Happy Halloween - 2012!

Well here we are, finding ourselves on yet another All Hallows Eve! Happy Halloween everyone! For me intent means everything, and this is why Halloween is a fun time of year. As in the past, today's post is a recap of this months Freaky Tech Friday series. I really do enjoy trying to mix in the theme's of Halloween, with some value added focuses. It's good to try and be creative, and further help lighten the mood. We all work so hard in this Ecosystem, and so it's good to not take yourself so seriously, laugh, and enjoy the days we have been blessed with.

With that the following frighten list is the full representation of this year's Freaky Tech Friday's!

• Freaky Tech Friday - Tales from the Script
• Freaky Tech Friday - OData of Death
• Freaky Tech Friday - Invasion of the Conference Zombie's
• Freaky Tech Friday - Attack of the Resource Vampires

I do hope you have enjoyed this year's series of post. Further may you have fun with your family and friends today, no matter what you call it, or how you participate. Till Next Time!




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Freaky Tech Friday - Attack of the Resource Vampires

Welcome back Ghouls & Ghost, for this year's Shock-tober final fray into Freaky Tech Friday's! For those are still with us, you are the lucky souls who have traveled along the dark and twisted path. I end this years haunting season with a tale that strikes at the heart of many Microsoft Dynamics AX implementations. What I speak too is Attack of the Resource Vampires!



These resource sucking entities creep into existence, sometimes slowly, and sometimes right away in an instance of AX. They start with a focus around performance degrading as more and more processes are spun up for a customer. Those unknowing, slowly loose their ability to respond fast to process needs. Reports start to creep with on-set of early aging - as it would appear at least.

The major attack for these creepy creatures is typically a customers Microsoft SQL Server Database. This is the heart of performance, and like any good vampire, resource vampires always go for the heart. It's where the life blood flows...



Fear not though, young AX travelers as there is remedy for this lifeless state one might find their instance of AX in. There is hope for battling back the waves and waves of complaints from end users, as the processes & reports they so dearly need, dwindle into performance nightmares.

In order to fight back the unholy horde of resource sucking vampires, one must be armed with the right knowledge and correct tools. The sacred text tells us that the focus must first be on your SQL Server for getting the most out of your AX Investment from a performance perspective. There is a guide to this, once that applies to AX 2009 as well as AX 2012. You may find access to this guide, to the first step into performance enlightenment here.: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 White Paper: Planning Database Configuration. Keep in mind this applies, the same level of needs, no matter virtual or physical.

The idea is to attack the resource vampires foothold, with correct TempDB file settings, having create Disk I/O for Transaction Log commits, and enough RAM to load your entire DB - if possible. Further and beyond that is a focus on indexes. After having your SQL Server set in order, ready to fight, the next level the resource vampires move into is the indexes. They latch onto queries that execute and cause either full table scans or Clustered Index Scans. Both are costly and both can be addressed with equal levels of success. The focus here is around having the concept of "coverage indexes", that is an index that covers the where clause of your queries for the business logic and reports that execute them.

After this the resource vampires start to feel the pressure as your performance story starts to take a turn for the better, instead of one for the worse. Here is where those ugly resource sucking creatures dig in, and latch themselves onto poorly wrote code. We all have sinned in such ways, creating nested while selects that make multiple trips to the database.

The way out from this painful plight is to endure an analysis of the processes being reported as slow, and trace through the code that represents said processes. Find the resource vampires hiding in those nested while selects, or where clauses that have no coverage index. Then address them head on! Take them out, by changing the nested while selects to more complex joins, that reduce the result set being sent from the SQL Server to the end user.

There are other area's that one can look to totally eradicate the evil entities, but the above should be the majority focus for gaining ground and taking control of your instance of AX. Beyond the Server, Database, Indexes and code - sometimes the process has to be reconsidered for desired speed.

Well Ghouls & Ghost, take this warning about resource vampires to heart, and arm yourself's with the knowledge found above to fight back! Further you can download from InformationSource the IDMF tool, that helps with the on-going fight of battling these monters. Further a final warning on this, always stay vigilent in your efforts as performance tuning is a dynamic, on-going process. Let it slip, and before long your knee deep back into resource sucking vampires everywhere you turn!

I hop you have enjoyed this season's gruesome tales of Freaky Tech Friday's! I will leave you with what I looked like after have falling, and becoming a conference zombie. Be warned, the following picture shows the shadow of the man I once was, just before departing for Seattle.




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Freaky Tech Friday - Invasion of the Conference Zombie's

Welcome back Ghouls & Ghost to another gruesome tale, from the world of Freaky Tech Friday! Today's I will guide you through the Invasion of the Conference Zombie's.



It's such a seemingly subtle process at first really, that of one becoming a conference zombie. Hordes just do not appear from no where, there is a point, in which the scale of infection, creates such hordes as the one pictured above.

