static void MapContainerTest(Args _args)
{
    Map                     custNotesMap;
    Container               custContainer;
    CustTable               custTable;
    SalesSourceSystemId     admarcSystemId = "DPRADM";
    Container               conCustDetails;
        str                     admarcAccountId = "000123456";
    ;
 
    custNotesMap = new Map(Types::String, Types::Container);
    while select AdmarcAccountId, RecId, TableId, dataAreaId, PartyId from custTable where custTable.AdmarcSystemId == admarcSystemId
    {
        custContainer = conNull();
        custContainer = [custTable.RecId, custTable.TableId, custTable.dataAreaId, custTable.PartyId];
 
        custNotesMap.insert(custTable.AdmarcAccountId, custContainer);
    }
 
    if (custNotesMap.exists(admarcAccountId))
        conCustDetails = custNotesMap.lookup(admarcAccountId);
    else
        error("Customer not found.");
 
    info(strfmt("RecId: %1", conpeek(conCustDetails, 1)));
    info(strfmt("TableId: %1", conpeek(conCustDetails, 2)));
    info(strfmt("dataAreaId: %1", conpeek(conCustDetails, 3)));
    info(strfmt("PartyId: %1", conpeek(conCustDetails, 4)));
}

In fact, it’s pretty fast and I’m using similar caching technique all over the place to speed up large jobs.

Guest Additions

Probably the most common need is to install guest additions. Because the virtual machines are running in headless mode, there’s no menu to easily select “Install Guest Additions”. However, this option merely automates the mounting of an ISO. We can replicate this functionality from the command line. Note that the path to the ISO may vary depending on your host environment.

#run this on your host
VBoxManage storageattach "LAMP1" --storagectl "IDEController" --port 1 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium /usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso
#run these commands on the guest
#install packages necessary to build and install the additions
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
#run the Guest Addtions installation and reboot
sudo mount /media/cdrom
sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run

If you’d like to mount another disc, you’ll need to eject the ISO first.

#unmount the disc in the guest
sudo umount /media/cdrom
#instruct VirtualBox to emulate an empty drive
VBoxManage storageattach "LAMP1" --storagectl "IDEController" --port 0 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium emptydrive

Shared Folders (guest additions neccessary for shared folders)

Shared folders are a common way to transfer files between guest and host. First, you’ll need to successfully install guest additions. Once done, adding is easy as following the below template. Just customize the VM name, share name and host path.

VBoxManage sharedfolder add "LAMP1" --name "dropbox" --hostpath ~/Dropbox/

Changing the MAC address

This is probably not a common need, but if you’ve got IP addressed reserved for certain devices, you’ll need to ensure the MAC address stays the same between VM setups and tear-downs. The change from auto-generated is easy.

#First, check the current MAX address
VBoxManage showvminfo "LAMP1"|grep NIC\ 1:
#Now, set the MAC address to whatever you want
VBoxManage modifyvm "LAMP1" --macaddress1 0800279859FF

USB support

I’m not sure how many people use USB support in headless mode, but if you need to mount a device directly in the guest OS, VirtualBox provides that ability. Permission settings borrowed from http://wiki.flexion.org/VirtualBox.html

#Add proper permissions to USB device
printf "none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=%s,devmode=664 0 0" $(grep vboxusers /etc/group | cut -f3 -d':') | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
VBoxManage modifyvm "LAMP1" --usb on --usbehci on

VM Management with VBoxTool

By far, the best tool I’ve used for automated VM management is VBoxTool. It’s really just a collection of scripts to automate tasks, but the killer feature is the autostart and autosave of virtual machines on boot and shutdown. While it facilitates other aspects of VM management, those two alone make it worth the trouble of configuring it.

mkdir ~/vboxtool
cd ~/vboxtool
wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/vboxtool/vboxtool/0.4/vboxtool-0.4.zip?use_mirror=kent" -O vboxtool-0.4.zip
unzip vboxtool-0.4.zip
cd script
chmod 755 vboxtool*
sudo chown root:root vboxtool*
sudo mv vboxtool /usr/local/bin
sudo mv vboxtoolinit /etc/init.d
sudo update-rc.d vboxtoolinit defaults 99 10
sudo mkdir -p /etc/vboxtool
cd /etc/vboxtool
#Configure /etc/vboxtool/machines.conf to register machines with VBoxTool
echo 'LAMP1,3391' | sudo tee -a machines.conf
#Configure /etc/vboxtool/vboxtool.conf to indicate which user that machines should start under
printf "vbox_user='%s'" $(whoami) | sudo tee -a vboxtool.conf
vboxtool autostart

If for some reason you ever decide to remove VBoxTool, you’ll need to unregister it from boot with the below command.

update-rc.d -f vboxtoolinit remove

VBoxWeb

Although the VBoxWeb project still has some rough edges and the blog isn’t updated often, it holds a lot of promise. If you’d like to check it out, use the following commands to download and install it. Full guide available on their own website.

sudo apt-get install python-simplejson subversion
svn checkout http://vboxweb.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ vboxweb-read-only
cd vboxweb-read-only
python VBoxWebSrv.py adduser $(whoami)
#Below starts VBoxWeb in the background
python VBoxWebSrv.py &

Given a table with columns:
A: int, primary key, identity
B: int, not null

How can I set a default for column B to be the value in column A?

