By default the JSON.Net library will emit all dates using the ISO Date format e.g "2012-05-09T00:00:00Z", but Microsoft’s JSON formatter for date will emit using Microsoft’s own format “new Date(1234656000000)”

Problem comes in when you have previously been using Microsoft’s JSON formatter and now want to use JSON.NET’s implementation. You will then have to decide whether you want to use the new format and change all your existing apps, or use the old format and make it slightly less interoperable.

One other alternative which I’m going to suggest below is to emit both date types, and suffix the other date property with a “_js” to differentiate between the 2 dates

To get this to work, just follow the steps below

1. Download the latest JSON.NET library at http://json.codeplex.com/
2. Open the solution and goto the Newtonsoft.Json project
   
3. Open JsonSerializerInternalWriter.cs
4. Search for the following function
   private void WriteMemberInfoProperty(JsonWriter writer, object memberValue, JsonProperty property, JsonContract contract, JsonContainerContract collectionContract)

   This function is the primary function that writes out the JSON output based what you passed in to serialize

5. The function should look something like
   
6. What we are targeting is the last 2 lines of the function i.e
   
   

   writer.WritePropertyName(propertyName);
   SerializeValue(writer, memberValue, contract, property, collectionContract, null);

7. Change these 2 lines of code to

   //Ensure membervalue is not null and is a datetime type

if (memberValue != null && memberValue.GetType() == typeof(DateTime))
{
    //Default property uses Microsoft Date Format
    writer.WritePropertyName(propertyName);
    writer.DateFormatHandling = DateFormatHandling.MicrosoftDateFormat;
    SerializeValue(writer, memberValue, contract, property, collectionContract, null);

    //Same property with a _js returns a ISO Date Format
    writer.WritePropertyName(propertyName + "_js");
    writer.DateFormatHandling = DateFormatHandling.IsoDateFormat;
    SerializeValue(writer, memberValue, contract, property, collectionContract, null);
}
else
{
    //Original implementation 
    writer.WritePropertyName(propertyName);
    SerializeValue(writer, memberValue, contract, property, collectionContract, null);
}

8. Compile the project and copy the new json.net dll to your server
9. Test and make sure you see both dates being emitted

ID4175: The issuer of the security token was not recognized by the IssuerNameRegistry. To accept security tokens from this issuer, configure the IssuerNameRegistry to return a valid name for this issuer.

There are quite a few steps to fix this if you are running your own STS provider

For the STS provider

1. Start up Management Console (mmc.exe)
2. Add the Certificates Snap In for Computer Account (Add/Remove Snap In, Select Certificates, Computer Account)
3. Import the new certificate into the Personal\Certificate Branch (right click, import)
   IMPORTANT: Make sure the certificate which you are importing has the private key inside
4. Type out the thumbprint (Details\Thumbprint).
   IMPORTANT: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE, this will cause the same error to occur

For the STS Consumer

1. Update the Federation Metadata, using the command below

   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Identity Foundation SDK\v4.0\FedUtil.exe" /u "[PATH to Web.config]" /o "[Path to Log File]" /m "[Federation Metadata Location]"

   eg: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Identity Foundation SDK\v4.0\FedUtil.exe" /u "D:\Websites\sts\web.config" /o "D:\Websites\sts\UpdateLog.txt" /m https://stsprovider/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml

2. Paste and replace the typed thumbprint from the provider inside the web.config file (microsoft.identitymodel –> service –> issuerNameRegistry –> trustedIssuers)
3. Save and test

var s = new System.Diagnostics.StackTrace();

And to access the stack frames, look at the GetFrames() function

Finally if you need to know what is the current class and function name, you can use

var theMethod = s.GetFrames().First().GetMethod();

var theClassDotMethod = theMethod.ReflectedType + "." + theMethod.Name

Microsoft.NET Framework 4 Extended

• Just click on the download link

Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008

• Click on the download link, you will need to put it in a separate folder from the next item since both have the same filename

Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2010

• Click on the download link, you will need to put it in a separate folder from the above item since both have the same filename

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

• All the files in whichever version of SQL 2008 R2 you are using (typically all files in the iso)