It's starts with the arrival to the location, like that of Seattle for this years AXUG Summit. Fresh, ready to go, attending, speaking, sharing and learning. Day one comes and goes, and this is when the infection strikes. It's within the after hours of the normal days process, that first party or after event that we see the creation of our patient zero zombie.

Alcohol, the partaking of spirits magnifies the virus and starts to spread like laughter in a nitrous-oxide plant. The on set is not even noticed, and the unknowing, moving towards the undead continue down the dark path.

Day two arrives, with the blast of the alarm clock, aching feet, heads - and for those speaking the beginning stages of lost voice. This second day is the real acceleration from the living to the Conference Zombie transformation. The action of non-stop sessions, brain retching information, and constant value added connections brings on the full cycle of the Conference Zombie.

Night falls, and are now weary - near drooling shadow of what was once a human only 72 hours earlier, shuffles along, following others of the similar fate as he to yet again try and drown the pain of the process with consumption of beer, wine and whatever drink of choice our now Zombie craves.

All only increase the affects, and at this stage nothing can fill the hunger. "Value! Value! Must seek Value from Conference... ARRGGAGAH!"

Next day arrives, and the body shuffles from bed, to shower, to keynote, to session after session after session. Some totally lose the ability to recognize their fellow Zombie's. Brain functions slowly diminish, and what information and knowledge was gained slips back into the void where our Zombie now calls it's home.

To top this off, this year is even more terrifying as there is yet another value added conference back-to-back, that of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2 Tech Conference. This will surely unleash on the world even more conference Zombie. For those poor souls that made the choice of attending both - there is no hope for them to ever recover and return back to the land of the living.

How does one avoid this tragic ending? How does one stay on the straight and narrow. Unlike other past stories from Freaky Tech Friday this one has no redeeming message to share. All hope is lost! The only fact that gives comfort is your not alone, and you can continue to Share, Connect & Learn with your fellow Conference Zombie's till the end of time!

Even those smart patrons of such events, who stay away from the flow of liquid courage - they too fall prey to this sad state and add to the onslaught which is The Invasion of the Conference Zombie's

That's all for this weeks frighten tale. If your one of the lucky Zombie who can still read, and have some form of thought after attending this event and dare to venture back, make sure to check out next Friday's tale as we return for more ghoulish gore in Freaky Tech Friday's!
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Freaky Tech Friday - OData of Death

Welcome back Ghouls & Ghost, where you find yourself once again traveling into the strange unknown of Freaky Tech Friday!. Today I have an especially scary tale, for those of you brave enough to dare listen. Be fore warned, as this story goes deep into the unknown, down into the deeps of the ODataQueryService for AX 2012.



That's right, you are now listening to the tale of OData of Death! This tale, like most of its sort, starts off in a typical fashion. A BI or X++ Developer is working on a Query in AX 2012, minding their own business, when they activate there work, go to see the ODataQueryService and .... Nothing!.



What horrible cause could this be? Why will the query not show up as a valid OData feed? OData of Death has struck again, in another AX 2012 instance. In fact there are four deadly sins of query's and the ODataQueryService in general, that control the fate of our much needed hero, known as Personal BI!

These deadly sins I refer to are.:

• OData protocol filters are not supported
• OData protocol create and update operations are not supported
• Each record in an OData query response must have a unique primary key. AOT queries with View data sources are therefore not OData query candidates and will not be displayed in an OData metadata request
• Only queries that support “Value-based paging” are executed. AOT queries whose FetchMode property value is “1:N” will generate an error message in the Windows Event Log

There we have it, and so our Query has fallen to one of these deadly sins. Which one could it be? Since we know that the first are not the cause of the sudden death to our work, it has to be one of the last two. In looking at our query design, we did not use a view.:



Then we must look at the very last sin, the one that can really change how we think about designing queries. That's right it was a FetchMode death! In looking at our query design, we have on the VendCertification data source, a FetchMode of 1:n.



Now to resurrect the dead, and bring forth our query to the living - we need to change the FetchMode from 1:n, back to 1:1. Then Deactivate the query in the Document Data Sources. Make sure to compile, and restore the query so the meta data is refreshed, and further refresh the Dictionary and Elements caches. At this point the ritual for reviving our query is complete. We can activate it once more, and see that our query now appears for use, via the ODataQueryService.



With this however, comes at a price. The data is not exactly as we would like it to be represented. What to do?! There is hope on the horizon, a changing of the wind soon - as it has been foretold that the second coming of AX 2012, in the form or AX 2012 R2 will bring with it redemption for some of these deadly sins.

Further you must think in terms of the desired usage and consumption of your data via OData Query feeds, and use the magic found in the sacred PowerPivot offering to join sources within it's mighty ability.

