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December 2009 Cumulative Update Packages for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

December 2009 Cumulative Updates are available for download for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.

For additional download information and detailed descriptions of the December 2009 Cumulative Update visit the Updates Resource Center for SharePoint Products and Technologies at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sharepointserver/bb735839.aspx.

Additional Resources

Update Center for Microsoft Office, Office Servers, and Related Products

Upgrading from Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

We've published a new post on the SharePoint Team Blog that details the process, procedures, and options for upgrading from Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 and SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 - read more here...

 

Site Recycle Bin (Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture) for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Frequently Asked Questions

Question:

Will the Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture available at www.codeplex.com/governance work with SharePoint 2010?

Answer:

Yes.

Question:

In Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 there is a Timer Job Definition called Gradual Site Delete, will the Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture work when this Timer Job Definition is enabled and what is this Timer Job Definition?

Answer:

Yes, the Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture will work with the Gradual Site Delete Timer Job Definition.

The Gradual Site Delete Timer Job Definition is designed to mitigate the impact of large site deletion in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 environments.  Specifically as an example in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, when a site was deleted it called a stored procedure, proc.DeleteSite which walked through all of the tables in the content database and deleted the rows corresponding to the Id of the site being deleted, as a result up to 35 tables were touched as part of the site deletion process as a single transaction.  Knowing this delete operations will take a lock on the deleted rows and if the number of deleted rows exceeds a specific threshold, by default 5,000, SQL Server, in some cases, in the interest of efficiency will escalate the row locks to table locks – referred to as lock escalation.  Lock escalation will prevent user requests on the entire table which can leave the server unresponsive.

The Gradual Site Delete Timer Job Definition resolves this issue through implementing a process by which when a site collection is deleted the site entry (pointer) in dbo.SiteMap is removed from the configuration database and from dbo.Sites in the corresponding content database.  From an end user experience the site is deleted  and all access through the site Url in addition to its content is unavailable.  From this point the site deletion is then queued into dbo.SiteDeletion in the host content database where it is marked to be gradually deleted, this is where the Gradual Site Delete Timer Job Definition comes into play.  The Timer Job Definition [Gradual Site Delete] executes on a Daily schedule [configurable], and will continuously attempt to delete all the data for all the sites in its queue (dbo.SiteDeletion). It will delete the data in batches of a maximum of 1000 rows through multiple transactions to avoid escalation and can be resumed  in the event any failure occurs so that it can attempt the delete process again if required, once the site is completed deleted the dbo.SiteDeletion entry is removed.

Since the SiteDeleted event on which the Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture depends is called prior to calling the stored procedures there is no impact its the logic.

The Experts Conference 2010

Session abstracts and keynotes have been announced for the 2010 Experts Conference in Los Angeles, CA.

The Experts Conference (TEC) 2010 marks the first ever SharePoint training curriculum for TEC and includes industry recognized speakers and trainers from across the globe providing deep technical sessions to include, but not limited to upgrade and migration, social computing, enterprise and web content management, development, security, and authentication  (see also http://tec2010.com/agenda-speakers/sharepoint-training/session-abstracts/ for a sample of session abstracts). 

To learn more about SharePoint training at TEC2010 visit http://tec2010.com/general-information/sharepoint-training/ or for additional information on registration and special registration discounts available through January 1st, 2010 see below.

Dates: April 25-28

Location: JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. Live

Details: SharePoint The Experts Conference

Registration:  https://register.crgevents.com/TEC2010/Register/Login/default.aspx

SharePoint Joel $500 Discount $1345 USD conference registration price ($200 off regular + additional $300 off)

Joel has negotiated a special SharePoint discount available through January 1st, 2010.  To take advantage of this offer visit the registration page here https://register.crgevents.com/TEC2010/Register/Login/RegCode.aspx and enter the code ATGNVET.  When prompted about how you heard about the conference, select Quest Staff and enter Joel Oleson.

Press Release: “Quest Software Unveils The Experts Conference 2010 Keynotes” - Microsoft Technology Leaders Conrad Bayer, Alex Weinert, Konstantin Ryvkin, and Bill Baer to Keynote Directory & Identity, Exchange and SharePoint Event in Los Angeles.

