Rob Tiffany's Windows Mobile Accelerator : Active Directory

Mobile Architecture Pocket Guide v1.1

robtiffany — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:01:00 GMT

Just wanted to let everyone know that version 1.1 of the Mobile Architecture Pocket Guide is now available on CodePlex at http://www.codeplex.com/AppArch/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=19798. This is the first patterns & practices update to this guide since 2002 so it's a welcome sight to to have it out there for all our Windows Mobile developers.

I've spent the last couple of months working with J.D. Meier, Rabi Satter, Rob Boucher and the rest of the P&P team to tune, tweak and update the new Mobile Architecture Pocket Guide to ensure that it's as accurate and relevant to today's Windows Mobile platform and runtimes as possible. The guide's chapters include:

Ch 01 > Mobile Application Architecture
Ch 02 > Architecture and Design Guidelines
Ch 03 > Presentation Layer Guidelines
Ch 04 > Business Layer Guidelines
Ch 05 > Data Access Layer Guidelines
Ch 06 > Service Layer Guidelines
Ch 07 > Communication Guidelines
Ch 08 > Deployment Patterns

Our goal is to empower our Windows Mobile developer community as much as possible, and while this guide may seem like it's targeted exclusively to developers, I ensured that the IT Pro side of the house is accommodated as well. Mobile infrastructure elements of this guide include System Center Mobile Device Manager (Deployment), SQL Server (Sync Services + Merge), IIS (Web Services + Sync + WCF), Exchange (WCF Store and Forward) and Active Directory (Auth).

Download it, take if for a spin, and give us your feedback so we can keep improving it.

- Rob

My New Book is Now Available!

robtiffany — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:12:00 GMT

"Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" is now available in print! Those of you in the continental U.S. can just buy it directly from the Hood Canal Press site at http://www.hoodcanalpress.com/catalog.htm and get free ground shipping. It's on Amazon in the U.S. so you can order it at http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Mobile-Synchronization-Server-Compact/dp/0979891205/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199744085&sr=1-13 as well. At Amazon UK you can find it here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windows-Mobile-Synchronization-Server-Compact/dp/0979891205/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199744162&sr=1-7.

Go buy it and start building large-scale line of business and consumer applications for Windows Mobile!

-Rob

Yes, We Can Scale to 1,200 Concurrent Subscribers!

robtiffany — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:28:00 GMT

Yet again, I've doubled the number of concurrent Subscribers to 1,200 where each Subscriber is equivalant to a Windows Mobile device. I used 6 servers running 200 Subscribers each to create client load, plus 3 load-balanced IIS servers, and a separate SQL Server Distributor and Publisher. Each IIS server had its MAX_THREAD_PER_POOL registry setting set to 10 and had to handle 400 concurrent Subscribers. With 1,200 concurrent Subscribers contending for resources on every tier, the system performed 10,693 syncs per hour, which is half the 22,401 syncs per hour that I saw when running 600 Subscribers back at the Partner Summit. That being said, the system held steady at the number of rows it could change and replicate per hour:

Rows changed: 12,831,600 per hour | 307,958,400 per day
Bytes per row: 116
Data replicated: 1.42 GB per hour | 34 GB per day

The longest and average sync times jumped significantly over the results I got with 600 concurrent Subscribers:

Longest sync time: 17 minutes
Shortest sync time: .5 seconds
Average sync time: 6 minutes, 38 seconds

Just like in Vegas and at the Partner Summit, the IIS and SQL Servers are chilling out throughout this test with the IIS servers and Distributor using more memory:

IIS1: CPU: 8% | Mem: 229 MB | Network Utilization: 1%
IIS2: CPU: 14% | Mem: 225 MB | Network Utilization: 1%
IIS3: CPU: 8% | Mem: 226 MB | Network Utilization: .89%
SQL Distributor: CPU: 5% | Mem: 2.95 GB | Network Utilization: .32%
SQL Publisher: CPU: 36% | Mem: 4.12 GB | Network Utilization: 1%

The obvious takeaway from this test is that we can scale to 1,200 concurrent Subscribers but we're no longer sustaining an upward curve in performance. In fact, the curve has started heading downward. Does performance always head northward in a linear fashion forever in other systems? Of course not, so don't be bummed. I think a system that can change and replicate almost 14 million rows per hour while accomodating 1,200 Subscribers that are making 1,200 row changes per sync is pretty incredible! Remember, real-world systems don't have each Windows Mobile device make 1,200 rows changes every time they sync. My portable data center and test harness is designed to dramatically exceed what one would see in the real world!