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Native Client

• Just click on the download link

Windows Automated Installation Kit

• Just click on the download link

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Management Objects

• Just click on the download link

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Command Line Utilities

• Just click on the download link

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1

• Click on the download link
• Extract all the files into a folder, point to the folder

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Cumulative Update 4

• Click on the download link to request for the actual links to be emailed to you
• It is the one which is about 350MB
• Once you download the file (441824_intl_x64_zip), unzip it to extract out the executable file
• Extract the file (SQLServer2008R2-KB2633146-x64.exe) in the executable file into another folder
• Point to this folder

When installing System Centre 2012 Unified Installer on a Windows 2008 R2 machine, you might encounter the following error

To fix this, first ensure that your administrator account has a password.

Next fire up a command prompt with Administrator rights and run the following commands

reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

>reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
The operation completed successfully.

winrm qc -q

>winrm qc -q
WinRM is not set up to receive requests on this machine.
The following changes must be made:

Start the WinRM service.

WinRM has been updated to receive requests.

WinRM service started.
WinRM is not set up to allow remote access to this machine for management.
The following changes must be made:

Create a WinRM listener on HTTP://* to accept WS-Man requests to any IP on this
machine.
Enable the WinRM firewall exception.

WinRM has been updated for remote management.

Created a WinRM listener on HTTP://* to accept WS-Man requests to any IP on this
machine.
WinRM firewall exception enabled.

winrm set winrm/config/service/auth @{CredSSP="True"}

>winrm set winrm/config/service/auth @{CredSSP="True"}
Auth
    Basic = false
    Kerberos = true
    Negotiate = true
    Certificate = false
    CredSSP = true
    CbtHardeningLevel = Relaxed

winrm set winrm/config/winrs @{AllowRemoteShellAccess="True"}

>winrm set winrm/config/winrs @{AllowRemoteShellAccess="True"}
Winrs
    AllowRemoteShellAccess = true
    IdleTimeout = 180000
    MaxConcurrentUsers = 5
    MaxShellRunTime = 2147483647
    MaxProcessesPerShell = 15
    MaxMemoryPerShellMB = 150
    MaxShellsPerUser = 5

winrm set winrm/config/winrs @{MaxMemoryPerShellMB="2048"}

>winrm set winrm/config/winrs @{MaxMemoryPerShellMB="2048"}
Winrs
    AllowRemoteShellAccess = true
    IdleTimeout = 180000
    MaxConcurrentUsers = 5
    MaxShellRunTime = 2147483647
    MaxProcessesPerShell = 15
    MaxMemoryPerShellMB = 2048
    MaxShellsPerUser = 5

winrm set winrm/config/client @{TrustedHosts="*"}

>winrm set winrm/config/client @{TrustedHosts="*"}

Client
    NetworkDelayms = 5000
    URLPrefix = wsman
    AllowUnencrypted = false
    Auth
        Basic = true
        Digest = true
        Kerberos = true
        Negotiate = true
        Certificate = true
        CredSSP = false
    DefaultPorts
        HTTP = 5985
        HTTPS = 5986
    TrustedHosts = *

winrm set winrm/config/client/auth @{CredSSP="True"}

>winrm set winrm/config/client/auth @{CredSSP="True"}
Auth
    Basic = true
    Digest = true
    Kerberos = true
    Negotiate = true
    Certificate = true
    CredSSP = true

You can now try installing System Centre 2012 again.

Below are the steps to enable MVC 3 with an asp.net website project

1. Install ASP.NET MVC 3

2. Modify web.config

Open up web.config in Visual Studio and add the following lines inside the <compilation><assemblies> section

<add assembly="System.Web.Abstractions, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" />
<add assembly="System.Web.Mvc, Version=3.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" />
<add assembly="System.Web.Routing, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35" />

3. Modify global.asax

Next you will need to add in the code for MVC triggers inside global.asax (create one if it does not exist)

Add the following lines after <%@ Application Language="C#" %>

<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Mvc" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Routing" %>

