Run .NET Code from a shared drive/directory

Security is an issue whenever running code from an untrusted source like a shared or network drive. It would be nice to be able to put an application on a share drive to run whether it be in C# or VB .NET.

Normally, when you try to run .NET code on a shared network drive you will get an exception like System.Security.Permissions.SecurityPermission .


There is a way to relax the security via the caspol.exe command(For .Net Framework 2.0 "C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\CasPol.exe -s off").

An application may be launched with one simple batch file as follows:

AllInOne.BAT:
@ECHO OFF

REM Relax security constraints for .NET
START C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\CasPol.exe -s off

REM Pause until first command has executed
Set Count=1
:LOOP
Set /A Count=%Count%+1
If %Count% lss 100 GoTo :LOOP

REM Launch .NET application
"""SomeExecutable.exe"""

REM Remove relaxation of security constraints
TASKKILL /im CasPol.exe

@ECHO ON
*****************************

A pause is required to allow caspol to start up before launching the .NET application.

But of course this implementation does meet the requirements of launching the .NET application from the shared location but there are those DOS windows which are open and probably not that desirable.

These can be avoided with 2 BAT files and 2 VBS files as follows. This is just one way of doing it but there are probably better ways out there.

launch.bat (Main file)
****************
@ECHO OFF
REM Main Launch for .NET application on share drive
REM VBS script used so there is not a DOS console opened up

START launchtasks.vbs

@ECHO ON
****************

launchtasks.vbs
****************
On Error Resume Next

CmdLine = """tasks.bat"""
Params = ""
CmdLine = CmdLine & " " & Params

'Launch without window
wscript.echo fShellRun(CmdLine)

Function fShellRun(sCommandStringToExecute)
' This function will accept a string as a DOS command to execute.
' It will then execute the command in a shell, and capture the output into a file.
' That file is then read in and its contents are returned as the value the function returns.
Dim oShellObject, oFileSystemObject, sShellRndTmpFile
Dim oShellOutputFileToRead, iErr
Set oShellObject = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Set oFileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
sShellRndTmpFile = oShellObject.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%temp%") & oFileSystemObject.GetTempName
On Error Resume Next
oShellObject.Run sCommandStringToExecute & " > " & sShellRndTmpFile, 0, True
iErr = Err.Number
On Error GoTo 0
If iErr <> 0 Then
fShellRun = ""
Exit Function
End If
fShellRun = oFileSystemObject.OpenTextFile(sShellRndTmpFile,1).ReadAll
oFileSystemObject.DeleteFile sShellRndTmpFile, True
End Function
****************

tasks.bat
****************
@ECHO OFF

REM Relax security constraints for .NET
REM Run this in VBS to avoid a DOS WINDOW
START caspol.vbs

REM Pause until first command has executed
Set Count=1
:LOOP
Set /A Count=%Count%+1
If %Count% lss 70 GoTo :LOOP

REM Launch .NET application
"""SomeExecutable.exe"""

REM Remove relaxation of security constraints (The >NUL is to avoid showing the info on the processes terminated)
TASKKILL /im CasPol.exe >NUL

@ECHO OFF
****************


caspol.vbs
****************
On Error Resume Next

'The command below will also depend on the .NET version of the application you are running

CmdLine = """C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\CasPol.exe"""
Params = "-s off"
CmdLine = CmdLine & " " & Params

'New way without window
wscript.echo fShellRun(CmdLine)

Function fShellRun(sCommandStringToExecute)
' This function will accept a string as a DOS command to execute.
' It will then execute the command in a shell, and capture the output into a file.
' That file is then read in and its contents are returned as the value the function returns.
Dim oShellObject, oFileSystemObject, sShellRndTmpFile
Dim oShellOutputFileToRead, iErr
Set oShellObject = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Set oFileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
sShellRndTmpFile = oShellObject.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%temp%") & oFileSystemObject.GetTempName
On Error Resume Next
oShellObject.Run sCommandStringToExecute & " > " & sShellRndTmpFile, 0, True
iErr = Err.Number
On Error GoTo 0
If iErr <> 0 Then
fShellRun = ""
Exit Function
End If
fShellRun = oFileSystemObject.OpenTextFile(sShellRndTmpFile,1).ReadAll
oFileSystemObject.DeleteFile sShellRndTmpFile, True
End Function
****************

ITIL Introduction videos

It has been a while since I have blogged here. My goal is to research a little into ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Libary)

I read "Foundations of IT Service Management Based on ITIL V3" a few months back and am trying to group some materials on an introduction to ITIL.

