COALMG: MSBuild 3.5 and Team Build 2008 Continuous Integration

Session Details:
Did you know that .csproj and .vbproj files are really MSBuild files? More than build processes though, MSBuild is a full-featured automation language. It includes structured control flow, variables, refactorability, error handling, logging, and powerful extensibility. You can easily integrate MSBuild into your own enterprise processes and start adding value right away. We'll also look at how Team Foundation Build extends on MSBuild and adds robust integration with Team Foundation Server.

Speakers Bio:
Steve Andrews is a Team System MVP, and has been working as a developer for more than 9 years. During this time, he has designed and developed applications in such widely varying areas as trust accounting, medical information management, supply chain management, and retail systems. He is currently employed at RDA Corporation in Philadelphia, PA, as a Software Engineer and a team member in their Architectural Guidance evangelism team. Steve is also an MCP, ICSOO, Speaker Liaison for the Philly .NET User Group, and all around .NET fanatic.

Microsoft Server vs. Services

Learned something new listening to a RadioTFS podcast yesterday. I believe it was Martin Woodward who identified the meme that Microsoft products entitled "Services" are free but those entitled "Server" cost. Examples:

Windows Sharepoint Services: free
SQL Reporting Services: free
Windows Server: cost
SQL Server: cost
MOSS (Server): cost

And there's your odd tidbit of the day. I'm wasting precious brain cycles trying to find an exception to this rule. ;-)

TFS Installation and Port 8080

By default, Team Foundation Server (TFS) wants to expose services on port 8080. Installing for a client recently, I kept receiving a conflict during the pre-installation checks regarding 8080. There is an option to modify the port using an INI file associated with the installation but I didn't want to introduce a non-standard port for my client.

Running a netstat -a command from the command line revealed something running on port 8080 but failed to identify the process ID. Next, I downloaded TCPView from SysInternals (Microsoft), ran it, and "bam" there was: miniwinagent.exe. Excuse you? A quick search yielded this IBM KB posting. The EXE is a file copying agent for the IBM RAID hardware/software. Fortunately, I'm an admin on the box. I simply disabled the "ServeRAID FlashCopy Agent" service and let the hardware folks know what I had done.

Other helpful posts here and here.

Visual Studio / .Net Framework Service Pack O'Rama

You've likely read this a dozen times already but Microsoft released several developer service packs yesterday:

Downloads:
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions with SP1
Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server Service Pack 1
.NET Framework 3.5 Enhancements Training Kit

Details:
Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
Team Foundation Server 2008 SP1 Preview
VS/VSTS/TFS/.NET 3.5 SP1 is shipping!
Team Foundation Installation Guide for Visual Studio Team System 2008
TFS Installation and Administration guides updated for VS 2008 SP1