How and where can I set up servers for a learning development project?
Backgroud: I am a member of the Fox Valley.Net User Group board . We are starting a Special Interest Group to make a software project from start to finish. We want to focus on getting older .Net members helping younger .Net members learn tools and technologies. We want to know how to use or better use the following software:
- Team Foundation Server 2008 - Very Important to Learn
- MS Build - very important to learn
- Visual Studio Team Systems 2008 - Very Important to Know
- SQL Server 2008 - a little important to know
My plan: Create different virtual machines for TFS 2008, Build Server, SQL Server 2008.
This project is planned to help everyone who is involved in learning the tools and practices necessary to stay on top of the .Net development world. We find that many members of the user group are still using VB 6, .Net 1.1, SQL 2000, inflexible practices, and other legacy things in their day to day work.
My questions:
- Where can I place these VMs so everyone has access and cost is low or zero?
- If hosting is not possible, does CodePlex give access to TFS? Does it offer flexibility? Work items? Reports?
- Does anyone have any better ideas?
Thanks for the help and ideas!
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Have you explored the available virtual labs hosted by Microsoft?
This will remove your responsibility for accepting anything. You also don't have to worry about any licensing issues for the software installed on the virtual images.
There are several Labs for Team System on the Microsoft site.
You can also go to the virtual labs root site for a complete list of available labs. As the hosting responsibility is not yours, Microsoft has taken care of that.
Also don't forget to look at Microsoft Learning , there are often free offerings for new technologies that give someone a basic overview, you won't be an expert but it will give you a basic understanding. There are broader offers as well, but they usually pay for access.
Good luck and hope this helps.
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Now this sounds like an interesting project.
1) Perhaps one of the on-premises hosting companies will sponsor a box to host the VMs or ask one of the ISVs to host the DMZ. It's hard work to rein in a sponsor, but it will also give you a lot of industry contacts.
2) I doubt Codeplex would be a solution for this project as it is very TFS oriented.
3) Did you ask the local Microsoft office? The office here in Copenhagen Denmark often helped a lot, even with problems they didn't know anything about, but they always found the right guy.
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