Well that's all for this weeks Freaky Tech Friday! I hope you avoid the deadly sins, and stay clear of the OData of Death scenario's! Come back next week, if you dare, for another frighten tale on Freaky Tech Friday!Till Next Time!
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Freaky Tech Friday - Tales from the Script

Well it's that time of year again Ghouls & Ghost, where we dare venture into the shocking weird Tech world in - Freaky Tech Friday!

For those of you new souls, who dare are walking this dark path for the first time - let me share past tales of old from last seasons haunting stories. Freaky Tech Friday Recap of Shock-tober 2011.



We kick off this years spooky fray into the unknown with Tales from the Script! This story, like most stories, starts out on a normal developer day - whisking away at creating X++ code for business logic in AX 2012. However, this normal day quickly dissipate into darkness as TypeScript enters the scene.



It's purpose is an attempt to harness the dark side forces of JavaScript in order to assert control of that which should not be said.

Our developer, now faced with the challenge of using JavaScript - putting away his total devotion to a single, simple path, means he has a hoard of options in which to walk down this dark, spiral of doom. Learning the ways of the Sith... err... TypeScript, will enable our developer to master the dark side.



He can now call on the power of a mighty enforcer found in Visual Studio 2012. With this only the developer uses TypeScript, and with his trusted enforcer Visual Studio can he conjure up powerful dark side JavaScript output - that is targeted for scale beyond what is capable today.

In order to master this new sorcery our developer travels to a distant land and time called TypeScriptLang.org where he can download the compiler as well as the Visual Studio 2012 plug-in..

Our developer continues his fall into the wild, and with the aid of the following Source Code, as well as examples of learning how to use TypeScript today, gains understanding in how to conjure up such dark code.

With this new knowledge, our innocent developer can now bend the will of JavaScript to his desire, creating sinister web targeted apps for a multitude of targeted devices. Further with his existing knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics Ax, he can unleash a set of Data-Centric apps for consumption that target multiple use cases - all then as his beckoning JQuery calls.



If you dare to take this path yourself, be fore warned that this new language we call TypeScript is still considered to be in beta (v 0.8.0) for the enforcer know as Visual Studio 2012. However if mastered, TypeScript can bring to bare much needs types, classes and modules - Object Oriented Structures - to a once know as lacking in structure language, the dark side, JavaScript.

That's all for this Freaky Tech Friday Ghouls & Ghost. If you survived, and dare to return make sure and check back soon as next Friday will be the next installment of a frighten scare "OData of Death!". Till Next Time!
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Happy Halloween!

Emoticon Pumpkin Art, designed and carved by me!

Well, Halloween is here, and we are smack in the middle of fall. I love fall, one of my favorite times of the year, other than the cold of course. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween this year. My treats, for everyone, is a recap post of the Freaky Tech Friday series I did to honor Halloween.

• It came from Another Platform
• The Abyss of Integration
• Attack of the Zombie Processes
• The Killing Zone

I hope you have enjoyed this series. It was my, at times, cheesy attempt to mix in some form of a tribute to this time of year, mixed with some decent content that hopefully was relevant and added value.

There is a lot to cover for the Dynamics world right now, very exciting times in deed. We have AXUG Summit next week, which I will be at myself, as well as coming up other great events. So look for continued coverage of the Dynamics Ecosystem, right here.

That's all for now, once again have a safe, happy and scary - Halloween!

Till next time!

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Freaky Tech Friday - The Killing Zone

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, it seems you dare to return for the last and final Freaky Tech Friday post of this years haunting season. It came from Another Platform, didn't drive you away. Entering The Abyss of Integration didn't drive you mad, and your survived Attack of the Zombie Processes. Now let us enter, The Killing Zone.



This tale, is one of great suspense, and danger, focused around the fact that if the new design patterns, thought processes and concepts that come as part of AX 2012 are not fully understood and used, you will not make it out of the Killing Zone alive. You will end up dead! Or at least at a dead end with your Dynamics AX, and it's ROI. This is an easy place to survive if your new the the Dynamics AX world, however for those of us that have been working with the product since it earlier days, to quote "The Times, they are a changing".

To this point, they have changed, with so many different things to understand. One hot topic I keep talking about is around Workflows in AX 2012, and how it should be used to model business processes. There are several other area's however, from how you integrat with AX, making use of the SysOperations Framework, vs. RunBasebatch, and even planning for the new delcrative engine that empowers the new option for configuration needs that a customer might have for it's products.



I've not spent much time on this topic yet, however the new configurator within AX 2012 is based on Microsoft Solver Foundation technology, which is a declarative based decision engine, vs. the current Product Builder, rules based engine. Not to get to deep on this specific topic, as it well deserves many, many post.

