Microlau's Blog

Upgrading Community Server 2.0 to 2008

Thanks to Telligent, I was able to get a license of Community Server 2008 for our user group. Over the weekend, I tried to upgrade our installation and here's a detailed walkthrough of the migration process, as it's not apparent (by googling), the exact steps to bring an installation from 2.X up to 2008.

To prepare for the upgrade, make sure that you have downloaded

1. Community Server 2007.1 Upgrade
2. Community Server 2008 Upgrade

Here's the breakdown of the steps taken for migration:

1. Backup Community Server database and Community Server 2.X application folder (check your IIS to find out where is your CS)
2. To prepare for migration to Community Server 2007.1, unzip the CS 2007.1 upgrade file and copy ALL the files from the web folder to the location which you intend to host your community server.
3. Copy files from your CS 2.X folder over the the folder which you've copied all the files in Step 2
   • Subfolders inside blogs (don't copy the files and the folders files and sample_weblog)
   • All files and folders inside blogs\files
   • All files and folders inside files\storage
   • All files and folders inside forums\storage
   • Subfolders inside photos (don't copy the files and the folders sample). Make sure that the subfolders photos\cache and photos\storage are copied over
   • All files inside Utility\RankIcons
   • All files inside Utility\RoleIcons
4. Execute the SQL script cs_2.x_to_3.0_upgrade.sql on your Community Server database
5. Configure your IIS to point to the location specified in Step 2, making sure that the account has modify access to the folders. Ensure that the account has full access to the following folders:
   • blogs\Files
   • files\Storage
   • forums\Storage
   • photos\Cache
   • photos\Storage
   • utility\RankIcons
   • utility\RoleIcons
6. Make sure that your application pool is configured to Classic managed pipeline. Make sure that connectionStrings.config is setup correctly. At this stage, you will have Community Server 2007.1 setup successfully. Test it.
7. If your testing in Step 6 is successfully, BACK UP THE DATABASE AND APPLICATION FOLDER! I cannot stress how important this step is.
8. Extract Community Server 2008 to a folder and copy all the files in web folder over to the location in Step 2.
9. Run the upgrader tool Community.Upgrader.exe and follow all the steps specified inside. Here's a few points to take note if you encounter errors:
   • EXCEPTION: Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'PK_cs_ProductPermissions'. Cannot insert duplicate key in object 'dbo.cs_ProductPermissions'. Just re-run the upgrader tool again. The error should go away.
   • EXCEPTION: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
        at CommunityServer.Upgrader.FileUpgrader.UpgradeStorageType(ApplicationType type, String filePath)
        at CommunityServer.Upgrader.Part4.MoveFilesToCfs()
     This means that you didn't follow Step 8.
10. Go to IIS and change the application pool to use Integrated managed pipeline.

That's it!

Downloads for SGDN June 2008 Event

Items for Jun 2008 Event on OCS by Source Code is available for download.

Source Code Webcasts on Blackpoint

For those who've attended SGDOTNET's June UG Meeting, you'll probably recall that the speaker, Goh Chyan Yee, talked about the new product offering from Source Code - K2 Blackpoint. SourceCode is holding webcasts to share about their new product offering. For more information on the offering, check it out at http://blackpoint.k2.com/en/index.aspx.

June K2 blackpoint Community Webcasts

K2 is providing some community web casts on K2 blackpoint. It is open to anyone. If you want to see it in action and ask some questions here is a place you can do it in. No upfront information needs to be provided. Just attend and check it out!

Tuesday June 17, 2008 11:00am-12:00PM CST (GMT-06)

Subject: blackpoint Webcast
Start Time: Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 9:00 AM PDT
End Time: Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 10:00 AM PDT
Attendee URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/scna1/join?id=7CND7W&role=attend&pw=w%3B26H9%26Pd
Meeting ID: 7CND7W
Attendee Entry Code: w;26H9&Pd
Location: Live Meeting
Toll free: +1 (888) 233-7876
Toll: +1 (719) 234-7876
Participant code: 733479

June 19th meeting from 6pm – 7pm Central Time. (GMT -06)

Subject: blackpoint Webcast
Start Time: Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 4:00 PM PDT
End Time: Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 5:00 PM PDT
Attendee URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/scna1/join?id=CK67B6&role=attend&pw=w%3B26H9%26Pd
Meeting ID: CK67B6
Attendee Entry Code: w;26H9&Pd
Location: Live Meeting
Toll free: +1 (888) 233-4650
Toll: +1 (719) 234-7876
Participant code: 733479

Sql Server 2008 RC0 is available

Sql Server 2008 RC0 is available for download.

