My Commerce World

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  May 2009 be the year for whatever you need it to be.

Support and compatibility with 2008 products

The question regarding does Commerce Server 2007 support Windows Server 2008 and/or SQL Server 2008 and/or Visual Studio 2008 has came up several times and I wanted to give a quick post on this.

With the release of Commerce Server 2007 Service Pack 2, we do fully support both Windows Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008.  SQL Server 2008 had only undergone some basic testing on its release candidate as Commerce Server 2007 Service Pack 2 released prior to SQL Server 2008.  Full testing is in process and once testing is complete we will announce it and let everyone know the support status.

PayPal component for Commerce Server 2007

Just wanted to share some information that apparently the developers at PayPal have an Express Checkout component in the works for Commerce Server 2007.  Here is the link to the note about it.

http://www.paypaldeveloper.com/pdn/blog/article?blog.id=devblog&message.id=523#M523

I'm not familiar with the component or its current status but I know that many people have made inquiries regarding PayPal integration so I wanted to share.  The post is a bit old but if you are in need of PayPal integration you can contact the PayPal developer blog for more information.

Are you ready for Internet Explorer 8.0

As many already know Internet Explorer (IE) 8.0 Beta 2 has been released to the public with good reception.  We have done some basic testing of IE8 Beta 2 against the Commerce Server 2007 Starter Site and Starter Site R2 and have found no real issues so far.  If you happen to be doing some of your own testing and run into issues or if you have a production site and want it to be IE 8 ready there are some steps you can take now.

First, be sure your site is code following W3C Standards.  This is the best way to ensure compatibility not only with IE8 but other standards based broswers such as FireFox.

If you are seeing some compatibility issues with IE8 please refer to methods 4 and 5 in Microsoft article #956197 <http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;956197>.

Increasing the number of days CSS logging retains data

In Commerce Server 2007 Staging (CSS) the event logging will retain 3 days worth of event and project data by default.  The number of days can be adjusted from 1 to 999 by manually editing the appropriate registry value.

To adjust the value follow these steps:

Open Regedit.exe and expand to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\CSS\EventLogging\CSSLocalEvents

Right click on the value 'EventLifetime' and select Modify.

Change Base to Decimal and then enter the Value data (number of days) you want.

Select OK to save the value.

After saving the value you will need to restart the Commerce Server Staing service so that the new value will be used.

How to configure Commerce Server Staging to log to SQL database

By default Commerce Server 2007 Staging (CSS) logs event and project data to an Access database.  This works fine but for those administrators that won't to be able to better manage and make use of the reporting history usage of a SQL Server database is the best choice.  In this post I will outline the steps needed to re-configure CSS to log to a SQL Server database.

CSS uses the ODBC System DSN 'CSSLocalEvents' to define where to perform logging which by default is an Access database named events.mdb. The DSN can be changed to use either a local or remote SQL Server database.

Use the steps below to change the database that the 'CSSLocalEvents' DSN will use for CSS logging.  For these steps we will be using a SQL Server 2005 database and administration tools.

> Using the SQL Server Management Studio, create a new empty database named "Events" on the SQL Server you will use to host the database.

> Set the account that the Commerce Server Staging service is running as (<domain>\CSStageSvc) to be db_owner on the Events SQL database just created.

> Open the Commerce Server Staging MMC and stop the CSS service

> From Start\Administrative Tools select Data Sources (ODBC)

> In the ODBC Data Source Administrator select the System DSN tab

> Select the CSSLocalEvents data source and click the Configure button

> Rename the data source to CSSLocalEventsOriginal and then select OK to save the change (this step allows a user to easily go back to logging to the Access database if needed)

> Click the Add button to create a new ODBC System DSN. This will start the wizard and on the first page scroll through the list of drivers and select SQL Server.

> Complete the wizard by entering the SQL server name and selecting the Events database already created.

> Restart the Commerce Server Staging service from the Commerce Server Staging MMC

To verify that the service was able to initialize the new Events SQL database use SQL Server Management Studio to view the tables in the database. You should see that two tables named 'Events' and 'TranslatedEvents' were created and populated. If the tables do not exist check the application event log for any errors.

