A BULL's view of LIFE and TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) offline bulk scan process

mehndi — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:06:55 GMT

The MBSA tool can be downloaded from the Microsoft.com website. The current address for version 2.1 is http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=F32921AF-9DBE-4DCE-889E-ECF997EB18E9&displaylang=en.

MBSA can be run offline (if the machine being used to scan is not connected to the Internet). If using it in this configuration, it is necessary to ensure the latest updates are used.

Security update catalog (wsusscn2.cab) is available from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=76054.
Windows Update Redistribution Catalog (wuredist.cab) located at http://update.microsoft.com/redist/wuredist.cab.
Authorisation catalog (muauth.cab) for Windows Update site access is available from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43266 or by examining the contents of the wuredist.cab file located at http://update.microsoft.com/redist/wuredist.cab.
Windows Update Agent standalone installers (if not already installed). The latest versions are available by examining the contents of the wuredist.cab file located at http://update.microsoft.com/redist/wuredist.cab.

For x86-based computers (WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe)
For x64-based computers (WindowsUpdateAgent30-x64.exe)
For ia64-based computers (WindowsUpdateAgent30-ia64.exe).

Once you have installed the latest updates, follow the steps below to run the scans.

Create a new text file called ‘computers.txt’ and list the names of the servers to be scanned – as shown in Figure 1 below. This should be saved on the computer being used to run the scan.

Figure 1: Computers.txt file contents

Open a command prompt and navigate to ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2’

Run the following command (This assumes that the wsusscn2.cab and the text file ‘computers.txt’ have been saved into the root of the C: drive.:

Mbsacli /catalog c:\wsusscn2.cab /listfile c:\computers.txt /wi /nvc /nd

/wi = show all updates even if not approved on the WSUS server.

/nvc = Do not check for a new version of MBSA.

/nd = Do not download any files from the Microsoft.com web site when scanning.

Wait for the scan to complete.

Open the MBSA console from the Start Menu.

Click ‘View existing security scan report’.

My sail as a Project Manager

mehndi — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:29:00 GMT

Captain of the Ship is what a Project Manager is referred to
and yes I have been captaining various ships now from last one year. The ships
have sailed through silent waters and thunder storms. As a captain I owned the
full responsibility of making sure that ship reaches from one shore to another
(scope), safely (in defined schedule, cost and quality). By definition each
Project is different and unique and so are the Project Managers, each Project
Manager has a different style of execution and reaction to situation, what
works for me might not work for you. Nevertheless I was inspired to jot down
what are the things I had done in my journey to make sure that ship reach the
shore safely.

The first and foremost is to “BE PROACTIVE”, as a captain
one needs to be proactive in anticipating the needs of his stakeholders and
that can only be done by cultivating a healthy relationship and which is
possible through more and more interactions. Being a Project Manager one should
not be constrained to the audience he/she needs to report to or work with on
management aspects of the project, but should try to interact with all the
members which also includes the all the Customers Team who has direct or
indirect influence or interest in the project success or failure. This is only
possible if a Project Manager take on or share some responsibilities of the
work which allows to have interaction with the team. There are always areas and
opportunities present in the project which one needs to grab and help, which
helps in becoming part of the team rather than sitting on the top and dictating
others – as its rightly quoted “The way to get started is to quit talking
and begin doing.”

The second is to be with the team, even though they might
not need you. It is very important for the team to see you around which helps
in building their confidence. They know you are there for them and you can be
approached easily. This acts a double edge sword, you get to know the minute
details which will empower you to take right decisions at right time. One
should not be constrained by money but should try to be innovative in
motivating the team members. Team is what makes the Project Manager
complete. You are like a disabled person if your team is not with you.
Apart from time at office the Project Manager should treat his team as his
family and should try to create informal environment to interact with the team
and get to know each other. This could be Dutch movie or dinner party,
celebrating special occasions like birthdays, awards, or small treats at
Barista or even over snacks. This provides a chance to understand the needs of
all team members and their way of working. This way you can prioritize the work
accordingly and take their help in achieving the impossible.

The third one that comes to my mind is being “TRANSPARENT”,
be open with your stakeholders, read A as A and don’t try to hide anything
under the hood. All the stakeholders are interested in making the Project
successful and the ones who are not you should try to use them for critical
reviews. Being transparent both in giving the bad news as well as good news.
This is not an easy thing to do always but this will help to build your
credibility as a person on whom the stakeholders can reply upon. As
consultants, Project Managers should also become Trusted Advisor to the
customer, and all internal and external stakeholders. This way you get to be
looked upon as a person who is interested in making project success and are not
just constrained by the numbers, data and processes. All that are Project
Managers weapons, which one has mastered well but should not be the focus for
the Manager. Those should be part of your daily routine where as your aim
should be the success of your stakeholders

BizTalk Server Roadmap

mehndi — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 21:49:47 GMT

The next release of BizTalk Server will be BizTalk Server 2010 R2, which will focus on three primary themes:

BizTalk On-Premise
BizTalk on Azure IaaS
BizTalk on Azure PaaS

All the capabilities will have seamless connectivity between each other.

Benefits:

Seamlessly connect with Azure artifacts, enable hybrid scenarios and access on premise LOB systems from Azure
Consume REST services directly in BizTalk, ESB Toolkit part of BizTalk setup
On-demand BizTalk Development and Test environments - BizTalk Iaas
EAI and EDI Services through BizTalk PaaS

For more details refer BizTalk Server Roadmap: http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/roadmap.aspx

BTS: BizTalk 2006 to BizTalk 2010 migration : Executing EDI Party Migration Tool

mehndi — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 06:09:12 GMT

Follow the steps below to execute EDI Party Migration Tool in case you are not running the tool from CD drive but are trying to execute using the ISO image:

The tool has to be exectuted from the BizTalk 2006 R2 machine with OS.
Copy the "MSI\Program Files\Schemas" folder and the dependent dlls from the ISO extract.
The config file of the tool has been modified appropriately for pointing the location on the dlls (same folder as tool exe).

BTS: BizTalk 2006 to BizTalk 2010 migration: All about Legacy SQL Adapter and migrating it to WCF SQL Adapter

mehndi — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:51:09 GMT

These steps needs to be performed once you have successfully migrated BizTalk 2006 solution to BizTalk 2010 solution.

Legacy SQL Adapter is configured to

Stored Procedure which has SELECT and INSERT statements.
Update Gram INSERT

Issue # 1

WCF SQL adapter: Need to change to Strongly Typed Stored Procedure in case the default one with DataSets / Array of Datasets is not required. Optional, the issue with this is that the SQL response gets changed completely. In case the migration tool is used since the tool does not give an option of selecting the output type which we otherwise get when we use a WCF Sql Adapter from scratch- Manual Step.

Resolution

The response message schema (Legacy Sql Adapter) is backward compatible with the WCF Adapter. Hence even though the Migration tool generates a brand new schema (multirooted - both for request as
well as response), it does not change the message type of the response message.

[Below change is applicable only in case the legacy response schema is backward compatible which happens only when the response contains a collection - Non-Insert]

A small change needs to be done in the SOAP Header section of the WCF Request/Response Port - Prefix the namespace with 'XML'

Issue # 2

Logical Port Operation name needs to be mapped to Operation name in the Binding Info

Resolution

Mandatory since the operation name of the logical port must match with the Operation name specified under the BtsActionMapping of Wcf Send Port - Manual Step.

Issue # 3

The Old schemas and the port types remain with the solution and can be removed if required

Resolution

To be done as per the project requirements and based on other dependencies.

Issue # 4

Create a new physical send port (WCF Custom - Sql Binding) by importing the bindings which have been added under the migration process.

Resolution

Import the bindings (customer one, generated by the tool itself and then make the necessary changes if any)

If any Sql response schema is being used in map as a source then ensure that both the "AttributeFormDefault" and "ElementFormDefault" should be set to Unqualified. This is because of a bug in WCF which results in blank
namespace (xmlns="“) at the individual record level of the response which results in mapping failure.
In case any map this involves more than one source or destination schema and if one of those multiple source or destinations schemas is the changed Sql schema, then the migration tool fails to update that map. This has to be done manually.

Legacy SQL Adapter is configured to
1. Polling Stored Procedure - SELECT

Issue # 1

The polling schema made available to the solution by Legacy SQL Adapter is backward compatible and hence can be used as it is by the WCF Sql Adapter.

But one issue which still persists and requires manual change (not specific to Migration tool as the issue is with the WCF Adapter) -

Records fetched by WCF Sql Adapter have blank XMLNS with every record unlike the legacy Sql Adapter where there are no such blank namespaces coming along. This results in validation failure wherever the polled schema is being used as a SOURCE SCHEMA.