Let me say that up front the ITIL processes and lifecycle is very high level and hard to grasp at an implementation detail. I guess the key is to focus on a small portion of it and grow it out from there.

I found a couple youtube links that I think are easy to listen to.

Synopsis of the ITIL(r) V3 Foundations class:



EMC on ITIL:

EA and Integration Summit

I got back from the first day of the Enterprise Architecture and Integration Summit in Calgary May 12-14th. There were lots of interesting topics, considering of course if Enterprise Architecture, Service Oriented Architecture, ITIL, TOGAF and other methodologies interest you!

I recently finished my Master's Thesis which involved SOA, Zachman and TOGAF and how they can work together. The conference was much more entertaining. The first keynote was John Zachman and he revealed the new Zachman Framework 2 and handed out the new 6 x 6 matrix diagram. Check out http://zachmaninternational.com/2/standards.asp for info on the new framework. It is very similar but they went to work with some linguists to make sure there are "no adjectives" in the matrix. They wanted it to be more rigorous and easier to understand(clearer and "brushed up").

After John Zachman spoke, I had a chat with him and thanked him for his work on the framework. I was able to pose in a picture with him. He seems to be very friendly and no nonsense. Most of his talk was the view of "Architecture is Architecture is Architecture", the instance of the system is not architecture itself.

The funniest moment was when he displayed the IT problems they faced in 1965 and compared them to 2008. They were identical! Also, he showed a slide that showed all of the technologies that did not solve the problems: COBOL, Fortran, mainframe, client server,......, agile programming, web services, .NET, SOA. Technology does not solve these issues. Architecture is important.

Other talks I found interesting were Stan Locke talking about the new Zachman Framework, Bill Dupley spoke of HP's harnessing of ITIL for better management. It was pretty interesting and looking forward to tomorrow's session as well.

Enterprise Architecture Framework Applications towards SOA

I am in the final stages of completing my Thesis requirement for my MSc. in Information Systems at Athabasca University.

I am working through the final signoff but the latest version may be downloaded Enterprise Architecture Framework Applications Towards Service Oriented Architecture

ABSTRACT
A large challenge facing today’s enterprises is the integration of their own disparate systems to be more competitive and react more strategically to market opportunities. Service Oriented Architecture(SOA) is a style of architecture where the use of reusable and discoverable services are used as components to meet business requirements. The promise of SOA is that the use of these services will allow the organization to increase business agility and reuse of software components. There are some challenges to implementing a SOA. One of the challenges is to present view from the enterprise perspective. Typically, projects take only a view of individual business unit without concerns for the entire organization. Enterprise Architecture(EA) describes the current business and IT processes and how they map together. The two most popular EA Frameworks, Zachman Framework and The Open Group Architecture Framework(TOGAF), are designed to help the organization clarify the current IT Architecture and help provide a roadmap to the goal or future IT architecture. It is with the enterprise view that these frameworks provide that SOA can be supported towards a more successful implementation. There is work underway to determine the relationship between SOA and EA. Whether by clarification from industry experts or direct modifications of the EA Frameworks, EA Frameworks are being used to help implement SOA. It is through the enterprise view and architectural tools provided by the EA Frameworks that SOA can be supported.

Getting 2 .NET applications to use different Oracle Clients

It is not necessarily evident how to get 2 .NET applications to use 2 different Oracle clients on the same server. The following are some rough notes, but you should get the idea and hopefully save you some time as well.

Information can be found at
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/windows/odpnet/faq.html

But I will document what I found.

1. Getting the .NET applications to use the appropriate clients on my development machine

I had to follow some steps to get the different .NET applications to use the appropriate Oracle client.

http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/windows/odpnet/faq.html

Building a website with Oracle 92:
1. Close Visual Studio
2. Uninstall all Oracle Dlls to remove any 102 references
3. Install only the 9.2 Oracle dlls to the GAC:
4. Set Path with "C:\oracle\ora92\bin;" at the start of the Path environment variable
5. Start Visual Studio and Add Reference the first OracleDataAccess dll (despite what the version # says) to the project
6. Set the dll Copy Local to true for some reason then it compiles
7. Run the app and verify that the right dll is being used
Building a website with Oracle 102:
1. Close Visual Studio
2. Ensure that the 102 Oracle Dlls are in the GAC:
3. Set Path with "C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server\BIN\;" at the start of the Path environment variable
4. Start Visual Studio and Add Reference the first OracleDataAccess dll (despite what the version # says) to the project
5. Run the app and verify that the right dll is being used



uninstall All Oracle GAC dlls
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil.exe" /u Oracle.DataAccess
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil.exe" /u Policy.9.2.Oracle.DataAccess
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil.exe" /u Policy.10.1.Oracle.DataAccess



