TFVC vs. TF-Git – A Quick Survey

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately about whether it would make sense for our application development teams to make the move to Team Foundation Git (TF-Git) as the primary version control choice within TFS. We are still using TFS 2010 as our primary TFS instance today although we have several projects in Team Foundation Service (TFService) as part of a pilot.  As we make preparations to move to TFS 2013 (we have not yet decided if we’ll host TFS 2013 on premises or if we’ll make exclusive use of the TFService) we are putting some thought into whether or not we should make the leap to TF-Git.

There are plenty of pros and cons regardless of which option is chosen.  For example, TF-Git is very well suited for disconnected scenarios and also provides amazing support for branching and merging code.  On the other hand, TFVC provides the common “check out/check in” workflow that so many of us are used to today.  It also provides the ability to place exclusive locks on files that are notoriously difficult to merge such as XML files (e.g. workflow, SSIS packages, etc.).

While it’s easy enough for me to solicit the opinions of my co-workers, I’d also like to get your opinions.  To make this as easy as it can be, I’ve created a simple survey with six questions (see screenshot below).

So, please take a moment and take the survey.
 

We will keep the survey open for about two weeks.  Once the results have been collected, I will share them on this blog.

UPDATE: The final survey results have been posted here.

200GB Option for SkyDrive

If you’ve been waiting for the option to buy more than 100GB of storage on SkyDrive, your wait is over.  You can now buy an extra 200GB of storage space for $100/year. As you can see in the screenshot below, the space you purchase is added on to whatever you already have (in the Total Space column).

The current price per GB is $0.50/year vs. ~$0.60 per GB/year for Google Drive.  Not a huge difference but a little less.  Though Google Drive makes up for part of this by providing the first 15GB free (vs. 7GB for SkyDrive).

Also, if you buy one of the new Surface 2 devices, you will get 200GB of SkyDrive storage free for two years.

Tracking Home Inventory

About a month ago, I received a message from my sister informing me that her house had been robbed and that pretty much everything of value had been stolen.  Luckily, she wasn’t home when the robbery took place so she wasn’t in any danger of being harmed.  Not everything that was taken can be replaced (e.g. family heirlooms, jewelry, etc.) so we are hopeful that at least some of her valuables will be located.  However, if they are located, she will still have to prove they are hers.  Luckily, she had recorded the serial numbers of the items (e.g. camera, laptop, etc.).  Having the serial numbers recorded does not guarantee that one will get their stolen property returned to them.  However, if your stolen property is recovered, it will definitely increase the likelihood of getting your items back.

A day or two after my sister’s bad news had settled in, I started thinking about what would happen if I were in the same situation (which, obviously, I hope to never be).  I could get to a few serial numbers on-line based on when I originally registered specific items.  However, I did not have an official home inventory list of the valuables throughout our house.  So, I decided to start the list (I spaced the task of filling out the list over the course of a couple of weeks) in Excel.

Rather than create my own home inventory list in Excel, I decided to search the available templates.  Searching for “home inventory” turned up two templates:

Creating a new spreadsheet based on this template provides a great starting point for tracking the valuables throughout your house (or office or wherever you want to track an inventory).  The template is easy to use and understand.

However, not everyone has Excel installed and available.  No problem!  With Microsoft’s SkyDrive, you can get access to Microsoft’s Web Office Applications at no charge (i.e. FREE)!  If you haven’t already signed up for a SkyDrive account, I highly recommend it.  The first 7GB of storage space is complete FREE, plus, you also get access to the web versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote!

One thing to consider is that the web version of Excel does not have the same rich set of templates available that you would get in the desktop version.  All that means is that you have to come up with the spreadsheet design yourself.  To make it easier, I’ve already created a Home Inventory Excel spreadsheet (loosely based on the template shown above) and made it publically available to simplify the process.  This spreadsheet looks something like this:

Probably the biggest advantage of tracking your home inventory within a SkyDrive-based document is that if your computer is ever stolen (let’s hope that never happens!) you will still have your home inventory (and any other documents you’ve stored in SkyDrive) safe and accessible from practically any other device you have access to.

