Category: Uncategorized

Visual Studio 11 [Beta] – first impressions…

There’s been much hype…yes, much hype about the next install of Visual Studio. Every man and his dog has been complaining about the colours but from the development IDE that’s probably not the most important aspect. I’d would much rather see a 64-bit version available, but that’s another story altogether.

First off, install experience…

The download was 1.7Gb for the Ultimate edition and took me about 30-35mins on my home ADSL2+ (via Bigpond) so that alone was a huge improvement over last time we saw a release of Visual Studio. Back then, the download took me more than 24hrs (probably due to the lack of bandwidth MSFT had available).

The install was extremely easy – yes, this is a beta and things may change – however since I downloaded the Ultimate edition it should pretty much have everything enabled…

download .iso and right-click (Windows 8 Consumer Preview FINALLY has a native ISO mount capability) ->> mount.

Or you could alternatively use the ribbon above after you’ve clicked on the .iso file.

Then it’s just a matter of starting the installer..

 

It becomes pretty obvious that there’s a new design in town – gone is the sluggish and drab looking “Windows Classic” look that all previous installers have had. That the colours just so happens to be my favourite colours does help too 🙂 And it fits my desktop background and desktop theme perfectly too 🙂

 

One of the things that I like is attention to detail – the little “pellet animation” that I’ve personally come to associate with the Metro design (it’s obvious all over Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8) is a nice touch in the installer. That aside, the installation went smoothly and without a hitch (hang on, this is a beta release..why didn’t I have to try to install at least twice and add some obscure KB/Patch?? that’s not right!).

Just another quick detail – I love the finishing touch of the name that the final process has -> “ultimate_finalizer”…anyways, as can be seen below here, it was a success (if there was any doubt that is).

Once the choice of default development environment (choose C# Development Environment of course) the first thing that does indeed strike you is the UI. At first the difference was a bit distracting – probably because I wanted to soak in everything at once. I am a geek after all. But then familiarity settled in again. Much of what i’m used to seeing was there (for new features of VS11 I suggest you read through this MSDN article)

The look and feel is much less distracting than what it used to be. I’m not an UI expert but the look really does ring a bell with me very pleasantly. Content is master. A smooth grey theme is seen across the whole GUI, with very few distractions such as bright colours, taking focus away from what should be on every developers mind – productivity.

As you can see, the grey tones and the blue highlights are very soft. The contrast between sections, colours and context is really effective (again, does it follow a tried and tested/bested design paradigm? do I care? no). I spend a huge amount of time in front of a monitor each day, and I really hate having something stress my eyes and put a strain on my concentration.

Last night I spent a good 3 hours writing some code and getting used to Visual Studio 11. And even though this was in my preferred environment (eg. at home, comfortably in my own office) I didn’t come away with any kinks and I just about as productive as normal.

Enough of the colours (or lack thereof) though..

I noticed that there’s quite a few extensions shipped OOTB with this beta – they may not be shipped when it goes into production, but in all honesty I don’t see why the teams should bother removing any of them.

  • ASP.Net MVC 3 template packages
  • ASP.Net MVC 4 template packages
  • ASP.Net Web Pages 2 template packages
  • ASP.Net Web Pages template packages
  • ASP.Net WebForms template packages
  • Concurrency Visualizer
  • IntelliTrace
  • Nuget Packet Manager
  • PreEmptive Analytics Aggregator Visualizer
  • Visual Studio PerfWatson
  • VsGraphicsDebuggerPkg
  • Web Tooling Extensions

I’m particularly pleased to see Nuget Packet Manager be shipped OOTB.

Secondly – another aspect that I’ve never really understood not being included straight away – Team Foundation Server support is now also OOTB. Looks like it’ll be there from the get go as well. And it works just fine with TFS 2010.

Tried to connect to LIDNUG’s instance on TFSPreview.com and it worked a treat. One other thing, which I admittedly haven’t paid attention to in VS2010, was this little tid bit.

Yeps, in the lower right corner of the “Start Page” there’s an option set available. the one which surprised me was “Close page after project load” which is checked by default. No need to clutter your project screens with the start page. Excellent.

One of the applications that I’ve been using quite frequently of late is Visual Studio LightSwitch. Which also seems to be tagged into the Ultimate version of Visual Studio 11.