Resolution

Additionally following 2 changes need to be made:

Need to feed in the "PolledDataAvailableStatement" as it is a mandatory field before the polling operation could start.
Marked "UseAmbientTransactions" as false to eliminate the error.
For the blank namespace problems - the ElementFormDefault property needs to be set to 'False'

The credit for this goes to Amit Shuka (http://www.linkedin.com/in/shuklaamit)

BTS: BizTalk 2006 to BizTalk 2010 migration: An alternate for Xml UpdateGrams

mehndi — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:13:00 GMT

ADO.NET Entity Framework – Overview

The ADO.NET Entity Framework enables developers to create data access applications by programming against a conceptual application model instead of programming directly against a relational storage schema. The goal is to decrease the amount of code and maintenance required for data-oriented applications. Entity Framework applications provide the following benefits:

· Applications can work in terms of a more application-centric conceptual model, including types with inheritance, complex members, and relationships.

· Applications are freed from hard-coded dependencies on a particular data engine or storage schema.

· Mappings between the conceptual model and the storage-specific schema can change without changing the application code.

· Developers can work with a consistent application object model that can be mapped to various storage schemas, possibly implemented in different database management systems.

· Multiple conceptual models can be mapped to a single storage schema.

· Language-integrated query (LINQ) support provides compile-time syntax validation for queries against a conceptual model.

Getting Started (Entity Framework)

The Entity Framework supports the Entity Data Model (EDM) for defining data at the conceptual level. When using the ADO.NET Entity Data Model Designer, conceptual model, storage model, and mapping information is contained in an .edmx file. The Entity Framework also enables developers to program directly against the data types defined at the conceptual level as common language runtime (CLR) objects. The Entity Framework provides tools to generate an .edmx file and the related CLR objects based on an existing database. This reduces much of the data access code that used to be required to create object-based data application and services, and makes it faster to create object-oriented data applications and services from an existing database. The tools also allow you to build a conceptual model first, and then automatically generate related CLR objects and a supporting database.

Generating Models and Mappings

Entity Framework applications and services are based on model and mapping information that is expressed in three XML-based languages:

· Conceptual schema definition language (CSDL)

· Store schema definition language (SSDL)

· Mapping specification language (MSL)

CSDL represents application data as a set of entities and relationships in a conceptual model, and it is an implementation of Entity Data Model. A storage model is expressed in SSDL and represents the schema of the data store. The mapping between the two models is expressed in MSL.

The CSDL, SSDL, and MSL content for an application can be automatically generated by the ADO.NET Entity Data Model Tools. The Entity Data Model Wizard generates model and mapping information as well as data classes from an existing database. The Entity Data Model Designer (Entity Designer) can then be used to graphically modify model and mapping information.

For our example, we refer to Updategram scenario, which consist of following tables:

· TitlesTitleRaw

· TitlesTitleNameRaw

Refer following steps for generating model and mapping information using Entity Data Model Wizard.

1. Create a Visual C# Class Library project and name it as Titles.Samples.Data.

2. After project is added, Add New Item and select ADO.NET Entity Data Model. Name it as Titles.Model.asmx.

3. In the appearing window, select ‘Generate from database’ and click on the ‘Next’ button. It will open ‘Choose Your Data Connection’ page which allows configuring destination database connection.

4. Select ‘New Connection’ to configure desired connection settings. For our example, we consider Server Name as ‘localhost’, Use Windows Authentication and Database as ‘Staging’. Test the connection and click on the ‘OK’ button.

5. In ‘Choose Your Data Connection’ page, click on the ‘Next’ button to open ‘Choose Your Database Objects’ page. This page allows us to select the desired tables (mentioned in above list) to generate Entity Model and apply corresponding mappings between the selected tables. Also, change Model Namespace to ‘Titles.Sample.Data’, and click on the ‘Finish’ button.

6. Now, the Entity Model ‘Titles.Model.edmx’ is generated with selected tables and their relationships. Save the project.

7. Go to ‘Solution Explorer’, select ‘Titles.Model.edmx’ file and view its properties. In ‘Properties’ pane, empty ‘Custom Tool’ property. It will remove ‘Titles.Model.Designer.cs’ file from the project.

[Note: Our solution targets POCO Entity Classes, and hence we ignore the code generated by ‘Custom Tool’ mentioned in ‘Titles.Model.edmx’ file properties. In the next section, we use ‘ADO.NET POCO Entity Generator’ to generate the required POCO entity classes corresponding to each table in the model.]

Generating POCO Entities using ‘ADO.NET POCO Entity Generator’

POCO stands for Plain-Old CLR Objects. POCO support in Entity Framework 4.0 means that these EntityObject - based types can be replaced with much simpler classes. POCO entity types are not required to inherit from any particular class and do not need attribute to map to the homologous elements in the model. Instead, types and properties in the objects and in the model are associated at runtime simply based on their names.

Adding the POCO template

The POCO Template can provide a good jumpstart by generating POCO classes that correspond to the model instead of the default EntityObject classes.

1. In order to do this, you can right-click on an empty area of the “Titles.Model.edmx” canvas and select ‘Add Code Generation Item…’

2. This will bring up the Add New Item dialog, in which you can choose which Template you wish to use. The POCO Template can normally be found under the Visual C# category.

3. On this screen select “ADO.NET POCO Entity Generator” and type “Titles.tt” as the name of the new item. Then click on the ‘Add’ button.

Understanding how the POCO Template works

When you choose the POCO Template two T4 template files are added to your project. In this case one is called “Titles.Context.tt” and the other is called “Titles.tt”. T4 stands for Text Template Transformation Toolkit, and is a template engine that ships with Visual Studio. The Entity Framework POCO Template leverages T4 to allow you to customize code generation.

Once you have added the POCO template, your project will look like this:

The “Titles.tt” file is responsible for generating a file for each EntityType and ComplexType in the “Titles.Model.edmx” model. “Titles.tt” also generates a file called “Titles.cs”, which contains a FixupCollection<T> class used by the POCO classes to keep the opposite ends of a relationships in sync.

The second template (“Titles.Context.tt”) produces a strongly typed ObjectContext for the “Titles.Model.edmx” model. You use this strongly typed ObjectContext to interact with your database.

Note that each time you edit and save any T4 template the dependent files are regenerated, so you shouldn’t edit the generated files directly, or your changes will be lost. If you wish to modify the generated code, you can modify one or both of these templates.

The primary goal of the POCO template is to produce persistence ignorant entity classes.

However, the strongly typed ObjectContext derives from ObjectContext, which is an Entity Framework class. So this template must live in a project with a reference to the Entity Framework.

By splitting the template into two, one part that generates the Entity Types and Complex Types and one that generates a strongly typed context, it makes it possible not only to have Entities and ComplexType that are persistence ignorant but further to put those classes in an assembly / project that has no persistence aware code in it at all.

Moving entity types to a separate project

1. To continue, add a new Class Library project to the solution called Entities. You can remove the class1.cs file created by default in the new project.

2. Now, in the “Titles.Sample.Data” project, add a project reference to the “Titles.Sample.Entity” Project:

3. Next, move the “Titles.tt” file into the Entities project. To do that, you can simply drag & drop the file into the Entities project in the Solution Explorer window, while you hold the Shift key at the same time.

Editing “Titles.tt”

Fix the link to “Titles.Model.edmx”

The POCO Template’s template files need to be able to read metadata from the EDM model in order to generate the right code. Since we have moved the template, the relative location of the Model has changed; therefore we need to fix the template so its link back to the model is correct again. To do this you can modify a line close to the top of the template from:

string inputFile = @ “Titles.Model.edmx” ;

To:

string inputFile = @ “..\Titles.Sample.Data\Titles.Model.edmx”;

This is simply a relative path from the template’s new location to the Titles.Model.edmx file in the other project.

Replacing ICollection<T> to List<T>

The POCO Template generates entity classes with Navigation Properties which are used to maintain foreign-key relationships. ICollection<T> is used to hold the related entity type. Our approach is to represent entity classes as XSD (generated using XSD.exe), to enable mapping using BizTalk Mapper. Since, ICollection<T> doesn’t support serialization, we replace ICollection<T> with List<T> to maintain this relationship. To do this you can modify “Titles.tt” to reflect the changes in all entity classes. Refer below code snippet for the corresponding changes.

Before Change:

After Change:

Once you’ve done this, Save the template, and this will regenerate the POCO entity classes. You can check that the contents of the file “Titles.cs” under “Titles.tt” has the right contents to verify that the path entered. Also, notice the “Titles.Sample.Entity” project has no reference to the System.Data.Entity (aka the Entity Framework), and is completely persistence ignorant.

Generating XSD representing POCO Entities using XSD.exe

After successfully compiling ‘Titles.Sample.Entity’ project, using XSD.exe generate the Schema (XSD) file representing the entities in ‘Titles.Sample.Entity’ assembly.