Here's a few links to help you get started:

Overview of Sql Server 2008 - http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/overview.aspx

White Papers - http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/white-papers.aspx

Download Feature Pack - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=089A9DAD-E2DF-43E9-9CD8-C06320520B40&displaylang=en#filelist

Feature pack are a bunch of stand-alone installers which provides additional functionalities for Sql Server 2008.

Something interesting to note - Sql Server has a new LOGO!

June 2008 UG Meeting

Our next UG Meeting is held on 5th June 2008, Level 21 Auditorium, NTUC Building from 1845 hrs – 2030 hrs. Food will be served before the session.

Office Communications Server 2007 Applications for the Enterprise
Goh Chyan Yee, Source Code Asia Pacific
1915 – 2015 hrs

With the pervasive use of instant applications in our our daily routines, companies are now are starting to explore the possibilities of leveraging Instant Messaging applications in the enterprise to boost productivity and reduce cost. In this session, we will share with the audience the APIs available for use with Office Communications Server 2007 and demo a sample application built using one of the APIs.

About the speaker
Principal Technical Specialist with over five years of experience in the IT industry, including Avanade, Citrix and K2. He is currently responsible for the pre sales team for K2 for the Singapore/Malaysia region. Chyan Yee has been working with the .NET framework since its beta days and was part of the team that took part in the inaugural Imagine Cup. During his time in Avanade as a consultant, he has been involved in many .NET projects including eCream with JTC and the IRIN project in IRAS.

To register for the event, click here. Note that there’s currently no email confirmation for the event.

Community {Heroes} Launch - Aftermath

A huge thanks to all of you who've attended the Community {Heroes} Launch last Saturday held at Microsoft Singapore. It was a successful event whereby close to 200 participants spent the day with the local MVPs and experts to learn about exciting new technologies from Singapore. On behalf of the organising team, we thank you for spending time off a precious Saturday, and for your feedback and inputs given either in person, by face or in feedback forms.

We're working to get all the slides (and demos if possible) for downloading and will be sending an email to inform all of you about the download links.

Also, lots of thanks to everyone who've helped out in the event, either during organising it or on the actual day. It was truly a community event whereby everyone chipped in their 2cents worth (time or sweat) and I would like to especially thank Dennis Chung, and Lilian Quek for all the hardwork behind the scenes.

As for those of you who attended DEV2-3 A Developer's Guide to Data Mining - Weehyong and I are truly apologetic that we didn't manage to complete the session, due to the sheer amount of contents to run through. However, we promise that there will a followup talk on this - Where we'll continue where we stopped during the launch - Demoes!

Upgrading HyperV from Beta to RC0 on HP Proliant servers

While upgrading my Hyper V from Beta to RC0 on my HP Proliant M115 server, it cronked out at 54% (somewhat) and refused to proceed any further. One bad mistake I made was not to properly shut down my VMs before patching the server (serves me right for not reading the instructions before applying the patch). So, Rule number 1 -> Read this article.

If you have a HP server, there's a reported bug with the HP network utility that interferes with the patch from Microsoft. Follow this article if the installer hangs at 54% and you cannot resume it after that.

Now that the host OS is patched successfully, go to Hyper V Manager and copy each VM's settings, and remove every one of them. Afterwhich, recreate the virtual machines, pointing to your existing .vhd files. Now, you'll need to patch each guest VM separately. Without this step, your guest VM will not have network connections.

Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB949219)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=DDD94DDA-9D31-4E6D-88A0-1939DE3E9898

Update for Windows Server 2008 (KB949219)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=B7464B44-821D-4A7C-9D9C-7D74EC14437C

To install the latest version of the Integration Services for Windows Server 2003, for Windows Vista SP1, and for Windows XP SP3, click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk on the Action menu in the Virtual Machine Connection dialog box.

Once you've updated your guest vm successfully, you'll need to pull up Device Manager and remove those devices showing error and remove them. Once all those problematic devices are removed, click on 'Scan for Hardware Changes' and your vm should have it's network connectivity back up.  

That should be it! Have fun!

Community Heroes Launch - Updates

My business trip to Australia and then MVP Summit

I was recently on a business trip to Melbourne and then flew to US to attend the Microsoft MVP summit. I've managed to upload all the photos during Labour Day holiday and here are all the links. Hope you'll enjoy.

