Commerce Server 2007 on Windows Server 2008

Commerce Server 2007 is now supported on Microsoft Windows Server 2008.  The CS2007-RTM (Release to Manufacturing) and CS2007-SP1 (Service Pack Version 1) releases can be run on Windows Server 2008, with IIS-7 configured to Classic mode.  CS2007-SP2 (Service Pack Version 2) is recommended to address most Windows Server 2008 certification issues and to take advantage of Windows Server 2008 features, such as IIS-7 configured to Integrated Pipeline mode.  CS2007-SP2 is scheduled for release in Summer 2008.

Building and Operating Commerce Server 2007 Solutions

Featuring Max Akbar

Microsoft Partners and Field Session: February 18^th through 20^th, 2008 in Chicago, IL

Customer Session: February 25^th through 27^th, 2008 in Chicago, IL

As part of our Commerce Server partner readiness program, the Commerce Server Product Unit will be holding a three (3) day technical training session for Commerce Server 2007 at Microtek’s Chicago downtown location. 

This training is intended for an intermediate to advanced audience with a prerequisite of previous training or competency with Commerce Server.

The objective for Commerce Server 2007 airlift is “train the trainer” so please nominate the best of the best Trainers, Architects, Leads,  and Senior Developers for this training session.

Space is limited so please send your registration information to csid@microsoft.com immediately. Please do not book travel until you receive confirmation that you have been successfully registered. Remember to include the following information so that we may process your registration:

Ø  Full Name

Ø  Company you’re representing

Ø  Title/position (i.e. Senior Developer, Lead, Architect, etc.)

Ø  Email Address

Ø  Full Mailing Address

Ø  Phone Number

Ø  Fax Number

Ø  Current level of  Commerce Server knowledge (i.e. intermediate or advanced) and most recent version (CS2002 or CS2007)

There is a nominal fee for the training of US$750 (Canadian residents, add 6% GST). Snacks and lunches are included. You are responsible for your own expenses (e.g. travel, lodging, dinners, etc.).

Training Session Agenda

Monday

8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Module 0: Course Introduction

Module 1: Commerce Server 2007 Overview

Module 2: Deploying Commerce Server

Module 3: Operating Commerce Server Environment

Module 4: Staging Content in Commerce Server

Module 5: Securing Commerce Server Solutions

Tuesday

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Module 6: Developing Commerce Server Applications

Module 7: Developing the Catalog System

Module 8: Developing the Inventory System

Module 9: Developing the Profiles System

Module 10: Developing the Orders System

Wednesday

8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Module 11: Developing the Marketing System

Module 12: Integrating Commerce Server with Other LOB Systems

Module 13: Migrating from Previous Versions of Commerce Server

Module 14: Developing the Data Warehouse Analytics System

Module 15: Customizing the Commerce Server Management Tools

Training Facility

Monday – Wednesday we will be at the Microtek facility in Chicago, Il:

MicroTek

230 W Monroe St Ste 550

Chicago, IL 60606-4700

United States

Phone: (312) 236-3811

e-commerce has evolved from being merely a component of a retailer’s strategy ten years ago to become a core strategic enabler.  Retailers today are using multi-channel retailing to enable revenue growth, brand loyalty, and innovation.  The pervasive digital lifestyle has impacted consumers’ expectations of retailers.  As such, retailers are evolving in the ways that they can touch their customers. 

Microsoft, with its rich legacy as a consumer products company, spanning digital assets that touch the lives of consumers, is a powerful partner for retailers seeking to execute in a multi-channel environment.  Many retailers are working with Microsoft to enable new and profitable ways to drive a ubiquitous presence with their customers across devices and contexts.   Microsoft helps enable retailers to deliver these experiences while driving down internal operational complexities that allow retailers to focus on their core competencies.

Join us on December 13^th as we explore the Multi-Channel paradigm and learn how you can:

-          Build consistency into customer interaction

-          Maintain a common multi-channel infrastructure

-          Manage customer interaction in the world of known and unknown devices

-          Increase Customer loyalty and sales

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

This webinar is tailored to a VP of e-Commerce, VP of Marketing and VP/CIO audience.

WEBINAR DETAILS:

Thursday, December 13^th, 2007

9:00 a.m. PST

1 hour

Register Today

Microsoft: Driving the convergence of online retail, social networking, and rich Internet experiences.

By providing a comprehensive ecosystem of services, tools and technologies for eCommerce, Microsoft enables Retailers to deliver rich experiences to their customers across channels without locking them in to huge, complex and long time to market. With our services like MSN, Windows Live, AdCenter, Xbox Live, and others, retailers can plug into powerful consumer assets. With enterprise technologies like Microsoft Commerce Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, retailers can build and deploy powerful e-Commerce solutions. With development toolsets like Expressions Blend and Silverlight retailers can deliver the next wave of Rich Internet Applications that are so much a part of Web 2.0.