I might be crazy, but I don't want to give up on pushing the performance of this system higher without a fight! Therefore, I'm going to run this test again with 1,200 concurrent Subscribers, except next time I'll use 6 IIS servers. If you remember, I didn't just double the number of Subscribers replicating against SQL Server, I also doubled the number of Subscribers hitting each IIS server. I went from 200 to 400. By adding 3 more IIS servers, I'll be backing the number of Subscribers per IIS server down to 200 again. Don't be fooled by those low CPU numbers on the 3 IIS servers. The ISAPI DLL gets all it can handle long before you begin to stress the server as a whole. Also, reading to and writing from all those .IN and .OUT files creates a lot of I/O. Stay tuned to see what happens...

- Rob

Windows Mobile Partner Summit Day 1

robtiffany — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:16:00 GMT

The Windows Mobile Partner Summit is going great and the event looks to be twice as big as last year. It's always nice to reconnect with our partner community. Steve Hegenderfer was kind enough to allow me to bring my rack of servers to his event. This time, I have a much lighter, 24U half rack which is much easier to move around. At the Dev Connections conference, I used a new stress test designed to push the number of row changes per sync. At that event, I used 300 concurrent Subscribers to perform 23,330 syncs per hour and make changes to 7,000,000 rows per hour. Each complete row change consisted of 116 bytes of data which meant I changed and replicated 812 MB of data per hour.

This time around I decided to double the number of concurrent Subscribers to 600. Keep in mind that each Subscriber is equivalant to a Windows Mobile device. I used 6 servers running 100 Subscribers each to create client load, 3 load-balanced IIS servers, and a separate SQL Server Distributor and Publisher. With 600 concurrent Subscribers contending for resources, I managed to perform 22,401 syncs per hour which is slightly fewer syncs than I saw when running only 300 Subscribers back in Vegas. The important story here is that I almost doubled the number of rows I changed and replicated per hour:

Rows changed: 13,440,600 per hour | 322,574,400 per day
Data replicated: 1.45 GB per hour | 34.8 GB per day

Just like in Vegas, the IIS and SQL Servers where just chilling out throughout this test:

IIS1: CPU: 7% | Mem: 188 MB | Network Utilization: .69%
IIS2: CPU: 8% | Mem: 187 MB | Network Utilization: .88%
IIS3: CPU: 5% | Mem: 185 MB | Network Utilization: .95%
SQL Distributor: CPU: 5% | Mem: 994 MB | Network Utilization: .77%
SQL Publisher: CPU: 36% | Mem: 4.11 GB | Network Utilization: 1%

This is truly incredible and further proves that SQL Server 2005 + SQL Server Compact 3.1 + Merge Replication is the most powerful data sync technology on the market today.

- Rob

New Mobile Merge Replication Benchmarks

robtiffany — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:02:00 GMT

I just finished up a week of teaching attendees at the Dev Connections conference how to setup and use mobile merge replication to sync data between their Windows Mobile devices and SQL Server 2005. As usual, I brought along my favorite teaching tool, my portable data center, to take attendees on deep dives of the 4 different tiers of my replication architecture. This time around, I changed the way my stress test harness works. In the past, my goal has always been to see how many Subscribers I could connect to the system at the same time. With the new test, I'm stressing the system to a much greater degree with my software to push the envelope in regards to how many table row changes I can make per hour.

With an eye towards the stress testing system that has helped give iAnywhere's ASA database and MobiLink replication server a dominant market position, I built a similar test where the amount of data in each row changed is exactly 116 bytes each time. I think the iAnywhere stress test used 92 byte rows. I used 3 servers to create client load, 3 load-balanced IIS servers, and a separate SQL Server Distributor and Publisher. The results I got from my test harness performing 23,330 syncs per hour are nothing short of spectacular:

Rows changed: 7,000,000 per hour | 168,000,000 per day
Data replicated: 812 MB per hour | 19.4 GB per day

Now check out how the IIS and SQL Servers where just chilling out throughout this test:

IIS1: CPU: 5% | Mem: 216 MB | Network Utilization: .44%
IIS2: CPU: 7% | Mem: 147 MB | Network Utilization: .13%
IIS3: CPU: 8% | Mem: 170 MB | Network Utilization: .42%
SQL Distributor: CPU: 5% | Mem: 2.15 GB | Network Utilization: .58%
SQL Publisher: CPU: 17% | Mem: 4.25 GB | Network Utilization: 1%

Not bad! Thanks to Loke Uei, we were also able to give away 300 copies of my new book that walks you through the construction of this scalable mobile merge replication system. Lots of Windows Mobile developers and IT Pros are now empowered to "mobilize" their organization's data out to mobile field personnel. Just as important, they can take the proof back to their respective organizations that this technology is build to perform and scale!

I'm just getting started with this new test harness. Come to the Windows Mobile Partner Summit in December to see me push this system even further and break new replication records!

