BenkoBLOG : WCF

WCF Performance and Deployment Webcast

benko — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:57:00 GMT

Yesterday I delivered the most recent addition to the Framework MasterClass Webcast Series on WCF Performance and Deployment. We covered issues surrounding the deployment and scalability of WCF services as hosted by IIS and Windows Activation Service. As per usual I've posted the code to BenkoTIPS downloads section, but I promised to include some steps in order to make the IIS deployment work. Specifically we had to add some evidence to executables and assemblies used by IIS 7.0 and to do some registering of components. If you're running on Windows Server instead of Vista you may not need to do the same steps because that is currently running IIS 6.0, but here's what I did in any case...

Configure Windows Vista & IIS 7.0 Features
1. In Windows Vista open Control Panel and then click Programs and then open Programs and Features
2. In the left pane click on "Turn Windows Features on or off"
3. Expand Internet Information Services
4. Expand Web Management Tools | IIS 6.0 Management Compatibility, then select IIS Metabase and IIS 6.0 Configuration Compatibility
5. Expand World Wide Web Services | Application Development Features and then check the ASP.NET checkbox
6. Expand Security and check Windows Authentication. NOTE: necessary related features will automatically be selected as well
7. Click OK to close Windows Features
Add Code Access Security signing to components
1. Open Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Command Prompt (or 2005...)
2. Run the Strong Name utility (sn.exe) to add evidence on iisresolver.dll and svcutil.exe
  - sn.exe -Vr "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\iisresolver.dll"
  - sn.exe -Vr "Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0a\bin\svcutil.exe"
3. Register ServiceModel components
  - c:\> "c:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v3.0\Windows Communication Foundation\ServiceModelReg.exe" -i

Hope this helps. If you have questions, let me know.

Code Posted for WCF Custom Channels

benko — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:36:43 GMT

I just uploaded the code for today's webcast on Custom Channels in WCF. In this webcast we looked at what's involved in customizing the way that WCF works and how you can extend its behavior. There was a lot of C# code and we created channels, channel factories, binding elements and the binding collections themselves. If you're looking at how to implement a custom channel hopefully you'll find this webcast useful.

One other thing. Last week's regularly scheduled webcast on WCF Management and Diagnostics, planned for Monday got changed due to technical difficulties to Wednesday. It's been recorded and now they're working on making the recording available. We had some audio problems the second time as well, but they didn't surface until we were switching to the conclusion slide. The experts are editing it right now and I expect they'll have if figured out and available soon.

Enjoy!

Announcing the Framework MasterClass Webcast Series!

benko — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:37:35 GMT

Class is in Back in Session!

We have the first 8 webcasts in the Framework MasterClass series scheduled as of today, and here's a quick rundown on the topics we'll be covering in September & October. This series will take a deeper dive into technologies like LINQ, WCF, Workflow, etc. and help provide insight into how get the most from them. Stay tuned for new sessions that get added each month!

Our proposed schedule runs typically on Mondays…

9/4 – LINQ Overview
Data access has evolved over time to make working with databases easier and more productive. In the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5, access to data is integrated natively into the languages. In this webcast, we look at what Microsoft .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is, and we provide an overview of how it can help developers increase productivity.

9/10 – LINQ to SQL
Microsoft .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ) provides a common way to work with data in your applications. In this session, we dive into how LINQ provides methods to work with Structured Query Language (SQL) databases, including how to query, insert, and manage data using the LINQ framework.

9/17 – LINQ to XML
In other sessions, we have already seen how Microsoft .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ) works with relational databases. In this webcast, we explore how LINQ can help you develop XML applications. We cover the basics of the XML helper functions, and we also dive into deeper topics.

9/24 – LINQ to Entities
We've explored how Microsoft .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ) is used for Structured Query Language (SQL) databases and working with XML. In this webcast, we connect to the data access layer, the business objects that provide the functionality of working with enterprise data. Join us to learn how you can make your LINQ applications really sing when working with entities.

10/1 – Working with WCF
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) brings tremendous power to developers and architects who are charged with creating distributed systems, but the many coding and configuration choices within WCF can be daunting. When faced with an almost infinitely configurable system, how can you be sure you are utilizing WCF effectively? Join this webcast to learn how you can solve the real-world technical problems that led you to WCF in the first place. In this session, we educate and inform both developers and architects about how to build and configure services in WCF using a variety of real-world scenarios as examples. After a brief review of the WCF code concepts, we explore techniques for building an effective messaging infrastructure, taking advantage of the many built-in WCF services, including security, transactions, reliability, and durability.

10/15 – WCF Management & Diagnostics
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) includes a strong management foundation for providing insight into the health and operational status of applications. In this session, we illustrate how you can incorporate WCF rich tracing and logging, a broad set of performance counters and tracking information, into existing management environments to build better applications. We also discuss how to use Windows PowerShell on top of the management extensions in WCF.

10/22 – WCF Custom Channels
Channel model is the layer of our architecture that is responsible for performing all of the point-to-point messaging in Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). Almost every interoperability problem and missing feature can be worked around by extending the messaging platform with a sufficiently powerful custom channel. In this session, we discuss the basics you need to get started with the channel model, and we show you how to write simple custom channels that solve problems.

10/29 – WCF Performance & Deployment
In this session, we dive into some best practices that can help you ensure the highest level of performance and availability with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). We examine guidelines for load balancing your services across a Web farm, and we take a look at various properties that are designed to help prevent undue resource consumption. Finally, we share some examples of the various hosting options for WCF services, including Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Process Activation Service (WAS).

On the road with LINQ, WCF and Silverlight

benko — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:37:22 GMT

…With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground…

-Bruce Springsteen

This quarter we're back on the road bringing some great technology & tools for building software that takes things to a whole new level. From the data integration capabilities of LINQ to working with the cross-browser presentation experience, you'll find we've got some fun stuff happening at MSDN Events. I will be on the road starting in Madison, then touring the upper Midwest to visit cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Green Bay and more to show what's possible with these new tools.

As part of these events I like to post links to resources on the topics we're talking about. The links for this quarter include:

LINQ

WCF

Silverlight

Enjoy!