10.2.0.1 GAC install
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil.exe" /i C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server\BIN\Oracle.DataAccess.dll
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil.exe" /i C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server\ODP.NET\PublisherPolicy\Policy.10.1.Oracle.DataAccess.dll


9.2 GAC install only
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\gacutil.exe /i C:\oracle\ora92\bin\Oracle.DataAccess.dll

Your application can do a simple ""select count(*) on table" to verify functionality. To find out which dll you are exactly using, you can use
Type ttt = typeof(OracleConnection);
mes += "\n ttt.Assembly.FullName";



2. Note that setting the path variables for Windows Server does not help out the same as on XP

The path can be set in the application via setting the DLL path in the application itself as follows:

Inside Global.asax.cs:

[DllImport("kernel32.dll",SetLastError=true)]
static extern bool SetDllDirectory(string lpPathName);
protected void Application_Start(Object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string dllPath = ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["DllPath"];
bool result = SetDllDirectory(dllPath);
}


Inside Web.config

<appsettings>
<add key="DllPath" value="D:\oracle\Client_10g_1010\BIN">
</add>
</appsettings>

Scheduling a Task to run on a remote server

If you want to set up a scheduled task to execute remote code on another box you can do the following.

Assuming the you have a job server and code server where the executable lives.



Step 1: Create job.bat and job.vbs on the job server
Step 2: Create Scheduled Task to execute job.bat on a regular basis

For more on Scheduling Tasks you can try
http://www.iopus.com/guides/winscheduler.htm or http://www.google.com for more details

The files job.bat and job.vbs will reside on the job server and execute code living on the code server.


On the job server:

You will have a job.bat file to reference the job.vbs file:
"C:\Jobs\job.vbs"


Which will call a job.vbs file:

On Error Resume Next

Dim strComputer
Dim strCommand
Dim strUsername
Dim strPassword

'Configuration of Remote Server Location and credentials
strComputer = "computername"
strUsername = "username"
strPassword = "password"

'Task to execute on remote server
strCommand = """C:\Code\program.exe"""

'Script to execute remote command
ExecuteCommand strComputer,strCommand, strUsername, strPassword

Sub ExecuteCommand(strComputer,strCommand, strUsername, strPassword)

'wscript.echo("Executing " & strCommand & " on " & strComputer)

Set objSWbemLocator = CreateObject("WbemScripting.SWbemLocator")
Set objSwbemServices = objSWbemLocator.ConnectServer(strComputer,"root\cimv2", strUsername , strPassword)
Set objSWbemObject = objSWbemServices.Get("win32_Process")

errReturn = objSWbemObject.Create(strCommand,null,null,intProcessID)

'if errReturn = 0 then
' Wscript.Echo strCommand & " was started with a process ID of " & intProcessID & "."
'else
' Wscript.Echo strCommand & " could not be started due to error " & errReturn & "."
'end if

End Sub

SOA Approach to Integration

I was recently sent a copy of "SOA Approach to Integration" by Matjaz B. Juric, Ramesh Loganathan, Poornachandra Sarang, and Frank Jennings to review from the good people at http://packtpub.com.

It is a good overview of SOA concepts combined with Integration viewpoint. Integration is handled within SOA. SOA is about integration. Process Oriented Architecture was a term that was introduced. POA is about using BPEL to manage business processes with existing services.

All in all, a good review of SOA issues including ESB, WS specifications, XML considerations.


There are 6 chapters:


1.Integration Architecture, Principles and Patterns

Review of different integration technlologies and types of integration
overview of integration challenges, process is important
SOA and its associated technolgies is a valid approach to integration


2.Service and Process Oriented Architectures

POA is centered on the processes that "use" the services while SOA is about"providing" the services.
POA is the approach from the business side of things. It is about business process and main standards include BPEL, WSCI, etc.


3.Best Practices for Using XML for Integration

Review of XML with tops and issues to watch out for.

4.SOA and Web Services Approach for Integration

SOA is not web services but web services are the specification/technology of choice in the arena.
WS applies to both EAI and B2B as well as SOA.
Included some on the specification process.

5.BPEL and Process-Oriented Approach

Familiarization with BPEL and POA together.
With a sample application of BPEL towards a Billing Process

6.Service and Process Oriented Approach to Integration using Web Services

Putting it all together with the Enterprise Service Bus(ESB).
Discussion of the ESB and what it offers for Integration and SOA.