROM Kitchens” or you can use a ROM built and tested by someone else. I have cooked my own ROM before, and while the tutorials are good, it is a lot of hassle. You can only Flash new ROM’s that are specifically for your phone only so find a ROM for your phone and XDA Developers is the best place to look. It has a forum based structure and you can find your phone quite easily. XDA Developer Forum Installing a new ROM does have its risks. In the past there have been stories about phones being “bricked” but I have not heard of a bricked phone for quite some years. if you follow the instructions carefully you should not have any problems. note: Most of the tools are written by people for whom English is not their first language to you will need concentrate hard to understand some of the instructions. Have you ever read a manual that was just literally translated from another language? Enough said… There are a number of layers on your phone that you will need to know about: SPL: This is the lowest level, like a BIOS on a PC and is the Operating Systems gateway to the hardware Radio: I think of this as the hardware drivers, and you will need a different Radio for CDMA than GSM networks ROM: This is like your Windows CD, but it is stored internally to the Phone. Flashing your phone consists of replacing one Image with another and then wiping your phone and automatically reinstall from the Image. Sometimes when you download an Image wither it is for a Radio or for ROM you only get a file called *.nbh. What do you do with this? Well you need an RUU application to push that Image to your phone. The RUU’s are different per phone, but there is a CustomRUU for the HD2 that will update your phone with any *.nbh placed in the same directory. Download and Instructions for CustomRUU #1 Flash HardSPL An SPL is kind of like a BIOS, and the default one has checks to make sure that you are only installing a signed ROM. This would prevent you from installing one that comes from any other source but the vendor. NOTE: Installing a HARD SPL invalidates your warranty so remember to Flash your phone with a “stock” vendor ROM before trying to send your phone in for repairs. Is the warranty reinstated when you go back to a stock ROM? I don’t know… Updating your SPL to a HardSPL effectively unlocks your phone so you can install anything you like. I would recommend the HardSPL2. Download and Instructions for HardSPL2 #2 Task29 One of the problems that has been seen on the HD2 when flashing new ROM’s is that things are left over from the old ROM. For a while the recommendation was to Flash a stock ROM first, but some clever cookies have come up with “Task29” which formats your phone first. After running this your phone will be blank and will only boot to the white HTC logo and no further. You should follow the instructions and reboot (remove battery) and hold down the “volume down” button while turning you HD2 on to enter the bootloader. From here you can run CustomRUU once the USB message appears. Download and Instructions for Task29 #2 Flash Radio You may need to play around with this one, there is no good and bad version and the latest is not always the best. You know that annoying thing when you hit “end call” on your phone and nothing happens? Well that's down to the Radio. Get this version right for you and you may even be able to make calls. From a Windows Mobile as well Download There are no instructions here, but they are the same as th ROM, but you use this *.nbh file. #3 Flash ROM If you have gotten this far then you are probably a pro by now Just download the latest ROM below and Flash to your phone. I have been really impressed by the Artemis line of ROM’s but it is no way the only choice. I like this one as the developer builds them as close to the stock ROM as possible while updating to the latest of everything. Download and Instructions for Artemis HD2 vXX Conclusion While updating your ROM is not for the faint hearted it provides more options than the Stock ROM’s and quicker feature updates than waiting… Technorati Tags: WM6

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The Internet of Things & Commerce: Part 2 -- Interview with Brian Celenza, Commerce Innovation Strategist