Note: When viewing the project reports in the Commerce Server Staging MMC if you receive an error that the DSN could not be found or something similar you should look at your IIS permission settings to resolve the issue.

 

Usage of the Starter Site and the sample catalog

I have a question I would like to get some feedback on.  For those that are building new Commerce Server 2007 sites how many start with the Commerce Server 2007 Starter Site as the base for your new site?

 Also, in your testing how many people use the Adventure Works sample product catalog as you starting point or as a bench mark testing catalog?  How many people would find a more robust and in-depth designed product and inventory catalogs useful?

How to set sequence for product variants in the Commerce Server 2007 Starter Site

After setting the sequence for product variants in Catalog Manager, the Commerce Server 2007 Starter Site still does not list product variants such as color or size in the desired order. They are always listed alphabetically.

To resolve the issue you will need to edit the control used to display product information. 

Open the CommerceCommponents.csproj which is located in the directory where you unzipped the Starter Site.  In the file 'pvcClient.js' find the line that contains the statement "values.sort();" (minus quotes) and comment out this line.  You will now rebuild the Dll and then deploy to your site.

Now when you select the product variant drop down for a product, in the list displayed in the drop down the product variants will now be displayed as they were sequenced in Catalog Manager.

Back to the blogging....

I've been away for a while from the blogging due to various reasons I won't go into here but things have settled down now and I plan to start back up my posting.  For those who have offered comments on things to write about I am going to be looking into them and will post what I can cover.

 

For those that haven't done so yet, please do go get Commerce Server 2007 Service Pack 2 and start putting it through its paces.  We want to hear your feedback and if there are any issues we want to get them addressed.

Got a topic you would like to see discussed?

If there are any topics that you would like to see me blog about please post a comment and let me know.  Do keep in mind that I will only be able to blog at a high level on some topics.

Upgrading from Standard Edition to Enterprise Edition

Commerce Server 2007 supports the process of "upgrading" from the Standard edition to the Enterprise edition.  This is a true statement but I wanted to clarify what is meant by the use of the term "upgrade". 

When you perform an upgrade from the standard edition to the enterprise edition you can't simply insert the cd-rom and run setup and the upgrade happens.  You have to first uninstall standard edition and then install enterprise edition.  The steps listed below outline the general guidelines and steps that you will go through when performing the upgrade.

• Backup all existing Commerce databases.
• You should have up-to-date backups of the MSCS_Admin, Direct Mailer and all site specific databases.  The upgrade should not cause any harm to the databases during the upgrade process but it is better to be safe.
• Package existing site and/or make a copy of all site content.
• Uninstall Commerce Server 2007 Standard Edition.  You do not need to uninstall the Business Management Tools.
• Install Commerce Server 2007 Enterprise Edition.
• At the end of the install uncheck the box to launch the Commerce Server 2007 Configuration Wizard so that it does not start.
• Install Commerce Server 2007 Service Pack 1 if it was installed previously to the Standard edition installation.
• Manually run the Commerce Server 2007 Configuration Wizard and follow the steps pointing to the existing databases.

At this point you should now be running Commerce Server 2007 Enterprise Edition and when you review your deployment in Commerce Server Manager you should see all of you existing Commerce sites and applications.

Also, the above steps would be the process you would follow for upgrading from Developer edition to Enterprise edition.  When moving site from Developer edition to Standard edition as there is not a direct upgrade path for this, you will want to remove any references in your configuration to Data Warehouse as those features are not supported in Standard edition and then pack the site and then unpack the site on the new Standard edition install.

Silent unpack INI file for CSharp sample site

For those wishing to use the silent unpack feature of PUP.exe to deploy your site, you have probably noticed that there is not a sample INI included with Commerce Server 2007 as there was with previous versions of Commerce Server.  And you may have also noted that the version included with previous versions of Commerce Server does not work with Commerce Server 2007.

To help everyone out on this issue here is a sample INI file that can be used to deploy the CSharp.pup.  In this INI sample I have configured it to use the recommended Windows authentication for the SQL connection strings and also to deploy to the Default Web Site on the local machine.  You will want to edit the various items in the file to meet your specific deployment needs.