On Behalf of the Microsoft Commerce Server Product Unit, we are pleased to confirm our participation in the TechEd Europe Events, to be held in Barcelona Spain in early November.  For both the Developer and IT Forum Events, main sessions are confirmed for Commerce Server, and we will also have a dedicated Booth on the showroom floor where you can drop by for Questions and Answers.  Here is a summary of the main sessions we will deliver:

Event: TechEd Developers

• Session Code: WEB306 (Thurs. November 8, 17:30 - 18:45, final time to be confirmed)
• Title: Building Multi-Channel E-Commerce Solutions w/ Commerce Server 2007, ASP.NET, AJAX, Silverlight, WPF, SharePoint, and BizTalk Server
• Session Abstract: E-Commerce is no longer just about the Web. Multi-channel is here - and Microsoft's next-generation technologies are creating new e-commerce solution opportunities. Learn how to use our latest presentation tier technologies - including ASP.NET, web parts, Web Services, AJAX, Silverlight, and WPF - on top of Commerce Server 2007 to construct a single storefront infrastructure that can offer many different user experiences. Then, learn how integrate the solution with back-end systems and business partners utilizing BizTalk Server and SharePoint content management. We'll wrap up with a long-term technology roadmap to help guide your strategic technology investments.

Event: TechEd IT Forum 2007

• Session Code: WSI305 (Wed. November 14, 13:30 - 14:45, final time to be confirmed)
• Title: Getting E-commerce Right - Best Practices and Lessons Learned for IT Professionals
• Session Abstract: E-commerce web properties are part of the dollars and cents life-blood of many organizations today. Downtime can represent millions of dollars per hour in lost revenue and customer satisfaction issues that often reach the press. Getting E-commerce right is one of the most formidable challenges facing IP Professionals. This session will provide the real-world insights and best practices from subject matter experts who work with IT Professionals to build the right deployment and operational infrastructure the first time - or fix a problematic deployment. Topics covered include performance/capacity analysis, secure deployment planning (including compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards), designing highly available physical infrastructure topologies, ongoing daily operations/health monitoring best practices. If time permits, we will also outline Microsoft's Next Web strategy and E-commerce technology roadmap.

And, a reminder of the Commerce Server Information Desk, your resource and direct connect to the product group for general questions on Microsoft Commerce Server.  Send email to csid@microsoft.com

Hi there, I am posting this for my colleague Cam Stevenson:

First, an introduction.  My name is Cam Stevenson, and I'm the Program Manager with the Commerce Server Product Unit who's responsible for producing the SharePoint 2007 accelerator for Commerce Server 2007.

As anyone who's familiar with SharePoint 2007 and Commerce Server 2007 knows, there are some pretty exciting integration opportunities between the two products, ranging from commerce enabled portals to content management, business analytics and enterprise search.  Personally, I've written some Web Parts and other integration bits (and I'm sure a lot of you have as well), and it's pretty obvious that they're a natural fit in many areas. 

And while we have a solid handle on what we want to produce (check out Ryan's blog if you haven't), we obviously don't have a monopoly on good ideas: I'm certain there are lots of folks out there who have their own notions of what they'd like to see in a CS/SharePoint accelerator.

That being said, I'd like to take the opportunity to encourage anyone who has opinions or even random thoughts on what they'd like to see to pass them along.  I'm particularly interested not only in functional areas, but in opinions regarding customization methods.  You can email me at b-castev at Microsoft.com

Thanks!

Today, we are announcing the long-term technology roadmap for Commerce Server and the new Commerce Server Information Desk program.

First, the roadmap…as hinted in earlier blog postings we are announcing two specific waves of new Commerce Server technology:

• Commerce Server “7” – This is the next major version of Commerce Server and will be targeted for delivery in mid-2010. This release will provide a migration path from Commerce Server 2007 and feature investments in core capabilities/technology infrastructure, multi-channel scenarios extending beyond the Web, and personalization, analytics, and social networking.
• Commerce Server 2007 Accelerators – Delivered starting in the 2^nd half of 2008 (with preview releases available sooner), these will provide complementary a la carte functionality additions with minimal-to-no migration/upgrade impact for existing CS2007 deployments, targeted at technology integration and end-to-end industry vertical scenario enablement (encapsulating extensions to schemas, sites, management tools, and other areas of the system as impacted by any given industry). Specifics include:
• Technology Integration: Office SharePoint Server, Dynamics (CRM + AX/NAV/GP), Live! Services (Search, Local/Virtual Earth, & adCenter), & Silverlight 1.1 (Business User Tools)
• Industry Vertical Scenario Enablement: General Merchandise Retail, Apparel Retail, Electronics Retail, Digital Downloads (Software + Media & Entertainment), and General Business/Hospitality Services

The pricing, licensing, packing, and final naming are all TBD. Needless to say, we are committed to broadening the reach of Commerce Server as much as possible as well as delivering value on existing investments. Likewise, we don’t have more schedule specifics we can share at this time. Stay tuned to this blog for further details, as they will be shared as soon as information can be made available.