- by Katrina Gosek, Director | Commerce Product Strategy-Oracle

Internet of Things & Commerce Series: Part 2 (of 3) Welcome back to the second installation of my three part series on the Internet of Things & Commerce. A few weeks ago, I wrote “The Next 7,000 Days” about how we’ve become embedded in a digital architecture in the last 7,000 days since the birth of the internet – an architecture that everyday ties the massive expanse of the internet evermore closely with our physical lives. This blog series explores how this new blend of virtual and material will change how we shop and how businesses sell. Now enjoy reading my interview with Brian Celenza, one of the chief strategists in our Oracle Commerce innovation group. He comments on the past, present, and future of the how the growing Internet of Things relates and will relate to the buying and selling of goods on and offline. -------------------------------------------- QUESTION: You probably have one of the coolest jobs on our team, Brian – and frankly, one of the coolest jobs in our industry. As part of the innovation team for Oracle Commerce, you’re regularly working on bold features and groundbreaking commerce-focused experiences for our vision demos. As you look back over the past couple of years, what is the biggest trend (or trends) you’ve seen in digital commerce that started to bring us closer to this idea of what people are calling an “Internet of Things”? Brian: Well as you look back over the last couple of years, the speed at which change in our industry has moved looks like one of those blurred movement photos – you know the ones where the landscape blurs because the observer is moving so quickly your eye focus can’t keep up. But one thing that is absolutely clear is that the biggest catalyst for that speed of change – especially over the last three years – has been mobile. Mobile technology changed everything. Over the last three years the entire thought process of how to sell on (and offline) has shifted because of mobile technology advances. Particularly for eCommerce professionals who have started to move past the notion of “channels” for selling goods to this notion of “Mobile First”… then the Web site. Or more accurately, that everything – smartphones, web, store, tablet – is just one channel or has to act like one singular access point to the same product catalog, information and content. The most innovative eCommerce professionals realized some time ago that it’s not ideal to build an eCommerce Web site and then build everything on top of or off of it. Rather, they want to build an eCommerce API and then integrate it will all other systems. To accomplish this, they are leveraging all the latest mobile technologies or possibilities mobile technology has opened up: 4G and LTE, GPS, bluetooth, touch screens, apps, html5… How has this all started to come together for shopping experiences on and offline? Well to give you a personal example, I remember visiting an Apple store a few years ago and being amazed that I didn’t have to wait in line because a store associate knew everything about me from my ID – right there on the sales floor – and could check me out anywhere. Then just a few months later (when like any good addict) I went back to get the latest and greatest new gadget, I felt like I was stealing it because I could check myself out with my smartphone. I didn’t even need to see a sales associate OR go to a cash register. Amazing. And since then, all sort sorts of companies across all different types of industries – from food service to apparel – are starting to see mobile payments in the billions of dollars now thanks not only to the convenience factor but to smart loyalty rewards programs as well. These are just some really simple current examples that come to mind. So many different things have happened in the last couple of years, it’s hard to really absorb all of the quickly – because as soon as you do, everything changes again! Just like that blurry speed photo image. For eCommerce, however, this type of new environment underscores the importance of building an eCommerce API – a platform that has services you can tap in to and build on as the landscape changes at a fever pitch. It’s a mobile first perspective. A web service perspective – particularly if you are thinking of how to engage customers across digital and physical spaces. —— QUESTION: Thanks for bringing us into the present – some really great examples you gave there to put things into perspective. So what do you see as the biggest trend right now around the “Internet of Things” – and what’s coming next few years? Brian: Honestly, even sitting where I am in the innovation group – it’s hard to look out even 12 months because, well, I don’t even think we’ve fully caught up with what is possible now. But I can definitely say that in the last 12 months and in the coming 12 months, in the technology and eCommerce world it’s all about iBeacons. iBeacons are awesome tools we have right now to tie together physical and digital shopping experiences. They know exactly where you are as a shopper and can communicate that to businesses. Currently there seem to be two camps of thought around iBeacons. First, many people are thinking of them like an “indoor GPS”, which to be fair they literally are. The use case this first camp envisions for iBeacons is primarily for advertising and marketing. So they use iBeacons to push location-based promotions to customers if they are close to a store or in a store. You may have seen these types of mobile promotions start to pop up occasionally on your smart phone as you pass by a store you’ve bought from in the past. That’s the work of iBeacons. But in my humble opinion, these promotions probably come too early in the customer journey and although they may be well timed and work to “convert” in some cases, I imagine in most they are just eroding customer trust because they are kind of a “one-size-fits-all” solution rather than one that is taking into account what exactly the customer might be looking for in that particular moment. Maybe they just want more information and a promotion is way too soon for that type of customer. The second camp is more in line with where my thinking falls. In this case, businesses take a more sensitive approach with iBeacons to customers’ needs. Instead of throwing out a “one-size-fits-all” to any passer by with iBeacons, the use case is more around looking at the physical proximity of a customer as an opportunity to provide a service: show expert reviews on a product they may be looking at in a particular aisle of a store, offer the opportunity to compare prices (and then offer a promotion), signal an in-store associate if a customer has been in the store for more than 10 minutes in one place. These are all less intrusive more value-driven uses of iBeacons. And they are more about building customer trust through service. To take this example a bit further into the future realm of “Big Data” and “Internet of Things” businesses could actually use the Oracle Commerce Platform and iBeacons to “silently” track customer movement w/in the store to provide higher quality service. And this doesn’t have to be creepy or intrusive. Simply if a customer has been in a particular department or aisle for more than a 5 or 10 minutes, an in-store associate could come over an offer some assistance already knowing customer preferences from their online profile and maybe even seeing the items in a shopping cart they started at home. None of this has to be revealed to the customer, but it certainly could boost the level of service an in-store sales associate could provide. Or, in another futuristic example, stores could use the digital footprint of the physical store transmitted by iBeacons to generate heat maps of the store that could be tracked over time. Imagine how much you could find out about which parts of the store are more busy during certain parts of the day or seasons. This could completely revolutionize how physical merchandising is deployed or where certain high value / new items are placed. And / or this use of iBeacons could also help businesses figure out if customers are getting held up in certain parts of the store during busy days like Black Friday. If long lines are causing customers to bounce from a physical store and leave those holiday gifts behind, maybe having employees with mobile check as an option could remove the cash register bottleneck. But going to back to my original statement, it’s all still very early in the story for iBeacons. The hardware manufacturers are still very new and there is still not one clear standard. Honestly, it all goes back to building and maintaining an extensible and flexible platform for anywhere engagement. What you’re building today should allow you to rapidly take advantage of whatever unimaginable use cases wait around the corner. ------------------------------------------------------ I hope you enjoyed the brief interview with Brian. It’s really awesome to have such smart and innovation-minded individuals on our Oracle Commerce innovation team. Please join me again in a few weeks for Part 3 of this series where I interview one of the product managers on our team about how the blending of digital and in-store selling in influencing our product development and vision.

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Understanding LINQ to SQL (11) Performance

