Agile SCM Talk

I have reached the point where I can say that I have installed beta 2. There are many features that I have yet to perform. But, I'm moving on and will create separate posts for that. Overall, Beta 2 was a great install experience. Lab Management still has a whole lot of room for improving the install/setup experience, but beta 2 was a big improvement over beta 1. Bob :)
- Last updated: 12/3

I'm installing VS2010 Ultimate and Premium clients. For information on the newly revised versions, licensing and downloads see by blog entry on that subject.

For TFS, I'm installing "Basic" on Windows 7, "Single-server" on WS08 SP2, and a distributed server configuration on WS08 SP2.

I'm installing Lab Management on a WS08 SP2 server with 32 GB of RAM to support VM hosting.

Observations

• The new VS UI is totally cool!
• TFS Basic will install on a client OS, but not on XP . It requires Vista or W7.
• You must uninstall beta 1 clients to install VS Ultimate Beta 2. Specifically:

VSTS 2010 Team Suite

TFS Admin Console (Client Components)

Team Test Load Agent

Team Test Load Controller

• Notice the "Permissions:" options on the Edit Workspace dialog! This is to support multiple different users on the same box; not yet the full "workspace template"
• Beta1 model projects will not upgrade to beta2. The good news is that "Diagrams created in Beta2 will be upgradeable to RTM."
• I found that the Web publishing in the "Hello VS2010 demo script" assumes web site is setup. Since I don't have access to web site in the script, I had to create one and ended up using the file copy method. It would be helpful to include or reference procedures for setting up a web site locally for those of us that are not versed in ASP.NET.
• The Product Backlog, Iteration Backlog and Excel reports on the Project Portal work great! So do the Project Portal web parts and reports. I did find that the Product Backlog and Iteration Backlog are simplified from Beta 1, which is OK by me
• I do have a concern that an "Iteration" still seems to be only a node on the iteraation path hierarchy. I don't understand why MS hasn't made "Iteration" a real entity with attributes like start and end date? As a result, these dates have to be entered in to Excel and SQLServer reports separately and maintained separately.
• The beta 2 user documentation for Lab Management (LM) is much better that beta 1. However, the workflow to create a VM and make it available to LM for deployment is too long and complicated. It is confusing when you get dropped into the SCVMM documentation because you lose all context of the setup workflow for LM. You are presented with alternatives that you have no LM guidance for. The VM creation for LM workflow needs to be much simpler.

Progress
So far I have:

• Installed VS Ultimate and TFS on:

XP box (Ultimate only, on virgin client)

Windows 7 VBox guest on an XP host

Windows 7 VBox guest on an Mac 10.5.8 host

• Installed VS Premium on a VM XP client

• Installed VS Ultimate on an XP box where Beta1 was installed

Uninstalled all B1 software

Installed B2 Ultimate

• TFS on WS08 SP2

IIS

SQL Server 2008 Enterprise

TSF 2010 (single server)

• Lab Management (LM)

Did not apply recommended update (166012), appears relevant to WS08 R2 only

Changed Windows Remote Mgmt Cfg (see issue below)

Added my domain\TFSService account to the admin group

Enabled the Hyper-V role

Verified that Hyper-V is installed correctly and working

Setup and configured VMM

Installed SCVMM on the TfsMachine

Configured LM for TFS (did not enable network isolation)

Configured host group for collection (see issue below)

Configured library share for collection

Did not create accounts to enable testing and workflow as this appears to be needed only for network isolation, which I'm not enabling for beta 2

Using the TLM client, connected to a team project within the default callection and opened the Lab Center

Imported a blank VM

Created an environment with the blank VM and deleted the environment

Installed a build controller for the default collection on the TfsMachine

Installed a test controller for the default collection on the TfsMachine

Created a Windows 7 Professional x64 VM to install a build agent and test agent on

Installed build agent on VM W7 client

Installed test agent on VM W7 client to run interactively using the TfsService account

Installed lab agent on VM W7 client

Stored VM as-is in the SCVMM library

Imported the VM from the SCVMM library into TLM and created an environment

Deployed the environment

Started the VM (see LM VM issues below)