Posted by Bill Baer | 0 Comments

Recommended Upgrade Resources for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010

Upgrading is common function with Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, whether it be product specific such as Service Packs and Cumulative Updates or platform specific such as new versions of products or the core operating system.  Prior to upgrading to any version of a product or patching and updating that product you should understand both the process and options and available to you. 

This post provides recommended upgrade resources related to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010 and the technologies on which depends separated by both Documentation and Tools resources because I hate looking for this stuff myself.  ;-)

Contents

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Resources

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Resources

Windows Server 2008 Resources

Windows Server 2008 R2 Resources

SQL Server 2005 Resources

SQL Server 2008 Resources

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Resources

Documentation

Deploy Software Updates for Office SharePoint Server 2007

Provides information about software updates is aimed at all IT professionals who maintain Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007  in addition to specific instructions for installing a software updates on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Tools

preupgradecheck STSADM Command Line Operation

The STSADM preupgradecheck command line operations runs rules that are intended to assist administrators in preparing for upgrade from Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and related products to future version of SharePoint and Technology products.

List of all Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Server Pre-Upgrade Checker Knowledge Base Articles

Contains a list of all Pre-Upgrade Checker for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 knowledge base articles. The Pre-Upgrade Checker ships in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 2. It is used to assess the server for potential upgrade issues when you prepare to upgrade to the next version release that supersedes Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Server 2007.

exportIPFSadminobjects STSADM Command Line Operation

Extract InfoPath Forms as WSP (solution packages).

SharePoint Diagnostics Tool

The SharePoint Diagnostic Tool, included with the latest release of the SharePoint Administration Toolkit, was created to simplify and standardize troubleshooting of SharePoint Products and Technologies, and to provide a unified view of collected data; however, while commonly used reactively for analytical purposes to narrow the source of a particular problem, can also be used proactively to inventory the current environment and address issues prior to upgrading future version of SharePoint and Technology products.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Resources

Documentation

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Installation, Upgrade, and Getting Started

Download Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, locate links to resource centers, and references as related to planning, deployment, operations, and technical guidance for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010.

Determine Upgrade Approach

Describes the available upgrade approaches available to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

Upgrading to SharePoint Server 2010

Describes the available upgrade approaches and provides planning and scenario-based  resources.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Setup, Upgrade, Operations, Administration Forum

Discuss topics related to setup, upgrade, operations, and administration with Microsoft and community members.

Windows Server 2008 Resources

Documentation

Installing Windows Server 2008

Provides information about installing the Windows Server 2008 operating system. It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation.

Upgrading to Windows Server 2008

Provides important information about upgrading to the Windows Server 2008 operating system, including links to related documents with information about:

  • How to upgrade
  • Supported scenarios
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Known issues about the upgrade process

Guide for Upgrading to Windows Server 2008

Provides information about upgrading to the Windows Server 2008 operating system including how to upgrade, supported scenarios, frequently asked questions, and known issues about the upgrade process.

Known Issues When Upgrading to Windows Server 2008

Provides solutions for known issues that you may experience after you upgrade to Windows Server 2008.

Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Deployment Guide

Provides information for IT administrators who are deploying Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. This document includes technical information, procedures, and recommendations for installing Service Pack 2 in a business or corporate environment.

Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Frequently Asked Questions

Provides answers to common questions about this release of Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2.

Installing Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2

Provides information about installing the Windows Server 2008 operating system with Service Pack 2. It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Resources

Documentation

Installing Windows Server 2008 R2

Provides information about installing the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, including any known issues that you may need to work around before starting an installation. It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation

Windows Server 2008 Upgrade Paths

Outlines supported and unsupported upgrade paths for editions of the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system.

SQL Server 2005 Resources

Documentation

SQL Server 2005 Upgrade and Technical Reference Guide

Contains guidance for SQL Server administrators, developers, and IT decision makers who would like to move their SQL Server 2000 or 7.0 databases to SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Handbook

Provides information about the upgrade process, scenarios, competitive features, and ROI.

Set the Stage for a Smooth Upgrade (Microsoft SQL Server 2005)

Provides information about the upgrade process, common issues, and planning.

SQL Server Setup & Upgrade Forum

Discuss topics related to setup, upgrade, operations, and administration with Microsoft and community members.

Upgrading to SQL Server 2005 Frequently Asked Questions

PDF formatted documented providing 15 responses to frequently asked questions about upgrading to SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Planning

PowerPoint Presentation discussing upgrade topics to include why, how, planning, execution, best practices, and post upgrade execution steps.