- Rob

Chapter 1: Getting Started with Merge Replication

robtiffany — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:54:00 GMT

The non-linear fashion by which I've been writing this book reminds me of the way Pulp Fiction jumps around. Chapter 1 is ready to go so you can get started with Merge Replication for Windows Mobile devices. In addition to obvious technology walkthroughs, I also decided to add a bunch of scenarios that illustrate how mobile data synchronization can add tangible business value to existing endeavors.

The book is called "Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" and it's being published by Hood Canal Press. Click on Chapter1.pdf below to download Chapter 1 on getting started with Merge Replication.

Chapter 3: Configuring the Publisher

robtiffany — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 08:14:00 GMT

The biggest and most comprehensive chapter of the new book is ready to preview! Chapter 3 is ready to go for some relaxing Labor Day weekend reading. It's the deepest coverage that I've seen on all the nuances of the SQL Server Publisher for mobile replication if I may say so myself.

The book is called "Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" and it's being published by Hood Canal Press. Click on Chapter3.pdf below to download Chapter 3 on installing and configuring the SQL Server Publisher.

Chapter 2 Refresh: Configuring the Distributor

robtiffany — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:57:00 GMT

Not to be outdone by a refresh to chapter 4, I've made some updates and additions to chapter 2 for you to look at as well. Don't worry, chapter 3 is almost ready...

The book is called "Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" and it's being published by Hood Canal Press. Click on Chapter2.pdf below to download Chapter 2 on installing and configuring the SQL Server Distributor.

Chapter 4 Refresh: Web Synchronization

robtiffany — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:35:00 GMT

I've made some updates and additions to chapter 4 for you to look at.

The book is called "Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" and it's being published by Hood Canal Press. Click on Chapter4.pdf below to download Chapter 4 on installing and configuring Web Synchronization on your IIS server.

Chapter 2: Configuring the Distributor

robtiffany — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:16:00 GMT

Here comes another chapter!

My forthcoming book is called "Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1" and it's being published by Hood Canal Press. Click on Chapter2.pdf below to download Chapter 2 on installing and configuring the SQL Server Distributor.

Chapter 4: Web Synchronization

robtiffany — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:49:00 GMT

As I mentioned in a previous post, my latest book is underway. For those of you who visited my booth at MEDC 2007 in Las Vegas or Tech Ed 2007 in Orlando and wondered how I built my 4-tier merge replication architecture, your questions are about to be answered as I promised. The good news is I won't make you wait to buy the whole book from Amazon, Borders, or Barnes and Noble. As I complete each chapter, I'm making a downloadable PDF available via the Windows Live SkyDrive service to jumpstart your efforts and to receive your feedback.

Rob

The new book is underway...

robtiffany — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:26:00 GMT

As some of you know, I've been building and piecing together the documentation necessary to build out a scalable merge replication architecture for your Windows Mobile devices. If you've been to MEDC 2007 in Las Vegas or Tech Ed 2007 in Orlando, you may have stopped at my booth where I demonstrated a 4-Tier merge replication architecture with 800 subscribers synchronizing simultaneously. You might also have worked through my hands-on lab to see how to construct much of this architecture in a Virtual PC.

Now that I'm taking some time off at the beach this summer, I'm putting together all the best practices, how-to's, and step-by-step instructions so you can build a highly performant and scalable data synchronization architecture for your organization. This will be my 3rd book covering the constantly evolving Windows Mobile platform. This one will be different in that it won't be as developer-focused as the previous two and will instead empower the IT Professional.

The title will be:

"Windows Mobile Data Synchronization with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Compact 3.1"

The tentative chapter list is as follows:

Introduction
Domain Security
Configure the Distributor
Configure the Publisher
Configure Web Synchronization
Build the Client
Ongoing Maintenance

I expect the first draft to be completed by the end of July.

Rob

Windows Mobile 6 Line of Business Integration

robtiffany — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:32:00 GMT

In the beginning, Windows Mobile could sync a Pocket Access database with Access on the desktop over ActiveSync. Today, the Swiss Army Knife of Integration that is Windows Mobile 6 can communicate with almost anything. Windows Mobile 6 can communicate directly with any enterprise package or hosted service that supports Web Services, HTTP (Name/Value Pairs | REST | POX), ADO.NET or Sockets as long as it can be reached via Cradle, WLAN, or WWAN.

Leveraging a mature network and security infrastructure along with the Microsoft server stack, Windows Mobile 6 can further extend its reach as shown in the diagram above. It can use Remote Data Access or Merge Replication to synchronize data with SQL Server. That same data can be synched with Oracle via Transactional Replication. The same Exchange Active Sync technology that facilitates push email, allows Windows Mobile 6 to access UNC shares and SharePoint documents. Utilizing BizTalk 2006 Adapters allows Windows Mobile 6 to integrate with enterprise packages such as SAP, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and countless others while providing Single Sign-On.

