Figure this out!

Why Haven't I Gotten Invitation Codes?

JennyLo — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:18:00 GMT

If there are any of you out there wondering why you still haven't gotten your invitation codes for .NET Services (even you have already signed up at this link for couple of days), you might want to check the following:

Do you have a verified email address at Microsoft Connect? If you are not sure, you can check your Connect profile. If you don't have a legitimate email address in your profile, we will not be able to send you your invitation code through email :(
Did you ever unsubscribe Microsoft Connect? The unsubscription might prevent us from contacting you and sending you your invitation code. If that's the case, you can email mchelp@microsoft.com to rectify your account.
Don't know if you should have received a code? Check this blog post.

Microsoft .NET Services white papers are available on Dev Center!

JennyLo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:05:00 GMT

In case you haven't heard from Moustafa's blog. White papers for .NET Services are now posted on Dev Center. Enjoy!

What's the difference between "this" SDS and "that" SDS, really?

JennyLo — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:15:00 GMT

SQL Data Services (SDS) went to public CTP recently. Customers now have 2 ways to acquire credentials to access SDS. Some of you might wonder what the differences are between the credential obtained through SDS Public CTP and the credential obtained through Azure Services Invitations. (Yip, that's right! Both SDS are the same! The only differences are the credentials.)

Before we go into the differences, let me clarify how I am going to refer each credential in this blog to avoid confusion:

SDS Credential - the credential obtained through SDS Public CTP
AC Credential - the credential obtained through Azure Services Invitations. AC refers to Access Control.

So, what are the differences?

The following table pretty much summarizes the difference between the two credentials. I want to provide some additional information here:

To learn more about .NET Services, you can go to http://www.microsoft.com/azure/netservices.mspx
To learn more about token-based authentication, you can go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc984285.aspx

	SDS Credential	AC Credential
Registration Channel	SDS Public CTP	Azure Services Invitations
Services Scope	SDS	SDS, .NET Access Control Services, .NET Service Bus, .NET Workflow Services
Authentication	Basics Authentication	Token-based Authentication
Protocol	REST and SOAP	SOAP only

Let's look at different WCF endpoints SDS provided to access the service

Now, let's look at some code to clarify the differences further more. Following this instruction in SDS primer, I can create a configuration file that allows me to see all the SOAP endpoints that SDS provided. Note that to SDS Sprint 5 SOAP endpoint host address is https://data.database.windows.net/soap/v1.

<endpoint address="https://data.database.windows.net/soap/v1" binding="basicHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="BasicAuthEndpoint" contract="SitkaSoapServiceS5.ISitkaSoapService" name="BasicAuthEndpoint" />
<endpoint address="https://data.database.windows.net/soap/v1/zurich" binding="customBinding" bindingConfiguration="UsernameTokenEndpoint" contract="SitkaSoapServiceS5.ISitkaSoapService" ame="UsernameTokenEndpoint" />
<endpoint address="https://data.database.windows.net/soap/v1/zurich" binding="customBinding" bindingConfiguration="CertificateTokenEndpoint" contract="SitkaSoapServiceS5.ISitkaSoapService" name="CertificateTokenEndpoint" />
<endpoint address="https://data.database.windows.net/soap/v1/zurich" binding="customBinding" bindingConfiguration="CardSpaceTokenEndpoint" contract="SitkaSoapServiceS5.ISitkaSoapService" name="CardSpaceTokenEndpoint" />

It's very clear that SDS provides 4 different SOAP endpoints for users to access SDS resources.

BasicAuthEndpoint - This endpoint should only be used if you are providing SDS credential
UsernameTokenEndpoint - This endpoint should only be used if you are providing AC credential
CertificateTokenEndpoint - This endpoint should only be used if you are providing AC credential and if you have associated certificate to your credential (I will clarify this in the following section)
CardSpaceTokenEndpoint - This endpoint should only be used if you are providing AC credential and if you have associated Windows Cardspace to your credential (I will clarify this in the following section)

With this, to access SDS resources in code (C#), it will look like this:

using SitkaSoapServiceS5;

static void CreateAuthority(string auth)
{
using (SitkaSoapServiceClient proxy = new SitkaSoapServiceClient("[ENDPOINT_NAME]"))

{

// Set credential information here using proxy.ClientCredentials. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc984294.aspx for more information

      Scope scope = new Scope();
      Authority newAuthority = new Authority;
      newAuthority.Id = auth;
      proxy.Create(scope, newAuthority);

}
}

Again, make sure you use the right credential to access SDS for different SOAP endpoints.

So, why are there so many endpoints to access SDS using AC credential (token-based credentials)?

If you have already played with .NET Access Control Service, this might come obvious to you. If not, let's take a brief look at the solution credential page at http://accesscontrol.ex.azure.microsoft.com/.

Access Control Service provides three different identifications for a solution.

Solution Password - this is corresponding to the UsernameTokenEndpoint
Windows CardSpace Information Card - this is correspoinding to the CardSpaceTokenEndpoint
X.509 Certificates - this is corresponding to the CertificateTokenEndpoint

How do I use SDS SD Tools with AC credential or SDS credential?

