DotNetNuke v4 Overview Stan Schultes Enterprise architect / application developer Conference speaker, mentor, trainer Contributing Editor, Visual Studio Magazine Microsoft MVP www.vbnetexpert.com stan@vbnetexpert.com DotNetNuke (DNN) is a highly dynamic, stand-alone open source Microsoft ASP.NET portal application with build-in content management. In this overview, we'll walk through v4.3 and look at what's new. We'll talk about the DNN package distribution options, installation guidance, deployment, and upgrades. Level 100.

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.

Audience Polls How much experience with ASP.NET (0,<1yr, 1-2yr, 2-3yr, >3yr)? Using ASP.NET v2 in production (Y/N)? Who is using DNN in production today (Y/N)? Who is building Custom Modules (none, v1, v2, v3, v4)?

Presentation Outline DNN Technical Overview v4 – First Look DNN Today – v4.3 / v3.3 Package Distribution Options Installation Guidance Deployment Upgrades Web Portal Introduction What is a Web Portal? Business Case Open Source Project DotNetNuke Project History Target Audiences: Web Hosters Corporate Portal Developers Individual Users

Technical Overview Framework application, modular construction Core provides plumbing Provider model allows pluggable services 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 vs. Portal Admin roles 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. Portals / Pages / Modules Dynamically loaded user controls All are individually skinnable Virtualizable – create many portals & sub-portals in the same installation Membership – Roles & Users Host vs. Portal Admin Online configuration & management by role

First Look at DNN v4 v3.3 / v4.3 – new features (also v3.2 / v4.0): Membership, Roles, Profile – Systems Rewritten Client API / AJAX Navigation provider Windows Authentication Installer process Not so many “visual” changes – more under the covers  Keep in mind that DNN v4.0 and v3.2 are functionally equivalent

First Look at DNN v4

DNN Today – v4.3 and v3.3 V4.3 and V3.3 are functionally equivalent Sources are slightly different Projects will track together (near term) Build Runtime DB DNN v4.x VS 2005 only ASP.NET v2.0 SQL 2005 SQL 2000 DNN v3.x VS 2003 only ASP.NET v1.1

Package Distribution Options Install vs. Source Install package – upgrades from v3 to v4 Source package – no auto upgrade path Starter Kit (v4 only) Separate Docs Download (PDF) Customize Installation: Installation templates: install\template Modules customization: install\module Install\portal, language, container, skin V4 Source install contains .vb files – these are needed for the new codebehind deployment model. Installation templates: create your own!

DNN v4 Installation Guidance Unzip the Install package to a directory Set directory permissions (ASPNET/Network Service) Create empty SQL database, create account as db_owner Create virtual web directory, configure for ASP.NET v2 Set up site’s .config files: Copy config\SiteUrls.config to web root Rename release.config to web.config Edit web.config: DB connection strings MachineKeys Custom settings Browse to http://localhost/vdir - automatically sets up site Change Host and Admin passwords! Assumes installation to a staging site

Deploying Your Portal Local vs. hosted install 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! Shared hosting / databases use objectQualifier (any unique string) in web.config for shared DBs Set AutoUpgrade setting in web.config to False while configuring site Browse to: <url>/install/install.aspx?mode=install Running in Medium Trust environments add requirePermissions=“False” to all config sections see Code Access Security (CAS) doc Use portal templates & module 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 Source package: no auto upgrade from DNN v3 to v4 Project models & directory structures are different Back up current configuration, database, web.config Unzip the new install package into portal directory Configure new web.config DB connection strings, MachineKeys, custom settings Browse to the site Obsolete files are automatically deleted (\portals\_default\<ver>.txt) Rehearse the upgrade on your staging site

DNN v4 – Tips & Tricks Use page preview as Admin (remember!) Modules visible only to Admin show red box pages visible only to Admin don’t show any flag Portal alias strings Add functionality with Custom Modules (vs. making core changes) Log Viewer Admin & Host show different item types Build a staging site for upgrades (VPC), always back up before attempting Documentation \documentation\StarterKit\*.html – installation guidelines Separate download: 27 PDFs – many details explained Watch DNN forums & bug tracker for status & fixes Visit the many resource sites for skins, containers, tutorials, other tips & tricks, etc.

Learn More www.dotnetnuke.com - project download (register) and info support.dotnetnuke.com - Gemini bug tracker http://forums.asp.net/90/ShowForum.aspx - DNN main forum http://www.dotnetnuke.com/default.aspx?tabid=795 - full DNN forums list http://forums.asp.net/1107734/ShowPost.aspx - DNN 3.2 and 4.0 (pinned post) http://forums.asp.net/1114393/ShowPost.aspx - DNN v4 starter kits & templates http://forums.asp.net/1105076/ShowPost.aspx - starter kits forum thread http://forums.asp.net/1123229/ShowPost.aspx - installing DNN v4 source http://www.adefwebserver.com/DotNetNukeHELP/DNN_Module4/ - DNN v4 module development tutorial http://forums.asp.net/1156381/ShowPost.aspx - discussion of web application projects http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/01/ExtremeASPNET/ - explains ASP.NET v2 codebehind model http://weblogs.asp.net/bsimser/archive/2006/01/31/437023.aspx - DNN vs. Sharepoint discussion http://sourceforge.net/projects/goog-sitemapgen/ - Google sitemap generator www.asp.net - Microsoft’s ASP developer site www.codeproject.com/database/ConfigureMSDE.asp?print=true TODO: Update this list