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Chris 4:31 pm on September 26, 2017  

Running ColdFusion 9 on Windows 10

CommandBoxLogoMost of us find it impossible to install and run Adobe ColdFusion (ACF) 9 on Windows 10. There are a select few that suspiciously find it easy to install and run on Windows 10.

One of the more popular methods is to create a Windows 7 Virtual Machine (VM) and install Windows 7 there. I’ve even done that. But what you find, particularly on Hyper-V, is that it lacks portability. I can’t reasonably send another developer my VM. #1 due to licensing issues #2 it can be huge depending upon the size you reserved for the virtual drive.

But thanks to the Ortus team, and with a little open mindness, CommandBox takes care of this issue. From the Ortus website: “CommandBox is a standalone, native tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux that will provide you with a Command Line Interface (CLI) for developer productivity, tool interaction, package management, embedded CFML server, application scaffolding, and some sweet ASCII art. It seamlessly integrates to work with any of our *Box products but it is also open for extensibility for any ColdFusion (CFML) project as it is also written in ColdFusion (CFML) using our concepts of CommandBox Commands. It tightly integrates with our contribution community; ForgeBox, so developers can share modules world-wide.”

So basically what’s going on here, in this blog entry’s context, is CommandBox will run ACF 9+, Railo 4.2 and Lucee 4.5+. This is done by running a WAR in Java against CommandBox’s own web server which still supports ACF9 integration. Technically you’re supposed install Java 1.7 for official support of ColdFusion 9. However, from what I’ve seen, it runs just fine on Java 1.8.

Here are the easy steps in Windows to get you running in less than 10 minutes:

  1. Download CommandBox at https://www.ortussolutions.com/products/commandbox#download. I suggest “With JRE Included”.
  2. Extract the contents to something like C:\CommandBox. For all other OS’s see Installation.
  3. Open a Command Prompt
  4. Go to your new directory, such as “CD C:\CommandBox”
  5. Type “box” and enter
  6. This will then initiate Box for the first time and then take you to the Box CLI.
  7. Change the directory to your first website that needs ColdFusion 9, in this example. ex: “cd \websites\cf9test”
  8. Here we will set the ColdFusion engine, version, hostname (optional) and name (optional). Run:
    server set app.cfengine=adobe@9 (this will run the latest version of ACF 9)
    server set web.host=cf9test.local (be sure to set in DNS or your hosts file to 127.0.0.1 or you will get a “Cannot assign requested address: JVM_Bind” error)
    server set name=cf9    *
  9. Step #8 will be saved in server.json and never needs to be done again as long as that file is intact. For more configuration arguments, see Server.json.
  10. Type “start” and enter**
  11. This will download the ColdFusion 9 WAR and extract it and then initialize it. This may take a number of minutes.
  12. Once CF9 is “installed” a browser window will open up to “http://cf9test.local” or whatever you set the web.host to. If you didn’t define web.host it will open up to “http://127.0.0.1”. Either way it will use a random port number. This port number can be defined in the server.json configuration file.
  13. Append “/CFIDE/Administrator” to the URL it is using. If you accidentally closed the browser tab, look for the blue CF task icon in your task bar. Click it once and click “open browser”.
  14. The password to the ACF admin is “commandbox”
  15. Configure necessary settings such as data sources or enable J2EE session variables if needed.
  16. Then go back to your root URL and you should be up and running.

There is so much you can do with CommandBox, including https, URL rewrite and even generating CFM frameworks. See the CommandBox Manual for more.

*When setting the server name, this will allow you to keep configurations stored such a DSN in the admin. You can use a general name such as “cf9” and use it among different instances or you can use a more specific name just for that instance or a group of instances such as “mysite”. Without it, you have a chance of loosing or overwriting configurations in the CF Admin.

There is a way to script out you ColdFusion config, such as DSN’s, using CFConfig CLI. However as of this post writing, it doesn’t allow you to use ColdFusion 9. But feel free to experiment using this with other versions or later down the road.

