xcud

Texas. We messed with you (by cleaning up the beach a bit) and...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 07:57:00 -0500

Texas. We messed with you (by cleaning up the beach a bit) and got away scot-free!

Microsoft DFAgent stopped working

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 07:51:50 -0500

While debugging an Azure project a couple of weeks ago the Azure Emulator startup process kept throwing the unhandled exception “A heap has been corrupted.”

After poking around for a bit looking for x86/x64 settings compat problems I remembered that as a part of some PowerShell v3 testing I’d done earlier in the week on this same machine I’d set a registry key so that PowerShell would use the latest CLR. Unwinding those registry keys seems to have resolved the DFAgent error.

Run these commands to unwind the ‘OnlyUserLatestCLR’ change on your machine (the 2nd line only applies to x64):

reg add hklm\software\microsoft.netframework /v OnlyUseLatestCLR /t REG_DWORD /d 0

reg add hklm\software\wow6432node\microsoft.netframework /v OnlyUseLatestCLR /t REG_DWORD /d 0

Dude, where's my database?

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:24:00 -0600

If you’re like me you may have be using a specific type of SQL database known as a ‘User Instance’ without knowing what it is or how it works. You’d never known there was anything unusual until you tried to access your database from outside of Visual Studio. For example, in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio …

Dude, where’s my database?

No worries. First, make sure your app is running. The database is started at app runtime by Visual Studio. Once your app is running execute this SQL statement in SQL Server Management Studio:

SELECT owning_principal_name, instance_pipe_name, heart_beat FROM sys.dm_os_child_instances

Take note of the named pipe that’s alive. That’s where your database is hiding. Copy the pipe name.

Open up the ‘Connect to Server’ dialog and paste in your named pipe address. Hit Connect.

Dude, there’s your database.

What is Windows Azure?

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:07:00 -0600

60 Second Answer:

Windows Azure is a cloud OS serviced by Microsoft. The Windows Azure cloud OS has three core components: Compute, Storage, and Fabric.

Each Compute instance is a virtual machine. Applications in Windows Azure utilize Compute resources through one or more Compute containers called “roles”. Roles come in three different types: Web (a dedicated web server), Worker (asynchronous, long-running or perpetual tasks independent of user interaction or input), and Virtual Machine (for Legacy apps; a Windows Server 2008 R2 VM).

Storage resources include are available through SQL Azure, BLOB (Binary Large Object) storage, & Table storage (aka NOSQL). SQL Azure allows users to make relational queries against stored data. BLOB Storage is a simple way to store unstructured text or binary data such as video, audio and images. Table Storage stores structured data but it does not provide a way to represent relationships between the data.

Fabric resources are the kernel of Windows Azure distributed cloud OS. They provides scheduling, resource allocation, device management, and fault tolerance for the nodes in the Fabric. They also provides high-level application models for intelligently managing the complete application lifecycle, including deployment, health monitoring, upgrades, and deactivation.

10 Second Answer:

To be continued (soliciting feedback from twitter) …

References:

Add Yammer to Chrome Apps

Fri, 27 May 2011 10:32:00 -0500

Yammer SHOULD be in the Chrome App Store but isn’t. Tell them so.

In the meantime, you can add them into your own personal apps by following these 5 simple steps:

Download and unzip this manifest/icon app folder for Yammer: http://db.tt/64K0l8W
Open up the Chrome Extension by clicking the wrench icon, choosing ‘Tools’, then choosing ‘Extensions’
Click the ‘+’ next to ‘Developer mode’ to open up the developer tools
Click the ‘Load unpacked extension’ button
Navigate to the unzipped yammer_app folder, click ‘OK’

Get-NetworkStatistics (or 'netstat' for PowerShell)

Thu, 26 May 2011 14:28:00 -0500

Shay Levy did an excellent PowerShellization of ‘netstat’ (link) on his blog back in February. JRich also had an excellent take on implementing NetStat in PowerShell (link). There is also a simple one-liner [net.NetworkInformation.IPGlobalProperties]::GetIPGlobalProperties().GetActiveTcpConnections() that will get you Tcp connection information without the process information but IMHO the info provided is practically useless in most real world scenarios without the process info.

One can argue over which solution is more PowerShellicous, “inlining c#” or “scraping cmd output”. Meanwhile while that flame war is happening I’ll be over here extending either of these solutions because PowerShell is awesome like that. Here I added filtering to the Shay’s solution. Behold:

PS C:\Users\ben> Get-NetworkStatistics skype | ft -AutoSize

Protocol LocalAddress LocalPort RemoteAddress RemotePort State     ProcessName PID 
-------- ------------ --------- ------------- ---------- -----     ----------- --- 
TCP      0.0.0.0      443       0.0.0.0       0          LISTENING Skype       4068
TCP      0.0.0.0      9841      0.0.0.0       0          LISTENING Skype       4068

PS C:\Users\ben> Get-NetworkStatistics -ProcessId 3368


Protocol      : TCP
LocalAddress  : 192.168.10.115
LocalPort     : 49899
RemoteAddress : 204.152.18.196
RemotePort    : 443
State         : ESTABLISHED
ProcessName   : chrome
PID           : 3368

