Search

The Project Admin Blog

Helping you manage your Microsoft Project Server Instance

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 April CU 2011 are Live!

    Great News! The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released. There was a problem found in both the 2010 Server Rollup Packages which required a fix and for the patches to be rebuilt. The current guidance is that we should see it released during the week of 3/7/2010.(Oops - too eager with the cut and paste from February!) Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Additionally, you are welcome to join us on TechNet for a webcast where we will be discussing this issues in detail and answering questions regarding the February Cumulative Update. The information on this webcast can be found at the URL below.

    TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server May 2011 Software Update (Level 200)

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032455143

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server April CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended):

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package, Project server-package): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2512801

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2516483

    Project Client Package:

     

    Description of the Office Project 2010 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2516479

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server.  The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches. You will need to make sure that you install the MOSS + Project Server Rollup Package (the link is provided below).   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the April CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (WSS server-package): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2512783

    Description of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2512782

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package (sts-x-none.msp): April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2512780

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp):April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2512784

    Description of the Office Project 2007 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp):April 26, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2534046

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article or by using the information at the end of this email.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Departmental Custom Fields

    Introduction

    Project Server 2007 allows you to creating literally hundreds of custom fields.  This is great, but a huge downside is that all of these fields are not typically needed by every user and therefore, they may add clutter and confusion.  In 2007, it is also not possible to create different custom field rules for one project vs. another user.  For instance, you cannot make a field required for one project yet optional for another.

    With Project Server 2010, departmental custom fields help to relieve the problems of too much information and too many choices. As an example, departments help you to manage the UI clutter, and help you to define, at a resource, at a task, or at a project level, which fields are required or not required.  Let’s walk through this new feature and show you how you can use departments to manage your enterprise custom fields.

    Scope

    To begin with, we need a brief conversation about scope.  In Project Server 2007, all custom fields are globally scoped which means the fields are available to all users.  In Project Server 2010, fields can be globally scoped, but they can also be departmentally scoped as well.  Consider this list of custom fields:

    Field

    Scope

    Department

    Required?

    ProjectCustomText1

    Global

    -

    No

    ProjectCustomText2

    Global

    -

    Yes

    ProjectCustomText3

    Department

    Marketing

    No

    ProjectCustomText4

    Department

    Marketing

    Yes

    ProjectCustomText5

    Department

    Development

    Yes

    ProjectCustomText6

    Department

    Development

    No

    If a project belongs to the Development department, then when viewing areas of the product that enabled departmental fields, you will see:

    • ProjectCustomText1
    • ProjectCustomText2
    • ProjectCustomText5
    • ProjectCustomText6

    Let’s say we have a user named Bob. Departments filter the list of custom fields Bob sees by-default.  This does not mean, however, that he won’t be able to view custom fields assigned to the marketing department.  When Bob saves a project, which fields will he be required to enter values for?  Remember, in Project 2007, Bob would need to input data for all required fields. In Project 2010 since a project, for example, can be associated with a department, Bob may be required to enter a value for the ProjectCustomText5 field AND will always be required to enter a value in the ProjectCustomText2 field since has global scope.

    A quick summary of scope shows that departmental fields enable two primary functions:

    1. Filtering custom fields so that a user sees by default, only those fields that are either global to the system or those that are in a given department.
    2. Controlling which fields require input.

    It needs to be stressed the departmental fields are not tied into security.  That is, you cannot use them with security categories and groups to enable or disable fields and their functions.  Instead, their primary purpose is to filter out fields you don’t need to deal with.  There are places in Project Web App (PWA) where you may not be able to see filtered fields and so it may seem like security has been applied, but you’ll find that in places like Project Professional, you can re-filter to show all fields.

    Remember this:  it’s about Structure and NOT Security.

    Now, let’s look at what it takes to setup and use departmental fields.

    Setup

    By default, Project Server 2010 has a new lookup table named Department.  Similar to the 2007 State and RBS lookup tables, this is a permanent lookup table (you can’t delete it) that is blank by-default.

    clip_image002

    Like any other lookup table, you can define the code mask and create a lookup table that’s flat or hierarchical. In addition to the Departments lookup table, by default there’s also the “Project Departments” and “Resource Departments” fields, predefined with the Department lookup table selected (you can’t change this).

     

    clip_image004

    These two new fields control a number of aspects within Project Professional and PWA. As with other custom fields associated with lookup tables, you can choose whether or not multiple values can be selected. But, just as with other such fields, once you’ve chosen to allow multiple values, you cannot revert back to single selection.  So be careful in your selection!

    You can create other custom enterprise fields and also choose to associate them with departments as shown below.

    clip_image006

    To help administrators easily determine which fields have been associated with a department, as you can see in the next picture the new Department field has been added to the Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables page.

    clip_image008

    In addition to setting up custom fields and associating them with departments, you can also associate users with departments.  Let’s suppose user Bob needs to be a part of the Development and Testing departments.  While editing his user account, you set the departments as seen the next picture.

    clip_image010

    Remember, setting the user’s department(s) helps to control how custom fields are filtered to them and helps to control which whether some items are seen or not seen in PWA. 

    Using Departmental fields

    Now that you’ve had a brief overview of creating departments, and associating departments with fields and with users, how do you use them in normal every day usage and what should you expect?   There are a number of Places in Project Professional and PWA where departmental custom fields can be used to your advantage so let’s take a brief look at these.

    Project Professional

    To understand how departmental custom fields are used in Project Professional, let’s look back to the first example given earlier where there are the two globally scoped project level fields plus two each for the marketing and development departments.  Our user Bob is working in Project Professional and is saving a project.  By default, Bob will see only the globally scoped enterprise project fields similar to the below picture:

    clip_image012

    Bob sees the two global fields because this project has not been associated with a department. Therefore, when Bob attempts to save the project (and without entering text into the ProjectCustomText2 field), he sees the following message:

    clip_image014

    Bob then enters a value into the ProjectCustomText2 field and is able to save the project. Bob then goes to the Project Information dialog box and associates the project with the Development department. Now he sees not only the global custom fields, but also two additional fields associated with the Development department.

    clip_image016

    Take notice that the required fields always appear at the top of the list.