- by Dixin

[LINQ via C# series] LINQ to SQL has a lot of great features like strong typing query compilation deferred execution declarative paradigm etc., which are very productive. Of course, these cannot be free, and one price is the performance. O/R mapping overhead Because LINQ to SQL is based on O/R mapping, one obvious overhead is, data changing usually requires data retrieving:private static void UpdateProductUnitPrice(int id, decimal unitPrice) { using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { Product product = database.Products.Single(item => item.ProductID == id); // SELECT... product.UnitPrice = unitPrice; // UPDATE... database.SubmitChanges(); } } Before updating an entity, that entity has to be retrieved by an extra SELECT query. This is slower than direct data update via ADO.NET:private static void UpdateProductUnitPrice(int id, decimal unitPrice) { using (SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection( "Data Source=localhost;Initial Catalog=Northwind;Integrated Security=True")) using (SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand( @"UPDATE [dbo].[Products] SET [UnitPrice] = @UnitPrice WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID", connection)) { command.Parameters.Add("@ProductID", SqlDbType.Int).Value = id; command.Parameters.Add("@UnitPrice", SqlDbType.Money).Value = unitPrice; connection.Open(); command.Transaction = connection.BeginTransaction(); command.ExecuteNonQuery(); // UPDATE... command.Transaction.Commit(); } } The above imperative code specifies the “how to do” details with better performance. For the same reason, some articles from Internet insist that, when updating data via LINQ to SQL, the above declarative code should be replaced by:private static void UpdateProductUnitPrice(int id, decimal unitPrice) { using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { database.ExecuteCommand( "UPDATE [dbo].[Products] SET [UnitPrice] = {0} WHERE [ProductID] = {1}", id, unitPrice); } } Or just create a stored procedure:CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[UpdateProductUnitPrice] ( @ProductID INT, @UnitPrice MONEY ) AS BEGIN BEGIN TRANSACTION UPDATE [dbo].[Products] SET [UnitPrice] = @UnitPrice WHERE [ProductID] = @ProductID COMMIT TRANSACTION END and map it as a method of NorthwindDataContext (explained in this post):private static void UpdateProductUnitPrice(int id, decimal unitPrice) { using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { database.UpdateProductUnitPrice(id, unitPrice); } } As a normal trade off for O/R mapping, a decision has to be made between performance overhead and programming productivity according to the case. In a developer’s perspective, if O/R mapping is chosen, I consistently choose the declarative LINQ code, unless this kind of overhead is unacceptable. Data retrieving overhead After talking about the O/R mapping specific issue. Now look into the LINQ to SQL specific issues, for example, performance in the data retrieving process. The previous post has explained that the SQL translating and executing is complex. Actually, the LINQ to SQL pipeline is similar to the compiler pipeline. It consists of about 15 steps to translate an C# expression tree to SQL statement, which can be categorized as: Convert: Invoke SqlProvider.BuildQuery() to convert the tree of Expression nodes into a tree of SqlNode nodes; Bind: Used visitor pattern to figure out the meanings of names according to the mapping info, like a property for a column, etc.; Flatten: Figure out the hierarchy of the query; Rewrite: for SQL Server 2000, if needed Reduce: Remove the unnecessary information from the tree. Parameterize Format: Generate the SQL statement string; Parameterize: Figure out the parameters, for example, a reference to a local variable should be a parameter in SQL; Materialize: Executes the reader and convert the result back into typed objects. So for each data retrieving, even for data retrieving which looks simple: private static Product[] RetrieveProducts(int productId) { using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { return database.Products.Where(product => product.ProductID == productId) .ToArray(); } } LINQ to SQL goes through above steps to translate and execute the query. Fortunately, there is a built-in way to cache the translated query. Compiled query When such a LINQ to SQL query is executed repeatedly, The CompiledQuery can be used to translate query for one time, and execute for multiple times:internal static class CompiledQueries { private static readonly Func<NorthwindDataContext, int, Product[]> _retrieveProducts = CompiledQuery.Compile((NorthwindDataContext database, int productId) => database.Products.Where(product => product.ProductID == productId).ToArray()); internal static Product[] RetrieveProducts( this NorthwindDataContext database, int productId) { return _retrieveProducts(database, productId); } } The new version of RetrieveProducts() gets better performance, because only when _retrieveProducts is first time invoked, it internally invokes SqlProvider.Compile() to translate the query expression. And it also uses lock to make sure translating once in multi-threading scenarios. Static SQL / stored procedures without translating Another way to avoid the translating overhead is to use static SQL or stored procedures, just as the above examples. Because this is a functional programming series, this article not dive into. For the details, Scott Guthrie already has some excellent articles: LINQ to SQL (Part 6: Retrieving Data Using Stored Procedures) LINQ to SQL (Part 7: Updating our Database using Stored Procedures) LINQ to SQL (Part 8: Executing Custom SQL Expressions) Data changing overhead By looking into the data updating process, it also needs a