There are a number of other ways to configure your servers as well. See Configuring your CommandBox servers on first start by Brad Wood.

**The trick to thinking here is the webroot for the website being loaded up in your browser, is the directory you run “start” in.

Chris 10:52 am on September 25, 2017  

“Ride Sharing” Buses Thought

Buses were the original “ride share” concept. The difference is the city always owned the vehicle, it fits many more people and is regulated.

What if the city bus concept adapted to the popular ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft?

Instead of buses following a predefined route every day, let the computers dynamically route the buses. People with smartphones could request a pickup and set a destination. They would then be routed to the nearest bus compatible and pickup efficient location that isn’t necessarily a predefined “bus stop”. In that app they would also define their drop-off point, which could change the bus that’s picking them up with a more efficient route. People without a smartphone would go to a normal bus stop and press a vandal resistant button. Once on the bus, they would select the destination using a built-in display.

Of course a lot more thinking and planning would need to be done so as each passenger is limited to a ride that is reasonable in time and fairly predictable.

But I think this could go a long way to getting more people to use public transportation, pay via a mobile app and stop routing buses to empty bus stops.

Chris 6:46 pm on September 7, 2017  

Finding the ColdFusion 11 Serial Number

Looking for the ColdFusion 11 Serial (License) Number on your existing install? Check out the plain-text file:

./cfusion/lib/license.properties

under the “sn” line

Chris 3:24 pm on August 28, 2017
Tags: , , Instance, Linux, ,   

Lessons Learned for Windows EC2 Reserved Instances on AWS

March 2017 rolls around and AWS releases awesome new flexibility with reserved instances (RI). You can now split and merge RI’s as well as be automatically be pro-rated on-demand instance costs if you own a lesser RI. I also watch YouTube videos that also explain how this new flexibility works and how great it is. But in the excitement of it all I don’t realize that this new flexibility only applies to regional Linux/UNIX RIs with shared tenancy within the same instance class.

Here’s a case example:
You run an e-Commerce site that runs an m4.large instance. On January 1st 2017 you reserved a m4.large instance for one year. Come December 1st, traffic is expected to double for the Christmas season, so you scale up your instance to a m4.x-large instance type until January 1st.

If Running Linux:
Your annual savings is 38% over on-demand if you were to use m4.large during the entire 2017 year. However jumping up to m4.x-large will increase your bill by about what a m4.large instance would cost on-demand for the month of December 2017. This pro-rated charge is done automatically. There are a couple Linux OS exceptions and hourly Software charges are not calculated in this example.

If Running Windows:
Your annual savings is 20% over on-demand if you were to use m4.large during the entire 2017 year. However jumping up to a m4.x-large will increase your bill by about what a m4.x-large instance would cost on-demand for the month of December 2017. Essentially your savings now are negative due to the fact that your instance is not pro-rated with your RI. This is due to the fact that you are still paying for your reserved instance of m4.large, but it’s not being used. Then on top of that you’re paying for a m4.x-large. As an example, one year of a reserved m4.large costs $1349.04, a savings of $332.88. One month of m4.large not being used costs on average $140.16. This brings your 20% savings down to around 9%. Hourly Software charges are not calculated in this example.

Summary:
When running Linux you have fairly minimal risk involved when getting a reserved instance. However your risk goes up quite a bit reserving a Windows instance. There are a number of options to mitigate that risk level down. One option is to get a convertible RI. This allows you to exchange OS,  family or tenancy. But keep in mind your big picture. For you this may only be good if you think you’ll need to move from a t2 to a m4 family. Another option is you can sell your unwanted RI on the marketplace at a reduced price. When looking at this option, consider how much savings equates to dollars and how much time you’ll need to calculate the risk, estimated savings reduction and time spent selling when selling an RI. Of course different instance types have different savings levels. In the end, it comes down to either a statistician to calculate risk vs. benefit or theories and experience.