1. Open Command Prompt by typing ‘CMD’ in RUN Command.

2. Navigate to ‘Titles.Samples.Entity’ project folder, and run XSD tool by providing the path of ‘Titles.Samples.Entity.dll’. Refer below screenshot:

3. Add the schema files (.xsd) generated as a part of your BizTalk schemas project. The schema generated would look like below.

4. All the schema nodes are separated as individual root nodes. Since our transformations require mapping input data to all these nodes, we group them under a single root node named ‘Titles’.

Now this schema could be used for transforming Titles Canonical message to Titles Entities message, which in runtime will be de-serialized into individual entities and saved into database. We will cover this in next section.

The credit of this approach goes to David Bastow (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-bastow/7/60/b7b).

The credit of this approach's execution goes to Sathish Krishnan (http://www.linkedin.com/in/satykrish).

TFS: Sync Microsoft Project Plan with Visual Studio TFS tasks – Step by Step Guide

mehndi — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:55:00 GMT

1. Install Visual Studio Team Explorer

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=329

2. Install TFS Power Tools

http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/c255a1e4-04ba-4f68-8f4e-cd473d6b971f

3. Identify list of tasks / groups which need to be synced to TFS, example all task in “Analysis Phase”, deployment task, or whole project as the case may be.

4. Get/grant “Admin Access” from an Administrator/to consultant.

a. Right Click on Project è Team Project Settings => Group Membership

b. Select Project Administrators and click on Properties.

c. Select “Windows User or Group” and click on “Add”.

d. Click on “Add”, Select the User to grant Permissions.

e. Click on “OK” and “OK” on the parent window to apply the settings.

5. Update the Process Template using the “Process Editor”.

6. Based upon the Process template selected during the creation of the TFS Project, use one of the following ZIP:

CMMI Task Template

7. Unzip the selected file and follow the steps below:

a. Open Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.

b. Using Team Explorer connect to the TFS Server.

c. Select Team è Process Editor è Work Item Types è Import WIT

d. Select Team Project Collection and click on “Connect”.

e. Select the right Project to Import to:

f. Select the Path of the Task.XML unzipped in above step.

g. Repeat the steps “a-f” for “Unplanned Task.xml”. You would be able to see a new Work Item Type called “UnPlanned Task”

h. Execute the “Visual Studio Command Prompt (2010)” in “Run as Administrator” mode

i. Update the values of the <TFS Server Collection URL> and <Team Project> in the below command line:

TFSFieldMapping upload /collection:"<TFS Server Collection URL>" /teamproject:"<Team Project>" /mappingfile:MappingFile.xml

j. On the Command Prompt change the directory to location of the Un Zip files

k. Execute the above command with correct values of <TFS Server Collection URL> and <Team Project>.

8. In MPP: All the Resources should be taken from Active Directory, follow the steps below:

9. For the tasks selected in point 1 makes sure that all the resources assigned are Active Directory Users, we cannot have any resources which are not resolved in Active Directory.

10. Go to Team Tab

11. Connect to Team Project.

12. Select the TFS Project

13. You might get this screen, just continue and press “Update”.

14. Make sure you have defined Iteration and Area Path for your TFS Project. This can be done from inside the MS Project itself.

15. Add following new Columns in the MPP which come after connecting to TFS.

a. Iteration Path

b. Area Path

c. Work Item Type

d. Publish and Refresh

e. State (Optional)

16. Click on Add New Column and select è Area Path

17. Click on Add New Column and select è Iteration Path

18. Make sure that Area Path and Iteration Path for the Tasks to be synced have correct values selected:

19. Select “Work Item Type” and set the value as “Task”.

20. For Publish and Refresh select the value as “Yes” against the entire Task that you want to perform sync with TFS.

Possible values for Publish and Refresh are

a. Yes (Publish to TFS)

b. No (Don’t Publish)

c. Refresh Only

When you use Microsoft Project to create parent and child tasks, it assigns parent tasks the rollup of hours that are defined for all its child tasks. Rollup hours are not published to Team Foundation so that the hours are not double-counted in certain reports. The Microsoft Project mapping file attribute, IfSummaryRefreshOnly, suppresses the publication to Team Foundation of the hours that are assigned to summary tasks. You can view the rollup of hours for summary tasks in Office Project but not in Team Foundation.

21. Once all has been setup just go to Team Tab and click “Publish”.

TFS: Restrict users to Source Control and Deny access on Work Items, Build, Test

mehndi — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:12:00 GMT

You can use Visual Studio follow the steps below to create a new group that only allows user to use source control and prevent viewing Work Items, Build, and Test features.

1. Create a New Group

a. Right Click on the Project, go to Team Project Settings è Group Membership

b. Click on New button

c. Enter the name of your choice as (“Only Source Control Users”)

d. Click “OK” and the TFS group is created

2. Assign/Deny Permissions

a. Deny permissions on Work Items

i. Click on the Areas and Iterations

ii. Click on Security

iii. Select Team Foundation Server Group and Click on “Add”

iv. Select the Group “Only Source Control Users”

v. Deny all the permissions – provide below:

vi. Click on “Close”.

b. Deny permissions on Build

i. Repeat the similar steps after selecting the “Build”

c. Assign permissions to view Project Level Information

i. Select Project è Team Project Settings è Security

ii. Select the Group and make sure the permissions as set as given below:

3. Assign Users to the Groups as normal. Now the user will only have access on the Source Control and not on Build and Work Items.

My way of using technology, hubs of USB–the way to go :).

mehndi — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:51:44 GMT

What does a Team expect from a Project Manager?

mehndi — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:47:03 GMT

Open Communication
Transparency
Empathy
Should be part of team activities
Represent true status in the Reports so that management is aware of what is going on.
Should be a great negotiator and change manager. Negotiations needs to be done openly with Team as well as Customer
Should never ask the team about status during meetings the status can be retrieved via tools like TFS, tracking tools but the only thing in the calls should be to make people speak and get all the Risks identified and then work with them to figure out the mitigations.
Should be with the Team in hours of their hard work to ensure any needs
Should not bother the team with unnecessary questions
No disturbance after working hours and weekends

Will keep on updating ……

WCF Oracle Adapter for BizTalk Server 2009

mehndi — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:45:23 GMT

Installation Steps:

1. BizTalk Server 2009 x64 is installed and configured properly.

2. Install WCF LOB SDK x64.

2. Install WCF LOB Adapter Pack SP2 x32 and x64.

3. Install BizTalk adapter Pack 2.0 for 2009, both for x86 & x64. Link for EVALUATION version is here.

4. Install Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC) 11.1.0.7.20 bundled with Oracle Instant Client making sure no other client versions are present before installation.

5. Restart the Machine.

Troubleshooting:

1. If TNS service name cannot be resolved even after making an entry to “TNSNames.ora” file, then try the following:

a. Create a TNS_NAMES environment variable – pointing to path of tnsnames.ora

b. If the above step does not work, then create a TNS_NAMES entry in REGISTRY and restart the machine. For example, the following is the registry entry made for the TNS Service Name - “XE” on 32-bit:

For 64-bit, the location in the registry would be:

Retrieving the Time scaled data from MS Project (mpp)

mehndi — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:39 GMT

The TimeScaleValue method is very sensitive to multiple access without garbage clean up.

Note: The key to avoiding the COM exceptions is to clean up after yourself explicitly through calls to Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject. If you comment out the release made inside the loop, it will throw an exception every time.

Here's a code snippet that shows the correct way to manipulate time scaled data.

   1:  Application winProj = new Application();

2:

   3:  winProj.FileNew(Type.Missing, Type.Missing, Type.Missing, Type.Missing);

   4:  winProj.Visible = true;

5:

   6:  Project project = winProj.ActiveProject;

   7:  Resource resource = project.Resources.Add("Res1", Type.Missing);

8:

   9:  Task task = project.Tasks.Add("Task1", Type.Missing);

  10:  task.Duration = "1000d";

11:

  12:  winProj.ViewApply("Task Usage", Type.Missing, Type.Missing);

13:

  14:  Assignment assignment = task.Assignments.Add(task.ID, resource.ID, 1);

15:

  16:  DateTime start = DateTime.Now;

17:

  18:  TimeScaleValues timeScaleValues = null;

19:

  20:  try

  21:  {

  22:                  winProj.ScreenUpdating = false;

  23:                  winProj.Calculation = PjCalculation.pjManual;

24:

  25:                  timeScaleValues = task.Assignments[1].TimeScaleData(task.Start,

  26:                                                                      task.Finish,

  27:                                                                      PjAssignmentTimescaledData.pjAssignmentTimescaledWork,

  28:                                                                      PjTimescaleUnit.pjTimescaleDays,

  29:                                                                      1);

  30:                  Debug.WriteLine(timeScaleValues.Count);

31:

  32:                  for (int i = 1; i < timeScaleValues.Count; i++)