CSharp.ini

=============

[General]
SiteName=CSharpSite
Description=Silent CSharpSite Install with Windows Authentication
NumOfResources= 7
NumOfApplications= 5

Resource0=Product Catalog
Resource1=Transactions
Resource2=Transaction Config
Resource3=Biz Data Service
Resource4=Site CS Authentication
Resource5=Marketing
Resource6=Inventory

Application0=CatalogWebService
Application1=CSharpSite
Application2=MarketingWebService
Application3=OrdersWebService
Application4=ProfilesWebService

NumOfConnStrs= 7

[ConnStrs]
ConnStrResourceName0=Product Catalog
ConnStrPropertyName0=connstr_db_Catalog
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName0=Product Catalog
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName0=connstr_db_Catalog
ConnStrValue0=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_ProductCatalog;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName1=Transactions
ConnStrPropertyName1=connstr_db_Transactions
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName1=Transactions
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName1=connstr_db_Transactions
ConnStrValue1=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_Transactions;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName2=Transaction Config
ConnStrPropertyName2=connstr_db_TransactionConfig
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName2=Transaction Config
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName2=connstr_db_TransactionConfig
ConnStrValue2=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_Transactionconfig;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName3=Biz Data Service
ConnStrPropertyName3=connstr_db_bds
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName3=Profiles
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName3=connstr_db_bds
ConnStrValue3=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_Profiles;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName4=Marketing
ConnStrPropertyName4=connstr_db_Marketing
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName4=Marketing
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName4=connstr_db_Marketing
ConnStrValue4=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_Marketing;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName5=Inventory
ConnStrPropertyName5=connstr_db_inventory
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName5=Inventory
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName5=connstr_db_inventory
ConnStrValue5=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_ProductCatalog;Data Source=localhost;

ConnStrResourceName6=Marketing
ConnStrPropertyName6=connstr_db_Lists
ConnStrFriendlyResourceName6=Marketing
ConnStrFriendlyPropertyName6=connstr_db_Lists
ConnStrValue6=Provider=SQLOLEDB;Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=CSharpSite_Marketing_Lists;Data Source=localhost;

[Product Catalog]
ResourceFlags=2
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.CatalogPUP
ResourceType=Catalog
FriendlyName=Product Catalog

[Transactions]
ResourceFlags=2
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.OrdersPup
ResourceType=Transactions
FriendlyName=Transactions

[Transaction Config]
ResourceFlags=2
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.OrdersPup
ResourceType=TransactionConfig
FriendlyName=Transaction Config

[Biz Data Service]
ResourceFlags=7
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.UPMPuP
ResourceType=BizDataStore
FriendlyName=Profiles
GlobalResourceName= (Add new global resource)

[Site CS Authentication]
ResourceFlags=3
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AuthPuP
ResourceType=AuthManager
FriendlyName=CS Authentication
GlobalResourceName= (Add new global resource)

[Inventory]
ResourceFlags=2
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.CatalogPUP
ResourceType=Inventory
FriendlyName=Inventory

[Marketing]
ResourceFlags=2
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.MarketingPup
ResourceType=Marketing
FriendlyName=Marketing

[CatalogWebService]
ResourceFlags=5130
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AddressPuP
ResourceType=Address
FriendlyName=Address
AccessFlags=513
AuthFlags=4
AppIsolated=0
AspCodePage=0
VRoot=CatalogWebService
CSAppName=CatalogWebService
Website=Default Web Site
Machine=localhost

[CSharpSite]
ResourceFlags=10
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AddressPuP
ResourceType=Address
FriendlyName=Address
AccessFlags=513
AuthFlags=7
AppIsolated=0
AspCodePage=0
VRoot=CSharpSite
CSAppName=CSharpSite
Website=Default Web Site
Machine=localhost

[MarketingWebService]
ResourceFlags=9226
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AddressPuP
ResourceType=Address
FriendlyName=Address
AccessFlags=513
AuthFlags=4
AppIsolated=0
AspCodePage=0
VRoot=MarketingWebService
CSAppName=MarketingWebService
Website=Default Web Site
Machine=localhost