Some Area's that need special attention, if you are to avoid having your final resting place be within the killing zone, are.:

• XDS vs. RLS - Record Level Security still exists in AX 2012, and is meant to support upgrades. However any new scope, should not use RLS, but instead make use of the new Extensible Data Security Framework
• RunBaseBatch & RunBaseReport - Again, here we have these in place and still used by out-of-the-box scope from Microsoft. With that, any new development should use the SysOperations Framework, or Business Operations Framework. It is true that this framework ends up, specifically for Batch using the underlying batch classes. However those are clearly marked as legacy code and will be ripped out in the next version as replaced. This is why it's important to use the new Design Concept and not get trapped into old habbits.
• Avoid the .Net BC - This is important one to really understand and take advantage of. For any new scope the .Net BC Should not be used. Instead the focus should be around services development in AX 2012, for internal and external of AX consumption and usage.

There are a lot of other, specific's that can trap you into falling into the killing Zone, and killing your chances of maximizing your ROI, and getting some great new use cases that come as part of what is offered now in AX 2012.

There are cases, specifically related to upgrades from older to version of AX to AX 2012, that you have to use the older concepts. As the value is not there maybe to change a bunch of code, as part of the upgrade, just to use the new frameworks. However, before AX 7 takes shape for such cases, those area's will have to be addressed. Also, when upgrading is the focus, still keep in mind that anything new, or anything that must change, should change and use the new concepts, vs. the older ones.

Well Ghosts and Ghouls, take heed to these warnings, and avoid having the killing zone be your final resting place. That's all the haunting post for this season of terror, stay safe and if you dare return, we shall be waiting here, ready to scare you next year.

Tell next time!

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Freaky Tech Friday - Attack of the Zombie Processes!

Well, I see you have come back for yet another tale of spine tingling terror. So far we have faced and survived together, It Came from Another Platform as well as The Abyss Of Integration. Now we venture into the wastelands, that once were filled with productive people. Now Zombie Processes have invaded, and are draining value from your current ERP legacy system. What exactly is a Zombie Process you may ask, let me explain...


Zombie - "typically depicted as mindless, shambling, decaying corpses."

+

Process - "typically describes the action of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures."

=

Zombie Process - "A mindless, shambling, decaying set of actions continued to be executed based on estalbished and forgetton procedures, that are very much routine."



With this set, then how would one avoid the horde, of mass decaying processes? How can you fend off this attack? Enter Super AX 2012, to save the day! With it's aresnal of weapons, AX 2012 can help beat back the onslaught of decaying processes in your company, with it's ability to agile, Dynamic in nature, and flexible as your business needs it to be.



With all the marketing taking out, in the real world, you can overcome process that are rigid, or where other legacy ERP systems have solidified you, and your innovation, with electronic concrete. I've seen AX 2012, in the wild now, battling through old harden processes, and slamming through the painfully stiff concrete walls that existed because of a legacy systems limits.

If anything, I think the issue is understanding the best path to take for value gained, as there are a lot of ways to solve business requirements with what AX 2012 offers, that never really existed before.

This warning of Zombie Processes, is also for Partners. We have to think differently than ever before in how we approach issues, and solutions to those issues. There are a lot of new design patterns, and ways things should be done with new processes, code, approaches to business requirements in general.

Some really clear examples of how AX 2012 makes the threat of Zombie processes forming an unstoppable hoard, can be seen in recent post's that I've spent a lot of time. First the Modeling the world, concept that can be seen specifically in the desired vision to use Workflows in AX 2012 to enable business process modeling.



With this, business processes are much more flexible, as they were modeled using the .Net Workflow designer. In the past workflows were not as flexible, in terms of AX, until AX 2012. The benefit in this, is that you can code less and model more, for business processes, and in turn business process management can have real impact on the process within AX.

When the business needs flexibility to change, it's very possible, and doesn't cost, or shouldn't cost, an arm and a leg, or a few hundred brains, to change. This focus on modeling is really a key concept, one that truly makes AX 2012 a generational shift in ERP technology. I mean if a business can change it's workflow in it's ERP package, with little technical help, how fast a business can move is up to them. No limited by brain eating zombie processes!

To wrap up, the take away, is a focus on modeling with AX 2012. This includes business process modeling, as well as other key concepts like organizational, security, etc. Focus your functional and technical designs for these area's around the latest design patterns and key concepts. There are a lot of great new things in AX 2012, and modeling business processes with workflows is for sure one of those area's.

Well, looks like we will survive the Zombie Process Apocalypse, thanks to our super hero, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. A powerful weapon, in the rights hands of a trusted Partner. Scare you next week Ghosts and Ghouls, when we dare enter "The Killing Zone".

Update: I did want to tip my hat to the *nix crowd, in that these Zombie Processes have nothing in relation to the term used for Unix / Linux OS Zombie Processes. So there you go...

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