The following table provides some samples of accessing SDS resources through SDS SDK Tools using different credentials:

	SDS Credential	AC Credential
SDS Explorer	It should work!	Since SDS Explorer is using the REST interface (or at least I can't find a way to use the SOAP interface). I don't think you can use AC credential to access SDS resources through SDS Explorer
SDS CMD Prompt	SOAP example st create [AUTH_ID] / user:[USERNAME] /password:[PASSWORD] /soap REST example st create [AUTH_ID] /user:[USERNAME] /password:[PASSWORD] /rest	SOAP example st create [AUTH_ID] /user:[SOLUTION_NAME]@accesscontrol.windows.net /password:[SOLUTION_PASSWORD] /soap Note that there is option to use information card or certificate, please execute st /?* For more detail.* REST example Not Supported in this CTP

This ends up being a long post, but hope this helps readers kick off some SDS coding with either authentications available. :)

How to check if I got invitation codes for Azure Services Platform?

JennyLo — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:46:00 GMT

As invitation codes for Azure Services are sent to customers through emails, many customers wonder if they can check online to ensure the codes are not "swallowed" by the powerful spam filter. There is actually a way to check this.

Log on to http://connect.microsoft.com/ with the Live ID that you signed up for Azure Services Invitations
Click on Dashboard link on the top bar
Under Azure Services Invitations, customer can examine different programs

By default, once you sign up for Azure Services Invitations, you will be able to see "Home" program. You will see different service programs appear in your Connection once the corresponding service invitation codes are sent to your Connect verified email address.

For instance, in the above picture, this customer has already gotten invitation codes for

Microsoft .NET Services and Microsoft SQL Services
Windows Azure

Note that registering Azure Services Invitations through Microsoft Connect will automatically line you up for the following services and there are no additional steps required.

Live Services
Windows .NET Services and Microsoft SQL Services
Windows Azure

At last, if you know you should have invitation codes according to the Connect Dashboard, but somehow the email did not get to you. Please post your concerns to the corresponding service forum. Note that it might be very helpful to provide your full name or email that you used in the registration. However, please don't share your invitation code in the forum unless you intend to :).

Live Framework - http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/liveframework/threads/
Windows Azure - http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/liveframework/threads/
.NET Services and SQL Services - http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/getstartnetandsqlservices/threads/

Try to get your head around all the new .NET Services References?

JennyLo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:53:00 GMT

Here is a solution for you.

My colleague, Mujtaba has graciously created these for our users! Enjoy!

Of course, besides the poster, don't forget to visit Microsoft .NET Services Dev Center to learn more about the services.

A Step by Step Guide - From Creating a .NET Services and SQL Services Solution to Running the Echo Sample

JennyLo — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:06:00 GMT

If you are one of the lucky one who get an invitation code for Microsoft .NET Services and Microsoft SQL Services, you might wonder what you should do with it. This guide provides a step-by-step instruction to walk you through the portal experience and running your first sample! Sounds like fun? Let's get started!

From Invitation Code to Solution

First of all, please make sure you received the 2nd email notifying you that your invitation code is activated! If you don't wait until your invitation code is activated, you will get an error when using the code!
If you are in a Windows Live ID session at this point (or you are not sure), I recommend you to browse to a WLID site such as http://www.live.com/ and click "Sign Out". This will ensure the services you signed up will bind with your intended Windows Live ID.
Alright, now you can go to the portal at http://portal.ex.azure.microsoft.com. Type in your invitation code in the big text box and then click "Sign Up"
If you haven't signed in with your Windows Live ID, you will be prompted to do so. ** If you did NOT get prompted to input your Windows Live ID, I recommend you to follow step #2 **
After you log on, the portal will ask you to provide a solution name. Type in a solution name of your choice and click "Create Solution". Solution name needs to be unique and it will be used for authentication in some of the SDK samples
When the text changed from "Your solution is now being provisioned" to "Provisioning is complete", your solution is successfully created. Note that a password is generated for you. You can change this password and I will show you how to do it in the coming steps. For now, you can click on the link "Click here to visit the .NET Services and SQL Services Management Portal".
At this point, you have already created a solution for .NET Services and SQL Services. Don't remember your solution name? Look under "My Solutions" on the right. For this case, my solution name is "MeowmiTheCat". Now click on "<your solution name>".
For each particular solution, you can change password and manage each service. After clicking on "MeowmiTheCat" on the right, I come to this page. Under "Manage Solution", click "Solution Credentials"
In this page, I can change the password to something I can remember. Don't forget to hit "Save" to save the new password!

From Solution to Sample

If you haven't installed .NET Services SDK yet, now it's the time! You can download it from here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=129448.
Once you have the SDK installed, you can go to "Start" -> "All Programs" -> "Microsoft .NET Services (Nov 2008 CTP) SDK" and open "Samples"
Navigate all the way to "ServiceBus\GettingStarted\Echo\CS35" and open the EchoSample.sln. Don't forget to read the Readme.htm as well in the same folder, but if you are anxious :), you can do the following steps.
Build the solution (in VS2008) and execute the Service first. Enter the Solution Name and Password when prompted. For my case, it's "MeowmiTheCat" and my password.
Now, execute the client as well. Again, enter the Solution Name and Password when prompted. For my case, it's "MeowmiTheCat" and my password.
OK, when the client is ready, you can type whatever you want in the Client window. Now you should be able to see the message you type echoing between the Service and Client

Now you know the basics! There are so much more to explore. Have fun with the samples! By the way, although SQL Services does not have SDK to download, you can go to the MSDN Dev Center to learn how to play with SDS. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/dataservices/default.aspx

Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or feedback. http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/azure