Add the following after <script runat="server">

public void RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilterCollection filters)
{
filters.Add(new HandleErrorAttribute());
}

public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

routes.MapRoute("Home",
"home/{action}/{id}",
new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional });}

add the following inside application_start

RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);

At this point, your global.asax should look like

4. Creating the controller

Because this is a website project, compilation is at runtime, so you will have to create your controllers inside the App_Code folder rather than the normal Controller folder in the main site

Note that your controller class needs to end with the Controller keyword. In the example, with a controller = “Home”, the classname for the controller needs to be HomeController

To add your first controller, right click on the App_Code folder and create a new class with the file name as HomeController.cs

Paste the following code into the HomeController.cs (replace everything)

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Mvc;

public partial class HomeController : Controller
{
    protected override void Execute(System.Web.Routing.RequestContext requestContext)
    {
        base.Execute(requestContext);
    }

    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        var r = new ContentResult();
        r.Content = "Hello World";
        return r;
    }
}

5. Test the site

Now that you have generated the routing and created the controller, browse to localhost/home. You should see “Hello World”

http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js

However if you have form pages with > 1000 elements, then you will encounter the following error (for asp.net)

System.Web.HttpException (0×80004005): The URL-encoded form data is not valid. —> System.InvalidOperationException: Operation is not valid due to the current state of the object.
at System.Web.HttpValueCollection.ThrowIfMaxHttpCollectionKeysExceeded()
at System.Web.HttpValueCollection.FillFromEncodedBytes(Byte[] bytes, Encoding encoding)
at System.Web.HttpRequest.FillInFormCollection()
at System.Web.HttpRequest.FillInFormCollection()
at System.Web.HttpRequest.get_Form()
at System.Web.HttpRequest.get_HasForm()
at System.Web.UI.Page.GetCollectionBasedOnMethod(Boolean dontReturnNull)
at System.Web.UI.Page.DeterminePostBackMode()
at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)

What is happening is that asp.net is now checking your Form posted data and if it exceeds a certain threshold it will throw the exception above.

To workaround this, what you can do is to put the following item inside appsettings

<add key="aspnet:MaxHttpCollectionKeys" value="10000" />

By default this value is 1000, but you are free to either limit or give it a larger value

These are typically used in LINQ select scenarios

from p in db.Users

select new (p.Name, p.Email}

This basically creates an anonymous type with Name and Email properties.

With all the new advancements in web technologies, there is this increasing need to have the ability to create objects on the fly so as to pass to web api or to send data across different systems.

Creating an anonymous object in code is pretty simple, below is an example of how you create one

var obj = new {ID=1, Name=”Jeffery”, Email=”a@a.com”};

This basically creates a new object on the fly with the following 3 properties

1. ID
2. Name
3. Email

For more reading, look at the following links:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb308966.aspx#csharp3.0overview_topic15

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb397696.aspx

To do this, the wiki at https://github.com/SignalR/SignalR/wiki/Configuring-SignalR tells you to do the following

ASP.NET Example (Global.asax)

 var config = AspNetHost.DependencyResolver.Resolve<IConfigurationManager>(); 
 config.ReconnectionTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(25);

 

However if you were to just copy and paste that, you will find that visual studio reports the following 2 errors and wurlies on your code

The name ‘AspNetHost’ does not exist in the current context

and

The type or namespace name ‘IConfigurationManager’ could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

Actually what happens is that the wiki actually forgot to mention that you will actually need to import a few namespaces to global.asax.

They are

1. SignalR.Configuration – Fixes the IConfigurationManager
2. SignalR.Hosting.AspNet – Fixes AspNetHost
3. SignalR.Infrastructure – This is where the Resolve extension reside

So after adding all these, your global.asax will look like

<%@ Application Language="C#" %>

<%@ Import Namespace="SignalR.Configuration" %>

<%@ Import Namespace="SignalR.Hosting.AspNet" %>

<%@ Import Namespace="SignalR.Infrastructure" %>

<script runat="server">

    void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)

    {  
        // Code that runs on application startup

        var config = AspNetHost.DependencyResolver.Resolve<IConfigurationManager>();

        config.ReconnectionTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(25);

    }

</script>

Enjoy!