    Here you see the addition of both the ProjectCustomText5 and the ProjectCustomText6 fields.  Bob forgets to fill in the required ProjectCustomText5 field and is reminded of this when saving similarly to when he neglected to enter required text into the ProjectCustomText2 field.

    clip_image017

    Finally, Bob fills in the required field and is able to successfully save his project.  The same concepts can be applied to task level custom fields as well.  For instance, you can assign a department to a task-level custom field and if the project belongs to the department and a field is required, you’ll need to fill in a value for all tasks in the project before you can save it.

    Project Web App

    There are a few places in PWA where departments affect your experience and an example is when creating new projects based on an enterprise project types (EPT). The administrator who creates the EPTs can specify that they belong to a department.  Therefore, when creating new projects from within the Project Center view, the list of EPTs you see is filtered based on your department.  Likewise, when editing the properties of a project, you will see similar behaviors.  In the following picture, suppose you you are a project manager and you are a member of the marketing department.

    clip_image019

    Here, you see the “EPT for Marketing Projects” EPT because you are a member of the marketing department. If there are EPTs that have no department association, then they appear in the list as well. However, EPTs associated with other departments do not appear and unlike in Project Professional where you can set the department filter within the Save dialog box, there’s no provision to do so in the Project Center.

    Reporting

    Project Server 2010 allows you to create multiple OLAP databases for reporting purposes.  When configuring a cube, you can specify both the project and source departments so that the cube is “filtered” on these criteria.  Here is a look at the OLAP Database Build Settings page:

    clip_image021

    Within the cube configuration, you can add the Project department field as a dimension to the Project and Tasks cubes and you can add the Resource department field as a dimension to the Resource cube. Like any other custom field, if the Project or Resource departments fields are defined for multiple values, then they can be used for filtering, but the field itself does not make it into the cube.

    Portfolio Analysis

    Departmental custom fields are used heavily in Project Server 2010’s portfolio analysis features.  When creating your driver library, you can associate a business driver with a single or multiple departments as shown in the following picture:

    clip_image023

    In this example, Driver2 has been associated with both the Development and Testing departments.

    Similarly, after your business driver library has been established and you want to create the driver prioritizations, when establishing the properties for the prioritization set, you can associate it with a department.

    clip_image025

    A department on the driver prioritization filters which business drivers are available. In the previous picture, you can see that Driver2 is available because this driver belongs to both the Development and Testing departments.  Obviously, having just one business driver will not produce a good portfolio analysis, but the example suffices.

    Summary

    This brief overview of departmental custom fields has been given to help you understand the following:

    1. Departmental custom fields’ primary function is to trim or filter the list of what a user may see within given areas of Project Professional and PWA.
    2. Departments are not meant to act as a security measure. Remember, it’s about Structure and NOT Security.
    3. Examples in both Project Professional and PWA where departments are used.

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Troubleshooting – Business Intelligence Features

    The Project Server 2010 Business Intelligence feature utilizes the support of Excel Services, Secure Store Service, PerformancePoint Services and SQL Server.  A thorough understanding of how these features fit together is necessary to get the most from the feature.  This post will provide that overview and provide troubleshooting questions for common issues.

    Architecture

    Our Business Intelligence features leverage Excel Services as the base functionality since most people use Excel to visualize data and it’s a tool that many people already know how to use. 

    There are four core components to this solution.

    Excel client. The Excel Client is used to author and publish new reports.  This solution will work with Excel 2007 SP2 or later.

    Office Data Connections.  Office Data Connections(ODC) are used to store the connection information, the SQL Query and the Secure Store Target Application ID.  External ODCs are used to allow you to manage data connection and query information externally to the reports that consume the data.  These two components together are the deliverables from the report author.

    When you provision a new Project Web Application site or when you create a new OLAP database, ODCs and attached templates will be automatically generated in the Business Intelligence Center.

    Excel Services.  Excel Services provides rendering and interactivity support on the web.  This service enables the user to share reports easily with others.  It also enables a user to filter the data in a report dynamically to meet a particular need.

    Secure Store.  Secure Store is a SharePoint service used to store credentials in a Target Application Profile.  These profiles help avoid double hop authentication situations and provide control around who has access to what data for a given Target Application Profile.  In SharePoint Server 2007, this service was known as Single Sign-On service or SSO.

    Project Server BI Architecture

    The diagram above illustrates the interactions between the four components.  The arrows denote what information is passed between the components and in what direction.

    Lastly, PerformancePoint is called out above as it is used to create the Business Intelligence Center as it is their service that provides this infrastructure.  It isn’t used for the core reporting features.  However, you can easily develop PerformancePoint reports over Project Server data. 

    Setup

    The setup steps for the Business Intelligence features can be found here.  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662106(office.14).aspx

    Please note, if you are using Active Directory(AD), you can set up a AD Group for Report Authors such that you only have to create one SQL Login for the group.  The membership of the group is then maintained outside of SQL Server.

    Also, you must set up a SQL Login with db_datareader rights for the credentials used in the Secure Store Target Application ID.  If you have created the AD group for the authors above and it matches the security needed to service reports, you can simply add the Target Application ID credentials to the Report Author’s AD group instead of creating a new SQL Login.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why isn’t my workbook rendering on the web?

    This can be due to a number of reasons.  Here is a list of items to verify.  The steps to do each of these items are listed in the setup link above.

    • One Time Setup Items
      • Has the Excel Services Service Application and Proxy Connection been created?
      • Is Secure Store Service Application and Proxy Connection been created?
      • Is Excel Services Service Application configured?
      • Is the folder for the data connections in a trusted location within the Excel Service Application?
      • Is the folder for the reports in a trusted location within the Excel Service Application?
      • Is the Secure Store Service Service Application configured?
    • For each Target Application Profile
      • Has the Secure Store Target Application Profile for the reports configured?
      • Is the user authorized or belongs to a group that is authorized to use the particular SSS Target Application profile?
      • Does the SSS Target Application have credentials set?
      • Does the SSS Target Application credentials have DB_DataReader rights to the Reporting Database?
    • For each workbook
      • Is the SSS ID value in the Office Data Connection filled in?
      • Does the SSS ID in the Excel workbook match the ID of the Application Profile in SSS? 