Now getting started in Visual Studio has frequently been a chore – especially the “New Project” dialogue, so I was keen to see how fast it loaded. And it was lightning fast to be honest. Half expected it to take yonks to load, but nopes, came up straight away.

Anyways, it’s time to crunch some code – will blog another one once I’ve played around with it some more. All in all, a definite improvement.

 

 

OT: A little bit of heaven south of the river

I’ve wanted to write this blog post for quite some time – but with the silly season around and then back to work, it simply escaped me – now, sitting here enjoying a great cup of Kichwa Tembo coffee (courtesy of my AeroPress coffee maker – best invention ever btw) i thought i should share the love a bit and let you folks know about this little piece of heaven south of the river.

I’ve always loved a good cup/mug of coffee and i don’t mind paying for it. Not the biggest fan of instant coffee but really did have nothing else to drink back when i served in the army. It’s not bad, if you like that paintstripper aftertaste.

I’m not a barista or coffee expert (same goes for wine, love it, but probably wouldn’t be able to tell a $50 bottle apart from a $100 bottle), but when i get a good cup of coffee i know that i have to go back again…and again…and again.

One of the problems in Perth is distance, so driving 20km+ for a cup of coffee is a bit on the insane side, which was why i was delighted to find out that a new coffee shop had opened up on Warton road (and no, i don’t count Dome as a “coffee shop” – they equal instant coffee on my unofficial scale).

Essence of Coffee – (http://essenceofcoffee.com.au)  

The three points that they say about themselves are… 

  • Serious about coffee
  • Fantastic food
  • Casual Atmosphere

I’d want to add a few more points to that list…

  • Excellent service
  • Superb quality
  • Consistent experience

The last point is probably the most important for me. Quite often i’ve had a great cup of coffee at a cafe, gone back thinking (naively) that i’d be able to relive the experience, just to leave with completely shattered illusions – dissapointing.

Now, The Roastery, which is the cafe i’ve come to love, gets their beans from the same guys – Essence of Coffee – and rather than being “just another coffee shop” they really have some serious expertise when it comes to that little bean from heaven. They roast their beans in-house and keep quite a varied range (my favorites are Genesis, for that pure coffee taste, and the Kichwa Tembo when i want something a little bit different) which luckily you can both buy in-store and online.

It’s become a bit of a problem for me to go without coffee if i run out of my favorite beans (there is not substitute for quality and flavour in the coffee world) and this became somewhat troublesome since i’m locate 99% of the time in Perth CBD. For you guys out there, in the same boat as me, don’t despair – Cafe 54 (54 Pier St, Perth) runs the same beans!!! yes.

Anyways, i’ve been going to The Roastery quite often of late (am i addicted?) and each and every single time i’ve gone, the experience has been the same as the first time i went. It’s also great that us peons south of the river, get to enjoy some quality.

So, if you’re down near The Roastery, check them out because it’s definitely worth a detour.

Big thumbs up folks….

 

 

 

 

Migrated my blog – well, almost

In early January we got a message from our dear MVMPS.Com administrator (Susan) that we could migrate our blog from Community Server and onto WordPress.

I decided that with 2011 being what it is – new year and all that – a new start was required, so i set out to migrate my blog.

The new blog can be found here: http://blogs.msmvps.com/brianmadsen

I’ve tried to migrate my entries, but it seems that something keeps blocking it after about 10 entries – and i’m working on fixing it.

Cheers,
Brian

Proud Daddy–My Clever Vegemite Gets An Award

Yesterday was the last assembly of the year for my oldest daughter, Flynn, at her school. So naturally I had to attend, especially as we’d been informed that she would be receiving an award.

Of course this meant we’d be there in full force, supporting our little girl (not so little any more tho).

So we get there and all the kids are seated (pre-primary to year 7) and each year has their own awards to hand out to those kids most deserving.

We slowly creep past the pre-primaries and we then get to year 1 – Flynn’s year – and the awards are announced. We wait patiently as three other girls gets their awards in different categories. Then, finally, the last category – Academic Excellence Math and Literacy – and Flynn is called out.

I’m snapping shots off as fast as I can, not paying attention to other parents, seating arrangements..you name it..this is my little girl who’s going to be rewarded for all of her hard work this year.

The teacher, Mrs. Plenty lists off the reasons for Flynn getting the award and I suddenly find myself sniffing with tears running down my face (yes, I blubbered like a prepubescent hormonal teenager).