lot of work: Begins transaction Processes the changes (ChangeProcessor) Walks through the objects to identify the changes Determines the order of the changes Executes the changings LINQ queries may be needed to execute the changings, like the first example in this article, an object needs to be retrieved before changed, then the above whole process of data retrieving will be went through If there is user customization, it will be executed, for example, a table’s INSERT / UPDATE / DELETE can be customized in the O/R designer It is important to keep these overhead in mind. Bulk deleting / updating Another thing to be aware is the bulk deleting:private static void DeleteProducts(int categoryId) { using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { database.Products.DeleteAllOnSubmit( database.Products.Where(product => product.CategoryID == categoryId)); database.SubmitChanges(); } } The expected SQL should be like:BEGIN TRANSACTION exec sp_executesql N'DELETE FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[CategoryID] = @p0',N'@p0 int',@p0=9 COMMIT TRANSACTION Hoverer, as fore mentioned, the actual SQL is to retrieving the entities, and then delete them one by one:-- Retrieves the entities to be deleted: exec sp_executesql N'SELECT [t0].[ProductID], [t0].[ProductName], [t0].[SupplierID], [t0].[CategoryID], [t0].[QuantityPerUnit], [t0].[UnitPrice], [t0].[UnitsInStock], [t0].[UnitsOnOrder], [t0].[ReorderLevel], [t0].[Discontinued] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[CategoryID] = @p0',N'@p0 int',@p0=9 -- Deletes the retrieved entities one by one: BEGIN TRANSACTION exec sp_executesql N'DELETE FROM [dbo].[Products] WHERE ([ProductID] = @p0) AND ([ProductName] = @p1) AND ([SupplierID] IS NULL) AND ([CategoryID] = @p2) AND ([QuantityPerUnit] IS NULL) AND ([UnitPrice] = @p3) AND ([UnitsInStock] = @p4) AND ([UnitsOnOrder] = @p5) AND ([ReorderLevel] = @p6) AND (NOT ([Discontinued] = 1))',N'@p0 int,@p1 nvarchar(4000),@p2 int,@p3 money,@p4 smallint,@p5 smallint,@p6 smallint',@p0=78,@p1=N'Optimus Prime',@p2=9,@p3=$0.0000,@p4=0,@p5=0,@p6=0 exec sp_executesql N'DELETE FROM [dbo].[Products] WHERE ([ProductID] = @p0) AND ([ProductName] = @p1) AND ([SupplierID] IS NULL) AND ([CategoryID] = @p2) AND ([QuantityPerUnit] IS NULL) AND ([UnitPrice] = @p3) AND ([UnitsInStock] = @p4) AND ([UnitsOnOrder] = @p5) AND ([ReorderLevel] = @p6) AND (NOT ([Discontinued] = 1))',N'@p0 int,@p1 nvarchar(4000),@p2 int,@p3 money,@p4 smallint,@p5 smallint,@p6 smallint',@p0=79,@p1=N'Bumble Bee',@p2=9,@p3=$0.0000,@p4=0,@p5=0,@p6=0 -- ... COMMIT TRANSACTION And the same to the bulk updating. This is really not effective and need to be aware. Here is already some solutions from the Internet, like this one. The idea is wrap the above SELECT statement into a INNER JOIN:exec sp_executesql N'DELETE [dbo].[Products] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [j0] INNER JOIN ( SELECT [t0].[ProductID], [t0].[ProductName], [t0].[SupplierID], [t0].[CategoryID], [t0].[QuantityPerUnit], [t0].[UnitPrice], [t0].[UnitsInStock], [t0].[UnitsOnOrder], [t0].[ReorderLevel], [t0].[Discontinued] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[CategoryID] = @p0) AS [j1] ON ([j0].[ProductID] = [j1].[[Products])', -- The Primary Key N'@p0 int',@p0=9 Query plan overhead The last thing is about the SQL Server query plan. Before .NET 4.0, LINQ to SQL has an issue (not sure if it is a bug). LINQ to SQL internally uses ADO.NET, but it does not set the SqlParameter.Size for a variable-length argument, like argument of NVARCHAR type, etc. So for two queries with the same SQL but different argument length:using (NorthwindDataContext database = new NorthwindDataContext()) { database.Products.Where(product => product.ProductName == "A") .Select(product => product.ProductID).ToArray(); // The same SQL and argument type, different argument length. database.Products.Where(product => product.ProductName == "AA") .Select(product => product.ProductID).ToArray(); } Pay attention to the argument length in the translated SQL:exec sp_executesql N'SELECT [t0].[ProductID] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[ProductName] = @p0',N'@p0 nvarchar(1)',@p0=N'A' exec sp_executesql N'SELECT [t0].[ProductID] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[ProductName] = @p0',N'@p0 nvarchar(2)',@p0=N'AA' Here is the overhead: The first query’s query plan cache is not reused by the second one:SELECT sys.syscacheobjects.cacheobjtype, sys.dm_exec_cached_plans.usecounts, sys.syscacheobjects.[sql] FROM sys.syscacheobjects INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_cached_plans ON sys.syscacheobjects.bucketid = sys.dm_exec_cached_plans.bucketid; They actually use different query plans. Again, pay attention to the argument length in the [sql] column (@p0 nvarchar(2) / @p0 nvarchar(1)). Fortunately, in .NET 4.0 this is fixed:internal static class SqlTypeSystem { private abstract class ProviderBase : TypeSystemProvider { protected int? GetLargestDeclarableSize(SqlType declaredType) { SqlDbType sqlDbType = declaredType.SqlDbType; if (sqlDbType <= SqlDbType.Image) { switch (sqlDbType) { case SqlDbType.Binary: case SqlDbType.Image: return 8000; } return null; } if (sqlDbType == SqlDbType.NVarChar) { return 4000; // Max length for NVARCHAR. } if (sqlDbType != SqlDbType.VarChar) { return null; } return 8000; } } } In this above example, the translated SQL becomes:exec sp_executesql N'SELECT [t0].[ProductID] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[ProductName] = @p0',N'@p0 nvarchar(4000)',@p0=N'A' exec sp_executesql N'SELECT [t0].[ProductID] FROM [dbo].[Products] AS [t0] WHERE [t0].[ProductName] = @p0',N'@p0 nvarchar(4000)',@p0=N'AA' So that they reuses the same query plan cache: Now the [usecounts] column is 2.