  33:                  {

  34:                      TimeScaleValue timeScaleValue = timeScaleValues[i];

35:

  36:                      Debug.WriteLine(timeScaleValue.StartDate);

  37:                      Debug.WriteLine(timeScaleValue.EndDate);

  38:                      Debug.WriteLine(timeScaleValue.Value);

39:

  40:                      if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(timeScaleValue.Value.ToString()))

  41:                      {

  42:                          timeScaleValue.Value = 360;

  43:                      }

  44:                      Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(timeScaleValue);

  45:                  }

46:

  47:              }

  48:              catch

  49:              {

  50:                  Debugger.Break();

  51:              }

  52:              finally

  53:              {

  54:                  winProj.ScreenUpdating = true;

55:

  56:                  winProj.Calculation = PjCalculation.pjAutomatic;

  57:                  winProj.CalculateAll();

58:

  59:                  if (timeScaleValues != null)

  60:                  {

  61:                      Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(timeScaleValues);

  62:                  }

  63:              }

64:

  65:             Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(project);

  66:             Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(resource);

  67:             Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(task);

  68:             Marshal.FinalReleaseComObject(assignment);

  69:             Debug.WriteLine((DateTime.Now - start).Seconds);

  70:  }

Windows Live Tags: Time,Project,TimeScaleValue,FinalReleaseComObject,TimeScaleValues,TimeScaleData

Blogger Labels:

Time,Project,TimeScaleValue,FinalReleaseComObject,TimeScaleValues,TimeScaleData

Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

mehndi — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:19:34 GMT

Another error on executing SQL Server 2008 Management Studio and just trying to connect to Database Engine. Though after pressing OK on the error mentioned, everything works but Management Node won’t work and you would keep on getting this error again and again.

Apart from this if you are trying to configure Microsoft BizTalk Server 2009 – BizTalk EDI/AS2 Runtime it would also fail with the same error, rest all the BizTalk components would function.

To resolve this, follow the steps below:

1. Run Command Prompt and find the location of the DLL using

> dir Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace.dll /s

2. Copy the location with the DLL name.

3. Run VS 2008 Command Prompt as Administrator.

4. Execute the following

GACUTIL –i “{Location of Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace.dll} found at step 1”

And both the situations would get resolved.

Fixing BizTalk ENTSSO Failure on Windows 7, Vista or Server 2008 after VS 2010 Beta Installation

mehndi — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:56:42 GMT

I've been running BizTalk 2009 on my Windows 7 machine, and after installing VS 2010 beta 2, the Enterprise Single Sign-On Service stopped working.

It failed with the following error:

Could not create SSOSQL. To fix the problem, reinstall SSO or try 'regasm SSOSQL.dll' from a Visual Studio command prompt.
Error Code: 0x80131700

The file is located at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Enterprise Single Sign-On\SSOSQL.dll

Run Visual Studio Commmand prompt as Administrator and run 'regasm "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Enterprise Single Sign-On\SSOSQL.dll"'.

Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration - Configuring Message Properties in BizTalk Server for sending data to Microsoft Dynamics AX

mehndi — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:35:24 GMT

The configuration that needs to be performed on BizTalk Server Message properties in order to send data to Microsoft Dynamics AX using BizTalk Dynamics AX Adapter and Application Integration Framework (AIF) is as follows:

To send data to Microsoft Dynamics AX from BizTalk there are properties that needs to be set on the message, before Microsoft Dynamics AX adapter can push the same.

The following properties need to be set on the message:

i. Set the Dynamics Action on the Message as per the Action configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

_message (Dynamics.Action)

ii. Set the Dynamics Destination Endpoint on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

_message (Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint)

iii. // Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX

_message (Dynamics.SourceEndpoint)

iv. // Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint User on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX

_message (Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser)

Here is the sample for the setting the properties for VendTable:

// Set the Dynamics Action for VendTable

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.Action)="createListVendTable"; // this too can be made configurable and taken from SSO

// Set the Dynamics Destination Endpoint from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint");

// Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.SourceEndpoint) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.SourceEndpoint");

// Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint User from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser");

Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration - Part 4.2 - Error Identification at Dynamics AX

mehndi — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:29:15 GMT

Dynamics AX Queue Manager

The Queue Manager is internal queue maintained in Microsoft Dynamics AX. This Queue is the bridge between Dynamics AX and external systems.

All the messages sent from other systems or needs to be sent to external systems from Microsoft Dynamics AX goes through the Queue. The Queue Manager UI lets you monitor the messages sent to / from Dynamics AX.

The messages that for which exception occur would not be moved out of the Queue Manager and can be tracked using the UI.

Steps to monitor data under Queue Manager:

1. Under Basic module, click on “Periodic” -> “Application Integration Framework” -> “Queue Manager”

Document History

The Document History maintains the history of all the messages sent to / from the Microsoft Dynamics AX. It’s a kind of Log of messages.

Steps to view data under Document History:

1. Under Basic module, click on “Periodic” -> “Application Integration Framework” -> “Document History”

Exceptions

The exception view provides the details of Exceptions that occurred while processing messages received by Microsoft Dynamics AX. This view only provides the details of exceptions raised by Microsoft Dynamics AX.

1. Under Basic module, click on “Periodic” -> “Application Integration Framework” -> “Exceptions”

2. To view the details of the Exception, right click and select Record Info, then select Show All Fields. This would display the details of the Exception as below:

Repost Messages

Microsoft Dynamics AX would be sending data to Microsoft BizTalk Server using Application Integration Framework (AIF). In case the any exception occurs while transmitting the data through AIF, the exception gets logged in the exception list as mentioned above.

Microsoft Dynamics AX would be configured to auto send the new / updated data to BizTalk Server. This would be done by configuring and executing Batch in Dynamics AX. For details related to this contact the Full Scope Team.

In case of errors, the administrators can repost the data using the Microsoft Dynamics AX UI. The batch still needs to run which actually post the data into the Dynamics AX Queue from where the BizTalk Adapter would pick the data and send the same to the Message Box.

The steps below detail the how to post an Invoice data manually, this posting of Invoices can be done in case there has been an exception in the batch process which posting invoices:

1. Click on the “Accounts Payable” module in Microsoft Dynamics AX

2. Click on “Purchase Orders”

3. Click on “Posting” -> “Invoice” and press “OK”.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) - Transport, Message Security and Mutual Authentication using Certificates

mehndi — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:47:58 GMT

At a high level the steps required to use self signed certificates for Transport & Message Security for securing the messages sent between a client and service, and also how to use certificates to perform Mutual Authentication between client and service layer are as follow:

1. Create Self signed certificates for Client and Server.

2. Export Client Certificate for Installation on Client machine.

3. Export Server Certificate for Installation on Server machine.

4. Install the Client Certificate on the Client machines.

5. Add the Client Certificate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities on the client machines.

6. Install the Server Certificate on the Server machine.

7. Add the Server Certificate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities on the Server machine.

8. Export the Server’s Public key of the Server Certificate.

9. Establish Trust for the Server’s Public key on the Client Machine.

10. Export the Client’s Public key of the Client Certificate.

11. Establish Trust for the Client’s Public key on the Server Machine.

12. Enable Transport Layer security on the Web Site in Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).

13. Service Layer configuration for enabling the certificates for Mutual Authentication, Transport & Message level security.

14. Client side configuration for enabling the certificates for Mutual Authentication, Transport & Message level security.

Detailed procedure to be followed for configuring certificate based Mutual Authentication, Transport and Message Security between Client and WCF based services:

1. Create Self signed certificates for Client and Server:

To establish the identity of the Server and Clients, we require 2 certificates. First certificate will represent the identity of the Server, where as the second certificate will be used to represent all the clients that can connect to the Server (Once the Mutual Authentication is successful).

There are different utilities available for generating Self Signed Certificates viz.:

a. MakeCert utility

(Refer http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bfsktky3(VS.80).aspx for more details)

b. Use Microsoft Internet Information Server (Refer the steps below)

c. Use Certificate Server

The following steps are required to be followed in order to create Self Signed certificates using Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS):

a. Run Microsoft Internet Information Server

b. Click on the Server Name (e.g. ASHISH-ME) as shown in the above figure.

c. Click on Server Certificates

d. Click on “Create Self-Signed Certificate”, which will open a Certificate Generation Wizard. Provide a Friendly Name for the Certificate and click “OK”, as shown below:

e. The new certificate would get created and added to the list of Server Certificates, as shown below:

f. Repeat steps (d) and (e) to create a certificate that would be used by clients to prove their identity to the server. As shown in the figure below a new certificate with Friendly Name as “ClientCertificate” is added to the list of available certificates.

2. Export Client Certificate for Installation on Client machine:

The Client Certificate needs to be exported with the Private Key and installed on the Client Machine from which the Services would be called. To achieve the same the following steps are required to be followed:

a. Select the Client Certificate, right Click and select “Export”

b. In the Export Dialog, enter the path where the Certificate would get generated; make sure that the .pfx extension is selected as even Private Key of the certificate needs to be exported. Enter the Password to protect the certificate as it contains the Private Key.