Performed a few simple manual tests

Created XP (SP3) VM template and imported it into LM deployment (see LM XP VM issues below)

Created and deployed the environment and setup to support build and test workflow automation

Setup work environment:

• Created Team Project
• Configured workspace
• Added beta 1 solution
• Deleted beta1 model project (not compatible with beta2)
• Built and checked-in solution
• Brought up Team Portal
• Attempted to bring up Process Guidance (see issue below)
• Walked through demo script for Hello Visual Studio 2010
• Created a Team Project (Agile) for an example (but real) SW product relase and input user stories and project information via the Product and Iteration Backlog worksheets
• Completed the WBS in MS Project, published this to TFS and then explored the project portal web parts and SQLServer reports.
• Modified Project Portal Burndown web part to pass-in a designated iteration (see my post).
• Created team build with a VM W7 x64 build agent (failed - see VM build agent issue below)
• Created lots of team builds using the TFS server for the build agent
• Created test environment to run a POC on support for WPF

Issues
I encountered the following issues in order from beginning of my installation and setup work.

1. Use of Sun's VirtualBox on a Mac:

   I had no problems with VS or TFS. Sun's VirtualBox is a bit of trouble on the Mac. I can't get shared folders, audio or printing to work in spite of reading the blogs and spending some hours trying everything. So, I used DropBox to share files and I run the videos on the Mac.

2. Uninstall of Team Load Controller and Agent:

   I had installed the Team Load Controller and the Team Load Agent on my XP client. These do not appear in the Uninstall Programs listing (at least after you uninstall Team Suite B1). So, I had to run their installers to uninstall them.

3. Could not reference TFS server by computer name; had to use IP address:

   IT set up a VM server for me that I then installed TFS on, but I could not reference it with the computer name, I had to use the IP address. I added the TFS server to the Team Explorer and that worked, but creating a team project (with or without a SharPoint site) fails. I think it may be because the computer name fails to reference on the network. So, I tried to remove the server from the Team Explorer and I cannot. The Remove button is disabled even when the server is selected. It is the only server in the Team Explorer. Solution: this problem happens when there is no "DNS suffix for this connecttion" specified on the "Advanced TCP/IP Settiings" dialog of the network properities of the VS Client. By adding in the DNS suffix I was able to connect to the TFS server using the computer name and I was able to delete the TFS server referenced via IP address from the TE.

4. Deleted files listed in pending changes:

   I added a beta 1 solution, but did not check-in. Then I removed the model project as it is not compatible with beta 2. I deleted the model project files from the local workspace. When I went to check-in the solution, the model project files were listed and fouled up the check-in. Solution: select the model project files in the pending changes, right-click and select undo.

5. SQL Server reporting error on Team Portal out of the box:

   I separately installed SQL Server 2008 enterprise using the install guide procedures and I took the default collation. I created a Team Project using the MSF Agile template without any error or warning displayed. Then bring up the Team Portal and the burn down and burn rate web parts display "reporting error." I found that SQLSvr Rpt Services is working, but the work item types and all the other report paramter types are not available, just "All". Solution: New with beta2, MS is no longer including any default work items in the template and when there are no work items in the Team Project, there are no work item types or other types of report parameters available. So, I created some work items, let the cube refesh, and voila! All is working

6. Offline/local Process Guidance not working:

   As our dev network does not have access to the Internet we must use the offline approach. From the start menu, when I select Programs -> MS VS2010 -> MS VS 2010 Documentation, I get 2 errors: MSHelpListener and file not found. So, it appears that the offline content is not included in Beta 2, or when no access to the Internet exist, the offline content will not come up. Solution: Offline content is available, at least as a .CHM. It is supposed to be included with Beta 2 and accessible through the start menu. I'm woking with MS to understand how the offline content is best accessed and customized.

7. Changing windows remote mgmt cfg:

   I can only access the server remotely, so the secnond step, changing the MaxConsurrentOperations failed with a error - "client cannot connect to the remote host specified in the request." Solution: The error msg suggest the use of the "winrm quickconfig" to diagnose the problem. I executed this and it provided an option (hit y) to apply a fix. This I did and then was able to run the command successfully.