Here’s the source:

Change the welcome background image in Windows7: Set this key...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:01:00 -0600

Change the welcome background image in Windows7:

Set this key value to 1: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background\OEMBackground

Overwriting this file: %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds\backgroundDefault.jpg

Back from #MMS2010

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:54:00 -0500

Back from #MMS2010

Get Process Owners

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:06:00 -0600

I really like the @PowerTip blog series but I find myself wanting to talk back with more than 120 characters. ~~Please enable comments~~ ~~@PowerTip~~. Comments are enabled for authenticated users. ~~In the meantime, I’ll blog my comments.~~

re: Get Process Owners

function Get-PSOwner($searchString)
{	
    $foundProcess = ps $searchString
    if($foundProcess -eq $null) { return; }
    gwmi Win32_Process -Filter ("Handle={0}" -f $foundProcess.id ) | 
        % { Add-Member `
            -InputObject $_ `
            -MemberType NoteProperty `
            -Name Owner `
            -Value ($_.GetOwner().User) `
            -PassThru } | 
        select Name, Handle, Owner
}

The four minor changes I made to the @PowerTip script are: 1) it’s functionized, 2) the input is a search string for process (wildcards accepted), 3) it spits out the correct errors if the process can’t be found, and 4) the process handle is added to the results.

Download the script here: http://bitbucket.org/xcud/powershell-snippets/src/tip/Get-PSOwner.psm1

Get-DominosOrderStatus, a profound poshcode contribution

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:17:00 -0500

(tongue set firmly in cheek)

I happened upon Dana Merrick’s blog entry with a ruby script that retrieves an order status from dominos. In the spirit of “anything you can do I can do better” i threw this Psh equivalent together and submitted it to PoshCode.org. It’s phenomenally simple. It makes a request to the Dominos SOAP order status service and selects and displays the order status nodes if they exist.

function Get-DominosOrderStatus($pn) {
  [xml]$content = (new-object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString(
    "http://trkweb.dominos.com/orderstorage/GetTrackerData?Phone=$pn");
  $statii = select-xml -xml @($content) `
    -Namespace @{dominos="http://www.dominos.com/message/"} `
    -XPath descendant::dominos:OrderStatus
  if($statii.Count -gt 0) { $statii | %{ $_.Node } }
  else { "No orders" }
}

Sample Output:

Version               : 1.3
OrderAsOfTime         : 2008-06-04T16:40:48
StoreAsOfTime         : 2008-06-04T16:44:55
StoreID               : 3189
OrderID               : 2008-06-04#73694
Phone                 : 3145551234
ServiceMethod         : Delivery
AdvancedOrderTime     :
OrderDescription      : 2 Small(10") Hand Tossed Pizza

OrderTakeCompleteTime : 2008-06-04T16:27:52
TakeTimeSecs          : 0
CsrID                 : Power
CsrName               :
OrderSourceCode       : Web
OrderStatus           : Out the Door
StartTime             : 2008-06-04T16:27:52
MakeTimeSecs          : 237
OvenTime              : 2008-06-04T16:31:49
OvenTimeSecs          : 360
RackTime              : 2008-06-04T16:37:49
RackTimeSecs          : 179
RouteTime             : 2008-06-04T16:40:48
DriverID              : 0818
DriverName            : Edna
OrderDeliveryTimeSecs :
DeliveryTime          :
OrderKey              : 1dRprcnzmWxaOXvlzj06OlFdzuexcIC/
ManagerID             : 5560
ManagerName           : Danillo

#text : Out the Door

You can download it here: http://bitbucket.org/xcud/powershell-snippets/src/tip/Get-DominosOrderStatus.psm1

Out-AnsiGraph

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:47:00 -0500

Inspired by Chad Miller’s work MSChart I threw this ANSI barchart module together:

#
# Out-AnsiGraph.psm1
# Author:       xcud
# History:
#       v0.1 September 21, 2009 initial version
#
# PS Example> ps | select -first 5 | sort -property VM | 
#             Out-AnsiGraph ProcessName, VM
#                 AEADISRV ███ 14508032
#                  audiodg █████████ 50757632
#                  conhost █████████████ 73740288
# AppleMobileDeviceService ████████████████ 92061696
#                    btdna █████████████████████ 126443520
#
function Out-AnsiGraph($Parameter1=$null) {
	BEGIN {
		$q = new-object Collections.queue
		$max = 0; $namewidth = 0;
	}

	PROCESS {
		if($_) {
			$name = $_.($Parameter1[0]);
			$val = $_.($Parameter1[1])
			if($max -lt $val) { $max = $val}		 
			if($namewidth -lt $name.length) { 
				$namewidth = $name.length }
			$q.enqueue(@($name, $val))			
		}
	}

	END {
		$q | %{
			$graph = ""; 0..($_[1]/$max*20) | 
				%{ $graph += "█" }
			$name = "{0,$namewidth}" -f $_[0]
			"$name $graph " + $_[1]
		}