3. Export Server Certificate for Installation on Server machine:

Follow the same steps as mentioned for the export of the Client Certificate.

4. Install the Client Certificate on the Client machines:

The Client Certificate needs to be installed and configured on the client machine. The below steps describes the procedure for the same.

a. Go to Start -> Run and execute MMC.exe.

b. On the MMC select File menu and select Add/Remove Snap In.

c. Select “Certificates” and click “Add” button.

d. Select “Computer Account” on the “Certificates snap-in” dialog box.

The above selection should be based upon the usage of the certificate and for who the certificate is being installed is intended for. Follow the guidance below for selecting the certificate store:

1. Select “My user account” if the certificate needs to be associated with the logged in user. If chosen so, only the logged in user would be able to get access to the installed certificate. This certificate would not be available to any other user who can Log-in to the same computer.

2. Select “Service Account” if the certificate needs to be associated with the Service Account. The applications running under the Service Account would only be able to access the certificate.

3. Select “Computer Account” if the certificate needs to be associated with the Computer. The certificates installed here can be accessed by any user / Service Account who can Login to the Computer.

e. Select “Local Computer” in the “Select Computer” dialog.

f. Press “OK” on the “Add or Remove Snap-in” dialog.

g. On the MMC console, select the Certificates (Local Computer) -> Personal -> Certificates

h. Right Click on Certificates, select “All Tasks -> Import”

i. Follow the “Import Certificate Wizard” and select the path where ClientCertificate.pfx was exported or is copied.

j. Since the certificate was “Password Protected”, the wizard would prompt you to enter the password.

Note: Select “Mark this key as exportable” only if the private key needs to be marked as exportable.

k. Select “Place all the certificates in the following store”, and make sure that the certificate store is selected as “Personal”

l. Complete the “Certificate Import Wizard” the certificate would appear under the “Certificates” in Personal store.

5. Add the Client Certificate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities on the client machines:

As this being a Self Signed Certificate the Certificate Issuer needs to be added to the list of Trusted Root Certification Authorities.

a. On the MMC console, select the Certificates (Local Computer) -> Trusted Root Certification Authorities -> Certificates

b. Right Click on Certificates, select “All Tasks -> Import”

c. Follow the “Import Certificate Wizard” and select the path where ClientCertificate.pfx was exported or is copied.

d. Since the certificate was “Password Protected”, the wizard would prompt you to enter the password.

Note: Select “Mark this key as exportable” only if the private key needs to be marked as exportable.

e. Select “Place all the certificates in the following store”, and make sure that the certificate store is selected as “Trusted Root Certification Authorities”

f. Complete the “Certificate Import Wizard” the certificate would appear under the “Certificates” in Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.

6. Install the Server Certificate on the Server machine:

Follow the procedure mentioned in step 4 on the Server Machine to install the certificate on the Server. The “ServerCertificate.pfx” needs to be selected.

7. Add the Server Certificate to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities on the Server machine:

Follow the procedure mentioned in step 5 on the Server Machine to add the Server Certificate to Trusted Root Certification Authorities. The “ServerCertificate.pfx” needs to be selected.

8. Export the Server’s Public key of the ServerCertificate using the MMC.exe on the Server machine:

The Server’s Public Key needs to be exported, for establishing a Trust for the Server’s certificate on the Client’s machines.

a. Run MMC.exe on the Server’s machine and add Certificates snap-in for the Computer Account. (The steps for the same have already been described under step 4 (a - f)).

b. Select the “ServerCertificate” under “Certificates (Local Computer) -> Personal -> Certificates”

c. Right click and select “Export”

d. On the Certificate Export Wizard select “No, do not export the private key”

e. On the Certificate Export Wizard select the file format for exported certificate as “Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER)”

f. Provide the path where the file with Certificate Public key would be generated.

9. Establish Trust for the Server’s Public key on the Client Machine:

The Client needs to Trust the Server’s certificate based upon the ServerCertificate public key, the below step details the procedure for the same:

a. Execute the MMC.exe on the Client Machine and add Certificates snap-in for the Computer Account. (The steps for the same have already been described under step 4 (a - f)).

b. Select “Certificates (Local Computer) -> Trusted People -> Certificates”

c. Right click and select “Import”

d. In the Certificate Import Wizard provide the path of the Server’s certificate (ServerCertificate.cer) that was exported as part of the step 8 and only has the Public Key.

e. Select “Place all the certificates in the following store”, and make sure that the certificate store is selected as “Trusted People”

f. Complete the “Certificate Import Wizard” the certificate would appear under the “Certificates” in Trusted People store.

10. Export the Client’s Public key of the ClientCertificate using the MMC.exe on any of the Client machine:

Follow the procedure described in step 8 on any one of the Client Machine to for establishing a Trust for the Client’s certificate on the Server machine.

11. Establish Trust for the Client’s Public key on the Server Machine:

Follow the procedure described in step 9 on the Server Machine for importing the Client’s Public Key under Trusted People Store of the Server machine. The “ClientCertificate.cer” generated as part of step 10 needs to be selected.

12. Enable Transport Layer security on the WebSite in Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)

To enable and use the certificate created for Transport Layer security the following steps needs to be performed on IIS:

a. Start Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).

b. Select the Web Site on which the Transport Layer Security needs to be enabled.

c. Right Click and select “Edit Bindings”

d. Under Site Bindings dialog box select the protocol type “https” and press Edit

e. Under Edit Site Binding, for “SSL Certificate” select the certificate created for Server “serverCertificate” as shown in the figure below:

13. Service Layer configuration for enabling the certificates for Mutual Authentication, Transport & Message level security.

Assumptions:

a. The wsHttpBinding is being used for the exposing the endpoint to enable the client to connect and call the WCF Services.

b. Security mode to be used “TransportWithMessageCredential”

The following configuration needs to be performed on WCF Service config file:

1. Customize the Binding (in this example wsHttpBinding)

Set the Security Mode for wsHttpBinding as “TransportWithMessageCredential”

<configuration>
    <system.serviceModel>
       <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="wsHttp">
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential"/>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
       </bindings>
    </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

Set the clientCredentialType as “Certificate” for both Transport and Message level security

<configuration>
    <system.serviceModel>
       <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="wsHttp">
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential">
                  <transport clientCredentialType="Certificate"/>
                  <message clientCredentialType="Certificate" negotiateServiceCredential="true" />
               </security>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
       </bindings>
    </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

2. Customize the Service Behavior

Set the serviceCertificate details under serviceCredentials

i. Set storeName to “My”

ii. Set storeLocation to “LocalMachine”

iii. Set x509FindType to “FindByThumbprint”

iv. Set findValue to the value of Thumbprint for ServerCertificate installed. Steps to find the Thumbprint for Server Certificate are as follows:

1. Run MMC.exe on the Server and add Certificates snap in to manage certificates under “Computer Account” (refer steps 4a to 4f) for details on adding the Certificates snap in)

2. Traverse to “Certificates (Local Computer) -> Personal -> Certificates”

3. Select the Certificate with Friendly name as “ServerCertificate”, as shown in the figure below:

4. Right Click on the selected certificate and select Open

5. Traverse to the “Details” Tab on the Certificate Details dialog.

6. Select and Copy the value of the Field “Thumbprint” as shown in the figure below:

7. Set the value of the findValue in the configuration file for serviceCredentials -> serviceCertificate as the selected Thumbprint value.

v. The below is the extract from the configuration file with the serviceCredentials -> serviceCertificate values set.

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <behaviors>
	 <serviceBehaviors>
	    <behavior name="serviceBehavior">
               <serviceCredentials>
                  <serviceCertificate findValue ="92 b0 e3 24 42 38 bb a1 e0 29 77 20 3e 29 36 15 63 33 dd 64" 
                     x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
               </serviceCredentials>
	    </behavior>
 	 </serviceBehaviors>
      </behaviors>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

Set the clienteCertificate -> certificate details under serviceCredentials

i. Set storeName to “TrustedPeople”

ii. Set storeLocation to “LocalMachine”

iii. Set x509FindType to “FindByThumbprint”

iv. Set findValue to the value of Thumbprint for ClientCertificate trusted. Steps to find the Thumbprint for Server Certificate are as follows:

     1. Run MMC.exe on the Server and add Certificates snap in to manage certificates under “Computer Account” (refer steps 4a to 4f) for details on adding the Certificates snap in)

     2. Traverse to “Certificates (Local Computer) -> Trusted People -> Certificates”

     3. Select the Certificate with Issued By as the name of the Server where Client Certificate was generated , as shown in the figure below:

4. Right Click on the selected certificate and select Open

5. Traverse to the “Details” Tab on the Certificate Details dialog.

6. Select and Copy the value of the Field “Thumbprint” as shown in the figure below:

7. Set the value of the findValue in the configuration file for serviceCredentials -> clientCertificate -> certificate as the selected Thumbprint value.

v. Set the certificateValidationMode as PeerTrust for serviceCredentials -> clientCertificate -> authentication.

vi. The below is the extract from the configuration file with the serviceCredentials -> clientCertificate and authentication values set.