    Why hasn’t my data appeared yet?

    • If the data is sourced from the Reporting database, it could be that the Reporting Publish job has not yet completed.  Since these jobs are queued, you need to ensure the jobs has completed before you will see the data.
    • If the data is sourced from an OLAP database, you won’t see the data until the OLAP database is refreshed.
    • If these two items aren’t the case, there may be an issue with the query itself.  
  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server 2007/2010 Internet Explorer 9 Support

    *** Update November 2011 *** With the recent release of Project Server Service Pack 1 and recent IE9 updates, Project 2010 is now fully compatible with IE9

    Internet Explorer (IE) 9 was launched on Monday, March 14th. We have been working very closely with the Internet Explorer (IE) team to ensure that our customers can take advantage of all the great new features that the new IE release offers. After testing the different versions of Microsoft Project Server with IE 9, here is an update on IE 9 support status:

    • Project Server 2010 was tested and supports IE 9.
    • The main scenarios and functionalities of Project Server 2007 Service Pack 2 were tested and support IE 9. Project Server 2007 SP1 and Project Server 2007 may also support IE 9.
    • The main scenarios and functionalities of Project Portfolio Server 2007 Service Pack 2 were tested and support IE 9. Project Portfolio Server 2007 SP1 and Project Portfolio Server 2007 may also support IE 9.

    There is a small known issue with editing some of the grids in Project Server 2007 and Project Server 2010. When the entire contents of an editable cell are deleted, that cell becomes un-editable until the page is refreshed. Therefore, when modifying the content of a cell, you must ensure that all the content of the cell is not completely removed. To completely replace the contents of the cell, select the whole text and replace that with the new string. This issue affects the grid on the following pages:

    Microsoft Office Project Server 2007

    Microsoft Project Server 2010

    • My Tasks
    • My Timesheet
    • Proposals and Activities > New Activity
    • Status Report Request > Sections group
    • Server Settings > Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables > Edit Lookup Table > Lookup table group
    • Server Settings > Line Classifications
    • Server Settings > Time Reporting Periods à Create Periods
    • Server Settings > Cube Configuration > Calculated Measures group
    • Server Settings > Administrative Time
    • Status Report Request > Sections group
    • Server Settings > Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables à Edit Lookup Table > Lookup table group
    • Server Settings > Line Classifications
    • Server Settings > Time Reporting Periods > Create Periods
    • Server Settings > OLAP Database Management > Configuration > Calculated Measures group
    • Server Settings > Administrative Time

    There are also known issues with changing a project owner in the project information page, and adding or removing project fields in project detail pages. We are working across IE and Microsoft Project teams to fix all these issues soon. We will update when the fixes are available.

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 December CU 2010 are (mostly) Live!

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  There was a problem found in both the 2007 and 2010 Server Rollup Packages which required a fix and for the patches to be rebuilt.  The current guidance is that we should see it released during the week of 12/27/2010.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Additionally, you are welcome to join us on TechNet for a webcast on January 11, 2011, 8:00 am Pacific Time, where we will be discussing this issues in detail and answering questions regarding the December Cumulative Update.  The information on this webcast can be found at the URL below.

    TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative December Update (Level 200) - January 11, 2011, 8:00 am Pacific Time

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032454956

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on the MOSS we strongly recommend that you install the Server Rollup Packages as there are a large number of individual server packages for MOSS.  There is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for SharePoint Foundation Server, MOSS and Project Server.  Both Server Rollup Packages should be installed to ensure that the underlying technology that Project Server depends on is up to date.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.  You will need to make sure that you install the MOSS + Project Server Rollup Package (the link is provided below).   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~150MB each) but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the December CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    ETA for release is the week of 12/27/2010.

    ETA for release is the week of 12/27/2010.

    •  
      • Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package, Project server-package): December 14, 2010

    Project Client Package:

    Available Now

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007.  The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

     

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the December CU from the following articles:

    Note:  There was an issue found in the Server Rollup patches so they are currently unavailable until the issue is fixed and a new set of patches built.  The links below are where you will be able to access the articles when they become available.  We are working towards a release date during the week of 12/27/2010.  Both the Server and Client Project packages are fine and are ok to install.

    Server Rollup Packages:

    ETA for release is the week of 12/27/2010.

    Available Now

    Individual Product Packages:

    ETA for release is the week of 12/27/2010.

    Available Now

    Available Now

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article or by using the information at the end of this email.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 October 2012 CU Announcement

    I am pleased the announce the release of (some of) the 2012 October Cumulative Update for Project 2010, Project Server 2007, Project Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint Server 2010.  There are no fixes affecting Project 2007 client this cycle.  Some of the packages listed below will be delayed, as noted. Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.  Remember that this release for the 2010 products, like the August 2012 Cumulative Update, has a hard requirement on Service Pack 1 – see notes below.

    *** Update 11/7/2012 - the 2007 Server packages are now available ***

    *** Update 11/14/2012 - see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/brismith/archive/2012/11/14/project-server-2007-issue-installing-the-october-2012-cumulative-update.aspx for details on some issues found with the 2007 CU ***

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server August CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended): Delayed for a couple more weeks *** Update 11/15/2012 - now available ***

    Description of the Project Server 2010 cumulative update package (Project server-package):

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687565

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): October 30, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687615

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): October 30, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687612

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server. The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    As mentioned above, and at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/brismith/archive/2012/07/18/project-server-2010-from-august-2012-cumulative-update-onwards-you-will-also-need-to-load-sp1.aspx – the August Cumulative Update requires your client and server to already be at the Service Pack 1 (SP1) level – if you get a message saying the patch does not apply to your system then this may be the reason.