Also, along with serial numbers, descriptions, cost and value, it is a good idea to take pictures of your valuables as well.  You cannot paste images into a web-based Excel spreadsheet (you can in the desktop version) but you can create a dedicated folder within SkyDrive to store pictures of your valuables (which can be linked to from within your spreadsheet).  Just something else to consider when building out your inventory.

You can download the above Excel-based Home Inventory template from here.

*Full Disclosure: I’m a SkyDrive Insider, ask me about SkyDrive or learn more about the SkyDrive Insiders program here.

.NET Mocking Framework Survey Results

Two weeks ago, I posted a survey (using Excel Surveys available in SkyDrive) asking you what your preferred/primary .NET mocking framework was. We plan to use this data to help drive out which frameworks we want to evaluate further.

The survey closed yesterday and, out of 147 responses, here is how everything shook out:

147 responses may not seem like a lot and, in the grand scheme of all .NET developers across the world, it’s not.  There are several ways you can look at this number:  Out of everyone that viewed the survey request, the majority of them didn’t want to take the time to give their input; they don’t use .NET-based technologies and/or mocking frameworks; I just didn’t reach a wide enough audience and/or provide enough time to get the word out about the survey; or there was some other reason they didn’t bother with the survey that I’m just not thinking of at the moment.

In regards to this penultimate point above, here was my general approach for getting the survey link out:

• Posted to my blog – just over 225 page views (as of a few moments ago) – not a huge number by any stretch
• Posted to my twitter feed – roughly 250 followers – again, not a huge number. This one is a little harder to judge because I don’t know how many times it was re-tweeted, copied and tweeted, etc.
• Posted to Google+ – don’t know the impact – likely very, very small
• Posted on my LinkedIn timeline – 279 connections
• Posted on two separate LinkedIn groups: .NET Developers & .NET Professional with .NET Developers having a membership of about 148,000
• Various e-mail distribution lists – not sure of the count

Click here to view the full survey results.

[Updated: Fixed broken survey link]

A Backup Strategy

Anyone using computers for any amount of time knows that backups are a must.  We’ve all heard or read that it’s not if your hard drive fails but rather when your hard drive fails you’ll wish you had backed up your files.  However, history has taught me that it’s not always a failed hard drive that makes me run to my backups but the more likely catalyst is my own actions.  For example, have you ever re-imaged a computer, thinking you’ve backed up everything you considered important, only to realize five minutes after installing the operating system that you forgot to include something really important in the backup set?  I have! :-)

So, with the new year starting, now is a great time to think about a backup strategy.  Even if you have a backup strategy, it’s still a good idea to review your backup process to ensure everything that needs backing up is actually getting backed up.

If you have ever researched backup strategies it’s no doubt that you have heard of the “backup rule of three” also known as the “backup 3-2-1” rule.  I have no idea how long this rule has been around as I can’t seem to locate the origin.  It essentially states the following when creating data backups:

3. Keep three copies of everything you intend on backing up.
2. Maintain your backups in at least two different formats (e.g. hard drive and memory stick, cloud storage and DVD, etc.).
1. Ensure at least one copy is kept off-site (e.g. in case of a disaster such as a flood or fire).

Based on these rules I have made use of the following technologies to satisfy my backup needs:

1. SkyDrive – If you are not familiar with Microsoft’s SkyDrive service, you should definitely check it out.  You are provided with 7 GB of on-line storage space for free – 25 GB if you happened to get in on an upgrade deal that was offered a few months back (plus another 100 GB if you happened to attend this year’s //Build/ conference).  SkyDrive also comes with free use of Microsoft’s web-based Office products including Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Excel, and Excel Surveys.  If 7 or 25 GB is not enough space, you can pay to upgrade your space.  There are also mobile clients available for Windows Phone, iPhone/iPad, and Android-based devices.  For more information regarding SkyDrive and its features, click here.
   
