Archives

Archives / 2006
  • Tool: Creating a custom MachineKey in ASP.NET

    There are many times when it is worthwhile to create a custom machineKey for your web.config file.  This is worthwhile on a webfarm but also worthwhile on a stand-alone server so that your machineKey remains the same after an iisreset or application pool recycle. 

  • Podcast interview on ASP.NET Podcast Show

    When Wally McClure came to Charlotte to give a talk on Atlas to the Charlotte User Group, I had an interview with him which is now live on Show #66 of the ASP.NET Podcast Show.  I didn't dive in too deep, but we discussed Webfarm hosting and some of the topics I covered in my TechEd 2006 talk in Boston, and some of the new upcoming features in IIS 7.0.

  • Forms Authentication Timeout

    This has haunted me a few times in the past, so for my own sake I figured I would write a quick blog that I can reference in the future.  Hopefully others find it valuable as well.

  • TechEd 2006 - Recap

    I just arrived home from TechEd 2006 where I gave a breakout session on IIS6: Managing Effective Webfarms.  I have to say this was probably the best technical conference that I've attended.  I was scheduled to help out in the DEV and IIS7 booths and during that time I had plenty of time to discuss the inner workings with many of the IIS Program Managers and Developers that attended.  They are always enjoyable to talk to because of their intimate knowledge of the subject. 

  • Enabling Windows Vista Aero Glass

    I've been running Vista Beta 2 (Build 5384) for a few days now but the Aero Glass wasn't enabled for me.  The Aero Glass gives Windows-Key Tab 3D switching between windows, the hover over the start menu items shows a cool live screenshot of the window, and the regular Alt-Tab is enhanced.  There are other 3D and enhanced visual affects as well.

  • MIX06, Atlas and an ORCS Web plug

    I had the opportunity to attend Mix06 in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago.  What a great conference!  While it didn't dive in as deep as some other conferences, the overview of technologies, the networking, and the level of people that were there made this conference well worthwhile.  My favorite session was the Microsoft.com and Myspace.com guys discussing their webfarm configurations.  Msn.com (managed by the Microsoft.com team) and Myspace.com are two of the top 5 most popular websites at the moment. 
     
    The technology that has received a lot of buzz in the last number of months is AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML).  Mature AJAX-enabled sites are popping up all over the place.  While the technology has been available for a few years now (ever since JavaScript was included and enabled by default on most web browsers) it has only been fairly recently that the momentum has really picked up.  Sites like maps.google.com, and Microsoft's new www.live.com have proven how impressive is can be. 
     
    For those that aren't familiar with it, AJAX allows a webpage to only update the part of a page that needs to be updated.  The rest of the page doesn't do a round-trip (postback) to the server.  For example, with maps.google.com you can drag your mouse around and watch the map appear as you move around.  That was obviously not preloaded into your computer, but it will pull the images back from the server as you request them.
     
    In March, on the first day of the MIX06 conference, Microsoft released a public version of 'Atlas', their framework to AJAX-enable a website.  Another version was released in April and as of two days ago, April 13th, the CTP (community tech preview) of Atlas Control Toolkit was released which includes an impressive set of AJAX controls.  Scott Guthrie says they are planning to have between 50 - 100 high-quality Atlas controls over the next few months: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2006/04/13/442793.aspx
     
    Take a minute and try the a demo of the Toolkit samples, you'll be impressed: http://atlas.asp.net/atlastoolkit/CascadingDropDown/CascadingDropDown.aspx
     
    Does ORCS Web support AJAX and Atlas?  Of course . . .  although we can't take much credit because it works on ASP.NET out of the box.  In fact, much of Atlas is a set of JavaScript libraries that will work on other platforms besides ASP.NET.  Just the same, we won't miss the opportunity to take credit for once again having our servers cutting edge and ready for whatever the latest technologies throw our direction.  You can start to AJAX enable your applications on any of our web servers today.  Enjoy!