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CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, April 07, 2010

CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, April 07, 2010New ProjectsAStar.net: AStar.net is a project for compute the A* path finding algorithm. It expose classes and interface that can be used for all purpose with multi-threa...Auto Complete for MOSS 2007: Auto Complete for MOSS 2007 (WSS 3.0) makes it easier for all user to fill list of nessesary string in the field. AutoPoco: AutoPoco is a framework with the purpose of fluently building test data from Plain Old CLR ObjectsBlueProject: BlueProjectColor Picker for MOSS 2007: Color picker for MOSS 2007 (WSS 3.0) makes it easier for some user to choose color in the field. ComBrowser2: ComBrowser2DCommunication: Communication Components and Software By Delphi On Windows.DirST: Allows one to replicate a DIRectory STructure without copying files. Written in C#.Discussion column for MOSS 2007: Discussion column for MOSS 2007/ (WSS 3.0) is a field column for different type lists such as Custom List, Document Library, Issue Tracking, not on...Effect Custom Tool for Visual Studio: Effect Custom Tool for Visual Studio is a visual studio 2008 extension that helps you generate c# classes from effect (*.fx) files for use with Xna...Energon: Energon is a framework to create and run software energy consumption tests. Requires a couple of PC with a TCP connections, a phidgets ammeter and ...Fiansa: Proyecto FiansaFirstSpark: FirstSpark is a sample Spark View Engine projectISOM: Internetowy System Obsługi Magisterek La Carta Mas Alta: La Carta Mas Alta is an open source card game totally written in PHP and HTML. This cross-platform and cross-browser game was tested under BeOS, Li...Near forums - ASP.NET MVC forum engine: Open source SEO friendly ASP.NET MVC forum engine. Features: Navigation in forums, topics and tags; login with Facebook Connect and Single sign-on;...PEC: Still editingPowershell Zip Export/Import Cmdlet Module: Powershellzip is a powershell module with a set of Cmdlets for zip file export, import and processingProgress bar for MOSS 2007: Progress bar for MOSS 2007 (WSS 3.0) makes it easier for some user to display progress in the field in percent (0-100%). SharePoint Accelerators: This project delivers a number of SharePoint accelerators that make your every-day SharePoint life easier.Shweet: SharePoint 2010 Team Messaging built with Pex: Shweet is a simple SharePoint Foundation 2010 application that allows teams to do messaging and subscriptions in the style similar to twitter. De...SilverlightEncoder: Video and audio encoder for Silverlight 4 Out-of-BrowserStarMath: Static Array Math Library: While there are already countless math libraries for performing common matrix/array functions, StarMath is distinguished by its simplicity and flex...StringToNumber: StringToNumber is a .NET library for parsing numbers in their written form into their numeric equivalent. It's developed in C#. It was created to...SubstitutionITIS: <project name="Substitution" language="c-sharp" to="myschool" whatdo="manageSubstitutionTeachers" />TamTam.SharePoint2010.LinkedIn: SP2010 and LinkedIn working togetherThink And Explore: Think my own wayusenet-o-matic: small mobile optimised webscript to search various NZB sources like newzbin and NZBmatrix and send donwloads to your SABnzbd server. Valid HTML5 Templates for VisualStudio: This project will host valid HTML templates for Visual Studio. The primary focus however will be on the newer standard HTML5 and Visual Studio 2010XSS Attack: This tool will simulate an attack on your database and update up to 5000 rows in every table and replace your strings in your database with random ...Yazgelistir Beta: Yazgelistir'in beta sitesiNew ReleasesAStar.net: AStar.net 1.0 downloads: AStar.net 1.0 downloadsAvalaible downloads:Astar.net dll - Runtime library ready to be included in a project. Astar.net source project - The Visu...AutoPoco: 0.1 - Initial Release: This is the initial release, changes pending, lots left to do, check it out though!Bag of Tricks: Bag of Tricks - WPF - Libraries and Sample App: Here is a drop of the Bag of Tricks. It targets the 3.5 Client Profile.Boxee Launcher: Boxee Launcher 1.0.1.4: Taskbar will now be hiddenDesignit Umbraco Newsletter Package: ver 1.0.0 beta1: Please remember this is a beta version. If you have any problems or issues, don't hesitate to use the issue tracker and/or forum on this site. Ple...Effect Custom Tool for Visual Studio: Effect Custom Tool for Visual Studio 2008: Effect Custom Tool for Visual Studio is a visual studio 2008 extension that helps you generate c# classes from effect (*.fx) files for use with Xna...Fluent Ribbon Control Suite: Fluent Ribbon Control Suite 1.1: Fluent Ribbon Control Suite 1.1 Includes: Fluent.dll (with .pdb and .xml) Showcase Application Samples Foundation (Tabs, Groups, Contextual Tab...GsGrid: gsgrid 1.6.5: gsgrid 1.6.5Home Access Plus+: v3.2.5.2: v3.2.5.1 Release Change Log: Attempt to fix Domain Admin Lookup box File Changes: ~/bin/CHS Extranet.dll ~/bin/CHS Extranet.pdbHulu Launcher: Hulu Launcher 1.0.1.4: Will now hide taskbar.Icarus Scene Engine: Icarus Professional 2 Alpha 2a v 1.10.404.936: Alpha release 2 of Icarus Professional. This release includes: IcarusX: The ActiveX-based browser control for rendering IPX projects online. Icaru...kdar: KDAR 0.0.19: KDAR - Kernel Debugger Anti Rootkit - thread start notifier routine check added - registry callback сheck added - NDIS6 checks added - some bug i...Mobile Device Browser File: Mobile Device Browser File (2010-04-07): The Mobile Browser Definition File contains definitions for individual mobile devices and browsers. At run time, ASP.NET uses the information in th...MvcContrib: a Codeplex Foundation project: Portable Area Template: Use this Visual Studio 2008 Project template to create new portable areas. Drop this file in your Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Templates\ProjectTe...Office Apps: 0.8.8: new ui for Document.Viewer bug fix'sProtoforma | Tactica Adversa: Skilful 0.3.4.477: RC1ROOT Builder: ROOT Builder 1.41: Simplifies building of ROOT on the windows platform by generating a Visual Studio C make project that will build and run (and debug ROOT). See Inst...SharePoint Accelerators: Search AutoComplete for SharePoint Lists: Search AutoComplete for SharePoint List is a Web Part that allows you to search contents of a SharePoint. Search is interactive and offers you resu...SharePoint Labs: SPLab4002A-FRA-Level100: SPLab4002A-FRA-Level100 This SharePoint Lab will teach you the 2nd best practice you should apply when writing code with the SharePoint API. Lab La...SharePoint Labs: SPLab4003A-FRA-Level100: SPLab4003A-FRA-Level100 This SharePoint Lab will teach you the 3rd best practice you should apply when writing code with the SharePoint API. Lab La...SQL Compact data and schema script utility: Version 3.0: This release contains 4 downloadable files: - SSMS 2008 scripting add-in - SQL Server 2005/2008 command line utility to generate a script with sch...StarMath: Static Array Math Library: StarMath Source Files: The source file package includes the main library StarMath.dll (and it's source files), and an example exe project to invoke commands from StarMath.stefvanhooijdonk.com: Powershell Solution Install Script: Powershell Example script to install a SP2010 Solution, which actually waits for the Retraction and Deployment jobs.TamTam.SharePoint2010.LinkedIn: 0.0.0.1: How to use/install Small instruction to use this code/solution step 1 Add the Farm Solution to your SP2010 installation step 2 Go to the MySite H...usenet-o-matic: V 0.2: supports Newzbin and NZBmatrix as index sources and SABnzbd as download serverVCC: Latest build, v2.1.30406.0: Automatic drop of latest buildVisual Studio DSite: E-Z Image To PDF Converter Beta: This simple little program can convert all common image formats into pdfs and can even encrypt the pdf with an encrpytion key.Web and Load Test Plugins for Visual Studio Team Test: Release 2.0: Release 2.0 is targeted at VS 2010. VS 2010 exposes major new extensibility points: 1) Recorder plugins enable you to do custom correlations and o...Wicked Compression ASP.NET HTTP Module: WickedCompressionModule 4.0 Alpha: New Features, New Enhancements! - Visual Studio 2010 Projects! - Support for ASP.NET 2.0, 3.5, and 4.0 - AJAX Support for ASP.NET 3.5 and 4.0 - Bu...x5s - test encodings and character transformations to find XSS hotspots: x5s v1.0.0 beta: This is the v1.0 beta release of x5s. All feedback welcome in planning for the next release. Make sure Fiddler is installed prior to running th...xvanneste: Silverlight SharePoint: Fichiers du webcast sur silverlight: Silverlight OM Silverlight Webpart Silverlight Embedded ressource Silverlight List ViewYet Another Web App Monitoring Tool (YAWAMT): yawamt v0.5: A new release has seen the light :-) I've lowered the release to version 0.5 but changed some major things: - deletion of URLS works - settings can...Zinc Launcher: Zinc Launcher 1.0.1.1: Taskbar will now be hidden Delay to show Zinc was reduced to improve responsiveness.Most Popular ProjectsRawrWBFS ManagerMicrosoft SQL Server Product Samples: DatabaseASP.NET Ajax LibrarySilverlight ToolkitAJAX Control ToolkitWindows Presentation Foundation (WPF)ASP.NETMicrosoft SQL Server Community & SamplesFacebook Developer ToolkitMost Active ProjectsGraffiti CMSnopCommerce. Open Source online shop e-commerce solution.RawrFacebook Developer ToolkitShweet: SharePoint 2010 Team Messaging built with Pexpatterns & practices – Enterprise LibraryNcqrs Framework - The CQRS framework for .NETjQuery Library for SharePoint Web ServicesIonics Isapi Rewrite FilterAcadsys

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Clustering Basics and Challenges

