How to: Resolve Validation Warnings on Deployment Diagrams

In Deployment Designer, validation errors and warnings appear in the Error List window when you validate a deployment diagram. A red error icon will appear on the deployment diagram, application diagram, and logical datacenter diagram for any application or server associated with a validation error or warning.

Validation errors do not occur in most cases. However, validation warnings commonly appear and might occur in the following situations:

  • A setting value on one layer violates a constraint set on another layer.

    For example, you set the authentication mode for a Web application to Passport. However, the IIS Web server to which you bind the application requires Forms authentication.

    Note

    For an ASP.NET, Windows, or Office application, Visual Studio will validate the .NET Framework version in the application's Operating System constraint against the target logical server's CommonLanguageRuntime setting, if that constraint is selected. It will not validate the application's Target Framework property or project properties with this constraint. You will not get a validation warning if these properties do not comply with this constraint. For more information, see How to: Choose the .NET Framework Version for Applications.

  • Fixed settings on one layer conflict with fixed settings on another layer.

    For example, you set the Office Version setting on an Office application to Office 2003. However, the Office Version setting on the Windows server to which you bind the application requires Office 2007.

    Note

    You must first add the Microsoft Office resource to the Windows server before you can set its Office Version setting. When you evaluate deployment, Visual Studio will validate an Office application's Office Version setting against the Windows server's Office Version setting. It will not validate the application's Template property with these settings. For an ASP.NET, Windows, or Office application, Visual Studio will validate the application's Target Framework setting against the target logical server's CommonLanguageRuntime setting. It will not validate the application's Target Framework property or project properties with these settings. You will not get a validation warning if these properties do not match these settings. For more information, see How to: Change Project Templates for Applications and How to: Choose the .NET Framework Version for Applications.

  • Not all applications within the system are bound to logical servers.

  • Not all application endpoints within the system are bound to logical server endpoints.

  • A required communication pathway is missing.

    For example, suppose you connect a Web application to a database on the application diagram. You then bind the Web application to an IIS Web server on the deployment diagram. If no connection exists between the Web server and a database server, you will get a validation warning when you validate the deployment diagram. Alternately, you might bind the Web application to an IIS Web server with the required connection. However, the application endpoints might not be bound to the logical server endpoints that support the communication pathway.

    If a communication pathway is missing, you will see the following warning: "There is no connection established between <server name> <server endpoint> and any other logical server in the datacenter that allows communication to occur between application <application name> <application endpoint> and application <application name> <application endpoint>." Use the following procedure to fix this warning.

To fix communication pathway warnings

  1. Bind the affected applications to logical servers that provide the necessary communication pathways.

    For more information about unbinding applications from logical servers, see How to: Unbind Applications from Logical Servers.

    —or—

    If the logical servers are connected, ensure that the application endpoints are bound to the server endpoints that support the communication pathway. To bind application endpoints, use the Binding Details dialog box.

    For more information, see How to: Specify Binding Details on Deployment Diagrams.

  2. After you resolve all settings conflicts, return to the deployment diagram and validate the diagram again to see whether all warnings have been fixed.

For another example of how to resolve a communication warning, see Walkthrough: Validating an Application System for Deployment.

Another common warning is related to a setting on an application or server that conflicts with a constraint set on the corresponding layer. Use the following procedure to fix this warning.

To fix validation warnings associated with settings that violate constraints

  1. Double-click the validation warning to locate the setting that violates the constraint.

    —or—

    Right-click the validation warning, point to Go To, and click <setting name> Setting on <application or server name>.

    Distributed System Designers displays the diagram with the conflicting setting, displays the Settings and Constraints Editor, and selects the corresponding setting.

  2. Edit the setting value or values to resolve the conflict.

  3. After you resolve all settings conflicts, return to the deployment diagram, and validate the diagram again to see whether all warnings are fixed.

In some cases, it might be appropriate to modify the constraint rather than the setting, as discussed in the following procedure.

To view the constraint associated with the warning

  • Right-click the validation warning, point to Go To, and then click <constraint name> Constraint on <server or application name>.

    Distributed System Designers displays the diagram for which the constraint was authored, displays the Settings and Constraints Editor, and selects the corresponding constraint.

See Also

Tasks

Walkthrough: Validating an Application System for Deployment

How to: Validate a Deployment Diagram

Other Resources

Validating Deployment Diagrams