At the same time, we are simultaneously addressing one of the other challenges facing Commerce Server customers – getting the resources needed to be successful with the technology – with the introduction with the Commerce Server Information Desk program. Available immediately by sending e-mail to csid@microsoft.com, this is a product-group managed program with target response time of ~2-3 business days to either partners or customers to provide top quality pre- and post-sales engagement support.

On the pre-sales side, partners and customers can access to resources and tailored individual engagement on qualified opportunities. On the post-sales side, partners and customers can be connected with the right resources and most up-to-date best practices for their deployment engagements (note: this is NOT a substitute for product support for breaking technical/production issues).

For a more in-depth look, look at my personal take at http://blogs.msdn.com/rdonovan/archive/2007/08/08/in-depth-commerce-server-product-roadmap-information-desk-program-announcement.aspx.

It has been a long time coming, but we tremendously excited about our new roadmap and support programs and hope you feel the same way.

I am pleased to announce that the Commerce Server 2007 SP1 Performance Guide update for x64 is now available!

The white paper can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E79691F0-BE0F-40A6-940C-5D3A679C5526&displaylang=en. The updated guide describes the results of a test run against 12 x64 Web servers and two x64 database servers that were running SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition with SP2.

This test run was performed using the Starter Site, which is publicly available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c1a8cc18-dc9e-4c50-b598-86e640a79910&displaylang=en.

For information about the Starter Site and latest tricks and tips you can visit the Commerce Team Blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/default.aspx.

For information about running the Starter Site with an SSL Front End, see http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/archive/2007/07/17/running-the-starter-site-with-an-ssl-front-end.aspx.

For information about running the Starter Site with an SSL Front End alternative, see http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/archive/2007/07/17/running-the-starter-site-with-an-ssl-front-end.aspx.

For a tip on avoiding invalid Sessionstate errors when using the Starter Site, see http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/archive/2007/07/13/invalid-viewstate-with-load-balancers.aspx.

Seventh in our Live from Redmond webcast series!

James Walters will discuss the latest results from Commerce Server 2007 Performance Testing (with SP1 that was just released, upgraded hardware, and SSL offloading):

1.      Presentation 60 minutes (join via Livemeeting info below)

2.      Q&A for public community 15 minutes

3.      Q&A for private invites 

Agenda:

Join us via LiveMeeting (info below)!

-+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-

Click Here to View Recording


FIRST TIME USERS: To save time before the meeting, check your system  to make sure it is compatible with Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

I mentioned Friday that there is an alternative way of getting the Starter Site to work behind an SSL appliance.  Some appliances allow creating some indication that a connection is secure.  The trick is then to let the Starter Site know that this is what's happening.

There are two main ways to flag the connection as secure.  The steps for modifying the Starter Site are the same save for the logic you apply in the actual function.  The first option is to set an http header such as "X-SSL-Request: 1" on all HTTPS requests.  The second option is to have all HTTPS requests be sent to a different port, such a 8043 (make sure you leave HTTP requests going to a different port).  You'll need to consult the manual on your particular device to find how to configure it.

Either way the result is the same, wherever the Starter Site checks to see if the site is secure test one of the above conditions.  We'll first create a method in SiteContext:

public bool IsSecureConnection()
{
    return HttpContext.Current.Request.IsSecureConnection || 
           HttpContext.Current.Request.Headers["HTTP_X_SSL_REQUEST"].Equals("1");
}

If you are using the port method you'll want to compare that the current port (HttpContext.Current.Response.Port) equals the secure port you've chosen.

Once you've added the method you'll want to change all of the places in the Starter Site where it checks (HttpContext.Current.)Request.IsSecureConnection and switch it to use SiteContext.  Here are all the ones that I've found:

App_Code\SiteContext.cs:186: return this.BuildCatalogUri(target, HttpContext.Current.Request.IsSecureConnection);
App_Code\SiteContext.cs:213: return this.BuildUri(target, HttpContext.Current.Request.IsSecureConnection);
App_Code\SiteContext.cs:381: return this.GetAssetUri(target, HttpContext.Current.Request.IsSecureConnection);
App_Code\SiteModule.cs:74: if (!request.IsSecureConnection && SiteContext.Configuration.RequireSsl)
User\Login.aspx.cs:44: if (!Request.IsSecureConnection && SiteContext.Configuration.RequireSsl)
User\RecoverPassword.aspx.cs:22: if (!Request.IsSecureConnection && SiteContext.Configuration.RequireSsl)
User\Register.aspx.cs:30: if (!Request.IsSecureConnection && SiteContext.Configuration.RequireSsl)

At this point you should be able to run the Starter Site behind an SSL Accelerator Appliance without needing to perform the steps in the previous post.

