So, while TFS 2008 installation is a significantly better experience than TFS 2005, there are still a number of pre-requisites and scenarios that can make installation a tricky affair. Often, it's a small issue in configuration or order that can be overcome, with the right problem diagnosis.
This new article discusses some of the more common issues and the reasons/resolutions.
Troubleshooting Installation of Team Foundation
This topic provides information useful in isolating the cause of a problem that can occur when you install Visual Studio Team System Team Foundation Server and its prerequisites, and provides solutions for resolving these problems. The most common reasons for an installation of Team Foundation Server to fail are:
-
One or more procedures were skipped during the installation of a prerequisite component.
-
Not all components from a previous installation were completely removed.
-
Changes were made to one or more prerequisite components to increase secure connections, but these changes interfere with the successful installation of Team Foundation Server.
Troubleshooting Installation of Team Foundation
Soma writes about some of the exciting capabilities coming in VSTS 2010, particularly in regards to the developer-tester workflows.
A huge issue, and time consumer, is the process of tracing the root cause of defects in applications. The Lab Management capabilities in VSTS 2010 make it possible to highlight a snapshot of a virtualized test environment, and attach it to a bug, so that the context of the bug can instantly be triaged by other parties, linking them directly to the bug in actual, running environments (ok, virtualized environments).
Read more here: Somasegar's WebLog : Lab Management in VSTS 2010
This is a common question that I hear from customers in configuring load testing in their environments, particularly when it comes to collecting performance information from dependant servers. The process may very depending on the host operating system, and the matrix of requirements should add some clarity around security settings...
Ed Glas's blog on VSTS load testing : Reading Performance Counters on Vista and Server 2008 Machines
DevTeach / SQLTeach Montreal 2008 will be the biggest developer, DBA and ITPro conference in Canada. It’s jam-packed with advanced sessions (level 300 and 400) all on the latest versions of Microsoft products and technologies. There are tracks on .NET 3.5. There is also a .NET Agile track. This year there are 54 .NET sessions, 34 SQL Server, 11 Visual Studio Team System, 17 Agile and 17 Architecture sessions and 12 SilverLight 2.0 sessions. DevTeach Montreal 2008 is the training you can’t get any other way.
I strongly recommend that you checkout what this event has to offer with this link: http://www.DevTeach.com
Some great training offered by a local partner, ObjectSharp. They are well known for their training capabilities, and I'm always hearing great feedback from attendees. Check out this list!!!
The Great SharePoint Adventure
OCT 27-31
JAN 5-9
What’s New in Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5
NOV 21
Visual Studio Team System for Developers
OCT 27-28
Quality Assurance Best Practices for Team System
NOV 5-7
Building BizTalk Server 2006 Solutions Best Practices
NOV 10-14
JAN 12-16
Building Services Using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
NOV 17-19
ASP.NET: Building Rich Internet Applications with AJAX and LINQ
NOV 24-28
WPF: A Pragmatic Introduction
DEC 8-10
Effective LINQ
DEC 15-16
For more information about our Training Services, public or onsite, please contact Julie James, Training Manager, at training@objectsharp.com, 416-216-4603 ext. 101
Well, it’s been quite a while since my last post, and getting back to it, I can’t think of a better way than to announce that our webcast series for VSTS is back…
We’ve modified the format this year quite a bit, to try and address a more thorough view of the Microsoft application platform, with topics such as Load Testing SharePoint and BizTalk development. As well, we’ve added a number of regional events across the country, and I’m really looking forward to those.
We’re also trying something new this year, with a specific initiative called the “Devtools Q&A Office Hours.” This timeslot will generally be open to people who want to just come and ask questions, see stuff ad-hoc, etc. Not sure how well this will work, but I hope it does. I’ve got some ideas on where I’d like to see this go, and would love to hear your thoughts.
Dev Tools Power Hour
Brian Harry mentioned this on his blog, and similarly, I’ve frequently been asked about integration and options for developers building solutions in Dynamics. We’ve finally got an answer, and this whitepaper talks about setting up the solution for version control integration with TFS.
