Compiling ASP.NET 5 RC1 on a Mac or Linux

02 Dec 2015

Update (12/18/2015): It is possible to compile ASP.NET 5 for the full .NET Framework on a Mac or Linux machine using Mono. More information can be found under the instructions for installing DNX for Mono on Mac. I didn't have Mono installed when I set up ASP.NET 5 and so ran into the errors below.

It is very exciting times as the Release Candidate for ASP.NET 5 was released a couple weeks ago. Of course, I just had to try it out on my Mac and it works! Simply awesome! I think this really opens up the doors for a lot of developers to try out ASP.NET and C#.

The Build Issue

I did run into one problem with compiling the project on my Mac which slowed me down when I first started the project. After creating a project using the [ASP.NET Yeoman Generator] (https://github.com/OmniSharp/generator-aspnet) (yo aspnet), I tried to build the project (dnu build) and got the following compile errors:

Building bosccdotnet for DNX,Version=v4.5.1
  Using Project dependency bosccdotnet 1.0.0
    Source: /Users/jsturtevant/projects/aspnetbostoncodecamp/src/bosccdotnet/project.json

    Unable to resolve dependency EntityFramework.Commands 7.0.0-rc1-final

    Unable to resolve dependency EntityFramework.MicrosoftSqlServer 7.0.0-rc1-final

    //removed for brevity

    /Users/jsturtevant/projects/aspnetbostoncodecamp/src/bosccdotnet/project.json(9,33): error NU1001: The dependency EntityFramework.Commands >= 7.0.0-rc1-final could not be resolved.

    /Users/jsturtevant/projects/aspnetbostoncodecamp/src/bosccdotnet/Startup.cs(9,7): DNX,Version=v4.5.1 error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'Microsoft' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

    /Users/jsturtevant/projects/aspnetbostoncodecamp/src/bosccdotnet/Models/ApplicationDbContext.cs(4,7): DNX,Version=v4.5.1 error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'System' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

    /Users/jsturtevant/projects/aspnetbostoncodecamp/src/bosccdotnet/Controllers/AccountController.cs(461,24): DNX,Version=v4.5.1 error CS0103: The name 'RedirectToAction' does not exist in the current context

    //removed for brevity

The Fix

The issue is obvious from the first line in the error message if you are aware of how ASP.NET 5 is architected but for the uninitiated this could be confusing. The issue is that you are building for the full .NET framework which is not available on Mac or Linux when using .NET Core based DNX (you can switch your .NET Execution Environment (DNX) using the .NET Version Manager (DNVM) and use Mono). The issue is well known and is documented in the Release Notes for RC1. Note that you can still work on the project on a Mac even with the errors as you are building for both versions of the .NET Framework.

The fix is also fairly straight forward. The project.json has references for the .NET Frameworks that ASP.NET 5 can be compiled for:

 "frameworks": {
    "dnx451": { },
    "dnxcore50": { }
  },

As you can see, the default Yeoman Generator Template has dnx451 and dnxcore50 frameworks listed. The DNX451 reference is for the full .NET Framework which is not available on Mac or Linux. The dnxcore50 reference is a subset of the full .NET Framework that has been open source and developed to be cross platform. The fix is as simple as removing the reference for dnx451 in the project.json file so that only the reference to dnxcore50 is left:

 "frameworks": {
    "dnxcore50": { }
  },

Now you should be able to run ```dnu build`` again and have a successful build. I hope this helps someone if they run into the same build errors. Being able to compile and run on Mac and Linux is awesome. I can’t wait to see where the platform goes from here!

Setting up PostgreSQL in Azure VM

27 Sep 2015

Although you could still follow the instructions below to setup a PostgreSQL database manually you should checkout the fully managed Azure Database for PostgreSQL or find a PostgreSQL solution in the Azure Market Place.

There are a few different ways to spin up an PostgreSQL database in Microsoft Azure. One of the easiest ways is via the MS Open Tech VM Depot. The VM Depot is a collection of preconfigured VM’s that you can deploy to azure and is great if you want to install a complete stack such as LAMP or LAPP. If you choose this option then you can skip down below to configuring PostgreSQL.

Another option is to spin up a Linux VM and install PostgreSQL directly. This is a good option if you are only going to install PostgreSQL and don’t need a complete stack installed on a machine.

Creating the Azure Virtual machine

Assuming you have set up you Azure account (Ways to get Azure), setting up a VM is easy.