- by Karoly Vegh

For upcoming posts it seemed to be a good idea to dedicate some time for cluster basic concepts and theory. This post misses a lot of details that would explode the articlesize, should you have questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments. The goal here is to get some concepts straight. I can't promise to give you an overall complete definitions of cluster, cluster agent, quorum, voting, fencing, split brain condition, so the following is more of an explanation. Here we go. -------- Cluster, HA, failover, switchover, scalability -------- An attempted definition of a Cluster: A cluster is a set (2+) server nodes dedicated to keep application services alive, communicating through the cluster software/framework with eachother, test and probe health status of servernodes/services and with quorum based decisions and with switchover/failover techniques keep the application services running on them available. That is, should a node that runs a service unexpectedly lose functionality/connection, the other ones would take over the and run the services, so that availability is guaranteed. To provide availability while strictly sticking to a consistent clusterconfiguration is the main goal of a cluster. At this point we have to add that this defines a HA-cluster, a High-Availability cluster, where the clusternodes are planned to run the services in an active-standby, or failover fashion. An example could be a single instance database. Some applications can be run in a distributed or scalable fashion. In the latter case instances of the application run actively on separate clusternodes serving servicerequests simultaneously. An example for this version could be a webserver that forwards connection requests to many backend servers in a round-robin way. Or a database running in active-active RAC setup. -------- Cluster arhitecture, interconnect, topologies -------- Now, what is a cluster made of? Servers, right. These servers (the clusternodes) need to communicate. This of course happens over the network, usually over dedicated network interfaces interconnecting all the clusternodes. These connection are called interconnects.How many clusternodes are in a cluster? There are different cluster topologies. The most simple one is a clustered pair topology, involving only two clusternodes: There are several more topologies, clicking the image above will take you to the relevant documentation. Also, to answer the question Solaris Cluster allows you to run up to 16 servers in a cluster. Where shall these clusternodes be placed? A very important question. The right answer is: It depends on what you plan to achieve with the cluster. Do you plan to avoid only a server outage? Then you can place them right next to eachother in the datacenter. Do you need to avoid DataCenter outage? In that case of course you should place them at least in different fire zones. Or in two geographically distant DataCenters to avoid disasters like floods, large-scale fires or power outages. We call this a stretched- or campus cluster, the clusternodes being several kilometers away from eachother. To cover really large distances, you probably need to move to a GeoCluster, which is a different kind of animal. What is a geocluster? A Geographic Cluster in Solaris Cluster terms is actually a metacluster between two, separate (locally-HA) clusters. -------- Cluster resource types, agents, resources, resource groups -------- So how does the cluster manage my applications? The cluster needs to start, stop and probe your applications. If you application runs, the cluster needs to check regularly if the application state is healthy, does it respond over the network, does it have all the processes running, etc. This is called probing. If the cluster deems the application is in a faulty state, then it can try to restart it locally or decide to switch (stop on node A, start on node B) the service. Starting, stopping and probing are the three actions that a cluster agent does. There are many different kinds of agents included in Solaris Cluster, but you can build your own too. Examples are an agent that manages (mounts, moves) ZFS filesystems, or the Oracle DB HA agent that cares about the database, or an agent that moves a floating IP address between nodes. There are lots of other agents included for Apache, Tomcat, MySQL, Oracle DB, Oracle Weblogic, Zones, LDoms, NFS, DNS, etc.We also need to clarify the difference between a cluster resource and the cluster resource group.A cluster resource is something that is managed by a cluster agent. Cluster resource types are included in Solaris cluster (see above, e.g. HAStoragePlus, HA-Oracle, LogicalHost). You can group cluster resources into cluster resourcegroups, and switch these groups together from one node to another. To stick to the example above, to move an Oracle DB service from one node to another, you have to switch the group between nodes, and the agents of the cluster resources in the group will do the following: On node A Shut down the DB Unconfigure the LogicalHost IP the DB Listener listens on unmount the filesystem Then, on node B: mount the FS configure the IP startup the DB -------- Voting, Quorum, Split Brain Condition, Fencing, Amnesia -------- How do the clusternodes agree upon their action? How do they decide which node runs what services? Another important question. Running a cluster is a strictly democratic thing.Every node has votes, and you need the majority of votes to have the deciding power. Now, this is usually no problem, clusternodes think very much all alike. Still, every action needs to be governed upon in a productive system, and has to be agreed upon. Agreeing is easy as long as the clusternodes all behave and talk to eachother over the interconnect. But if the interconnect is gone/down, this all gets tricky and confusing. Clusternodes think like this: "My job is to run these services. The other node does not answer my interconnect communication, it must be down. I'd better take control and run the services!". The problem is, as I have already mentioned, clusternodes very much think alike. If the interconnect is gone, they all assume the other node is down, and they all want to mount the data backend, enable the IP and run the database. Double IPs, double mounts, double DB instances - now that is trouble. Also, in a 2-node cluster they both have only 50% of the votes, that is, they themselves alone are not allowed to run a cluster. This is where you need a quorum device. According to Wikipedia, the "requirement for a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons.". They need additional votes to run the cluster. For this requirement a 2-node cluster needs a quorum device or a quorum server. If the interconnect is gone, (this is what we call a split brain condition) both nodes start to race and try to reserve the quorum device to themselves. They do this, because the quorum device bears an additional vote, that could ensure majority (50% +1). The one that manages to lock the quorum device (e.g. if it's an FC LUN, it SCSI reserves it) wins the right to build/run a cluster, the other one - realizing he was late - panics/reboots to ensure the cluster config stays consistent. Losing the interconnect isn't only endangering the availability of services, but it also endangers the cluster configuration consistence. Just imagine node A being down and during that the cluster configuration changes. Now node B goes down, and node A comes up. It isn't uptodate about the cluster configuration's changes so it will refuse to start a cluster, since that would lead to cluster amnesia, that is the cluster had some changes, but now runs with an older cluster configuration repository state, that is it's like it forgot about the changes. Also, to ensure application data consistence, the clusternode that wins the race makes sure that a server that isn't part of or can't currently join the cluster can access the devices. This procedure is called fencing. This usually happens to storage LUNs via SCSI reservation. Now, another important question: Where do I place the quorum disk? Imagine having two sites, two separate datacenters, one in the north of the city and the other one in the south part of it. You run a stretched cluster in the clustered pair topology. Where do you place the quorum disk/server? If you put it into the north DC, and that gets hit by a meteor, you lose one clusternode, which isn't a problem, but you also lose your quorum, and the south clusternode can't keep the cluster running lacking the votes. This problem can't be solved with two sites and a campus cluster. You will need a third site to either place the quorum server to, or a third clusternode. Otherwise, lacking majority, if you lose the site that had your quorum, you lose the cluster. Okay, we covered the very basics. We haven't talked about virtualization support, CCR, ClusterFilesystems, DID devices, affinities, storage-replication, management tools, upgrade procedures - should those be interesting for you, let me know in the comments, along with any other questions. Given enough demand I'd be glad to write a followup post too. Now I really want to move on to the second part in the series: ClusterInstallation. Oh, as for additional source of information, I recommend the documentation: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23623_01/index.html, and the OTN Oracle Solaris Cluster site: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/server-storage/solaris-cluster/index.html