Download details: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 White Paper: Team Foundation Server Version Control Setup
From one of my colleague, Mohammad Akif, comes this year’s Aspiring Architect series…
Aspiring Architect Series 2008
Last year we held a Web Cast series for aspiring architects that was attended by over 1200 individuals and covered a number of strategies that can help developers and IT professionals to transition to the architect roles. The Aspiring Architect Series 2008 builds on last year’s content and covers a number of topics that are important for architects to understand. Please make sure that you have gone through the 2007 series which can be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/mohammadakif/archive/tags/Aspiring+Architects/default.aspx . We are hopeful that you will find the upcoming series to be a very useful investment of your time.
June 16th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Introduction to the aspiring architect Web Cast series
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380836&Culture=en-CA
June 17th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Services Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Service Bus – Beyond the hype
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380838&Culture=en-CA
June 18th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – TOGAF and Zachman, a real-world perspective
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380840&Culture=en-CA
June 19th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Services Oriented Architecture (Web Cast in French)
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380842&Culture=en-CA
June 20th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Interoperability (Web Cast in French)
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380844&Culture=fr-CA
June 23rd , 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Realizing dynamic systems
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380846&Culture=en-CA
June 24th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Web 2.0, beyond the hype
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380848&Culture=en-CA
June 25th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Architecting for the user experience
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380850&Culture=en-CA
June 26th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Conclusion and next steps
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032380852&Culture=en-CA
Very cool. Another series from Programmer’s…
May 22: Why Team Development? Why
Microsoft Visual Studio Team System?
In this first 1-hour webinar session – we will introduce the basic concepts and practices of collaborative software development. The webinar leader -- a team development consultant -- will discuss key software development and implementation challenges and new and changing application lifecycle management (ALM) approaches to developing software.
We will introduce the concepts of team development and explain how this model can make your design, development and test, deployment and ongoing maintenance more effective and efficient. Throughout the webinar, you'll hear practical insights on how your development team can use Microsoft's Visual Studio Team System to support collaborative development. REGISTER NOW »
Register at https://programmers.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=programmers&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fprogrammers.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fprogram%2FprogramDetail.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26siteurl%3Dprogrammers%26cProgViewID%3D0
These guys really know their stuff… Osellus has been on board with VSTS since before we shipped, and they focus on the process portion of the tooling, both from a expertise, and a product point of view.
Check out http://www.starshot.com/microsoft/Osellus/May29/index.html for more details on the session! Highly recommended!
Osellus Visual Studio Team System Webinar
Yes, it’s true. Sometimes our developer tools licensing can be thought of as complicated.
This whitepaper gives an overview of the licensing for VSTS, and describes some typical deployment scenarios as examples.
Download details: Visual Studio Team System 2008 Licensing
A common request from customers is a way to manage moving web applications and configuration from development to staging, to production, etc….
This tool, created by Microsoft, seems to fit the bill:
Microsoft has created the Microsoft Web Deployment Tool, which provides deployment and migration support for Internet Information Services versions 6.0 and 7.0. This tool incorporates many features that enable web server administrators to deploy, sync and migrate sites, including configuration, content, SSL certificates and other types of data associated with a Web server.
IIS.net : Microsoft Web Deployment Tool - Tech Preview 1 - x86 : Download : Microsoft Internet Information Services
"If you are deploying SharePoint, you really need to load test the servers before putting them into production to make sure you've sized your servers properly." That statement about says it all.
The MOSS perf team has released sample web tests and load tests for testing Windows SharePoint Services, Office SharePoint Server, and Excel Server on CodePlex, at http://www.codeplex.com/sptdatapop
Ed Glas's blog on VSTS load testing : SharePoint Load Tests
You know, in my job at Microsoft Canada, I get the pleasure of working with lots of really awesome partners and customers. It's sometimes nice to take a step back and review how really amazing some of our closest VSTS partners are...
InCycle Software is an example of what I'm talking about. Through sheer determination and hard work, they have built a thriving business all around Visual Studio Team System, and have some great successes to show for it! They were one of the first partners to embrace VSTS and build services around it, and have deep expertise in the product, and in lifecycle optimization.
I'm particularly thrilled to see their comprehensive Team Ready Framework for improving at software development, a step-by-step approach to optimization.
If you're looking for a top-notch partner to move your .net development teams towards more successful delivery, I don't thing you can go wrong with InCycle!
InCycle VSTS Info