    SP1 for the Project Server 2010 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=26636 

    SP1 for the Project Professional 2010 client can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26635 for the 32-bit and http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26627 for the 64-bit.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project Server 2007 (*** See note above for details of a problem found with the Project Server 2007 CU***)

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    You can read about the fixes included in the August CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 cumulative update server hotfix package (WSS server-package): October 30, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687535

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 cumulative update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): October 30, 2012 Delayed for a couple more weeks

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687533

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): October 30, 2012 Delayed for a couple more weeks

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687536

    There are no fixes for Project 2007 in this cycle.

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Server Pack 3 for Project and Project Server 2007 has been released.  While not required for the August CU, we strongly recommend that you install it as it contains a number of patches to improve performance and reliability.  The following blog goes into more detail about SP3.

    Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 Service Pack 3 Availability

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    SP3 may be optional, however, Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation: (For reference – there were no fixes released for Project 2007 client in this cycle)

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 April 2012 CU Announcement

    Great News! The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Feel free to join us in May for a TechNet webcast to go over these patches in greater detail.  The information for this event is below:

    TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server April 2012 Software Update (Level 200) https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032493968

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server April CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended):

    Description of the Project Server 2010 cumulative update package (Project server-package): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598152

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598272

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598274

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server. The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    You can read about the fixes included in the April CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 cumulative update server hotfix package (WSS server-package): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598130

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598129

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package (Sts-x-none.msp): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598263

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598131

    Description of the Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): April 24, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598264

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Server Pack 3 for Project and Project Server 2007 has been released.  While not required for the April CU, we strongly recommend that you install it as it contains a number of patches to improve performance and reliability.  The following blog goes into more detail about SP3.

    Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 Service Pack 3 Availability

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    SP3 may be optional, however, Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Project Server 2007: Service Pack 3 and the October 2011 CU announced

    Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Project and Project Server 2007 are now released and can be found at:

    • 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 3 (SP3) and 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack (SP3) 2526086 ***Update   2526299 (Thanks Andre and Alex for the correction)
    • Office Project 2007 Service Pack 3 (SP3) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 SP3 2526091
    • Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 3 (SP3) and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP3 2526305

    For full details and more specific link see the Office Sustained Engineering blog at http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    *** Update – just heard there are a couple of issues being investigated with the 2007 Office packages – this affects the MOSS Server package 2596540 (which is the roll up that also includes the Project Server 2007 fix below), and a Project 2007 fix that was specifically  aimed at implementations of Project 2007 and Office 2010 where Visual Reports would not work.  Also corrected the description below from 2010 to 2007 – sorry…  Both of the updates below are unaffected. ***   All affected updates have been re-released 11/1/2011

    The October 2011 Cumulative Update for Project and Project Server 2007 can be found at:

    A few answers to questions I’m am sure are on the tips of your tongues (as we have all been asking them internally)

    • SP3 does not contain the October CU, but contains all fixes up to the August 2011 CU – so to get fully up to date you need to load both SP3 and the October CU. 
    • SP3 contains all of the fixes previously released via cumulative updates up to and including the August 2011 CU plus any applicable security fixes released.  If you are up to date with updates and CU’s then SP3 will not be adding anything you don’t already have.
    • October CU and SP3 can be loaded in either order – and for the server you could add both before running the configuration wizard.
    • You do need to be at least at SP2 to load the October CU – or preferably SP3

    Thanks to Rob and Adrian for the information – and Adrian and I (mostly Adrian) will include SP3 in our regular Cumulative Update webcast – 11/8/2011.

    Here’s the URL for the 11/8/2011 8:00:00 AM - Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server October 2011 Software Update

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493962&Culture=en-US

    There is a slight delay in the release of the 2010 Cumulative Updates for October 2011 – more information as soon as I have it.

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 December 2011 CU Announcement

    Great News! The December Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Also remember to join us in January for a TechNet webcast to go over both the December 2011 Cumulative Updates for Project Server 2010 and Project Server 2007.  The information for this event is below:

    TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server December 2011 Software Update (Level 200)

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493964&culture=en-us

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server December CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended):

    Description of the Project Server 2010 cumulative update package (Project server-package): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597015

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596997

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (x86 Project-x-none.msp, x64 Project-x-none.msp): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597006

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server. The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.
    1. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    2. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    *** Update - all packages now available (12/16/2011) ***

    There was an issue found with the Project Server 2007 December Cumulative Update and it had to be rebuilt.  The issue has been fixed and we expect the patch to be released the week of December 19th.

    You can read about the fixes included in the December CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Available Now!

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 cumulative update server hotfix package (WSS server-package): December 13, 2011 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596987

    ETA:  Week of December 19th.  Now available (12/16/2011)

    Description of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 cumulative update package (MOSS server-package): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596986

    Individual Product Packages:

    Available Now!

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package (Sts-x-none.msp): December 13, 2011 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596983

     ETA:  Week of December 19th.  Now available (12/16/2011) .

    Description of the Office Project Server 2007 hotfix package (pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596989

    Available Now!

    Description of the Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): December 13, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2596984

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Server Pack 3 for Project and Project Server 2007 has been released.  While not required for the December CU, we strongly recommend that you install it as it contains a number of patches to improve performance and reliability.  The following blog goes into more detail about SP3.

    Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 Service Pack 3 Availability

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    SP3 may be option, however, Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article or by using the information at the end of this email.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 February 2012 CU Announcement

    Great News! The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Feel free to join us in March for a TechNet webcast to go over these patches in greater detail.  The information for this event is below:

    TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server February 2012 Software Update (Level 200)

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493966&Culture=en-US

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    There was an issue found with one of the other Office Server products which needed to be addressed before release.  The issue has been fixed and the Server Rollup Packages are being rebuilt.  We expect the patch to be released the week of March 5th.

    Please note that the issue was not with the Project Server Individual Package so  the Project Server CU (KB2597138) can be used for testing and/or rapid deployment for organizations who cannot wait for the Server Rollup Patch to be released.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server February CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended):

    ETA:  Week of March 5th

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package, Project server-package): March 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597152

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597138

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597942

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server. The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    You can read about the fixes included in the February CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (WSS server-package): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597959

    Description of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597958

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package (sts-x-none.msp): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597951

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597960

    Description of the Office Project 2007 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp):February 28, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597955

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Server Pack 3 for Project and Project Server 2007 has been released.  While not required for the February CU, we strongly recommend that you install it as it contains a number of patches to improve performance and reliability.  The following blog goes into more detail about SP3.

    Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 Service Pack 3 Availability

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    SP3 may be optional, however, Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    April 2010 Cumulative Update (CU) for Project Server 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, WSS and Project 2007 now available!

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Update (CU) has been released: April 2010.  This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production. 

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update: Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007) http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx 

    We strongly recommend that you install WSS and Office Servers 2007 Service Pack 2.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    The server patches require that WSS and Office Servers 2007 SP1 be installed.  For clarity, SP1 is required and SP2 is strongly recommended.  Here are the links to the SP1 Server Patches for your convenience:

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the April CU from the following articles:

    Note:  There may be a few day delay before all of the articles are published.  You can download the CU files through the links at the end of this email should the articles not be available when you click the link.  This will give you a head start on testing the patches in preparation for deploying them into production.

    Also check this blog post for more information: February 2010 Cumulative Update (CU) for Project Server 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, WSS and Project 2007 now available!

    Following a two month cycle, next Cumulative Update is due at the end of June 2010.

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Individual Product Packages:

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP1 installed on the client. The article at the URL below contains information on how install download and install SP1 should you not have it installed already.

    Note:  We strongly recommend that you install Project 2007 SP2 from the information earlier in the article.

    Once we know that SP1 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article or by using the information at the end of this email.
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.
  • The Project Admin Blog

    Use Performance Analysis of Logs Tool to perform A Farm Health Check

    As mentioned this morning in this webcast Microsoft Project Server 2010 – Operations webcast on May 19th a great tool to analyze logs is the Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool on CodePlex. To test it out, download the 64 bit version in the newly released Project 2010 demo image (Microsoft Project Server 2010 RTM Demo Virtual Machine is Ready for Download). I created a list of performance counters listed below (in my case all roles are in one virtual machine, in a production environment you will have to adapt the counters for each server role in your farm):

    • \ASP.NET\*
    • \ProjectServer:QueueGeneral(*)\*
    • \ProjectServer:Queue Jobs(*)\*
    • \ProjectServer:User Activity\*
    • \ProjectServer:Winproj\*
    • \SharePoint Foundation\*
    • \SQLServer:Databases\*
    • \SQLServer:General Statistics\*
    • \LogicalDisk(*)\*
    • \Memory\*
    • \Network Interface(*)\*
    • \PhysicalDisk(*)\*
    • \Process(*)\*
    • \Processor(*)\*
    • \System\*
    Project Server Counters

    I then started the trace, played around with my demo image to generate some stress (like republish all projects with a PowerShell script!) and after two hours I used PAL to analyze the logs generated and got this very useful report (attached in this post to illustrate the analytical power of the tool, again this is just a sample):

    Project Server PAL Report Project Server PAL Report
    Project Server Active Job Project Server Sql Calls
  • The Project Admin Blog

    Welcome to the Admin Blog!

    This blog focuses on the needs of the Project Administrator/Implementer.  The posts will answer the questions of how do I and why would I implement various aspects of Project Server.  While there will be a lot of content for Project Server 2010, we will also have Project Server 2007 related content as well.

    Why another blog?  Most of our readers use RSS feeds to get their content.  Therefore, segregating the content makes it easier for each audience to get related posts for their areas of interest.

    The Project blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/project will continue to have great content targeted at readers who want to know more about new features and how to use them. 

    The Project Programmability blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/project programmability will continue to focus on developer content for Project Server.

  • The Project Admin Blog

    February 2010 Cumulative Update (CU) for Project Server 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, WSS and Project 2007 now available!

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Update (CU) has been released.  This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.  Don’t miss the note below on some Project Server 2007 fixes released that just missed the CU.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    We strongly recommend that you install WSS and Office Servers 2007 Service Pack 2.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    The server patches require that WSS and Office Servers 2007 SP1 be installed.  For clarity, SP1 is required and SP2 is strongly recommended.  Here are the links to the SP1 Server Patches for your convenience:

    Description of the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 1 and the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 1

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936984/en-us

    How to deploy the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 1 and Office Server Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 1

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945013/en-us

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the February CU from the following articles:

    Note:  There has been a follow-up CU build that was released just after the February CU.  This CU contains three fixes that are not included in the February CU.  Please check http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980854 to see if these are fixes you need.  This CU also contains all of the fixes in the February CU so you will not need to install the February CU if you install this fix unless you are a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) user.  Customers running MOSS will want to install the server rollup fixes and then the post-February CU.  This CU will not be downloadable from the KB so you will need to open a Support Case in order to obtain it.  Customers with existing cases open for the February CU do not need to open another case.

    Note:  There may be a few day delay before all of the articles are published.  You can download the CU files through the links at the end of this email should the articles not be available when you click the link.  This will give you a head start on testing the patches in preparation for deploying them into production.

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (WSS server-package): February 23, 2010

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978396

    Description of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): February 23, 2010 (This includes Project Server 2007 CU)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978395

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server hotfix package (Sts-x-none.msp): February 23, 2010

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978389

    Description of the Office Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): February 23, 2010

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978397

    Description of the Office Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): February 23, 2010

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980209

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP1 installed on the client. The article at the URL below contains information on how install download and install SP1 should you not have it installed already.

    Note:  We strongly recommend that you install Project 2007 SP2 from the information earlier in the article.

    Description of Project 2007 Service Pack 1 and of Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 1

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937154/en-us

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 February CU 2011 are Live!

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  There was a problem found in both the 2010 Server Rollup Packages which required a fix and for the patches to be rebuilt.  The current guidance is that we should see it released during the week of 3/7/2010.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    Additionally, you are welcome to join us on TechNet for a webcast where we will be discussing this issues in detail and answering questions regarding the February Cumulative Update.  The information on this webcast can be found at the URL below.

    TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative February Update (Level 200)

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032455141

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on the MOSS we strongly recommend that you install the Server Rollup Packages as there are a large number of individual server packages for MOSS.  There is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for SharePoint Foundation Server, MOSS and Project Server.  Both Server Rollup Packages should be installed to ensure that the underlying technology that Project Server depends on is up to date.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.  You will need to make sure that you install the MOSS + Project Server Rollup Package (the link is provided below).   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~150MB each) but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the February CU from the following articles:

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on the MOSS we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for MOSS.  The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    There was a problem found in the one of the Office Server packages which means that it has to be fixed and rebuilt.  You can download the individual Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update and install it so that you can start testing or have the patched deployed now.  You could then install the Office Server 2010 Server Rollup Package over the individual Project Server package to update all of the SharePoint and other Office Servers files.

    You can read about the fixes included in the February CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package:

    ETA - The week of March 7th, 2011

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package, Project server-package): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2475879

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2479792

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Office Project 2010 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2496946

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007.  The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2.  Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3.  Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the February CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (WSS server-package): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2475886

    Description of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2475885

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package (sts-x-none.msp): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2483218

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2475887

    Description of the Office Project 2007 hotfix package (project-x-none.msp):February 22, 2011

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2483215

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article or by using the information at the end of this email.

    2.  Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3.  Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 August CU 2010 are Live!

    *** Update *** Please see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/brismith/archive/2010/09/17/project-server-2010-applied-august-cu-and-having-problems-with-jsgrid.aspx if you are having issues with JSGrid after loading JUST the Project Server 2010 CU - KB 2276341

    Yesterday saw the release of the August Cumulative Update (CU) for both Office 2007 and Office 2010 product families, including Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Microsoft Office Project 2007, Microsoft Project Server 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010.

    These include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you evaluate in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    Also do not forget the upcoming Webcast where Adrian Jenkins and Brian Smith will provide an overview of this release and also address related questions:

    TechNet Webcast- Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative August Update - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 8:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

    For full details of this series please see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chrisfie/archive/2010/06/16/microsoft-project-and-project-server-2007-and-2010-cumulative-update-webcast-series.aspx

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.  There is an article in the works for 2010, but basically the steps are the same.

    We strongly recommend that you install WSS and Office Servers 2007 Service Pack 2.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    The server patches require that WSS and Office Servers 2007 SP1 be installed.  For clarity, SP1 is required and SP2 is strongly recommended.  Here are the links to the SP1 Server Patches for your convenience:

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of rollup packages which contains (for 2007) all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment. 

    For 2010 there are new combinations due to the fact that SharePoint Server 2010 is now a required feature.  I will update this post once the articles are live with a better description of the rollups, but basically the Project Server rollup contains the SharePoint Server patches – but the Server Rollup no longer contains the Project Server patches

    You can read about the fixes included in the August CU from the following articles:

    Note:  There may be a few days delay before all of the articles are published. 

    2007

    Individual Product Packages:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    2010

    Individual Product Packages:

    *** Update - If you load the Project Server 2010 hotfix 2276341 you will also need to load at least 2266423 listed above. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/brismith/archive/2010/09/17/project-server-2010-applied-august-cu-and-having-problems-with-jsgrid.aspx

    • Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Wosrv-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp, Osrv-x-none.msp): August 31, 2010 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2276341
    • No August update for Microsoft Project 2007

    Server Rollup Packages: *** Descriptions updated ***

    • Description of the SharePoint Foundation 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (SharePoint Foundation server-package): August 31, 2010 - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2352346
    • Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): August 31, 2010 - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2352342 (Does not include Project Server patch)
    • Description of the SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package, Project server-package): August 31, 2010  - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2352345

    Client Installation:

    In order to install the 2007 hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP1 installed on the client. The article at the URL below contains information on how install download and install SP1 should you not have it installed already.

    Note:  We strongly recommend that you install Project 2007 SP2 from the information earlier in the article.

    Once we know that SP1 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the KB Article above (KB 2028571).
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 (or preferably SP2) client.
  • The Project Admin Blog

    June 2010 Cumulative Update (CU) for Project Server 2007, Office SharePoint Server 2007, WSS and Project 2007 now available!

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Update (CU) for Office and Office Servers 2007 has been released (news of the 2010 releases coming shortly!).  This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    *** Update *** Also do not forget the upcoming Webcast where Adrian Jenkins will provide an overview of this release and also address related questions:

    Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative June Update - Tuesday, July 13, 2010 8:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

    For full details of this series please see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chrisfie/archive/2010/06/16/microsoft-project-and-project-server-2007-and-2010-cumulative-update-webcast-series.aspx

    *** /Update ***

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    We strongly recommend that you install WSS and Office Servers 2007 Service Pack 2.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    The server patches require that WSS and Office Servers 2007 SP1 be installed.  For clarity, SP1 is required and SP2 is strongly recommended.  Here are the links to the SP1 Server Patches for your convenience:

    The Server CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~200MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the June CU from the following articles:

    Note:  There may be a few day delay before all of the articles are published. 

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Individual Product Packages:

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP1 installed on the client. The article at the URL below contains information on how install download and install SP1 should you not have it installed already.

    Note:  We strongly recommend that you install Project 2007 SP2 from the information earlier in the article.

    Once we know that SP1 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the KB Article above (KB 2028571).
    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.
    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 (or preferably SP2) client.

     

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server 2010 & SQL 2012 Support

    With the recent release of SQL 2012 earlier this month, I confirm that Project Server 2010 supports SQL 2012 (as with SharePoint 2010) and hence we have updated our TechNet product documentation last week: Hardware and software requirements (Project Server 2010). (Link updated 1/3/2013)

    There are lots of benefits with this latest version of SQL and I highly encourage you to learn about its news features and scenarios.

    image

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 June 2012 CU Announcement

    Great News! The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  Feel free to open a support case if you have any questions around this or need assistance getting these patches deployed.

