Creating service with Windows Communication Foundation(WCF) - video

Recently i have started delving into WCF as my project demands and so you may find some posts related to WCF as i learn a little and i plan to share with you. TO begin with this video was very helpful to begin with for me to learn the basics of WCF.

http://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin/archive/2007/02/03/video-creating-a-service-with-windows-communication-service-wcf.aspx

Also, visit Dan Wahlin's blog to see more illustrations, samples and video tutorials here - http://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin/archive/tags/WCF/default.aspx

Happy learning WCF!
- DJ

CRM 4.0 SDK

With the release of CRM 4.0 offically, microsoft has planned to release the SDK for the same soon in couple of weeks. Check the first week of new year Jan 2008 here - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/crm/bb456482.aspx for CRM 4.0 SDK download.
Happy learning and Happy New Year! Cheers - DJ

CRM 4.0 (Titan) Overview

Senior Program Manager Phil Richardson provides a nice overview of CRM 4.0 on Channel 9 Forums.

View here - http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=356796
Happy learning - Dipesh

CRM 4.0 Data Import

New CRM 4.0 Data Import -

Microsoft offers multiple options to import data into your CRM implementation. It used to have in CRM 3.0 as well but with the Release of Titan there are multiple options to explore as listed:

Bulk Import Wizard - The Bulk Import Wizard has been improved in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0. The list of entities to import has been extended with almost all system entities as well as custom entities. Also, the mappings created between the source data and the CRM system can now be saved and reused in subsequent import activities. Another new feature is the ability to see the list of imported records after the import has succeeded. Based on this list actions can be executed like Quick Campaigns and even deleting the records if necessary. The last major improvement is the ability to enrich data which is already in the system.

Data Migration Framework (3.0)/ Manager (4.0) - The second tool which Microsoft offers is the Data Migration Framework. This tool can be used to import data if any of the following scenarios do apply:
A> Migrate data from multiple sources
B> There are records which are related to others within the same or another entity
C> Notes and / or attachments need to be migrated
D> Data needs to be cleansed before importing into the CRM system

There are several third party tools that can do the job as well if this out of box functionality provided by MS does not fit your bill.

CRM Extensions / c360: ImportManager - http://www.c360.com/ImportManager.aspx
Scribe TOOL (my favourite, you should look into this if you need both ways data conversion - into CRM and from CRM to external interfaces!) - http://www.scribesoftware.com/microsoft-dynamics-crm.asp

For additional information visit Ronald's blog - he is the man :) Cheers - Dipesh

Understanding what is best for you ..differences between VPC and Vmware

What you need - VPC or VmWare ?

No matter what your needs, it is very likely that either VMware or Virtual PC/Server can do the job. The key to choosing the right product is understanding your needs. What is it that you want to do with virtualization? Do you want to have a test network on your desktop PC? Do you want to do software development? How many servers will you run concurrently? What operating systems will be run in the virtual systems? The answers to these questions will help you choose the right virtualization product!

Choosing the right product -
Once you take a look at your needs, you will be able to better choose the product you need. For example, if you just want to run a test on Windows XP workstation or 2003 server on your local desktop, then you should choose a desktop virtualization product. Examples of these are - VMware Workstation(300$ odd) and MS Virtual PC(free). Both of those applications are designed to be run on a local desktop.

On the other hand, if you need to run more than 1 concurrent servers that required at least 1GB of RAM each, you are no longer talking about a desktop product. You require an enterprise virtualization server product! Not only because of the amount of RAM required but because we said that we would run “multiple servers”. You don’t want to run them on desktop virtualization products.

For further information or understanding their pros and cons refer - http://www.petri.co.il/virtual_vmware_virtualpc_compared.htm
To download Vmware visit - http://www.vmware.com/
To download microsoft VPC 2007 visit - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=04D26402-3199-48A3-AFA2-2DC0B40A73B6

Thanks - Dipesh