In the bottom drawer bar click on new: azure new resource

Next select a new Compute Resource -> Virtual Machine -> Quick Create. Give the VM a unique name and be sure to pick your favorite Linux distro. In this case I will be walking through how to set up a Ubuntu Server. You will also need to provide a password, region to host the VM (select the location closest to you) and your Azure subscription. Click the Create button in the bottom right and a few minutes you will have a VM!

new linux vm

Installing PostgreSQL

To install PostgreSQL you will need to ssh (secure shell) into the VM you just set up. Make sure that the VM says that it is running in the dashboard:

linux vm ready

Now you can ssh into the machine. If you are on windows you are can use PuTTY. There is a tutorial located here. When you are logging into the VM you will provide the username and password that you created when provisioning the VM in the previous step.

Once you are connected to the machine we will use apt-get to install PostgreSQL. At the terminal type:

sudo apt-get install postgresql
sudo apt-get install postgresql-contrib

Configuring PostgreSQL

There are a few steps to confiure PostgreSQL. First you need to create a PostgreSQL database user:

sudo -u postgres createuser --superuser <username> -P

Next you need to allow IP addresses to access the PostgreSQL instance via the PostgreSQL configuration file. The path to the configuration file will change according to the version of PostgreSQL (or stack you installed). Using Vi, you should specify the exact IP addresses you want to allow access. You can find you IP address by google/binging ‘my ip address’.

#open vi
sudo vi /etc/postgresql/9.3/main/pg_hba.conf

#add the following line to the configuration file
host    all all       192.1.0.190/32 md5

Next tell PostgreSQL which IP’s to listen to. In this example I am enabling PostgreSQL to listen to all IP addresses but it would be more secure to specify an exact IP address.

#open vi
sudo vi /etc/postgresql/9.3/main/postgresql.conf

#enable remote connections
listen_addresses = '*'

Restart the PostgreSQL server:

sudo service postgresql restart

Finally inside the Azure Portal you need to open of the Firewall to all remote connection to the PostgreSQL port:

postgresql endpoint

Connecting via pgAdmin

You can connect to the PostgreSQL instance via a command prompt like so:

psql -h <namespace>.cloudapp.net -U <user>

Another great way to connect is through a user interface such as pgAdmin. This is what the configuration screen would look like to connect to the VM in Azure:

pgAdmin

Using Azure Table Storage with Bryan Soltis

09 Sep 2015

In this interview I talk with Bryan Soltis from Kentico. Bryan is a Technical Evangelist for Kentico and has been working with Azure since it was in beta. In this video he talks about a tool developed internally to help manage Kentico’s Improvement Program, which is an optional program that gives anonymous feedback on features being used directly to Kentico. Bryan talks to us about why he chose Azure and more specifically why he chose Azure Table Storage. He even shows us a quick glimpse of the code used to query Azure Table storage.

Bryan is on twitter at @bryan_soltis and he writes on Kenitco and Azure on his blog.

Must have Visual Studio Extensions

02 Sep 2015

There are alot of Visual Studio extensions out there and it has always surprised me at the number of Visual Studio users don’t know some of the must have extensions. Here is a list of my top 5 extensions that I must have installed and one bonus.

Productivity Power Tools 2015 - This extension brings powerful tools for improved developer productivity. Once installed there is no configuration nessary to start taking advantage of great features like the Syntactic Line Compression and Match Margin.
Web Essentials 2015 - If you do any type of web development inside visual studio this is a must have. It adds tons of great supoport for HTML5, JavaScript and other web tools like LESS.
SideWaffle Template Pack - Additional Templates for both item and projects. Provided templates are suitable for building websites, Windows apps, Windows Phone apps, WPF, Visual Studio extensibilty projects and a lot more.
Roaming Extension Manager - With all the extensions that you are going to install you need a way to track them across multiple machines. This extension does just that.
Visual Studio Spell Checker - Spelling is not my strong suite so why not let the spell checker do all the hard work.

Bonus

So I have to give me self a little plug here and draw attention to my extension called AceJump for Visual Studio. It is one I use all the time and it has great reviews, so that might count for something. If your a keyboard fanatic then this is a great tool otherwise you will probably never use. If you install it and use it, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Conclusion

There are a lot of extensions out there but those are just a few of my favorites that have changed the way I interact with Visual Studio. If you have any you think I am missing be sure to let me know below.