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Uget tray icon not showing

- by ArK

Since I upgraded to Saucy, Uget is not showing in the system tray, although the Always show tray icon option in Uget settings is checked. P.S. this happens only with Uget, all the other Softwares have working tray icons (vlc,qbittorrent..) Here is the snapshot which shows the settings of Uget: sudo dpkg -l | grep -e "^rc" -e "^iU": rc account-plugin-generic-oauth 0.10bzr13.03.26-0ubuntu1.1 i386 GNOME Control Center account plugin for single signon - generic OAuth rc appmenu-gtk:i386 12.10.3daily13.04.03-0ubuntu1 i386 Export GTK menus over DBus rc appmenu-gtk3:i386 12.10.3daily13.04.03-0ubuntu1 i386 Export GTK menus over DBus rc arora 0.11.0-0ubuntu1 i386 simple cross platform web browser rc buc 0.5.2-20 i386 BUC rc clementine 1.1.1+dfsg-2ubuntu1 i386 modern music player and library organizer rc epiphany-browser 3.6.1-2ubuntu1 i386 Intuitive GNOME web browser rc epiphany-browser-data 3.6.1-2ubuntu3 all Data files for the GNOME web browser rc fancontrol 1:3.3.3-1ubuntu1 all utilities to read temperature/voltage/fan sensors rc flaremonitor 1.0-5 i386 It is an advanced browser integration helper module of FlareGet rc google-chrome-stable 28.0.1500.95-r213514 i386 The web browser from Google rc hal 0.5.14-8ubuntu1 i386 Hardware Abstraction Layer rc hotot-gtk 1:0.9.8.5+git20120630.884797d-1 all lightweight microblogging client - GTK+ wrapper rc jockey-common 0.9.7-0ubuntu13 all user interface and desktop integration for driver management rc libanalitza4abi1 4:4.10.4-0ubuntu0.1 i386 library to work with mathematical expressions rc libanalitza5 4:4.11.2-0ubuntu1 i386 library to work with mathematical expressions rc libanalitzagui4abi2 4:4.10.4-0ubuntu0.1 i386 library to work with mathematical expressions - GUI routines rc libanalitzaplot4 4:4.10.4-0ubuntu0.1 i386 library to work with mathematical expressions - plot routines rc libavcodec53:i386 6:0.8.6-1ubuntu2 i386 Libav codec library rc libavutil51:i386 6:0.8.6-1ubuntu2 i386 Libav utility library rc libbamf3-1:i386 0.4.0daily13.06.19~13.04-0ubuntu1 i386 Window matching library - shared library rc libboost-iostreams1.49.0 1.49.0-4 i386 Boost.Iostreams Library rc libboost-program-options1.49.0 1.49.0-4 i386 program options library for C++ rc libboost-python1.49.0 1.49.0-4 i386 Boost.Python Library rc libboost-thread1.49.0 1.49.0-4 i386 portable C++ multi-threading rc libbrlapi0.5:i386 4.4-8ubuntu4 i386 braille display access via BRLTTY - shared library rc libcamel-1.2-40 3.6.4-0ubuntu1.1 i386 Evolution MIME message handling library rc libcolumbus0-0 0.4.0daily13.04.16~13.04-0ubuntu1 i386 error tolerant matching engine - shared library rc libdns95 1:9.9.2.dfsg.P1-2ubuntu2.1 i386 DNS Shared Library used by BIND rc libdvbpsi7 0.2.2-1 i386 library for MPEG TS and DVB PSI tables decoding and generating rc libebackend-1.2-5 3.6.4-0ubuntu1.1 i386 Utility library for evolution data servers rc libechonest2.0:i386 2.0.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Qt library for communicating with The Echo Nest platform rc libechonest2.1:i386 2.1.0-2 i386 Qt library for communicating with The Echo Nest platform rc libedata-book-1.2-15 3.6.4-0ubuntu1.1 i386 Backend library for evolution address books rc libedata-cal-1.2-18 3.6.4-0ubuntu1.1 i386 Backend library for evolution calendars rc libftgl2 2.1.3~rc5-4ubuntu1 i386 library to render text in OpenGL using FreeType rc libgc1c3:i386 1:7.2d-0ubuntu5 i386 conservative garbage collector for C and C++ rc libgnome-desktop-3-4 3.6.3-0ubuntu1 i386 Utility library for loading .desktop files - runtime files rc libgtksourceview-3.0-0:i386 3.6.3-0ubuntu1 i386 shared libraries for the GTK+ syntax highlighting widget rc libgweather-3-1 3.6.2-0ubuntu1 i386 GWeather shared library rc libhal-storage1 0.5.14-8ubuntu1 i386 Hardware Abstraction Layer - shared library for storage devices rc libhal1 0.5.14-8ubuntu1 i386 Hardware Abstraction Layer - shared library rc libharfbuzz0:i386 0.9.13-1 i386 OpenType text shaping engine rc libhd16 16.0-2.2 i386 Hardware identification system library rc libibus-1.0-0:i386 1.4.2-0ubuntu2 i386 Intelligent Input Bus - shared library rc libical0 0.48-2 i386 iCalendar library implementation in C (runtime) rc libimobiledevice3 1.1.4-1ubuntu6.2 i386 Library for communicating with the iPhone and iPod Touch rc libisc92 1:9.9.2.dfsg.P1-2ubuntu2.1 i386 ISC Shared Library used by BIND rc libkdegamesprivate1 4:4.10.2-0ubuntu1 i386 private shared library for KDE games rc libkeybinder0 0.3.0-1ubuntu1 i386 registers global key bindings for applications rc libkgapi0:i386 0.4.4-0ubuntu1 i386 Google API library for KDE rc liblastfm1:i386 1.0.7-2 i386 Last.fm web services library rc libnetfilter-queue1 1.0.2-1 i386 Netfilter netlink-queue library rc libnl1:i386 1.1-7ubuntu1 i386 library for dealing with netlink sockets rc libossp-uuid16 1.6.2-1.3 i386 OSSP uuid ISO-C and C++ - shared library rc libpackagekit-glib2-14:i386 0.7.6-3ubuntu1 i386 Library for accessing PackageKit using GLib rc libpoppler28:i386 0.20.5-1ubuntu3 i386 PDF rendering library rc libprojectm2 2.1.0+dfsg-1build1 i386 Advanced Milkdrop-compatible music visualization library rc libqxt-core0:i386 0.6.1-7 i386 extensions to Qt core classes (LibQxt) rc libqxt-gui0:i386 0.6.1-7 i386 extensions to Qt GUI classes (LibQxt) rc libraw5:i386 0.14.7-0ubuntu1.13.04.2 i386 raw image decoder library rc librhythmbox-core6 2.98-0ubuntu5 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player