This is an interesting problem on a couple levels. First, a computed column won’t work, because we need the ability to arbitrarily update column B. We could program a trigger, but I prefer to avoid them when possible. Preferably, we could actualize the purpose of the DEFAULT option. Unfortunately, this isn’t immediately an apparent choice because SQL Server doesn’t allow you to reference a column in a DEFAULT specification. In fact, according to BOL, “Only a constant value, such as a character string; a scalar function (either a system, user-defined, or CLR function); or NULL can be used as a default.”

Fortunately, the column which we’re trying to set a default from had an identity property, and system functions dealing with identity values is the key to using the DEFAULT specification. First, a little code:

CREATE TABLE dbo.IdentDefault
(
	A INT NOT NULL IDENTITY (1, 1) PRIMARY KEY,
	B INT NOT NULL DEFAULT SCOPE_IDENTITY()
)
 
INSERT INTO dbo.IdentDefault DEFAULT VALUES
INSERT INTO dbo.IdentDefault DEFAULT VALUES
INSERT INTO dbo.IdentDefault DEFAULT VALUES
 
UPDATE dbo.IdentDefault SET B = 10 WHERE A = 1
 
SELECT * FROM dbo.IdentDefault

And the result:

A           B
----------- -----------
1           10
2           2
3           3

As you can see from the above result set, column B defaults to whatever column A contains, yet we can still update column B to whatever value necessary.

The only assumptions I’m making is that a fresh, recent version of Ubuntu is installed on some relatively recent hardware and you have an ISO of the OS installation. Ideally, you’re using an Intel Core 2 Duo or better. I installed it with a normal Desktop Edition, but this guide is targeted at command-line management. You’re welcome to install Server Edition in which you’re getting a command-line only version of Ubuntu to reduce system requirements and operate with utmost efficiency.

Install VirtualBox

1. Add VirtualBox repositories to apt’s sources (this assumes they’re not already there)

   printf "\n# VirtualBox\ndeb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian karmic non-free\n" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list

2. Install the public key

   wget -q -O - http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/sun_vbox.asc |  sudo apt-key add -

3. Update repo contents and upgrade

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

4. Install main VirtualBox package

   sudo apt-get install virtualbox-3.1

That’s all there is to getting VirtualBox installed. Unfortunately, it’s not too useful without any virtual machines or operating systems, so that will be our next step.

Create a Virtual Machine

1. Create a Virtual Machine named “LAMP1″ and keep it registered

   VBoxManage createvm --name "LAMP1" --register

2. Configure the new VM. The setting should be somewhat obvious, so feel free to tweak as necessary. Memory = 256MB, ACPI, hardware virtualization, and VRDP enabled. Set the VRDP port to 3391. Make NIC1 be of type bridged and bind that bridge to eth0. If you’re using wireless, you might need to change this to wlan0 or something similar.

   VBoxManage modifyvm "LAMP1" \
   --memory 256 \
   --acpi on \
   --hwvirtex on \
   --vrdp on \
   --vrdpport 3391 \
   --nic1 bridged \
   --bridgeadapter1 eth0

3. Create a new hard drive file of size 10GB and remember it.

   VBoxManage createhd --filename LAMP1.vdi --size 10000 --remember

4. Add a SATA storage controller to the VM for the hard disk to attach to.

   VBoxManage storagectl "LAMP1" --name "SATAController" --add sata

5. Now, bind the VDI file to the SATA controller. This is like plugging the hard drive into a SATA port.

   VBoxManage storageattach "LAMP1" --storagectl "SATAController" --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium "LAMP1.vdi"

6. Also add an IDE controller for things like ISO mounting

   VBoxManage storagectl "LAMP1" --name "IDEController" --add ide

7. Attach OS installation media to the IDE controller.

   VBoxManage storageattach "LAMP1" --storagectl "IDEController" --port 0 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium ~/ubuntu-9.10-server-i386.iso

That’s it, you’re done! Well, mostly. Depending on your exact circumstances, you may have to tweak a few things.

Verify and Start

1. Verify everything looks good

   VBoxManage showvminfo "LAMP1"

2. Start the Virtual Machine.

   VBoxHeadless --startvm "LAMP1"

The major component to managing virtual machines on the command-line is simply knowing the correct commands and parameters to configure everything. I plan to write an addendum which addresses some advanced features such as USB, remote management, and automated startup/shutdown.