In conclusion, I likely wouldn’t bat an eye getting either a standard or convertible RI for Linux if I largely suspected the RI would be needed for at least a year. But I would likely keep a Windows instance on-demand if there was any chance for instability unless I had enough on-demand instances to off-set the risk if one instance no longer matches an RI for a time period.

#aws, #ec2, #instance, #linux, #reserved, #windows

Chris 12:53 pm on August 28, 2017
Tags: , Export, Import, , RDS,   

Copying MS SQL 2016 Database on AWS RDS

A common task on a SQL Server might be to copy a database into a new database. This could be on the same server or a different server.

On Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) Relational Database Service (RDS) this task becomes a little more complex to plan and execute. There are a few reasons for this:

  1. You don’t have access to the local file system outside of creating a database in the defaulted path.
  2. You do not have the needed permissions to run “Copy Database Wizard”
  3. Doing a “native” backup/restore using S3 would create a duplicate “family_guid” which is impossible to restore on your RDS instance without deleting the source database.

If you use MS SQL 2016 you can export/import a “Data-tier Application” which is stored as a “.bacpac” file. This is a schema and data native format package (not human readable). In reality it’s a .zip file, so if you open it in something like 7-Zip you can see the package contents. This package is going to be lacking items such as the physical index (the index configuration is intact) and the transaction logs. Therefore it tends to be smaller than an actual native backup.

Keep in mind all data is transmitted from the source machine (AWS RDS) to your workstation. If this is a larger database, you may wish to consider doing this from an EC2 instance to create a faster connection, provide for a larger drive workspace and potentially save on network costs.

Here are the steps to take to backup and then restore a “.bacpac” file. This example is done using AWS RDS, but the same steps would be taken for about any environment including local.

  1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Managment Studio (MSSMS) 2016 or better and connect to your database server.
  2. Right click the source database, go to tasks and “Export Data-tier Application”.
    1
  3. Press “Next” to go to “Export Settings”. Enter a path on your local workstation to save the package to and press “Next”.
    2
  4. After you press “Finish”, it will then begin the copy process from the source machine to your local machine.
    3
  5. If you wish to import the database to another server, connect to it now via the MSSMS.
  6. Right-click the “Databases” group object and select “Import Data-tier Application”. Press “Next”.
    4
  7. Specify the path on your local machine to the “.bacpac” file being imported. Then press “Next”.
  8. Specify a new database name. It can not be the name of an existing database. Press “Next” and then “Finish”.
    5
  9. The new database will be created and imported.
    6

Update 10/29/2018
It appears the “family_guid” issue is no longer an issue. I have not verified it as of yet. See https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2018/10/amazon-rds-for-sql-server-enhances-backup-and-restore-capabilities/

#aws, #export, #import, #microsoft, #rds, #sql

Chris 2:14 pm on August 22, 2017
Tags: , , marketplace,   

Buying AWS Unwanted EC2 Reserved Instances

You purchase a year-long EC2 Reserved Instance (RI) from Amazon Web Services (AWS). You’re now saving 30% on your sparkling EC2 instance cost!

Fast forward three months. Your project tanked and is costing you money instead of making money. You need to kill it and kill it fast.

But then you remember that one-year contract you have with AWS. <doomed>

You then remember that you can sell off your RI to a marketplace. Bank account saved – mostly.

That part is easy to research and follow the steps for success.

Now “Wannabe Joe” is looking for a deal and wants to purchase that discounted RI you’re selling off. Joe goes to the EC2 console and clicks “Reserved Instances”. He then proceeds to “Purchase Reserved Instances”.

He sees a paragraph:

Reserved Instances sold through the Reserved Instance Marketplace are identical to those sold by Amazon Web Services, except they may have different prices and terms. For more information about the Reserved Instance Marketplace, go to the Reserved Instance Marketplace web page.

He remembers about the marketplace selling unwanted instances so he clinks on the provided link. Listing, selling, fee and getting paid. All great for the seller. But how does he purchase one. Click-after-click just provides frustration.

