DotNetNuke v4 Web Portals Portal Installation, Deployment, and Upgrades V2.1

Stan Schultes Enterprise Developer/Architect in Sarasota, FL DotNetNuke User & Evangelist since 2/2003 MSDN Webcasts & articles Former Columnist & Contributing Editor Visual Studio Magazine/VB Programmers Journal Microsoft MVP in Visual Basic Contact: Email: stan@vbnetexpert.com Web: www.vbnetexpert.com Blog: stanschultes.spaces.live.com

WebCast Series on DotNetNuke Jan 31: DNN v3 – Overview Jan 31: DNN v3 – Installation and Configuration Feb 4: DNN v3 – Portal Management Feb 4: DNN v3 – Custom Module Development May 16: DNN v3 – Building Custom Modules May 16: DNN v3 – Advanced Module Development 2006 WebCasts: Feb 13: DNN v4 – Overview Feb 13: DNN v4 – Running on ASP.NET v2 http://msdn.microsoft.com/webcasts http://www.vbnetexpert.com (DotNetNuke  Downloads) Overview – General survey of DNN v3 portal features with highlights of things that are new in v3. Installation & Configuration – covers what you need to get the DNN v3 portal running. Portal Management – covers how to make the DNN v3 portal work for you. Custom Module Development – dives into the architecture for custom modules. Building Custom Modules – walks through the custom module development process in VS. Advanced Module Development – covers multi-view modules, interfaces, and an overview of core namespaces for developers.

Agenda – DNN v4 Introduction Technical Overview Installing Configuring & Managing Deploying Upgrading Other Discussion Resources

Intro to DNN v4 What is DotNetNuke? Business Case Virtualization Open source ASP.NET-based web portal Business Case Virtualization Usage Scenarios Web Hosters Corporate Portal Developers Individual Users

Technical Overview Framework application, modular construction Core provides plumbing with pluggable services Content is dynamically generated Extend with custom modules Portals / Pages / Modules Portals = websites (unique URLs), sub-portals Pages = portal organizational units Modules = information containers All are individually skinnable Membership – Roles & Users Online configuration & content management by role Host & Portal Admins Framework app –a dynamically generated application with a provider structure for plumbing (data access, membership, scheduler, logging, exceptions, etc.) Modular construction – modules plug in easily through an install/uninstall interface. You can deploy your portals with whatever modular options you want. Modules: user controls which are injected into the page at runtime.

Features in DNN v4 v4.0 – v4.2: v4.3: V4.4: v4.5: v4.6: v4.7: V4.8: ASP.NET v2.0, Core Modularization, Client API/AJAX, Windows Auth, WebFarm Support v4.3: Data Access, Event Queue, Folder Security, Membership, Nav Provider, Page Templates, Profile, Role Groups, Roles, Usability V4.4: Performance & Scalability v4.5: Installation Wizard, SSL Support, Page & User Quotas, Profile, more AJAX support v4.6: Authentication Providers, Components Installer, Skin Token Repl. v4.7: Import/Export Page, Newsletter Enhancements V4.8: Support for VS 2008 & IIS 7, SQL 2008, Server 2008 DNN v4.3 and v3.3 were functionally equivalent, divergence has occurred since then History: 3.3 – Data Access, Event Queue, Folder Security, Membership, Nav Provider, Page Templates, Profile, Role Groups, Roles, Usability 3.2 – Client API / AJAX, Windows Authentication 3.1 – Core Modularization, Web Farm Support 3.0 – Client API, Core Modularization, Data Model, File Manager, Friendly URLs, Import/Export, Installation/Provisioning, Static Localization, Portal Module Defn’s, Portal Search, URL Abstraction 2.1 – Event Logging, Rich Text Editor, Scheduler, SolPartMenu Skin Object, System Messages, URL Abstraction 2.0 – Skinning & DAL

Installing Install vs. Source Packages Dev Machine vs. Server Virtual Machine Staging Options: Modules, Authorization, Languages Initial Configuration: Directory permissions SQL database Virtual web directory, ASP.NET v2 Edit new web.config (DB conn, MachineKeys, custom)

Demo - Installation Installation Walkthrough V4 Features - briefly

Configuring & Managing Host vs. Portal Admin Roles Portal Templates, Site Wizard Install Modules & Skins, custom modules Skin portals, pages, modules Providers for plug-in flexibility Data access, membership/roles/profile, authentication, html edit, search, scheduling, logging, friendly urls, navigation, caching Custom Module / Resources Installer Install page or scheduled event Scheduled Tasks Virtualization – many portals/subs in 1 install Backup & Disaster Planning Host – controls overall installation & configuration Parent & Child Portals, Aliases Create locales, change resource files Payment processing, demos, premium services Friendly URLs Set site log storage to database or file Caching & Performance settings Portal Admin – manages single site configuration Site Wizard Vendors & Banner Ads Newsletters (Bulk Email in v2) Apply skins & containers Choose locale (applies resource files)

Deploying Your Portal Local vs. hosted install Portal Aliases Ideally: your web host supports DNN auto install Reality: build a local staging site first Object: install only runtime files on hosted site Upgrades: rehearse on your staging site first! Portal Aliases Shared hosting / databases use objectQualifier (any unique string) in web.config for shared DBs Running in Medium Trust environments add requirePermissions=“False” to all config sections see Code Access Security (CAS) doc Use portal templates & module/page exports to deploy content Think through (& test!) your backup / restore process Host access: Dedicated, FTP, Zipfile, auto install DNN Medium Trust: add requirePermissions=“False” to all config sections (see Install Guide p.18) Trigger an install with AutoUpgrade=False by browsing to: Install/Install.aspx?mode=Install