Shots taken at Melbourne:

• Labour Day Parade (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/LaborDayParadeMelbourne)
• Melbourne South Bank (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/SouthBankMelbourne)
• Random shots of Melbourne City (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/RandomShotsOfMelbourneCity)
• Wine Tasting at Yarra Valley (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/WineTastingYarraValley)
• Weekend getaway at Wilsons Promontory (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/WeekendGetawayWilsonSPromontory)
• Melbourne's Royal Botanic Garden (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/AnAfternoonMelbourneBotanicGardens)
• Scenes from Central Pier at Docklands (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/DocklandsScenes)
• Sunday at Queen Victoria's Market (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/SpendingASundayInQueenVictoriaMarket)

Shots taken at Seattle (Microsoft MVP Summit):

• Downtown Seattle (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/DowntownSeattle)
• CrabPot Dinner (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/CrabPotDinner)
• Regional Dinner (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/MVPRegionalDinner)
• Product Group Dinner (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/ProductGroupDinner)
• Random shots @Microsoft Redmond Campus (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/ShotsMicrosoftRedmondCampus)
• Experience Music Project (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/ExperienceMusicProject)
• Dinner with SEA MVPs (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/DinnerWithSEAMVPs)
• Summit Closing Notes (http://picasaweb.google.com/microlau/SummitClosingNote)

Interoperability Seminar - Different perspectives. One vision.

Microsoft has jointly organised an event with SiTF, bringing to you, some sessions about interoperability in the world of open-source solutions. Find out more about the event at http://mssg.earth9.com/singapore/edm/2008/04/17/interoparability.html OR register for this half day event (May 17, 2008) at http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032376033&Culture=en-SG

If you're interested about Virtualisation, running PHP on Win servers, and learning about OpenXML, you shouldn't miss this event!

.NET 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit

If you're a web developer and have been following the out of band releases from ASP.NET, this is a good chance to have a consolidaed 'training materials', aka hands on lab, presentations, and demoes, which comprises of the following technologies:

1)      ADO.NET Data Services
2)      ADO.NET Entity Framework
3)      ASP.NET AJAX History
4)      ASP.NET Dynamic Data
5)      ASP.NET MVC
6)      ASP.NET Silverlight controls

Find out more at http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=8719735

I know that's lot of evolution around ASP.NET that's out of band, and it makes pretty hard to catch up. But I must applaud the product group for doing a great job of listening that people are getting confused with the 'outflux' of minor releases.

MSA - Vulnerability in Windows Could Allow Elevation of Privilege

Quoted from the security advisory -

"Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability which could allow elevation of privilege from authenticated user to LocalSystem, affecting Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 and all supported versions and editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. Customers who allow user-provided code to run in an authenticated context, such as within Internet Information Services (IIS) and SQL Server, should review this advisory. Hosting providers may be at increased risk from this elevation of privilege vulnerability."

Heroes Community Launch 2008 - from the community

SGDN, SWUG and SGSQLUG is joining forces again, following the sucess of our last 2 events, LOVE 2007 and CTU 2007. We'll be having deep dive sessions on Visual Studio 2008, Sql Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008, brought to you by local experts and MVPs. The event is held on 17th May 2008, Saturday, and it will be a whole day event.

 Here's the details of the event:

Date: 17th May 2008
TIme: 0830 hrs - 1600 hrs
Venue: Microsoft Singapore, One Marina Boulevard

To find out more about the event, sign up here

April 2008 UG Meeting

Our next UG Meeting is held on 3rd April 2008, Level 22CF-15, NTUC Building from 1845 hrs – 2030 hrs

Introduction to the Microsoft Sync Framework
Wee Hyong (SQL Server MVP)
1900 hrs – 2015 hrs
This session will introduce the Microsoft Sync Framework - a comprehensive synchronization platform enabling collaboration and offline access for applications, services and devices with support for any data type, any data store, any transfer protocol, and network topology.

About the speaker
Wee Hyong is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for SQL Server. He is deeply passionate about advancing the state-of-art in database management systems. Over the past years, he has been actively sharing his insights on how organizations can realize tremendous value and gain competitive advantages by unlocking the immense potential of Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) stack. He is a regular speaker at various various events (MSDN Meet-the-Experts, MSDN TechTalk, MEDC, Mini TechReady) and usergroups (SGDOTNET, Office and SQL Server usergroups)
 
To register for the event, click here.

VPN story

As you've probably heard from my previous rantings, I'm currrently using W2K8 Enterprise on my laptop. Well, it's feature-rich and pretty stable (comparing to Vista) but of course there are plenty of hiccups. Running on a brand new 64bit OS means that plenty of drivers and software simply doesn't work well, and here's my VPN story.

Recently sent to Australia, Melbourne, to assist in a project. Boy, internet bandwidth here is limited, precious and expensive. I was trying to establish a vpn connection back to my office in Singapore but was simply astonished to find the lack of 64bit Vista/Win2k8 VPN client from major vendors (** hint hint **). Well, working within limits (bandwidth limitation + lack of VPN client support) is certainly what we're trained to do in my company, so here's what I did.

1) RDP to my server @home running W2K8
2) Setup a WinXP VM on my Hyper-V
3) Install VPN client and create a tunnel to my office network resources

Well, what can I say?