    *** Update - Thanks Tony for pointing out the link is for an old June CU - I'll update once I have fresh information... ***

    Feel free to join us in July for a TechNet webcast to go over these patches in greater detail.  The information for this event is below:

    TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative June Update (Level 200)

    https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032454430&CountryCode=US

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    *** Update - all patches now available - sorry for the delay ***

    There was an issue found with one of the other Office Server products which needed to be addressed before release.  The issue has been fixed and the Server Rollup Packages are being rebuilt.  We expect the patch to be released the first week of July.

    Please note that the issue was not with the Project Server Individual Package so  the Project Server CU (KB2598375) can be used for testing and/or rapid deployment for organizations who cannot wait for the Server Rollup Patch to be released.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    You can read about the fixes included in the Project and Project Server June CUs from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Package(Recommended):

    ETA:  First week of July  *** Update - Now available! ***

    Description of the Project Server 2010 cumulative update package (Project server-package): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598355

    Individual Project Server Package:

    Only required if you do not install the Server Rollup.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598375

    *** Update***

    Additional package - see http://blogs.msdn.com/b/brismith/archive/2012/07/20/project-server-2010-duplicated-outlook-tasks-after-exchange-sync-june-cu.aspx for full details.

    Description of the Project Server 2010 hotfix package (Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp, Pjsrvmui-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598376

    (Includes all of 2598375 + and Exchange Sync fix and a Category Editing fix.  These needed globalization changes hence the separate fix))

    *** End Update ***

    Project Client Package:

    Description of the Project 2010 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598351

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on SharePoint Server 2010 we strongly recommend that you install the Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package as there are a large number of individual server packages for SharePoint Server. The Project Server 2010 Server Rollup Package contains all the patches released in this Cumulative Update for SharePoint Foundation Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010 and Project Server 2010.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007. The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    You can read about the fixes included in the June CU from the following articles:

    Server Rollup Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 cumulative update server hotfix package (WSS server-package): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687257

    Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687256

    Individual Product Packages:

    Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hotfix package (Sts-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2598389

    Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687258

    Description of the Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): June 26, 2012

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687253

    More information on deploying the Cumulative Update:

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Server Pack 3 for Project and Project Server 2007 has been released.  While not required for the June CU, we strongly recommend that you install it as it contains a number of patches to improve performance and reliability.  The following blog goes into more detail about SP3.

    Office 2007 and SharePoint 2007 Service Pack 3 Availability

    http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/10/25/office-2007-and-sharepoint-2007-service-pack-3-availability.aspx

    SP3 may be optional, however, Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update. The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server CU is released in two different versions. The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server. These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately.

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages. This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS. These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed. The Server Rollup Packages are much larger but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    Client Installation:

    In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.

    Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953326

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

    NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout.

    1. Download the hotfix from either the KB Article.

    2. Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3. Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard SP1 client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is RTM

    Exciting times at Microsoft, after Visual Studio 2010 and Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Project 2010, Project Server 2010, SQL 2008 R2 is RTM (press release: Microsoft Kicks Off Worldwide Launch of SQL Server 2008 R2). A good summary of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 can be found here: http://blogs.technet.com/dataplatforminsider/archive/2010/04/21/sql-server-2008-r2-released-to-manufacturing.aspx

    Also check out this free book that discusses the key enhancements to this release: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

    R2 is Here

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Project 2010 and Project Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) recorded webcast

    Following the recent release of Project 2010 Service Pack 1 last June: Announcing The Release Of Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Microsoft Project and Project Server 2010 please find below a recording providing an overview of this important update:

    Download
    WMV Download | WMA | MP3

  • The Project Admin Blog

    ANOUNCING: Project Portfolio Server 2007 migration documentation to Project Server 2010 just released!

    Few weeks ago we have announced the ultimate Upgrade and Migration Resources to Project 2010 and we promised more on the Project Portfolio Server 2007 Migration in July 2010. Well – here it is!

     

    The comprehensive Project Portfolio Server 2007 Migration Guide.

     

     

    Q&A

    Q: What is the overall approach for migrating Project Portfolio Server 2007 to Project Server 2010?

    A: The attached document highlights three approaches – Process only migration, Process and data migration and Coexistence (no migration). Please study the document and assess what approach is the most suitable for you.

     

    Q: Are there any tools I can use for this process?

    A: By all means – we have produced number of solution starters that will make it easier for you to migrate the process and the data – the document has the details.

     

    Q: I heard about some deprecations from the Project Portfolio Server 2007, could you be more specific?

    A: In Project 2010 we have unified the two server products from 2007 release into single one – this brings many benefits for end-users, IT professionals and developers. We have also introduced new functionality in the Portfolio Analytics that will help you identify resourcing issues in your ideal portfolio. If you will miss something – be advised that Project Server 2010 is built on the powerful and extensible platform of SharePoint Server 2010. We have released number of solution starters that will help you get started quickly implementing the desired business process on Project 2010. You can also consider 3rd party solutions if you implementing partner does not have a solution already. But again the document has more information.

    Additional Resources

    ·        The ultimate resource for the Upgrade and Migration to Project 2010 is the Project Server 2010 Upgrade and Migration Center - http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9676814

    ·        All other information about Project 2010 – http://www.microsoft.com/project

     

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint 2007 and 2010 October CU 2010 are Live!

    *** Update *** 11/18/2010 - The issues have now been resolved and the links to the revised updates are now available.  The KB number is unchanged, but the Revision Number on the article is 2.0 and the version of the patch is 14.0.5128.5003.  Sorry for any inconvenience caused.  This only applies to KB 2394322 (link below) and 2394320 (which isn't in the links below)

    ***Update*** Please see the latest information on potential issues with the October CU at http://blogs.technet.com/b/projectadministration/archive/2010/11/08/critical-information-about-the-sharepoint-server-2010-october-cumulative-update.aspx

    *** Update *** Reminder, the TechNet Webcast giving more details of this cumulative update:

    Tuesday, November 09, 2010 8:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada),  TechNet Webcast: Information About Microsoft Project and Project Server Cumulative October Update – with Adrian Jenkins and Brian Smith.