Don’t worry Joe. You overthought the whole process.

  1. In the AWS Console Home, go to the EC2 console
  2. Press the “Reserved Instances” link on the left and then press the “Purchase Reserved Instances” button up top.
  3. Choose your platform, types, zone, term and tenancy.
  4. Press the “Search” button
  5. If there are any unwanted instances up for sale, they will be listed under the “Seller” column as “3rd Party”.
  6. Add to cart and away you go.

console_ri_purchase_1

Simple 🙂

Reference and image by: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-ec2-reserved-instance-marketplace/

#aws, #ec2, #marketplace, #reserved

Chris 5:35 pm on August 21, 2017
Tags: , CA, CAA, Certificate, , domain   

CAA DNS Records Provide Additional Domain Protection

In 2013, the CA/Browser Forum passed an intent to allow a DNS domain name (joeblow.com) holder to specify one or more Certification Authorities (CAs) authorization to issue certificates for their domain. No other CAs would be authorized to issue that domain’s certificate.

This is accomplished by the domain holder adding a “CAA” record to their DNS for their domain. This helps mitigate the problem that the public CA trust system is only as strong as its weakest CA.

Organized in 2005, the CA/Browser Forum is a voluntary group of certification authorities (CAs), vendors of Internet browser software, and suppliers of other applications that use X.509 v.3 digital certificates for SSL/TLS and code signing.

View the full ballot.

On August 21st, 2017, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that their DNS service “Route 53” now supports CAA records.

#aws, #ca, #caa, #certificate, #dns, #domain

Chris 11:30 pm on July 13, 2017  

Modifying Your Hosts File

Windows 10 and 8

  1. Press the Windows key.
  2. Type “notepad” in the search field.
  3. In the search results, right-click Notepad and select “Run as administrator”.
  4. In Notepad, open the following file: “c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts”
  5. Append your entry such as:
    127.0.0.1[tab]www.mysite.com
  6. Save changes

Linux

  1. Open the “/etc/hosts” file in a text editor such as vi or nano
  2. Make the necessary changes to the file.
  3. Save changes

Mac OS X 10.6 through 10.12

  1. Open Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
  2. Open the hosts file by typing the following line in the terminal window:
    “sudo nano /private/etc/hosts”
  3. Type your domain user password when prompted.
  4. Edit the hosts file.
  5. Save the hosts file by pressing Control+x and answering y.
  6. Make your changes take effect by flushing the DNS cache with the following command:
    “dscacheutil -flushcache”
Chris 6:48 pm on June 27, 2017
Tags: ransomware,   

Global Ransomware Outbreak Prevention

A new ransomware, using the same attack as WannaCry, is hitting the world hard today on Windows PC’s. Here’s some steps to prevent this from happening to you:
1. Don’t click on links inside emails that you aren’t 100% positive you know what they do.
2. Backup your important files so something disconnect from your computer like the cloud or USB drive you remove. crashplan.com is a great service to have.
3. Install Windows updates – this prevents this specific attack from taking hold
6. Have an antivirus program running. A free one is avast.com – been using it for many years.
5. If you’re still on XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 etc. now’s a good time to get upgraded to Windows 10

#ransomware, #windows

Chris 3:25 pm on June 21, 2017
Tags: Lucee, Scheduled Tasks   

Lucee 5 ColdFusion Scheduled Tasks

Lucee 5.0 – 5.2.1.9 (current version) has a bug in scheduled tasks that seems to affect both Windows and Linux servers.

When scheduling a task, they end up getting marked as “expired” and never run. Not sure how this issue has made it this far into revisions, but as of this post it’s still an issue.

https://luceeserver.atlassian.net/browse/LDEV-897

You can work around this issue using a cron job by way of curl.

On Windows you can use the Windows Task Scheduler and curl. Curl can be downloaded from https://curl.haxx.se/download.html

6/21/2017 – marked for “NextSprint scheduled”

#lucee, #scheduled-tasks