8. TfsMachine must be added to admin group of Hyper-V host computer:

   The documentation suggest that the installer will add the TfsService account to the admin group of the Hyper-V host. What happened is that I was prompted for my user account and pw, but this failed to work. Solution: The good news is that the verification log stated exactly what the problem was: the TfsMachine must be added to admin group of Hyper-V host computer. Once I did this the verification completed successfully.

9. LM VM issue 1 - TLM remote desktop display resolution to high and not affected by changes to native VM resolution:

   Connecting to the VM through the TLM results with a display resolution of 2960x1350 (as best as I can tell as it is very hard to read the screen). I connected to the VM directly with SCVMM and lowered the resolution, but no matter what I set it to, the resolution from the TLM remote desktop connection remained 2960x1350 and unchanged Solution: It turns out there are two types of connection from the TLM Environment Viewer (EV): host and guest. A host connection is what you get by connecting from the SCVMM console. The TLM EV can also support a host conection if you are the owner (i.e. creator) of the TLM Environment and you are using Windows 7 as the TLM client OS(there is a workaround for XP SP3 and I'll link to it once I've obtained and validated it). A guest connection uses the display resolution of the TLM client. So, I was getting a guest connection through the TLM EV and I have multiple monitors. This is a known bug with beta 2 and is fixed in the RTM version. The work around is to open the display properties and uncheck "extend to..." the secondary monitors.

10. LM VM issue 2 - Test agent interactive mode failed to validate:

    I initially setup the test agent (TA) to run interactively as I'm wanting to try out the automated UI testing. But, the VM never validated in the TLM client (i.e. "ready to run" failed). The error msg about permissions didn't help as I was using a domain service account that was granted admin persmissions on everything and in every group. I set the TA to run as a service using the local network service account and then it validated as "ready to run test" in the TLM client. Solution: The next day I switched the TA back to run interactively using the TfsService account and then everything worked! As I do more LM installs I will see if I can better isolate what the problem was.

11. LM VM issue 3 - Test agent fails to connect when rebooted:

    When I shut down the VM and restart it, the test agent (TA) service starts and then the TA monitor comes up saying that the service can't start because it's already started and the connection status is offline. I can work around this by manually stopping the service and then using the monitor to start it. The connection status then turns to "online." Solution: This only happens when you configure the TA as an interacive process and then switch it to run as a service (it doesn't fully clean up after itself). This is a known bug in Beta 2 and is fixed in the RTM version.

12. VM build agent fails because "resgen.exe" was not found:

    Here's the full error msg: "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.21006\Microsoft.Common.targets (1754): Task failed because "resgen.exe" was not found, or the correct Microsoft Windows SDK is not installed. The task is looking for "resgen.exe" in the "bin" subdirectory beneath the location specified in the InstallationFolder value of the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A. You may be able to solve the problem by doing one of the following: 1) Install the Microsoft Windows SDK. 2) Install Visual Studio 2010. 3) Manually set the above registry key to the correct location. 4) Pass the correct location into the "ToolPath" parameter of the task." Do we still have to install a VS client on a build agent? I'm hoping not. Solution: This happens for solutions that have one or more projects that are .NET 3.x or below. This is a known bug and will be fixed in the RTM. The work around is to install the WinSDK on the build agent. I think you could also install VS2010 if you wanted.

13. Error in LM documentation: "How to: Create a Lab-ready VM or Template in VMM

    The step "To first convert a VM into a template and then store it in a library" item #4 says "Select the clone, ..." I think at this point, it's really refering to the VM, not the clone and so should say "Select the virtual machine,..."

14. LM XP VM Issue: Creation of VMM template failed on sysprep step

    From VMM when I right clicked on the VM and selected "New template," the job failed on the sysprep step. The error message was not helpful. After some tinkering I was able to get the VM back to a good state. I noticed that it was hung "shutting down." Also, when I booted it back up I had to go through some repair and enter the OS product key again. Perhaps I need to enter the product key as part of the new template step? Solution: I did enter the product key on my second attempt to create a template and it made it through the sysprep step without error. So, I don't know if entering the product key (PK) is needed or why it failed the first time and not the second. The XP OS install I used has a volume license and DOES require a PK.