Flynn - Amazingly Clever Vegemite 2

 

Flynn, I’m so proud of you. You’ve shown dedication and a work ethic way beyond my biggest dreams.

Whatever you do in life,whatever is thrown at you,look back and remember this day for I know I certainly will.

There is nothing life can throw at you that you can’t handle and I know that anything you set you mind to, you can do.

I was so proud to see you stand up there, smiling, and receiving your award. An award that you have worked so very hard at.

You are such a humble, unassuming girl, always ready to help others and never have you had a mean streak in you.

I know that you may not yet understand the significance of this award but it is proof that you have the right mindset, dedication and capability to face anything!

One day we will look back on this day…You dad. December 7, 2010.

Microsoft BizSpark Azure Startup Camp, Perth–Value from attending

Over the last three days (Fri-Sun) I’ve been attending the Microsoft BizSpark Azure Startup Camp in Perth – first day was a Azure Discovery day, held at Burswood Entertainment Center (Friday) and the last two days has been the BizSpark Azure Camp.

Over the course of the first day we learned a lot of about how Azure is structured and the cost models.

The biggest value has probably been during the weekend here – the workshop/camp really gave us the opportunity to look at Azure with a hands-on focus.

Our group was divided up into small teams – Doug Paice was on my team (or, I was on his team??).

The value over these two days has predominantly been having unlimited access to Steve Nagi (Azure MVP) in both technical and architectural situations.

I would rate these three days as some of the best training I’ve done this year.

Obviously the next couple of months will see Catherine Eibner visit a whole host of other cities, so check out the dates for when she’s near you with the program:

https://www.microsoft.com.au/events/register/home.aspx?levent=394712&linvitation

Windows Phone 7 Deep Dive Workshops coming to Perth – Oct. 14-15 (free workshops)

Don’t think i can stress how awesome this is – but Nick Randolph, from www.builttoroam.com is coming to Perth in October (14th and 15th) to hold the Windows Phone 7 Deep Dive Workshops that’s been so phenomenal in both Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

This will probably be the very first opportunity for us in Perth to get some serious exposure into the upcoming Windows Phone 7 release. For those that attended Tech.Ed 2010 you may have been sitting in on Nick’s excellent presentations (btw, Nick rocks as a presenter!).

So, clock out of work and attend – places ARE limited (20-25) so be sure to keep an eye out for Nick’s block (http://nicksnettravels.builttoroam.com/) for further details.

Update: Nick’s blogged the details for the workshop as well, plus the registration link is now available. Check out Nick’s blog:

http://nicksnettravels.builttoroam.com/blogengine/post/2010/09/29/Windows-Phone-7-Deep-Dive-Workshop-visiting-Perth.aspx

Prerequisites:

To get involved, you need Silverlight/WPF, C# .NET Framework skills and you should have completed a subset of hands on labs from the following:

The workshop will be run by Nick Randolph (that’s me!) from Built to Roam.  In case you’ve been wondering I’ve been working with Windows Phone for quite some time and have just a few blog posts talking about developing for Windows Phone. You can find my blog, here (http://nicksnettravels.builttoroam.com)  and my public profile at https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Nick.Randolph

Course Content:

Day 1
  • Session 1: Introduction and Windows Phone User Experience Overview
  • Session 2: Animation, Orientation and Overlays
  • Session 3: Application Lifecycle, Navigation, Application Tiles and Notification
  • Session 4: Tasks and Touch
  • Session 5: Working with the Accelerometer, Sounds and Location
Day 2
  • Session 6: Connecting and Consuming the Web
  • Session 7: Retrieving, Storing and Synchronizing Data
  • Session 8: Silverlight Analytics, Unit Testing and other Frameworks
  • Session 9: Security, Authentication and Performance

Registration links and details has yet to be published by Nick – but trust me, it’s going to be a first come, first serve scenario so better make sure to get yourself registered as soon as it becomes available.

LIDNUG is now using Eventbrite to schedule events – why?

The Linked .Net Users Group has grown quite big, with a very diverse member base, spread out over the whole world.

Since we began running monthly events we have been using LinkedIn’s own, inbuilt Event system with quite a bit of mixed results.

Now, we’re changing the event listings to Eventbrite – why?

