Some MS Partners receive TFS license
A very good news for MS partners announced few days ago by Rob Caron:
“In addition to the software benefits they currently receive (A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Microsoft Partners), members of the Customer Development Solutions (CDS) and/or ISV/Software Solutions competencies will now
receive one production use license for Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server (the standard edition, not Workgroup) per organization.”
“…usage rights are limited to term of enrollment in the Microsoft partner program agreement and CDS or ISV/Software Solutions competency.”
Read the whole announcement here: http://blogs.msdn.com/robcaron/archive/2006/07/12/663619.aspx
Since it was announced, more than a half a year ago, the decision not to offer a free server license for the Team Foundation Server to Partners, was controversial, to say the least. Last time I wrote about it, I did not consider it a showstopper for the introduction of the TFS in an organization, but surely it did not help.
Now, at last, at least for these two types of MS Partners (and the Partners with these two competencies will anyway benefit from the VSTS the most) nothing stays in the way of TFS anymore!
“In addition to the software benefits they currently receive (A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Microsoft Partners), members of the Customer Development Solutions (CDS) and/or ISV/Software Solutions competencies will now
receive one production use license for Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server (the standard edition, not Workgroup) per organization.”
“…usage rights are limited to term of enrollment in the Microsoft partner program agreement and CDS or ISV/Software Solutions competency.”
Read the whole announcement here: http://blogs.msdn.com/robcaron/archive/2006/07/12/663619.aspx
Since it was announced, more than a half a year ago, the decision not to offer a free server license for the Team Foundation Server to Partners, was controversial, to say the least. Last time I wrote about it, I did not consider it a showstopper for the introduction of the TFS in an organization, but surely it did not help.
Now, at last, at least for these two types of MS Partners (and the Partners with these two competencies will anyway benefit from the VSTS the most) nothing stays in the way of TFS anymore!
posted by Ognjen Bajic at Wednesday, July 19, 2006
5 Comments:
While looking at 4 CDs in different languages with VSTF, I was wondering whats going on. Went to my "MS connection" inside organization - he had even less information than me.
Well, you cleared it up for me. Thanks. Athough, this is only VSTF I guess, we will still need VSTSystem for X or "Suite" to be able to get someting out of it? Also, is using VSTF "just" as a repository possible from "vanilla" VStudio2005, without adding "System" on top of it? Sorry if I'm talking nonsense, it was a while since I took a look at VSTS...
Cheers, Domagoj
I am not sure what you have in mind, but I will try to answer. Correct me if I missed your point.
The only supported integrated way to access the TFS from Visual Studio 2005 is to use Team Explorer.
From different other client environments (Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual C++ 6 SP6, Visual Visual Basic 6 SP6, Visual FoxPro 9 SP1, Microsoft Access 2003 SP2, SQL Server Management Studio, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 6.0, Sybase PowerBuilder 10.5) you might like to use Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server MSSCCI Provider.
There are non-integrated options that would work together with VS 2005 as well (since they are not integrated in the VS shell, they work by definition with any version of VS :-) ):
TeamPlain – web access to the TFS (if you need the web access to the TFS TeamPlain is the solution; recommended)
TeamPrice – Java based client that works on windows and non-windows computers (Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X); current version 1.1; a preview of the future v2.0 looks very promising.
If you don’t have one of “VS for *” versions of the Visual Studio in order to access the TFS, you will need to buy CALs separately. Normally, with each copy of “VS for *” the CAL is included in the price.
Ognjen
When you say "only supported integrated way to access the TFS from VS2005..".... it sounds to me like I need to use additional program/plugin through VS IDE? I am hoping that end-user (programmer in this case) dont have to be aware of actual technology - for example, he/she will try to work on a single file, get a dialog to check-out, and when he is done, check-in that file by selecting file in Solution Explorer and selection an option from menu? I realy hope that all this is not done through another program/plugin from that point of view....
And thx for all the info :). Since we got TSF in mail, right now we have to decide on what "line" of product to choose - VS for Developers/Architects/Testers... or maybe to wait for DataDude... We can choose one of those for being MS Gold Partner ... If only we could get whole "Suite" for free as Partner with enough Competencies - since we like serveral things in each of "lines" of product.
Domagoj
Once installed Team Explorer looks and feels as if it were one with Visual Studio although there are two different setups.
Besides the integrated functionality that you describe, there is a new window (Team Explorer) where the user can work with documents, work items, reports and builds. However, I guess that you are interested in the source control only. Even if you want just the integrated source control (context menus entries for check-in, -out etc. in the solution tree in the solution explorer) you will need to install the Team Explorer. The end user experience will be just as you describe it.
And for the Suite or no Suite question – even the additional competencies don’t help. :-) Sorry, I am can’t say that I am happy with the options myself.
Well, only recently did MS announce that we have right for TSF! Maybe they will change current politics and allow us to get it through one or another way of partnership.
Anyways, right now I'm about to purchase a server that I will dedicate to be a TSF backend, will play a bit with it and then start to push it throughout my organization.
Oh, and I'm not only interested in TSF as a sourcecontrol, I want so much more :) But, I will go in small steps here, sourcecontrol is the first thing to do :)
Cheerz,
Domagoj
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