    Great News!  The latest Cumulative Updates (CU) for Project and Project Server 2010 and 2007 have been released.  You can download them directly from the links in the KB articles. 

    Project and Project Server 2010

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Updates for Project Server 2010

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/gg176680.aspx

    As Project Server 2010 is now based on the MOSS we strongly recommend that you install the Server Rollup Packages as there are a large number of individual server packages for MOSS.  There is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for SharePoint Foundation Server, MOSS and Project Server.  Both Server Rollup Packages should be installed to ensure that the underlying technology that Project Server depends on is up to date.

    For those accustomed to Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates, you should note that the MOSS Server Rollup Package does not contain the Project Server patches.  You will need to make sure that you install the MOSS + Project Server Rollup Package (the link is provided below).   As in Project Server 2007, the Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~150MB each) but they will greatly simplify your Project Server patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the October CU from the following articles:

    Client Installation:

    Installation of the client patch is straightforward and is the same as it was in Project 2007.  The instructions for installing the client patch are below.

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2.  Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3.  Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Project and Project Server 2007

    This include a number of fixes, so Microsoft strongly recommends that you test this in a test environment based on your production environment before putting this fix live in production.

    The article below provides information on how to deploy the Project Server Cumulative Update.

    Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx

    Service Pack 2 for both WSS and Office Servers 2007 are required for this Cumulative Update.  The KB articles below provide information on how to download and install SP2 if you have not already done so.

    Note:  The SP2 Requirement is new as of the August 2010 Project and Project Server 2007 Cumulative Updates.

    Description of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2 and of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Language Pack SP2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953338

    Description of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2 and of 2007 Microsoft Office servers Language Pack Service Pack 2

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953334

    The Server 2007 CU is released in two different versions.  The first version is in Individual Packages specific to a particular product like WSS and Project Server.  These are smaller downloads but they do not include language packs or patches for other products so patches for those products would have to be downloaded and installed separately. 

    The second version is the Server Rollup Packages.  This is a set of two rollup packages which contains all the fixes for WSS, Project Server and MOSS.  These packages should be used when MOSS is part of the deployment and/or you have language packs installed.  The Server Rollup Packages are much larger (~100MB each) but they will greatly simplify MOSS patch deployment.

    You can read about the fixes included in the October CU from the following articles:

    •  
      • Client Installation:
        • In order to install this hotfix, you will need to have Microsoft Project 2007 SP2 installed on the client.
        • Description of Office Project 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and of Office Project Language Pack 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

    Once we know that SP2 is installed, you will install the hotfix by performing the following steps:

      NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends testing within a NON-Production environment prior to rollout. 

    1. Download the hotfix from the link in the KB Article.

    2.  Extract the patch package by running the .exe file that you downloaded.

    3.  Run the extracted .exe file to apply the patch to your Project Professional/Standard client.

    Feel free to open a support incident at http://support.microsoft.com if you run into any issues with the installation and we will be happy to help!

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Critical Information about the SharePoint Server 2010 October Cumulative Update

    *** Update *** 11/18/2010 - The issues have now been resolved and the links to the revised updates are now available.  The KB number is unchanged, but the Revision Number on the article is 2.0 and the version of the patch is 14.0.5128.5003.  Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

    Please see the posting on the SharePoint blog regarding an issue recently discovered with the October CU for SharePoint Server 2010 that also affects Project Server 2010 - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sharepoint/archive/2010/11/05/critical-information-about-the-sharepoint-server-2010-october-cumulative-update.aspx.  The current recommendation is to not load the CU, and SharePoint have also released details of a workaround if you have already loaded the October CU -  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sharepoint/archive/2010/11/06/details-and-workaround.aspx.

    Packages Impacted

    The Cumulative Update packages affected are the Server Packages for SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server and Project Server 2010, specifically;

    • SharePoint Server Package 2394320
    • Project Server Package 2394322

    The downloads for both of these packages have been removed from our servers.  If you have already downloaded them you SHOULD NOT install them.  They will be republished.

    Issue Details

    The October Cumulative Update for the packages listed above makes some changes and updates to the user profile database.  Unfortunately there are certain situations where this update does not complete as expected and leaves the update in an inconsistent state.  This causes issues with several SharePoint features that use the User Profile Application such as MySites, People and Expertise Search & Ratings.

    For details of the workaround please see the SharePoint blog above.

    This issue affects the SharePoint features that use the User Profile Application – so does not directly impact Project Server 2010 functionality – but obviously many of our Project customers may be using these features.

  • The Project Admin Blog

    Implementing Governance in SharePoint 2010 whitepaper

    Great new asset you shall read and leverage as part of your Project Server 2010 farm deployment: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=602d7bfc-0878-469a-90bd-36aaab8f3cea&displayLang=en

    Summary

    SharePoint 2010 provides a rich set of capabilities that empower business users. For example, Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010 enables users to collaborate with each other, tag and rate content, self-publish, and even develop their own solutions. These new capabilities require clear guidance to both underscore their benefits and realize their potential while maintaining a level of consistency and control within an organization.

    Overview Backup Branding
    Farm Controls Central Administration Themes
    Service Accounts Scripted Backup Master Pages
    SharePoint Managed Accounts SQL Server Database Site Controls
    Password Management Web Application Controls Security and Permissions
    Changing Accounts Content Database Management Access Requests
    Diagnostic Logging Supported / Blocked File Types Quotas
    Event Throttling Security Policies Storage Limit Quotas
    Correlation IDs Resource Throttling Resource Limit Quotas
    Event Log Flood Protection Application Pools Resource Throttling
    Trace Logging Security Lifecycle Management
    Usage Data and Health Data Collection Reliability Site Deletion
    Web Analytics Solutions and Features Archiving / Site Backup and Restore
    Traffic Farm Solution Auditing
    Search Sandboxed Solutions Provisioning and Self Service Site Creation
    Inventory Search Secondary Owner
    Health Analyzer Index file location Managed Paths
    Timer Jobs Content Sources Multi-Tenancy
    Releases and Upgrades Customization Conclusion
      SharePoint Designer Additional Resources
Page 1 of 4 (96 items) 1234