Well, the Events application on LinkedIn has become stagnant – no movement or answers to any requests for feature updates has come from LinkedIn and there’s been quite a few detrimental ones.

First and foremost, we’ve had some issues with Events dissapearing – luckily that got resolved and since late last year that hadn’t happened again. But some fundamental features were needed, considering that we have members from all over the world.

#1 Support for time zones (yes, oddly enough, LinkedIn Events does not support time zones at all)
#2 Add event to calendar feature (yes, another feature we’ve requested)
#3 Ability to get a full listing (easily) of all attendees (this is handy for when we have prizes and such, naturally, the information would never, ever be forwarded to anybody)

A few other things made it easy for us to change – such as, you have to be logged in/a member of LinkedIn (ok, small issue seeing as almost all developers/professionals are on LinkedIn, right!) to be able to register for the events. With Eventbrite that’s not needed.

Secondly, Eventbrite has a Developer API so now we can start to create custom features which will make it easier for members to get to our event details – and there’s been a LOT of feature requests from members plus some great ideas from our GMs.

It’s also now going to be easier than before to find our events – simply go here: http://lidnugevents.eventbrite.com/ and you can see the current listings for our events.

So, are we leaving LinkedIn? of course not – LIDNUG has thrived on LinkedInn – it’s our official home. If you aren’t already a member, join up and become involved with our very, very active discussions and job listings.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=43315

Lastly, our unofficial site has already (finally?) been released – we will of course continue to expand on that site, but our home is on LinkedIn.

http://www.lidnug.org

This is where we will store all of our recordings (we are migrating them from our old site as fast as possible) as well – so check it out as well.

Wife turned 40 (no, she doesn’t look a day over 30!)

One of life’s milestones was reached by my wife yesterday – she turned 40 and she decided to publish 40 life lessons and i figured to put it up here as well because, dang, she’s far smarter and wiser than i am.

1. If you want joy in your life, seek it.
2. There is a lesson to be learned in everything.
3. Separate your whites from your colours.
4. White vinager is a brilliant softner and deodoriser in your wash.
5. A little often of everything makes a difference.
6. It’s not selfish to say no.
7. Anyone that would deny you the ability to say no – stay away from.
8. If it looks like bullshit, smells like bullshit, it probably is bullshit.
9. There is no space for emotional blackmail and manipulation in a healthy autonomous relationships.
10. Your baggage is no excuse for bad behaviour.
11. Any parent that speaks ill of their children should be treated with caution.
12. The more you talk about your housework, the less you are actually doing.
13. Sheep poo is the answer to every gardening issue.
14. Cadbury fruit & nut plus loud music can get you through anything.
15. A good cup of tea can make you feel better.
16. You can never tell your children enough how much you love them, no matter how old they are.
17. You can’t bullshit a 4yr old.
18. Tell your kids the truth and see them as individuals.
19. The truth is not ugly.
20. Emotions are not a weakness.
21. It’s okay to not like someone. You don’t have to be friends with everyone.
22. You are never too old for facebook.
23. Johnson baby wipes are a housewifes best friend.
24. Take your vitamins.
25. Fresh air never hurt anyone.
26. If you do nothing else, pluck your eyebrows neatly.
27. B-grade movies are cool.
28. You can not always judge a person from what they say, you must also look at what they do.
29. If it’s like beating your head against a brick wall, walk away.
30. Sometimes it’s best to say nothing.
31. Finish what you start and no it doesn’t all have get done in one day.
32. If the laundry is dry, put it away that evening.
33. Puppies chew, cat’s spew.
34. Dead rats in the wall cavity smell for a week.
35. Don’t leave plastic in the sun if you want it to stay nice.
36. Good skin is basically nutrition plus genetics and no sun.
37. Sorbolene is brilliant with skin issues.
38. Old fashioned remedies are solid.
39. Camomile kills fungus.
40. You must learn not to blindly accept another persons perception of you and know yourself for who you actually are.

We had a cozy evening and albeit i ended up baking the wrong chocolate cake she had a good time.

Happy birthday sweetie!

Sharepoint 2010 split back-to-back woes

Been trying to get a PoC up and running (and completed of course) for a split back-to-back SharePoint 2010 setup with a “web front end” placed in a DMZ without domain trust.

Basically we have a SP 2010 application server/farm sitting internally (together with AD, SQL Server, Reporting Server et al) and want to join a SP 2010 server from within a DMZ.