Make sure you test your changes to ensure that it works correctly and doesn't open up any security holes, particularly with normal HTTP connections coming through the appliance..

Sixth in our Live from Redmond webcast series!

Learn how to deploy Commerce Server 2007 by James Walters:

1.      Presentation 60 minutes (join via Livemeeting info below)

2.      Q&A for public community 15 minutes

3.      Q&A for private invites 

Agenda:

Join us via LiveMeeting (info below)!

Thanks, Caesar.

-+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-

There are a number of appliances out there that will carry the work of creating and maintaining an HTTPS (SSL) connection.  This removes the burden from the web server leaving providing better response all around.  Between the appliance and the web server the connection is unencrypted HTTP.  Because the Starter Site is written to require a secure connection out of the box it will complain about the unencrypted connection when you try to access a secure page.

Luckily, you can change a couple of settings in the Starter Site to allow it to run behind one of these appliances without complaining.  Here's how, in 4 easy steps:

1. In web.config's "commerceSite" section add (or modify) the "requireSSL" property to "false" and "useSecureUrls" property to "true".
2. In the web.config's "system.web\authentication\forms" section change the "loginUrl" property to contain the absolute URL path to the login page, for example: "https://example.com/StarterSite/User/Login.aspx".
3. In web.sitemap, change all the URLs that start with "~/Profile/" to start with the absolute URL path to the profile section.  For example: <siteMapNote url="https://example.com/StarterSite/Profile/Default.aspx"...>
4. In User\Login.aspx.cs add the following snippet of code to the end of the LoginForm_LoggedIn method:
   

   string returnUrl = Request.QueryString["ReturnUrl"];
   if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(returnUrl))
   {
       returnUrl = "~/";
   } 
   Response.Redirect(returnUrl);

Following these steps should allow the Starter Site to work behind an SSL accelerator appliance.

For those of you curious about why each step is required, here's an explanation:

1. When we built the Starter Site we had SSL accelerators in mind.  These options work together to allow this.  Note that setting "useSecureUrls" to false is a common developer scenario when you don't want to set up SSL (just make sure you set things proper when you actually deploy!).
2. Normally the site checks to make sure the login page is secure before showing it, but it's not possible to know that when behind an accelerator.  This forces ASP.NET Forms Authentication to use the HTTPS url for the login page.
3. The sitemap is a static file and therefore can't be modified on the fly based on the "useSecureUrls" setting (and it wasn't important enough to warrant writing a custom provider).  This change makes the links absolute.  While you're at it you may want to change the other links in the web.sitemap to be their absolute "http" URL equivalents to get people back to non-HTTP for other pages in the site.
4. The action in step 2 ends up confusing the login control slightly so this code works around that confusion and forces the redirect.

In a later post I'll show another way to get this to work behind your accelerator if your appliance supports it.

If you are using a round-robin (non-sticky) load-balancer (and perhaps even if you aren't) you may run into a problem where the client gets errors during the checkout process.  Checking your event log you might find the following error (non-essential information removed):

Event Type:        Information
Event Source:    ASP.NET 2.0.50727.0
Event Category:                Web Event
Event ID:              1316
Event code: 4009
Event message: Viewstate verification failed. Reason: Viewstate was invalid.
ViewStateException information: 
    Exception message: Invalid viewstate. 
    Path: /StarterSite/Checkout/Default.aspx

This problem here is that the Checkout process uses a couple of controls that contain view/controlstate.  When creating viewstate ASP.NET ties the viewstate to the assemblies of these controls.  Each web server ends up with a different assembly because each web server does its own compilation and picks its own assembly name for the web controls.

There are a couple of options you can use to fix this:

1. Turn on sticky load-balancing.  This means that each request from the same client will go to the same server.  The viewstate will only be unpacked by the machine that created it (except if that machine goes down and the load balancer switches to another machine -- rare but certainly possible).  Consult the documentation for your particular load balancer to determine how to configure this.
2. Pre-compile the web site and distribute the compiled assemblies to each web server.  This ensures that all of the assemblies match and you won't hit this problem. 

To pre-compile you use the aspnet_compiler.exe utility in your .NET Framework directory.  In a nutshell you do:

D:\Inetpub\wwwroot\StarterSite>d:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_compiler.exe -v /StarterSite d:\compiletemp

Copy the files in d:\compiletemp to the virtual root of each web server in your farm.  For more information see the aspnet_compiler page and this topic on pre-compiling at MSDN.  One note, you probably don't want to use the -u switch as it may re-introduce this problem as you update the site (I'm not sure, but better safe than sorry).