Update: The addendum for extra features is up.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@    WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!     @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that the RSA host key has just been changed.
The fingerprint for the RSA key sent by the remote host is
8b:ff:a1:b5:32:06:4d:fd:2e:2f:67:80:9e:ba:8d:ff.
Please contact your system administrator.
Add correct host key in /home/taylorg/.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.
Offending key in /home/taylorg/.ssh/known_hosts:2
RSA host key for 192.168.1.100 has changed and you have requested strict checking.
Host key verification failed.

All the message says is that the fingerprint for the host that was previously stored no longer matches the target. If you know this is okay and want to clear out the error, the process is very simple – just remove the stored fingerprint.

You have a couple of options how to do this depending on your situation:
The first, preferable method would be to use ssh-keygen with the following syntax:

ssh-keygen -R hostname

Assuming all goes well, you should receive a message similar to this:

/home/taylorg/.ssh/known_hosts updated.

Alternatively, if ssh-keygen is not available for some reason, you can manually update the known_hosts file:

1. Open up the known hosts file:

   nano ~/.ssh/known_hosts

2. Delete the line containing the hostname of the server you’re trying to connect to (Ctrl+K). The name should be the left-most item on each line, or use Ctrl+W to search.
3. Ctrl+O to save the file, then Ctrl+X to exit nano.

Try to ssh again (ssh username@hostname) and you should receive a message akin to the following:

The authenticity of host '192.168.1.100 (192.168.1.100)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 8b:ff:a1:b5:32:06:4d:fd:2e:2f:67:80:9e:ba:8d:ff.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '192.168.1.100' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.

As the last message indicates, the ssh client will store the current fingerprint back into known_hosts, bypassing the warning for future connections.

Groups

Enter the name and address of the group. Set the Access level to “Team” and check the checkbox labeled “Also allow anyone on the internet to post messages”. When done, click “Create new group”.

Create New Group

This next step is technically optional, but necessary if you’d like to restrict normal members from seeing the contents of the forwarder. If this is the case, we need to set custom permissions and de-select all but “Owner” for “View member list”. If this doesn’t concern you, feel free to skip this.

Custom Group Permissions

Finally, we need to add actual addresses to forward to. And this is the beauty of Google, is that you can forward to as many email addresses as necessary. If you only need to enter a single address, that’s fine too.

Add Group Members

Much like labels in Gmail, Google has gone a step beyond, by allowing you to forward emails to any number of users on and off the domain. This feature has a minor learning curve, but just as users quickly adapted to labels instead of folders, managing groups is no more difficult than individual forwarders.

• File Name: en_office_professional_plus_2010_beta_x64_x16-19234.exe
• Size: 749.87 (MB)
• Date Posted (UTC): 11/16/2009 7:21:24 AM
• ISO/CRC: D5C14D40
• SHA1: D07BC0DEE307E05F955CE44825F85084B94595B8

• File Name: en_office_professional_plus_2010_beta_x86_x16-19227.exe
• Size: 684.48 (MB)
• Date Posted (UTC): 11/16/2009 7:21:23 AM
• ISO/CRC: D3ACD2EF
• SHA1: F219E1D7FE830DCD6A796FAFEA3A5D0D4662EE89

(via Neowin)

The Setup

• Windows 7 64-bit
• Visual Studio 2008
• SQL Server 2008 64-bit

The Process

1. Create a signing key (See also, How to: Create a Public/Private Key Pair)
   1. Open Visual Studio 2008 command Prompt – the regular command prompt will not work
   2. Change to a friendly directory: cd %userprofile%\Desktop
   3. Create the key file: sn -k key.snk
2. Sign the assembly – There are a few ways to do this, but I found this to be the easiest. If you want to sign it some other way, check out How to: Sign an Assembly with a Strong Name
   1. Right-click the Project
   2. Select “Properties”
   3. Navigate to the “Signing” tab
   4. Browse to strong name key file (which was created in the previous step)
   5. Recompile the project
3. Copy the re-compiled assembly to your GAC
   1. gacutil -i “C:\Path\to\CustomAssemblyName.dll”
4. Copy assembly to “%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft SQL Server\100\SDK\Assemblies”
5. Add reference in script task. Repeat this for every Script Task you want to access this assembly from
   1. Right-click References
   2. Click “Add Reference…”
      

      Add Reference...

   3. On the .NET tab, scroll to find your assembly
   4. Press “OK”
   5. The Assembly should now appear under the References list
6. Add a reference to the assembly in code, at the top
   1. (C#) Using CustomAssemblyName;
   2. (VB.NET) Imports CustomAssemblyName
7. You should now have full access to the imported DLL

Caveats

This method works pretty well, but deployment isn’t exactly seamless – you’ll have to repeat this for each server and re-register & copy the DLL separately for any updates. Additionally, there is no way to globally add the assembly reference to the entire project or package. Instead, you’ll have to repeat step 6 (adding the reference) for every Script Task.