Been trying to find out how this could be done and everything points to us having to use SQL Authentication when running the psconfig tool on the DMZ box.

It works, connects, authenticates and a ton of queries are of course fired across to the database – seeing authenticated calls in Profiler.

However, when running the following command:

psconfig -cmd configdb -connect -server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx -database "SharePoint_Config" -dbuser someuser -dbpassword somepassword -passphrase somepassphrase

I get the returne error:

PS C:\Windows\system32> psconfig -cmd configdb -connect -server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx -database "SharePoint_Config" -dbuser someuser -dbpassword somepassword -passphrase somepassphrase

SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard version 14.0.4762.1000. Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2010. All rights reserved.

Performing configuration task 1 of 3
Initializing SharePoint Products configuration...

Successfully initialized the SharePoint Products configuration.

Performing configuration task 2 of 3
Connecting to the configuration database...

Failed to connect to the configuration database.

An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.
Parameter name: service

Total number of configuration settings run: 2
Total number of successful configuration settings: 1
Total number of unsuccessful configuration settings: 1
Successfully stopped the configuration of SharePoint Products.
Configuration of SharePoint Products failed. Configuration must be performed before you use SharePoint Products. For further details, see the diagnostic log located at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Serve
r Extensions\14\LOGS\PSCDiagnostics_6_4_2010_12_0_24_805_767248449.log and the application event log.

At first we thought it was a firewall issue – but as i said, we’re seeing the sql user connecting and sending across a tone of queries which all work. So, it doesn’t appear to be the configuration database (also checked the database, no login failures et al).

Then we started looking through the log file and see some interesting stuff that i’m not entirely sure is relevant. But first, i should mention that the the Admin content database is called “SharePoint_Admin_Content” and that’s also what’s listen in the “Manage Content Databases” in the internal farm’s Central Administration.

Here’s the drop from the log file: 

06/04/2010 12:00:49 9 INF    Creating connection string for config db SharePoint_Config server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx

06/04/2010 12:00:49 9 INF    Creating connection string for admin content db SharePoint_AdminContent_9ddd2a49-a366-41b2-a70e-47f19b8ce0b8 server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx

06/04/2010 12:00:49 9 INF    Using sql auth for sql connection string

06/04/2010 12:00:49 9 INF    Openning configdb so that I can join it at server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx database SharePoint_Config in farm mode

06/04/2010 12:00:49 1 INF    Now, waiting for the task configdb to quit execution

06/04/2010 12:00:49 9 INF    Now joining to farm at server xxx.xxx.xxx.xx database SharePoint_Config

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 ERR    Task configdb has failed with an unknown exception 

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 ERR    Exception: System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPServiceInstance..ctor(String name, SPServer server, SPService service)

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPFarm.Join()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.CreateOrConnectConfigDb()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.Run()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.TaskThread.ExecuteTask()

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource id to be retrieved is ExceptionInfo for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource retrieved id ExceptionInfo is An exception of type {0} was thrown. Additional exception information: {1}

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Common.BuildExceptionInformation

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource id to be retrieved is ExceptionInfo for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource retrieved id ExceptionInfo is An exception of type {0} was thrown. Additional exception information: {1}

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Common.BuildExceptionInformation

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 ERR    An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPServiceInstance..ctor(String name, SPServer server, SPService service)

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPFarm.Join()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.CreateOrConnectConfigDb()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.Run()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.TaskThread.ExecuteTask()

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Common.BuildExceptionInformation

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource id to be retrieved is ExceptionInfo for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Resource retrieved id ExceptionInfo is An exception of type {0} was thrown. Additional exception information: {1}

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Common.BuildExceptionMessage

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Common.BuildExceptionInformation

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function get CommandCollection.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Found value in collection for key global

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Found command global in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function get CommandCollection.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function get CommandCollection.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Found value in collection for key initialize

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Found command initialize in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function get CommandCollection.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Found value in collection for key SINGLESERVER

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Found parameter SINGLESERVER in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Found value in collection for key upgradesessionid

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Found parameter upgradesessionid in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function TaskBase.OnTaskStop

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Creating the OnTaskStop event for task configdb

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 ERR    Task configdb has failed