	}
}

Export-ModuleMember Out-AnsiGraph

Download the script here: http://bitbucket.org/xcud/powershell-snippets/src/tip/Out-AnsiGraph.psm1

MSChart in Psh

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:29:00 -0500

Read Chad Miller’s blog entry on using MSChart from PowerShell. This is another great visualization extension for PowerShell. To make it work:

Download and install Microsoft Chart Controls for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

Download LibraryChart

The easiest way to enable it is to import the library with a call to ‘Import-Module’. Now run one of the samples:

If you see this error or one like it it’s an easy fix. Edit the lib and edit the input param list in the function “New-Chart” from this:

param ([int]$width,[int]$height,[int]$left,[int]$top,$chartTitle)

To this:

param ([int]$width,[int]$height,[int]$left,[int]$top,[string]$chartTitle)

Voila. Re-import the module and the error is gone. The only item on my wish list for this lib is that it attempt to infer the X and Y fields. A call like this, for example, should be able to (but can’t) infer that xField is ‘name’ and yField is ‘ws’:

ps | Sort-Object WS | select name, ws -first 5 | out-chart

It makes eye-candy. Check this one out. Grab the top 5 memory consuming processes and push them into a relative pie chart that auto-updates itself.

out-chart -chartType ‘pie’ -xField ‘name’ -yField ‘WS’ -scriptBlock { Get-Process | Sort-Object -Property WS | Select-Object Name,WS -Last 5}

enable 'svn commit' from PowerShell

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:12:00 -0500

If you’re trying to use Subversion from the PowerShell command line and you can’t get around this error message:

PS C:\Users\Public\Source> svn commit .

svn: Commit failed (details follow):

svn: Could not use external editor to fetch log message; consider setting the $SVN_EDITOR environment variable or using the —message (-m) or —file (-F) options

svn: None of the environment variables SVN_EDITOR, VISUAL or EDITOR are set, and no ‘editor-cmd’ run-time configuration option was found

Set your SVN_EDITOR preference with this command (substituting “type” for your preferred editor):

PS C:\Users\Public\Source> set-item -path env:SVN_EDITOR -value “type”

back from vacation

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:38:07 -0500

Vacation pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benvierck/sets/72157621985515336/

I’m not completely back. i have not quite completed re-entry back into my daily work habits. I was a bit gobsmacked at my encounter with the ocean and our history. The vastness of the ocean which it seems to me could swallow us all up in an instant or two and not mind one bit on the one hand. The encounters with historical peoples whose very daily existence represented more adventure than I’ll know in a lifetime are on the other hand.

Tomorrow i’ll shove this aside and do some work on the build process to make this last push to VMWord more productive and I’ll get the next build ready to go for a Monday release.

PowerShell Version Poll

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:10:20 -0500

If you use PowerShell please participate in this poll.

The Developer Is In

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:50:00 -0600

Starting next week I’ll be back in an office again for the first time since September. During these first three months of early R&D stage my office has been wherever my laptop happens to be. We’ve reached a new stage in development that requires more coordination. Tuesdays and Fridays from here out you can find me in my office down the hall from my partner. The nearer we get to release the more days I’ll add to my in-office schedule.

Update … another milestone reached. We will unstealth soon.

vmxbuilder.com

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:21:00 -0600

VMWare utilities maven Robert Petruska has joined forces with Devfarm. Yesterday we debuted the new site where we’ll be distributing Robert’s VMWare Utilities as well the new software that we’ll be building together at http://vmxbuilder.com. JYoseph put together an awesome site design for us.

For those keeping score at home (and starting to connect the dots) this is our second strategic rollout in the past month.

A Rough 30 Days

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:15:06 -0600

It’s been a rough 30 days. Maybe the hardest 30 I’ve had to work through ever which is testament to how soft my life really is. Starting the first week back from vacation our house ran through the Flu twice. It infected everybody for a first pass over the course of 4 days then the same symptoms hit each and every one of us again for the next 2 days. A couple of days later the colds, sniffles, and sneezes hit. The next week ear infections and sinus infections. As a topper strep throat hit us this past week. Oh, and I ruptured an ear drum for good measure.

While all this sickness was going on we got a tree, decorated the house, hosted 3 holiday get-togethers and attended 2 others. And … then there’s the whole matter of the startup that I SHOULD have been cranking out 12 hours a day on. Joe and I did manage to release a cool web service (see http://PingVine.com) that fills a niche and is powered on the back-end by Devfarm software. Still, while you enjoy your Christmas-to-New-Years holiday I’ll be getting a head-start on January to make it The Best Month Ever.

Twitter API 417

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:19:36 -0600

Twitter’s servers have started returning HTTP error 417 for requests that come with an Expect header containing “100-continue”. .NET automatically appends this header to every request. Before executing your WebRequest set this static property to false:

System.Net.ServicePointManager.Expect100Continue = false;

Now you’re forwards-compatible with the API/server change at Twitter.

Editorial Power

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:13:00 -0600

Leave a comment counting to 3 if you secretly sing Britney Spears songs in the shower when you think noone’s listening.