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <behaviors>
	 <serviceBehaviors>
	    <behavior name="serviceBehavior">
               <serviceCredentials>
                  <serviceCertificate findValue ="92 b0 e3 24 42 38 bb a1 e0 29 77 20 3e 29 36 15 63 33 dd 64" 
                     x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
                  <clientCertificate>
                     <certificate findValue="c5 c0 12 2a a8 64 02 21 ca 4b 41 87 68 14 7b a3 6e d3 92 ff" 
                        x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="TrustedPeople"/>
                     <authentication certificateValidationMode ="PeerTrust"/>
                  </clientCertificate>
               </serviceCredentials>
	    </behavior>
 	 </serviceBehaviors>
      </behaviors>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

3. Associate the Custom Binding created above with the Service Endpoint and Service Behavior created above with the Service.

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <services>
	 <service name="HelloIndigo.HelloIndigoService" behaviorConfiguration="serviceBehavior">
            <endpoint address="" binding="wsHttpBinding" contract="HelloIndigo.IHelloIndigoService" bindingConfiguration="wsHttp"/>
	 </service> 
      </services>
      <behaviors>
	 <serviceBehaviors>
	    <behavior name="serviceBehavior">
               <serviceCredentials>
                  <serviceCertificate findValue ="92 b0 e3 24 42 38 bb a1 e0 29 77 20 3e 29 36 15 63 33 dd 64" 
                     x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
                  <clientCertificate>
                     <certificate findValue="c5 c0 12 2a a8 64 02 21 ca 4b 41 87 68 14 7b a3 6e d3 92 ff" 
                        x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="TrustedPeople"/>
                     <authentication certificateValidationMode ="PeerTrust"/>
                  </clientCertificate>
               </serviceCredentials>
	    </behavior>
 	 </serviceBehaviors>
      </behaviors>
      <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="wsHttp">
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential">
                  <transport clientCredentialType="Certificate"/>
                  <message clientCredentialType="Certificate" negotiateServiceCredential="true" />
               </security>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
      </bindings>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

14. Client side configuration for enabling the certificates for Mutual Authentication, Transport & Message level security.

The following configuration needs to be performed on Client’s config file:

1. Update Service References on the Client project.

2. Customize the Binding (in this example wsHttpBinding)

Set the Security Mode for wsHttpBinding as “TransportWithMessageCredential”

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="WSHttpBinding_IHelloIndigoService" closeTimeout="00:01:00"
                openTimeout="00:01:00" receiveTimeout="00:10:00" sendTimeout="00:01:00"
                bypassProxyOnLocal="false" transactionFlow="false" hostNameComparisonMode="StrongWildcard"
                maxBufferPoolSize="524288" maxReceivedMessageSize="65536"
                messageEncoding="Text" textEncoding="utf-8" useDefaultWebProxy="true">
               <readerQuotas maxDepth="32" maxStringContentLength="8192" maxArrayLength="16384"
                   maxBytesPerRead="4096" maxNameTableCharCount="16384" />
               <reliableSession ordered="true" inactivityTimeout="00:10:00" />
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential">
               </security>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
      </bindings>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

Set the clientCredentialType as “Certificate” for both Transport and Message level security

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="WSHttpBinding_IHelloIndigoService" closeTimeout="00:01:00"
                openTimeout="00:01:00" receiveTimeout="00:10:00" sendTimeout="00:01:00"
                bypassProxyOnLocal="false" transactionFlow="false" hostNameComparisonMode="StrongWildcard"
                maxBufferPoolSize="524288" maxReceivedMessageSize="65536"
                messageEncoding="Text" textEncoding="utf-8" useDefaultWebProxy="true">
               <readerQuotas maxDepth="32" maxStringContentLength="8192" maxArrayLength="16384"
                   maxBytesPerRead="4096" maxNameTableCharCount="16384" />
               <reliableSession ordered="true" inactivityTimeout="00:10:00" />
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential">
                  <message clientCredentialType="Certificate" negotiateServiceCredential="true" />
		  <transport clientCredentialType="Certificate"/>
               </security>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
      </bindings>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

3. Customize the Service Behavior

Set the clientCertificate details under clientCredentials

i. Set storeName to “My”

ii. Set storeLocation to “LocalMachine”

iii. Set x509FindType to “FindByThumbprint”

iv. Set findValue to the value of Thumbprint for ClientCertificate installed. Steps to find the Thumbprint for Server Certificate are as follows:

1. Run MMC.exe on the Server and add Certificates snap in to manage certificates under “Computer Account” (refer steps 4a to 4f) for details on adding the Certificates snap in)

2. Traverse to “Certificates (Local Computer) -> Personal -> Certificates”

3. Select the Certificate with Friendly name as “ClientCertificate”, as shown in the figure below:

4. Right Click on the selected certificate and select Open

5. Traverse to the “Details” Tab on the Certificate Details dialog.

6. Select and Copy the value of the Field “Thumbprint” as shown in the figure below:

7. Set the value of the findValue in the configuration file for clientCredentials -> clientCertificate as the selected Thumbprint value.

v. The below is the extract from the configuration file with the clientCredentials -> clientCertificate values set.

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
        <behaviors>
          <endpointBehaviors>
             <behavior name="wsHttpEndpointBehavior">
                <clientCredentials>
                   <clientCertificate findValue="c5 c0 12 2a a8 64 02 21 ca 4b 41 87 68 14 7b a3 6e d3 92 ff" 
                     x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
                </clientCredentials>
             </behavior>
          </endpointBehaviors>
        </behaviors>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

Set the serviceCertificate -> authentication details under clientCredentials

i. Set certificateValidationMode to “PeerTrust”

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
        <behaviors>
          <endpointBehaviors>
             <behavior name="wsHttpEndpointBehavior">
                <clientCredentials>
                   <clientCertificate findValue="c5 c0 12 2a a8 64 02 21 ca 4b 41 87 68 14 7b a3 6e d3 92 ff" 
                     x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
                   <serviceCertificate>
                      <authentication certificateValidationMode="PeerTrust" />
                   </serviceCertificate>
                </clientCredentials>
             </behavior>
          </endpointBehaviors>
        </behaviors>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

4. Associate the Custom Binding created above with the Service Endpoint and Service Behavior created above with the Service.

<configuration>
   <system.serviceModel>
      <client>
         <endpoint address="https://serverUrl" binding="wsHttpBinding"
             bindingConfiguration="WSHttpBinding_IHelloIndigoService"
             contract="WinClient.localhost.IHelloIndigoService" 
             name="WSHttpBinding_IHelloIndigoService" behaviorConfiguration="wsHttpEndpointBehavior">
         </endpoint>               
      </client>
      <bindings>
         <wsHttpBinding>
            <binding name="WSHttpBinding_IHelloIndigoService" closeTimeout="00:01:00"
                openTimeout="00:01:00" receiveTimeout="00:10:00" sendTimeout="00:01:00"
                bypassProxyOnLocal="false" transactionFlow="false" hostNameComparisonMode="StrongWildcard"
                maxBufferPoolSize="524288" maxReceivedMessageSize="65536"
                messageEncoding="Text" textEncoding="utf-8" useDefaultWebProxy="true">
               <readerQuotas maxDepth="32" maxStringContentLength="8192" maxArrayLength="16384"
                   maxBytesPerRead="4096" maxNameTableCharCount="16384" />
               <reliableSession ordered="true" inactivityTimeout="00:10:00" />
               <security mode="TransportWithMessageCredential">
                  <message clientCredentialType="Certificate" negotiateServiceCredential="true" />
		  <transport clientCredentialType="Certificate"/>
               </security>
            </binding>
         </wsHttpBinding>
      </bindings>
      <behaviors>
        <endpointBehaviors>
           <behavior name="wsHttpEndpointBehavior">
              <clientCredentials>
                 <clientCertificate findValue="c5 c0 12 2a a8 64 02 21 ca 4b 41 87 68 14 7b a3 6e d3 92 ff" 
                   x509FindType="FindByThumbprint" storeLocation="LocalMachine" storeName="My"/>
                 <serviceCertificate>
                    <authentication certificateValidationMode="PeerTrust"/>
                 </serviceCertificate>
              </clientCredentials>
           </behavior>
        </endpointBehaviors>
      </behaviors>
   </system.serviceModel>
</configuration>

BizTalk and Dynamics CRM Integration

mehndi — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:58:06 GMT

Here are a great series of articles on integrating BizTalk Server with Dynamics CRM:

1. Using Microsoft BizTalk Dynamics CRM Adapter – Part 1

2. Using Microsoft BizTalk Dynamics CRM Adapter – Part 2

3. Using Microsoft BizTalk Dynamics CRM Adapter – Part 3

4. Using Microsoft BizTalk Dynamics CRM Adapter – Part 4

5. Using Microsoft BizTalk Dynamics CRM Adapter – Part 5

6. Receive or Pull Data from CRM using BizTalk

Thanks BJ!!!!!!