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    friendlyMessage for task configdb is An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    debugMessage for task configdb is An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPServiceInstance..ctor(String name, SPServer server, SPService service)

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPFarm.Join()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.CreateOrConnectConfigDb()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.Run()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.TaskThread.ExecuteTask()

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Entering function TaskBase.FireTaskStateChanged

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Firing the OnTaskStateChanged event for task configdb

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function TaskDriver.TaskStateEventHandler

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Resource id to be retrieved is ConfigurationDatabaseTaskDisplayName for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Resource retrieved id ConfigurationDatabaseTaskDisplayName is configuration database

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Received an TaskStateEventHandler event. task:configdb TaskBase.State:stopped

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function TasksQueue.IncrementTaskFailed

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Incremented the number of tasks failed to 1

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function TasksQueue.IncrementTaskFailed

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Task configdb has stopped and failed. Total failed is now 1

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function TaskDriver.TaskStateEventHandler

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function CommandLine.TaskStateEventHandler

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Received an TaskStateEventHandler event. task:configdb TaskBase.State:stopped

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Task configdb has stopped and failed. Total failed is now 1

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found value in collection for key disconnect

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found parameter disconnect in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found value in collection for key connect

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found parameter connect in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found value in collection for key create

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Found parameter create in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Resource id to be retrieved is ConfigurationDatabaseTaskConnectFailConfigDisplayLabel for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF      Resource retrieved id ConfigurationDatabaseTaskConnectFailConfigDisplayLabel is Failed to connect to the configuration database.

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Last message from task configdb is An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF     Leaving function CommandLine.TaskStateEventHandler

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function TaskBase.FireTaskStateChanged

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF    Leaving function TaskBase.OnTaskStop

06/04/2010 12:01:34 9 INF   Leaving function TaskThread.ExecuteTask

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Resource id to be retrieved is ConfigurationDatabaseTaskDisplayName for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Resource retrieved id ConfigurationDatabaseTaskDisplayName is configuration database

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 ERR   Task configuration database failed, so stopping execution of the engine

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found value in collection for key disconnect

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found parameter disconnect in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found value in collection for key connect

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found parameter connect in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Entering function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Entering function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found value in collection for key create

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Leaving function CommandCollectionBase.Get

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Found parameter create in collection

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Leaving function Command.this[string key]

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Entering function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Resource id to be retrieved is ConfigurationDatabaseTaskConnectFailConfigDisplayLabel for language English (United States)

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF    Resource retrieved id ConfigurationDatabaseTaskConnectFailConfigDisplayLabel is Failed to connect to the configuration database.

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 INF   Leaving function StringResourceManager.GetResourceString

06/04/2010 12:01:34 1 ERR   Failed to connect to the configuration database.

An exception of type System.ArgumentNullException was thrown. Additional exception information: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

System.ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null.

Parameter name: service

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPServiceInstance..ctor(String name, SPServer server, SPService service)

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPFarm.Join()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.CreateOrConnectConfigDb()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ConfigurationDatabaseTask.Run()

 at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.TaskThread.ExecuteTask()

Now i’m not sure where it’s getting “SharePoint_AdminContent_9ddd2a49-a366-41b2-a70e-47f19b8ce0b8” from as that database doesn’t exist and has never existed. the SharePoint admin content database is called “SharePoint_AdminContent”.

I’m also seeing the DMZ server show up in “Manage Servers In Farm” with a message saying “Not Configured”.

so what am i missing here…

this is a clean install – i blew away the first SharePoint install after i got the first set of problems.

Environment is:

Windows Server 2008 R2
SharePoint 2010
SQL Server 2008 R2

Ideas?

LIDNUG: Scott Guthrie Talks Shop V – May 13, 10am PDT

Yeps folks – it’s that time of the quarter again – Scott Guthrie is returning to LIDNUG for his quarterly Q&A session, Scott Guthrie Talks Shop.

Considering how many HUGE releases there’s been since he last appeared on LIDNUG, i’d dare say that this is going to be a whopping great event.

Come along and spend some time together with The Gu and ask him all the questions that you’ve really been wanting to ask!

Venue: Live Meeting
Date: May 13, 10AM PDT
Register here: http://bit.ly/9LPzH7 (you’ll need a LinkedIn account)

Follow us on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lidnug
Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lidnug

And why not join LIDNUG and participate in our discussions: http://bit.ly/8dt6VF