Upgrading DotNetNuke Third Party Modules? Stage Intermediate Versions: V1.0.10  v2.1.2  v3.3.7  v4.8.2 Process: Rehearse the upgrade on your staging site! Back up current files, configuration, database, web.config Use app_offline.htm to display upgrading message (ASP.NET v2) Unzip the Upgrade/Install package into portal directory Source package: no auto upgrade from DNN v3 to v4 Configure new web.config DB connection strings, MachineKeys, custom settings Set AutoUpgrade setting in web.config to False while configuring site Browse to: <url>/install/install.aspx?mode=install Obsolete files are automatically deleted (\portals\_default\<ver>.txt) Option: after upgrade, export/import to a clean install to get fresh DB

Upgrade Rules Migrate only between same DB versions Upgrade at most one major version at a time Always use clean web.config Carefully match machine keys Change only one thing at a time Test & backup! Shoot for a clean DB and directories Tips & Tricks: Simplify the site Use standard modules Check for 3rd party module upgrades Upgrade custom modules separately Copy/paste obsolete content into HTML modules Keep your old site online for comparison DNN forums & Gemini bug tracker are excellent resources for problem solving Rehearse your upgrade

Other Discussion Staging Strategies Migration is difficult Portal Export doesn’t include users No tools for separating portals Migration Case Studies Intranet: v1.0  v4.5 Hosted: v3.0.12  v4.8.0 Collaborative vs. Single Admin Sites Module Development Running Multiple Portals

Resources DotNetNuke.com Resource Sites: Blogs & Forums Bug Tracker (Gemini) Projects DNN Marketplace Resource Sites: http://webcontrols.dotnetnuke.com/- DNN WebControls Project http://www.dnnwiki.net/ - DNN community Encyclopedia http://www.dnnskins.com - DNN skinning resources http://DNNCreative.com - Magazine SnowCovered.com – commercial modules User Groups Presentations & Webcasts http://www.vbnetexpert.com/DotNetNuke/DNNDownloads/tabid/32/Default.aspx

Migration Case Study v1.0  v4.5 Corporate Intranet V1 was working fine, new face & features desired Core code was modified, one custom module Hardcoded skin, bug fixes Few 3rd party modules used (blog, gallery) V1.0.10e  v4.5.3 Summer Intern project Staged & tested to minimize data loss Elapsed time: 6 weeks Objectives: Improved stability New capabilities: Modules Skinning AD integration ASP.NET v2 module dev document directories w/ role security Going “all the way” didn’t work v1.0  v4.5, had to break it down into stages

Migration v1  v4.5 - Stage 1 v1.0.10e  v2.1.2 Backup Unzip v2.1.2 to new directory (source only) Point virtual directory to new install New web.config points to prior DB Copy \Portals contents to new directory Visit site, upgrades smoothly Delete obsolete modules (gallery, blog, custom) Console app automates the process

Migration v1  v4.5 - Stage 2 v2.1.2  v3.2.2 Backup Unzip v3.2.2 Install package to new directory Point virtual directory to new install New web.config points to prior DB Copy \Portals contents to new directory Issues during upgrade: Main Links module no longer on all pages IFrame, Text/HTML ugprade bugs Legacy ContainerSrc setting hiding some containers Click tracking and link logging history lost This step was necessary because too much content was lost going directly to v3.3.7 Created a script to assist in fixing the upgrade issues.

Migration v1  v4.5 – Stage 3 v3.2.2  v3.3.7 Backup Unzip v3.3.7 Install package to new directory Point virtual directory to new install New web.config points to prior DB Ensure MachineValidation/DecryptionKeys match Copy \Portals contents to new directory Upgrades smoothly

Migration v1  v4.5 – Stage 4 v3.3.7  v4.5.3 Backup Unzip v4.5.3 Install package to new directory Point virtual directory to new install Set to ASP.NET v2, set Request Execution Timout=600 New web.config points to prior DB Ensure MachineValidation/DecryptionKeys match Add <httpRuntime executionTimeout=“600”> Copy \Portals contents to new directory Obtain latest Contacts module Rename \Install\*.resource to *.zip for all modules After upgrade, export portal template This step was necessary because the v4.5.5 portal wouldn’t export/import a portal template to itself, but v4.5.5 would import v4.5.3 template

Migration v1  v4.5 – Stage 5 v4.5.3  v4.5.5 Backup Unzip v4.5.5 Install package to new directory Point virtual directory to new install Set to ASP.NET v2, set Request Execution Timout=600 New web.config points to empty DB Ensure MachineValidation/DecryptionKeys match Add <httpRuntime executionTimeout=“600”> Custom install, include all modules Site Wizard: import v4.5.3 portal template Copy \Portals\_default from v4.5.3 to v4.5.5 Fix up Documents & Links modules – pointers mixed up Put documents into subdirectories with roles The export/import step was to insure we were running from a clean DB (not upgraded v1  v4.5)

Migration v1  v4.5 – Finishing Bringing the new portal into production Backup Set portal alias to Intranet URL Create vdir to original portal for reference Created and installed a new skin Set up Active Directory authentication Rebuilt Gallery module contents Saved some original blog content into HTML Tested & fixed up a few minor problems