rc librhythmbox-core7 3.0.1-0~13.10~ppa1 i386 support library for the rhythmbox music player rc libsnmp15 5.4.3~dfsg-2.7ubuntu1 i386 SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) library rc libsqlite0 2.8.17-8fakesync1 i386 SQLite shared library rc libsyncdaemon-1.0-1 4.2.0-0ubuntu1 i386 Ubuntu One synchronization daemon library rc libtiff4:i386 3.9.7-2ubuntu1 i386 Tag Image File Format (TIFF) library (old version) rc libunity-core-6.0-5 7.0.0daily13.06.19~13.04-0ubuntu1 i386 Core library for the Unity interface. rc libva-wayland1:i386 1.2.1-0ubuntu0~raring i386 Video Acceleration (VA) API for Linux -- Wayland runtime rc libwayland0:i386 1.0.5-0ubuntu1 i386 wayland compositor infrastructure - shared libraries rc libwebp2:i386 0.1.3-3 i386 Lossy compression of digital photographic images. rc linux-image-3.8.0-19-generic 3.8.0-19.30 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.8.0-21-generic 3.8.0-21.32 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.8.0-22-generic 3.8.0-22.33 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.8.0-26-generic 3.8.0-26.38 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.8.0-27-generic 3.8.0-27.40 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.9.0-030900-generic 3.9.0-030900.201304291257 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.9.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-3.9.0-030900rc8-generic 3.9.0-030900rc8.201304211835 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.9.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-extra-3.8.0-19-generic 3.8.0-19.30 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-extra-3.8.0-21-generic 3.8.0-21.32 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-extra-3.8.0-22-generic 3.8.0-22.33 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-extra-3.8.0-26-generic 3.8.0-26.38 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc linux-image-extra-3.8.0-27-generic 3.8.0-27.40 i386 Linux kernel image for version 3.8.0 on 32 bit x86 SMP rc preload 0.6.4-2 i386 adaptive readahead daemon rc steam-launcher 1.0.0.39 all Launcher for the Steam software distribution service rc super-boot-manager 0.7.15 all Simple gui to configure Grub2, Burg and Plymouth. rc totem 3.6.3-0ubuntu6 i386 Simple media player for the GNOME desktop based on GStreamer rc transmission-gtk 2.77-0ubuntu1 i386 lightweight BitTorrent client (GTK interface) rc unity-common 7.0.0daily13.06.19~13.04-0ubuntu1 all Common files for the Unity interface. rc vino 3.6.2-0ubuntu4 i386 VNC server for GNOME rc wicd-daemon 1.7.2.4-4.1 all wired and wireless network manager - daemon rc wicd-gtk 1.7.2.4-4.1 all wired and wireless network manager - GTK+ client rc xscreensaver 5.15-2ubuntu1 i386 Automatic screensaver for X rc xscreensaver-data 5.15-3ubuntu1 i386 data files to be shared among screensaver frontends sudo dpkg -l | grep uget: ii uget 1.10.3-1 i386 easy-to-use download manager written in GTK+ sudo dpkg -l | grep indicator: ii gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1 12.10.1+13.10.20130920-0ubuntu2 i386 Typelib files for libappindicator3-1. ii gir1.2-syncmenu-0.1 12.10.5+13.10.20131011-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator for synchronisation processes status - bindings ii indicator-applet-complete 12.10.2+13.10.20130924.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Clone of the GNOME panel indicator applet ii indicator-application 12.10.1daily13.01.25-0ubuntu1 i386 Application Indicators ii indicator-appmenu 13.01.0+13.10.20130930-0ubuntu1 i386 Indicator for application menus. ii indicator-bluetooth 0.0.6+13.10.20131016-0ubuntu1 i386 System bluetooth indicator. ii indicator-datetime 13.10.0+13.10.20131023.2-0ubuntu1 i386 Simple clock ii indicator-keyboard 0.0.0+13.10.20131010.1-0ubuntu1 i386 Keyboard indicator ii indicator-messages 13.10.1+13.10.20131011-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator that collects messages that need a response ii indicator-multiload 0.3-0ubuntu1 i386 Graphical system load indicator for CPU, ram, etc. ii indicator-power 12.10.6+13.10.20131008-0ubuntu1 i386 Indicator showing power state. ii indicator-printers 0.1.7daily13.03.01-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator showing active print jobs ii indicator-session 12.10.5+13.10.20131023.1-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator showing session management, status and user switching ii indicator-sound 12.10.2+13.10.20131011-0ubuntu1 i386 System sound indicator. ii indicator-sync 12.10.5+13.10.20131011-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator for synchronisation processes status ii libappindicator1 12.10.1+13.10.20130920-0ubuntu2 i386 Application Indicators ii libappindicator3-1 12.10.1+13.10.20130920-0ubuntu2 i386 Application Indicators ii libindicator3-7 12.10.2+13.10.20130913-0ubuntu2 i386 panel indicator applet - shared library ii libindicator7 12.10.2+13.10.20130913-0ubuntu2 i386 panel indicator applet - shared library ii libsync-menu1:i386 12.10.5+13.10.20131011-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator for synchronisation processes status - libraries ii python-appindicator 12.10.1+13.10.20130920-0ubuntu2 i386 Python bindings for libappindicator ii sni-qt:i386 0.2.6-0ubuntu1 i386 indicator support for Qt ii telepathy-indicator 0.3.1daily13.06.19-0ubuntu1 i386 Desktop service to integrate Telepathy with the messaging menu.

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