The differences between Azure Service Configuration(.cscfg) and Azure Service Definition(.csdef) Files

11 Aug 2015

Remembering the differences between Azure Service Configuration(.cscfg) and Azure Azure Service Definition(.csdef) files can be challenging. Not only do you need to know how to configure the Cloud Services for the Azure 70-532 and the 70-533 exams, you need to be able to implement it for you real world projects ;-)

I have complied some of the major configurations that each file contains. Having all the optional configurations for each file in one location really helped me remember the differences and have one place to go when I needed to look it up. Hope it helps!

Azure Service Configuration(.cscfg)

Certification thumbprints

<Role name="Deployment">
    <Certificates>
        <Certificate name="SampleCertificate"
            thumbprint="9427befa18ec6865a9ebdc79d4c38de50e6316ff"
            thumbprintAlgorithm="sha1" />
    </Certificates>
</Role>

From https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/cloud-services-configure-ssl-certificate/

Access Controls

<ServiceConfiguration>
  <NetworkConfiguration>
    <AccessControls>
      <AccessControl name="aclName1">
        <Rule order="<rule-order>" action="<rule-action>" remoteSubnet="<subnet-address>" description="rule-description"/>
      </AccessControl>
    </AccessControls>
  </NetworkConfiguration>
</ServiceConfiguration>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156091.aspx

Endpoint ACLS

<EndpointAcls>
      <EndpointAcl role="<role-name>" endpoint="<endpoint-name>" accessControl="<acl-name>"/>
</EndpointAcls>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156091.aspx

DNS

<Dns>
      <DnsServers>
        <DnsServer name="<server-name>" IPAddress="<server-address>" />
      </DnsServers>
</Dns>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156091.aspx

Virtual networks

<VirtualNetworkSite name="<site-name>"/>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156091.aspx

Subnets and Reserved IPS

<AddressAssignments>
      <InstanceAddress roleName="<role-name>">
        <Subnets>
          <Subnet name="<subnet-name>"/>
        </Subnets>
      </InstanceAddress>
      <ReservedIPs>
        <ReservedIP name="<reserved-ip-name>"/>
      </ReservedIPs>
</AddressAssignments>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156091.aspx

## Azure Azure Service Definition(.csdef)

Startup tasks

<WebRole name="WebRole1" vmsize="Small">
    <Startup>
     <Task commandLine="install.cmd" executionContext="elevated" />
    </Startup>
</WebRole>

From http://weblogs.asp.net/shijuvarghese/startup-tasks-for-windows-azure-roles

Environment variables

<WebRole name="WebRole1">
      <Runtime>
         <Environment>
            <Variable name="MyEnvironmentVariable" value="MyVariableValue" />
         </Environment>
      </Runtime>
</WebRole>

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/gg432991.aspx

Certification storage:

<WebRole name="CertificateTesting" vmsize="Small">
    <Certificates>
        <Certificate name="SampleCertificate"
                     storeLocation="LocalMachine"
                     storeName="CA" />
    </Certificates>
</WebRole>

From https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/cloud-services-configure-ssl-certificate/

EndPoints

<WebRole name="CertificateTesting" vmsize="Small">
    <Endpoints>
        <InputEndpoint name="HttpsIn" protocol="https" port="443"
            certificate="SampleCertificate" />
    </Endpoints>
</WebRole>

From https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/cloud-services-configure-ssl-certificate/

Bindings

<WebRole name="CertificateTesting" vmsize="Small">
    <Sites>
        <Site name="Web">
            <Bindings>
                <Binding name="HttpsIn" endpointName="HttpsIn" />
            </Bindings>
        </Site>
    </Sites>
</WebRole>

From https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/cloud-services-configure-ssl-certificate/

Older Newer

James Sturtevant

Compiling ASP.NET 5 RC1 on a Mac or Linux

The Build Issue

The Fix

Setting up PostgreSQL in Azure VM

Creating the Azure Virtual machine

Installing PostgreSQL

Configuring PostgreSQL

Connecting via pgAdmin

Using Azure Table Storage with Bryan Soltis

Must have Visual Studio Extensions

Bonus

Conclusion

The differences between Azure Service Configuration(.cscfg) and Azure Service Definition(.csdef) Files

Azure Service Configuration(.cscfg)

Certification thumbprints

Access Controls

Endpoint ACLS

DNS

Virtual networks

Subnets and Reserved IPS

Startup tasks

Environment variables

Certification storage:

EndPoints

Bindings