The big takeaway from all this is that Windows Mobile 6 is a line of business development platform with no equal in the mobile device space. Whether you're looking to build a point solution or a comprehensive system that utilizes BizTalk to aggregate multiple enterprise packages; Windows Mobile 6, Visual Studio 2005, and the Microsoft server stack will take you there. Make sure and join me for an in-depth discussion of this topic at Tech Ed 2007 in Orlando.

Rob

We "Brought It" at MEDC 2007 with 720 Subscribers Synchronizing Concurrently!

robtiffany — Mon, 07 May 2007 19:34:00 GMT

At MEDC 2007, we introduced an IT Pro/Infrastructure booth called "Enterprise Mobility in Action." This booth was designed to show off the performance and scalability of Merge Replication between SQL Server 2005 SP2 and SQL Server Compact Edition 3.1. The ability to deploy applications that are occasionally connected to enterprise databases and support offline data access when wireless coverage is absent is the primary key to sucess for mobile line of business software. The fact that Windows Mobile 6 and SQL Server Compact Edition 3.1 has built-in support for data synchronization with SQL Server 2005 means that you can mobilize your enterprise with almost no coding.

Our booth consisted of a 42U rack of servers, a giant whiteboard, two plasmas, and a staff of six experts to run scalability tests and answer questions. Twelve 2-way machiness ran our test harness software designed to place a real-world load on the replication infrastructure. Two of the 2-way machines were load-balanced IIS servers running the SQL Server Compact Edition Server Agent designed to receive incoming HTTP requests from the test harness software. An Active Directory/Domain Controller was present to take care of Windows Authentication. Two 8-way machines were used to run a separate SQL Server Distributor and Publisher. All together, this system comprised our 4-Tier Merge Replication architecture for devices. On the whiteboard, the architecture was beautifully drawn out by Darren Flatt. Additionally, attendees could walk through the construction of this architecture by stepping through a hands-on lab by the same name. Having the lab and the booth helped to reinforce the critical concepts in the minds of attendees.

We would start our test harness software that would asynchronously launch hundreds of concurrent synchronization subscribers and begin replicating with SQL Server 2005. The test harness software would essentially read in the appropriate data to set the properties of the Replication object in .NET and then begin synchronizing over and over as many times as possible for the duration of the test. In between each sync, the software would also make updates to the local database to ensure that SQL Server was having to do lots of work.

AdventureWorksDW was the database we utilized for all our testing. It installs with SQL Server 2005 by default with a total size of 70 MB consisting of 30 tables. Several of the tables in this database have in excess of 60,000 rows. It was important for me to use a large database for this live testing since it's more "real-world" and would give our technology more credibility than some of our replication competitors that do all their tests with a single table to make their performance numbers look better.

Once the testing began, we would then monitor the stress placed on the IIS servers and SQL Servers via the large plasma displays showing Perfmon and Task Manager. We looked at things like CPU, Memory, Disk I/O, Network Utilization and other metrics to get a sense of how hard our clients were pushing our servers. The great news is that even when we had 720 subscribers synchronizing simultaneously, the SQL Server Publisher never went above 35% CPU utilization! We definitely have lots of headroom to push SQL Server even further when we take this booth to Tech Ed in June. Keep in mind that 720 subscribers synchronizing concurrently represents a usage spike in a much larger subscriber population. In other words, it's a 10% spike in a 7,200 device deployment or a 1% spike in a 72,000 device deployment. Additionally, we captured the High, Low, Average, and Total sync times for all the subscribers running on the client servers. These numbers should make CIOs, IT managers and directors very comfortable about large-scale deployment of mobile line of business applications.

Aside from great numbers in the performance and scalability catagories, the other keys to the sucess of this booth were the knowledgeable staff members that took attendees on deep dives of our technology:

Darren Flatt and Darren Shaffer are shown above holding their oPhone boomerangs. These tireless guys disregarded the shift schedule and worked the entire time that the booth was open. The answers they provided to attendees questions were invaluable.

Here's Rabi Satter shown above about throw his oPhone/Chinese Star at me. Rabi did highly-rated, back-to-back 400-level presentations on SQL Server Compact Edition and how to implement a Kiosk using Windows Mobile.

Dave Bottomley and Michael Jimenez (MJ) shown above are the mobility infrastructure "Dream Team" from Microsoft's Mobility SST consulting group. They answered questions and delivered instructor-led labs on IT Pro topics that are important to the mobile community.

MEDC 2007 at the Venetian in Las Vegas was a great event and our "Enterprise Mobility in Action" booth did a great job in educating attendees about the growing IT Pro opportunities in the Windows Mobile space. Now it's time to hit the road and spead the word via the MEDC 2007 World Tour starting in Sydney.

Rob