WCF Champ Web Campaign

mehndi — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 10:30:04 GMT

The schedule:

1. April 2^nd, 2009 9:00 PM EST - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXQtZsC0JZ4

2. April 9^th, 6:00 A.M. PST, 9:00 AM EST

3. April 16^th, 6:00 A.M. PST, 9”00 AM EST

The WCF Champ Website: Gateway to resources that jumpstart developers’ learning curve regarding WCF.

Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration - Part 4.1 - Error Handling with BizTalk Administration

mehndi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:33:53 GMT

Categories of Exceptions related to BizTalk / Dynamics AX Interfaces

1. When error Event Source: “Microsoft Dynamics AX adapter”

a. Refer the Microsoft Dynamics AX Server Event Log for more details

b. Refer the Microsoft Dynamics AX Exceptions

2. When error Event Source: “Microsoft BizTalk Server” / “EAI.BizTalk”

a. This category of error is related to some error in Transformation, Orchestration or Transport.

b. Refer the BizTalk Administration Console for more details.

Microsoft BizTalk Server

(Event Source: “Microsoft BizTalk Server” / “EAI.BizTalk”)

This section provides the information on the exceptions that gets logged by BizTalk in case of erroneous conditions for Microsoft Dynamics AX interfaces.

All the Exceptions that occur in Microsoft BizTalk Server are logged in Event Log of the BizTalk Server machine. These exceptions are logged on the Machine based upon the Host Instance configuration.

Apart from the Error / Detailed exception the Message / Orchestration also gets “SUSPENDED” as either Resume-able or Non-Resume able state based upon the category and nature of the Exception.

The following sections detail the steps to be followed in case the error Event Source is “Microsoft BizTalk Server” / “EAI.BizTalk”.

1. Error Handling for data being sent to Microsoft Dynamics AX from BizTalk Server

1. Error occurs in the Interface which sends data to Microsoft Dynamics AX.

a. Case I: If the error occurs while transforming the data received from the Source Systems into Canonical Message.

i. In this case the message would get suspended.

ii. The suspended messages can be retrieved using Microsoft BizTalk Server Administration Console.

iii. If the message needs to be replayed without any correction and is resume-able, then right-click click on the Suspended Message and click on “Resume Instance”.

iv. If the message needs to be corrected, then the data needs to be altered in Source System and reposted to BizTalk.

b. Case 2: If the error occurs after the data has been transformed into the Canonical

i. The Interface would output / dump the Canonical Message to a configured location as per the Send Error Port.

ii. After correcting the issue in the Canonical Message the file can be replayed using the configured Error Replay folder (check under “EnterpriseShared” BizTalk Application)

iii. Rename the Canonical as “ForInterfacePopulateVendorInfoToDynamicsAX.xml” and drop the File at above configured location (“C:\Project\ErrorReplay” folder). Microsoft BizTalk Server would route the corrected canonical to the right Interface and perform the required transformations.

2. Error Handling for data being received from Microsoft Dynamics AX into BizTalk Server

1. Error occurs in the Interface which receives data from Microsoft Dynamics AX.

a. Case I: If the error occurs while transforming the data received from the Microsoft Dynamics AX.

i. In this case the message would get suspended.

ii. The suspended messages can be retrieved using Microsoft BizTalk Server Administration Console.

iii. If the message needs to be replayed without any correction and is resume-able, then right-click click on the Suspended Message, and click “Resume Instance”.

iv. If the message needs to be corrected, then the data needs to be altered in Microsoft Dynamics AX and reposted (refer Section - Repost Messages)

b. Case 2: If the error occurs after the data received from the Microsoft Dynamics AX has been transformed into the Canonical (for Interface with Orchestration).

i. The Interface would output / dump the Canonical Message to a configured location as per the Send Error Port.

For example an interface which sends Invoice Information to Oracle. In case of BizTalk Error the Canonical XML or the message is outputted to “C:\Project\Error\IPublishInvoiceOnError\%MessageID%.xml”

ii. After correcting the issue in the Canonical Message the file can be replayed using the configured Error Replay folder (check under “EnterpriseShared” BizTalk Application)

iii. Rename the Canonical as “ForInterfacePublishInvoice.xml” and drop the File at above configured location (“C:\Project\ErrorReplay” folder). Microsoft BizTalk Server would route the corrected canonical to the right Interface and perform the required transformations.

b. Case 3: If the error occurs after the data received from the Microsoft Dynamics AX has been transformed into the Canonical (for Interface without Orchestration).

i. In this case the message would get suspended.

ii. The suspended messages can be retrieved using Microsoft BizTalk Server Administration Console.

iii. If the message needs to be replayed without any correction and is resume-able, then right-click click on the Suspended Message, and click on “Resume Instance”.

iv. If the message needs to be corrected then double click on any Suspended Message

v. Go to “Messages” tab.

vi. Double Click on the Message.

vii. Click on Body and copy the Message and store it on the Hard disk.

viii. Correct the message and rename the file as per the Interface (refer the Design Document for the corresponding Interface for the same)

ix. Drop the file at above configured location (“C:\Project\ErrorReplay” folder). Microsoft BizTalk Server would route the corrected canonical to the right Interface and perform the required transformations.

This explains what all can be done on BizTalk side in case there are issues related to the Dynamics AX port connection. In my next port I will describe how we can do the error handling on Dynamics AX – the message was successfully sent to Dynamics AX queue but failed to perform the required action.

Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration - Part 3 - Receive Data from Dynamics AX in BizTalk

mehndi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:02:51 GMT

Microsoft Dynamics AX adapter pulls the data available in the Dynamics AX Queue and publishes it into the Message Box. In one BizTalk Group there can be only one Receive Location that points to a combination of AOS Server Name and AOS Port Number. This is valid for the Receive Locations across BizTalk Applications.

The following configuration needs to be performed in BizTalk Receive Port / Receive Location which would receive the data from Microsoft Dynamics AX using the Application Integration Framework (AIF) and publish the same into BizTalk Message Box:

1. A Static One Way port needs to be created under Receive Port in BizTalk Application

2. The following provides the configuration for Receive Location –

a. Select the Transport Type as “Microsoft Dynamics AX”, also choose the Receive handler and Receive pipeline as per the requirements of the Interface.

b. Press “Configure” and set the following properties:

i. Set “Authentication Type” = “Host User”

ii. Set “Gateway User” as BizTalk user under which the BizTalk Host Instance is executing.

iii. Set “AOS Server” to the name of “Dynamics AX Server”

iv. Set “AOS Port” to the port number on which of Dynamics AX Server is running – the default is 2712.

Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Dynamics AX Integration - Part 2 - Send Data from BizTalk to Dynamics AX

mehndi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:54:10 GMT

The following configuration needs to be performed in BizTalk Send Port which would send the data from the BizTalk Server to the Microsoft Dynamics AX using the Application Integration Framework (AIF):

1. Create a New Send Port or use an existing Send Port (in case Orchestration is used).

2. Select the Transport Type as “Microsoft Dynamics AX”, and provide the details like Send Handler, Send pipeline and Receive pipeline as per the requirements of the Interface.

3. Press “Configure” and set the following properties:

a. Set “Authentication Type” = “Host User”

b. Set “Gateway User” as BizTalk user under which the BizTalk Host Instance is executing.

c. Set “AOS Server” to the name of “Dynamics AX Server”

d. Set “AOS Port” to the port number on which of Dynamics AX Server is running – the default is 2712.

Configuring Message Properties for sending data to Microsoft Dynamics AX

To send data to Microsoft Dynamics AX from BizTalk there are properties that needs to be set on the message, before Microsoft Dynamics AX adapter can push the same.