   In my case, I use SkyDrive to store my various documents including Word and PowerPoint files, all my photos and music, and miscellaneous other files.  Pretty much anything that I would like to have easy access to from any device I may be using.  I do not store my videos on SkyDrive, however, due to their large size.
   
   
2. Windows 8 Storage Spaces – Used in conjunction with a local machine running Windows 8 Pro (the only “tower” PC on my home network), Storage Spaces provides added protection through mirroring or parity.  In my case, I have three physical hard drives tied together via Storage Spaces using parity (~RAID 5).  If any of the three drives fail, I can replace the malfunctioning drive and the missing data will be restored automatically.  Also, if I need to add more storage to my server, I can simply install a new hard drive and add it to the Storage Spaces pool.
   
   This server is used as a central location for all backups on my home network as well as the primary storage location for all photos, music, and videos.
   
   
3. Carbonite – Similar to SkyDrive, Carbonite offers cloud-based storage.  However, Carbonite is designed and built from the ground up for backup purposes.  Carbonite’s pricing plans are very attractive as well, starting at only $59/year for unlimited storage space (for one PC).  One of the best features of Carbonite is its simplicity.  For the most part, you simply install it, sign in to Carbonite, and forget it.  However, by default, video files are not backed up (note that videos are automatically backed up with the Home Premier service).  However, it’s a simple matter of right-clicking the video files and telling Carbonite to back them up.
   
   I use Carbonite to backup my Windows 8 Pro machine – which contains all the documents and files that I care about.  Depending on how many files you have to backup, it can literally take days (weeks?) to perform the initial backup.  However, once the initial backup has been completed, new files or modifications to existing files are backed up quickly.  In the case you ever need to restore lost or damaged files the restore process can also take an extended amount of time based upon the overall size of data that needs to be restored.  If you anticipate the need to restore large amounts of data, Carbonite offers a courier service as part of their Home Premier plan in which case they will mail you a copy of your data on physical media.

The following diagram provides a general overview of how the above technologies are tied together:

With all that said, does my approach satisfy the “Backup 3-2-1” rule?  Let’s see…

3. Keep three copies of everything you intend on backing up.  Yes.  I have copies on my local file server, in SkyDrive (with the exception of videos), and within Carbonite.  I suppose I’m skimping a little bit here with videos but I am also banking on Carbonite to take reasonable steps to ensure they don’t lose my backups on their end.
2. Maintain your backups in at least two different formats (e.g. hard drive and memory stick, cloud storage and DVD, etc.).  Yes.  I have backups on local hard drives as well as two separate cloud services.
1. Ensure at least one copy is kept off-site (e.g. in case of a disaster such as a flood or fire).  Yes.  I am utilizing two separate cloud services.

So far this backup approach is working for me.  Although I believe it is a good approach it is by no means the only approach or even necessarily the best approach.  As with most processes out there, use what works for you and throw the rest out :-)  If nothing else, hopefully this post will at least get you thinking about backups and implementing a solution before you actually need it.

What backup strategy are you using?  If you have some great ideas, please let us know in the comments below.

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//build/ 2012 100GB SkyDrive Voucher Never Expires

For those lucky enough to attend the //build/ conference this year, you not only received a Microsoft Surface RT tablet PC and a Nokia Lumina 920 smartphone but also a voucher for 100GB of additional SkyDrive storage. After applying my voucher code to my existing SkyDrive account, I had a total of 125GB of storage. The extra 100GB shows up as an "enthusiast bonus" as shown here:

Naturally, the first question I had after adding the additional storage was - Does the Enthusiast Bonus ever expire? After posting my question to the SkyDrive forums and not getting an answer after a couple of days, I contacted the SkyDrive Billing Support team. After about 12 days, I finally received the following response:

Thank you for your patience. We have already gotten word from the billing escalation team regarding your inquiry. The SkyDrive Enthusiast bonus for 100 GB once redeemed, will not expire as long as you keep your SkyDrive account active. Sincerely, Tier 2 - Microsoft SkyDrive Billing Support

So, there you have it... the 100GB is yours to keep! :-)