[OrdersWebService]
ResourceFlags=3082
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AddressPuP
ResourceType=Address
FriendlyName=Address
AccessFlags=513
AuthFlags=4
AppIsolated=0
AspCodePage=0
VRoot=OrdersWebService
CSAppName=OrdersWebService
Website=Default Web Site
Machine=localhost

[ProfilesWebService]
ResourceFlags=17418
PupFlags=1
ProgidPUP=Commerce.AddressPuP
ResourceType=Address
FriendlyName=Address
AccessFlags=513
AuthFlags=4
AppIsolated=0
AspCodePage=0
VRoot=ProfilesWebService
CSAppName=ProfilesWebService
Website=Default Web Site
Machine=localhost

======================================

The command line you would use would look like this...Pup.exe /u /f:<path>\CSharp.pup /i:<path>\csharp.ini 

 

Enjoy

Archiving CSS event reporting data

Commerce Server Staging (CSS) logs data of its actions to two Access databases, events.mdb and StagingLog.mdb.  The data that is viewed in the reports comes from the events.mdb which is what most customers want to keep.  As noted in an earlier blog post you can increase the number of days that the data in the database is retained but some customers have requirements to keep the data for long periods of time such as 6 months or a year.  Although you could increase the number of days that data is retained in the database as I noted in my previous post, I also noted that having a large number of days worth of data stored in the database could cause perfomance issues.

With that in mind it might be simpler for you to simply set the number of days to something like 31 as I have recommended and once you hit the 31st day create a new events.mdb file and then archive the old one somewhere.  This is a very easy process that takes just a few minutes since the CSS service will automatically create a new events.mdb when the service is started if one is not present.

How to go about this:

On the day that you wish to start with a new file, simply stop the Commerce Server Staging service and then go to the directory where the events.mdb file is located.  Typically this would be C:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\Staging\Events\events.mdb.

Either rename the file or move it to another directory or drive and then start the CSS service back up.  A new file will be created automatically.

How to increase the number of days CSS keeps event information

By default Commerce Server Staging will maintain 3 days worth of event data in its database.  This is the data that is viewed in the reports for such items as when a project was ran and completed.

To increase the nubmer of days that event reporting data will be kept use the steps below.

Using Regedit.exe go to the key below:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CSS\EventLogging\CSSLocalEvents]

Look for the value shown below and select it for editing:

"EventLifetime"=dword:00000003

The data value is store as a dword but in the value editor switch from hexadecimal to decimal to set the number of days you want to keep data for.

Valid values range from 1 - 999 but do keep in mind that choosing a high number of days on a server that is performing a large number of replications will cause the database file size to grow larger.  And since the database that is used an Access database, if the file size starts getting to large it will effect the performance of logging event data and thusly slow the performance of the staging service.  I would typically recommend that you not set the number higher than 31 days which is roughly a months worth of data.

Once you have saved your change you will need to restart the Commerce Server Staging service so that the new value will be read.

How to configure Customer and Orders Manager to not require HTTPS

By default the Commerce Server 2007 Customer and Orders Manager requires that the connections to the Orders and Profiles web services be over HTTPS. This can be changed to allow it to work over HTTP instead.  This is not the recommended method to use as you should always use HTTPS to ensure data is secure but can be useful in development and test senarios where HTTPS communications are not readily available.

To change the requirement that the Customer and Orders Manager allow HTTP for connectivity to the Profiles and Orders Web Services follow these steps:

> Close Customer and Orders Manager

> Navigate to the <drvie>:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server 2007\Business User Applications\ directory.

> Open the file "CustomerandOrdersManager.exe.config" in NotePad or some other text based editor.

> Find this entry in the file under the <applicationsettings> section:

          <setting name="AllowHTTP" serializeAs="String">

               <value>False</value>

          </setting>

> Change this entry as shown below:

          <setting name="AllowHTTP" serializeAs="String">

               <value>True</value>

          </setting>

> Save the file

You can now enter standard HTTP connection strings for the Orders and Profiles Web Services URLs.