The following properties need to be set on the message:

i. Set the Dynamics Action on the Message as per the Action configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

_message (Dynamics.Action)

ii. Set the Dynamics Destination Endpoint on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

_message (Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint)

iii. Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX

_message (Dynamics.SourceEndpoint)

iv. Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint User on the Message as per the Destination Endpoint configured in Microsoft Dynamics AX

_message (Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser)

Here is the sample for the setting the properties:

// Set the Dynamics Action for VendTable

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.Action)="createListVendTable"; // this too can be made configurable and taken from SSO

// Set the Dynamics Destination Endpoint from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.DestinationEndpoint");

// Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.SourceEndpoint) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.SourceEndpoint");

// Set the Dynamics Source Endpoint User from the SSO Config

msg_VendTableRequest(Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser) = SSOConfigHelper.Read("BizTalk.OracleFinancials.VendorData", "Dynamics.SourceEndpointUser");

Remote Debugging basics

mehndi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:59:18 GMT

Here is the article that explains the basics for remote debugging in details: “Remote debugging with Visual Studio 2008”

The summary from the same article:

Getting the remote debugger to work

To get the remote debugger up and running, you must install it on the remote computer (ie, the server in the previously described scenario) and then configure it. Configuration is complex because the remote debugger authenticates both ways; that is, the machine running Visual Studio needs to authenticate on the remote machine, and the remote machine needs to authenticate on the machine running Visual Studio.

Installation

When you install Visual Studio 2008, remote debugging components install by default. In addition, the remote debugger is readily available on the Visual Studio installation media. The installation disc contains a directory called Remote Debugger, which has two folders (x64 and x86) that contain the set-up application for the specific platform. This installs the remote debugging monitor (msvsmon.exe). In my example, it is installed on a server.

Once the installation application runs, the configuration wizard runs. The configuration wizard allows you to set up the remote debugger to run as a service or as an application. Running the remote debugger as a service means that it will run all the time, so you may want to run it as an application so it can be run only when needed. At this point, security becomes an important aspect of set-up.

Security

The remote debugger must run using a user account that has the appropriate privileges. It must use an account that has at least the same privileges as the account used to run the application being debugged.

When working with ASP.NET applications, the ASP.NET worker process (aspnet_wp.exe) usually runs with an account called ASPNET, so you must use this account (or an account with equal or greater privileges) to remotely debug it. A safe bet is running the remote debugger with administrative level access, but this is not advisable for a production environment since the remote debugger needs to communicate with your debugger via the network, thus putting the server at risk of being hacked. I like to create a specific account for the remote debugger with a name like VSDebugger and make sure it has appropriate access.

Using the remote debugger

Once you install all the components, you can use the remote debugger with your own applications. Follow these steps to use it with a C#/VB.NET application:

|> In Visual Studio, choose Properties on the Project menu.
|> Select Debug from the Properties page.
|> For the Start Action setting, select Start External Program and in the field type the complete path to the executable on the host computer (running the remote debugger monitor).
|> Under Start Options in the working directory box, type the directory where the executable is located.
|> Select Use Remote Machine and type the name of the remote computer in the field. You can specify any command line arguments to pass to the application on the remote computer.
|> Start the Remote Debugging Monitor on the remote computer.
|> In Visual Studio, you can begin debugging the application via the usual Debug menu by selecting Start to begin a debugging session.

When working with an ASP.NET application, be sure to reference the remote computer by name and not the IP address. Also, the application's web.config file must have the debug attribute set to True. The site's security settings must allow windows authentication (or anonymous), and make sure there are no firewall restrictions that may disable remote debugging. MSDN offers more information about setting up remote debugging.

Go to the source

Visual Studio 2008's remote debugger feature allows you to investigate code issues where they occur. You may use Visual Studio on your development machine and connect to the problem code on a remote host; this allows you to find problems specific to the host environment. During set-up, it's important to use the proper accounts with necessary access. Add the remote debugger to your developer toolbox for those situations where problems are unique to an application's environment.

32 bit vs 64 bit

mehndi — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:56:26 GMT

Check out the the article: “How 64-bit version of Windows differs architecturally from 32-bit version”

The summary from the article:

Sometimes understanding the underlying architecture of a system is critical to being able to work with that system safely and effectively. The x64 version of Windows is a perfect example of this.

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are both available in 64-bit versions which are designed to run on x64 hardware. These x64 Windows operating systems run 64-bit code natively but can also run 32-bit code through the use of an integrated emulator called Windows on Windows 64 (WOW64).

No big deal, you say. After all, the 32-bit versions of the various Windows operating systems are designed to run both 32-bit and 16-bit code simultaneously. (Technically, it's not truly running simultaneously, but explaining how the multitasking engine handles 16-bit code is for another tip).

The point is that 32-bit versions of Windows have a complicated mechanism in place to allow 32- and 16-bit code to run side by side. Still, the system is designed so that whether you're a systems administrator or a casual user, you don't need to know how these mechanisms work.

But 64-bit versions of Windows are different. From a user's standpoint, 64-bit applications simply run side by side with 32-bit applications; nothing special is going on. But for administrators (and members of the help desk), it's a different story: The 32-bit code must be kept isolated from 64-bit code. This isolation is so important that x64 versions of Windows have two registries, one for 64-bit code and one for 32-bit code.

Even though the 64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 look and act almost identical to their 32-bit counterparts, below the surface there are major differences. If you perform certain tweaks on a 64-bit version of Windows in the same way you did in the 32-bit version, you could cause some problems.

DLL hell
The first rule of 64-bit applications is this: You absolutely cannot mix 32- and 64-bit code in a single application. If you have a 64-bit application, everything related to that application, including the DLL files, must be 64-bit. This presents an interesting challenge because sometimes multiple applications will rely on a common DLL file. Fortunately, Windows keeps 32-bit DLL files separate from 64-bit DLL files.

If you look in the \Windows folder on any 32-bit system, you'll see two subdirectories: one named SYSTEM and one named SYSTEM32. The SYSTEM subdirectory is a leftover from Windows 3.x that has remained in Windows for the purpose of maintaining backward compatibility with older applications. Generally speaking, 16-bit DLL files (and other support files) are placed in the \Windows\System folder; 32-bit DLLs and various support files are placed in the \Windows\System32 folder.

The way that 32-bit versions of Windows maintain the separation between 16- and 32-bit DLLs is fairly straightforward. The way that 64-bit versions of Windows keep 64-bit and 32-bit DLL files separate is not.

Logically, Microsoft should have created a folder named \Windows\System64 and used it for 64-bit DLL files. Instead, Microsoft created a new folder named SysWOW64 for storing the 32-bit DLLs. At first glace, this makes sense when you consider that WOW64 is the name of the emulator that runs 32-bit applications. But keep in mind that 32-bit applications are designed to place their DLL files in the \Windows\System32 folder.

The \Windows\System32 folder still exists in the x64 version of Windows. But Microsoft uses this folder as a repository for 64-bit DLLs, not 32-bit DLLs. I don't understand Microsoft's reasoning for using the \Windows\System32 folder for 64-bit DLLs, but I've heard it has to do with backward compatibility.

So what about all those 32-bit applications that are designed to store their DLL files in the \Windows\System32 folder? This is where things get confusing.

As I mentioned earlier, 32-bit code can not run natively through the X64 version of Windows. In order to run 32-bit applications, Windows makes use of the WOW64 emulator, which makes the apps think they are running on a 32-bit version of Windows.

When you install a 32-bit application, that installation wizard is running within the WOW64 emulator. Remember: 32-bit and 64-bit code don't mix. Once an application (including a Setup wizard) launches from within the WOW64 emulator, it must continue to run within WOW64. This means that when you install an application, the Setup wizard has no idea that the app is being installed on a 64-bit version of Windows, and will write DLL files to the \Windows\System32 folder just as if it were running in a 32-bit operating system.

Of course, WOW64 knows that the Setup wizard is a 32-bit application running within an emulator. It also knows that 64- and 32-bit code cannot be mixed. As such, the WOW64 emulator aliases an alias to the \Windows\SysWOW64 folder. This means that any time a 32-bit application needs to read or write anything to or from the \Windows\System32 folder, the WOW64 emulator transparently redirects the request to the \Windows\SysWOW64 folder.

All of this means that if you were to manually manipulate the contents of the \Windows\System32 folder, you could be in for some nasty surprises. I recently read about an administrator who needed to install a couple of small support scripts for an existing application. The instructions that came with the scripts said they should be placed in the \Windows\System32 folder. Of course those instructions assumed that the application would be running on a 32-bit system.

The scripts didn't cause the system to crash. Instead Windows gave the illusion that the update had never been applied. When the admin ran the application, it was transparently being redirected to the \Windows\SysWOW64 folder. The admin knew he had placed the scripts into the \Windows\System32 folder and could see the scripts from Windows Explorer, but could not figure out why the application could not see the scripts. Thinking the issue was permissions-related, he spent a lot of time chasing his tail. Had he known about the way the x64 versions of Windows keep DLLs separated, he could have just placed the scripts into the \Windows\SysWOW64 folder. They would have worked as anticipated.

The x64 versions of Windows represent one of the few cases in which it is truly important for an admin to understand the underlying system architecture. My next article iwill discuss differences in the ways that Windows maintains 64- and 32-bit program files.

Conceptual Diagram of Dynamics AX and BizTalk Integration

mehndi — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:02:12 GMT

Courtesy – Ashish Shukla