In order to work on the training exercises you will need a training slot on the virtual server we provide in the Azure cloud. The training slot setup is simply a way to provide you with an updated and efficient training environment to learn about migFx.
To get a training slot you must first contact us at support@hopp.tech. We will then provide you with the necessary credentials (username and password) for you to connect to your training slot via remote desktop.
Once connected, you have the entire migFx at your disposal in your own, isolated sandbox. migFx comes with a default setup, but you must do some customization before starting the exercises.
Connect to your slot on the server
On your own Windows machine, you can start the Remote Desktop Client by searching for Remote Desktop Connection in the Windows Start menu. Use the address, username and password provided by hopp to connect to remote server.
For the rest of this section, and indeed for the entire remaining exercises, we assume that you are connected to your slot on our server.
From time to time, we at hopp will need to update migFx in the training environment. It is a great help to us if you sign off your Remote Desktop session when you are not working on the exercises (as opposed to just disconnecting the session by closing the Remote Desktop window on your computer).
You sign off from the Windows Start Menu as shown below:
If we need to upgrade your training environment, we will always check if you are online before doing so. If you are online, we will contact you to coordinate. On the other hand, if your session is disconnected, we will simply close it and carry on. To avoid losing any work, please sign out as described instead of just disconnecting - or at the very least make sure your work is saved.
Prepare Studio Workshop projects
When you are working in Studio, you are in fact modifying files that reside locally in a folder in your environment. In order to collaborate with other members of your team, the Studio allows you to check these files in and out of a central repository.
As part of the set-up of your training slot, we have already configured Studio to connect to the repository. Initially, the repository is empty. Go through the steps below to open your Source- and Target Maps and add them to the repository.
- Find and open the Studio application
Setup Workshop Source map
- Open the Workshop Source map from local folder
- Click the Open Project button
in the Toolbar - Navigate to folder Documents > MigFx > Mapping > Workshop > Source
- Locate and select the file
and click the Open button to open the project
- Click the Open Project button
- Add the Source Map to repository control
- Click the Add project to repository
button in the Toolbar and click the Ok button to add all your local files to the repository
- Click the Add project to repository
Setup Workshop Target map
- Load Workshop Target map from local folder
- Click the Open Project button
in the Toolbar: - Navigate to folder Documents > MigFx > Mapping > Workshop > Target
- Locate and select the file
and click Open to open the project
- Click the Open Project button
- Add project to repository control
- Click the Add project to repository button
in the Toolbar and click the Ok button to add all your local files to the repository
- Click the Add project to repository button
Additional maps
Your training environment includes 2 more sets (Source + Target map) of projects you might want to setup but this is not really required to complete the training exercises: WorkshopDemo source and target, and Sandbox source and target.
- WorkshopDemo is a suggested solution to the training exercises
- Sandbox is 'empty', setup for you to use if you want to try things out on a project of your own
- To setup these, repeat the above sections replacing Workshop with WorkshopDemo and Sandbox as needed
Check Visual Studio
Verify that Visual Studio is setup and ready.
In our training setup, Visual Studio should remain signed in to our MigFx Trainee account. We aim to refresh these credentials regularly, but Visual Studio may prompt you to reenter the credentials with a yellow warning triangle, like so:
Please refrain from doing so. Instead, please contact us on support@hopp.tech and we will refresh the credentials for you.
- Find and open Visual Studio 2022 (please ensure that you are in fact starting Visual Studio 2022 (and not other versions of Visual Studio that may also be installed on the server)
- Open Workshop solution
- Click File > Open > Project/Solution
- Go to folder Documents > MigFx > VisualStudio > Workshop (full path: D:\MigFx\Training\Trainee\XX\MigFx\VisualStudio\Workshop, where XX is the trainee number)
- Locate an select Workshop.sln and click Open
- Solution Explorer should contain these projects:
If you check Help/About, you will notice you are using Visual Studio Community Edition. This is the free version of Visual Studio and it is perfectly sufficient for the needs of migFx.
Verify that the Portal is available
- Locate and open Microsoft Edge (or alternatively Google Chrome)
- We have set up Edge with the Portal as your homepage, so it should show up automatically when you launch it. If not, you can navigate to this url: https://localhost:430XX, where XX is your Trainee number - 2 digits (for instance https://localhost:43001 for trainee 01)
- The Portal will most probably ask you to sign in (unless Remember me was checked not long ago)
- User: TraineeXX (for instance Trainee01)
- Password: 'password' without the quotes (note that this is a different password from your remote desktop login)
- You are welcome to let Edge save your password (if this has not already been done)
- Once signed in the Portal shows up in all its glory
- If the Portal is not available, please contact Support
- That is it for now. The will be lots more on the Portal in later exercises
Necessary processes for user isolation
In a real setup, the necessary migFx services a hosted either as a Windows Services or by a Web Server (Internet Information Server).
But your Trainee slot is in fact a user session running on a server that your share with other trainee slots.
To ensure that the trainee slots remain isolated even though they run on the same server, each slot must run its own instance of the necessary migFx services.
This is why you in your Windows task bar will see 3 Windows Command Prompts running:
Please do not close any of these, it will cause either the Portal Operations and Runtime or the migFx Portal to stop working in your session (Studio will not be affected).
IISEpress - Portal :
Runs an instance of IISExpress that hosts the SOAP Web Services called by the Portal Client. Stopping this one causes the Portal to stop working.
MigFx Agent:
Runs an isolated instance of the Portal Windows Service that detects Track start requests. If you stop this one, you will not be able to start Tracks in Portal .
MigFx - Portal:
Runs a Kestrel Web Server instance that hosts the MigFx Portal . If you stop this one, the Portal will not work.
If you accidentally close one of the command prompts, the best remedy is simply to sign out from your Remote Desktop session and then sign in a again. The 3 command prompts are started when you sign in.
Congratulations! Now you have completed the initial setup of your migFx training slot
- You have added your mapping projects on your local disk to the repository
- You have verified your Visual Studio installation and located the Workshop Engine solution
- You have verified that the Workshop track and that the Runtime is up and running
- Finally you have verified that you have access to the Portal