Tools

SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Advisor analyzes instances of SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2005, identifies feature and configuration changes that might affect your upgrade, and provides links to documentation that describes each identified issue and how to resolve it.

SQL Server 2008 Resources

Documentation

SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Technical Reference Guide

Contains guidance for SQL Server administrators, developers, and IT decision makers who would like to move their SQL Server 2000 or 2005 databases to SQL Server 2008.

How to Upgrade to SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 Books Online articles related to upgrade and migration.

Upgrading to SQL Server 2008

Provides planning information and resources to assist with the upgrade to SQL Server 2008.

SQL Server Setup & Upgrade Forum

Discuss topics related to setup, upgrade, operations, and administration with Microsoft and community members.

How to Troubleshoot a Failed Upgrade to SQL Server 2008

Knowledge Base article providing information on how to recover from a failed SQL Server 2008 upgrade.

SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 Setup Documentation

Setup documentation for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1.

Creating a Merged Slipstream Drop Containing SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1

Provides information on how to create new source media that will slipstream the original source media and SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1.

Tools

SQL Server 2008 Upgrade Advisor

The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Upgrade Advisor analyzes instances of SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 in preparation for upgrading to SQL Server 2008, identifies feature and configuration changes that might affect your upgrade, and provides links to documentation that describes each identified issue and how to resolve it.

Posted by Bill Baer | 2 Comments

Running the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products Preparation Tool with Local Paths on Machines without Internet Connectivity

One of the questions I’ve received on a few occasions to date is how to run the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products Preparation Tool on a machine that does not have a connection to the Internet.

There are two possible methods to working around this scenario:

Manually download on another machine and then install the prerequisite software and configure the Server Roles, Role Services, and Features accordingly. 

See the following posts that describe the prerequisite software and accompanying download locations in addition to configuring the required Server Roles, Role Services, and Features for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010.

Configuring the Web and Application Server Roles for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010

Installation Notes for Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Beta

The second option is to create and implement an installation file that specifies local or network paths to be used by the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products Preparation Tool:

Create the file PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt and specify the local or network path of the software to be installed that was downloaded through the links provided in the links above.

Create a new text document PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt in a text editor (Notepad).

Open PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt and specify the custom paths using the following examples:

/W2K8SP2:<path>

/NETFX35SP1:<path>

/PowerShell:<path>

/WindowsInstaller:<path>

/IDFX:<path>

/Sync:<path>

/ChartControl:<path>

/FilterPack:<path>

/ADOMD:<path>

/SQLNCli:<path>

A single space should separate each switch and argument, I.e. /NETFX35SP1:<path> /WindowsInstaller:<path>.  For additional help see the example below:

For example:

/NETFX35SP1:”\\<server>\<share>\dotnetfx35.exe” /IDFX:”\\<server>\<share>\MicrosoftGenevaFramework.x64.msi”
/ChartControl:”\\<server>\<share>\MSChart.exe” /sqlncli:”\\<server>\<share>\sqlncli.msi”
/Sync:”\\<server>\<share>\Synchronization.msi” /WindowsInstaller:”\\<server>\<share>\Windows6.0-KB942288-v2-x64.msu”

Save PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt to the directory where PrerequisiteInstaller.exe resides and run PrerequisiteInstaller.exe or run PrerequisiteInstaller.exe from the Command Prompt and append with the arguments used in PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt. 

PrerequisiteInstaller.exe will use the paths specified in PrerequisiteInstaller.Arguments.txt or the Command Prompt arguments when installing the software prerequisites for Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010.

For additional help using the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products Preparation Tool from the Command Prompt run PrerequisiteInstaller.exe /?.

Common Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Installation Issues and Resolutions

I’ve been following the SharePoint 2010 Forums and have noticed several common installation issues.  These issues and possible steps to resolve those issues are included here.

ISSUE #1:  when running the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard you may experience the error:

Failed to create the configuration database.
An exception of type System.Security.Cryptography.CryptographicException was thrown.  Additional exception information: The data is invalid.

To resolve the issue you can perform the following steps:

Modify the ACL on the 14 directory under %commonprogramfiles\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions.

  1. Right-click on the folder %commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14, and then select the Security tab.
  2. On the 14 Properties dialog under the Security tab, select Edit.
  3. On the Permissions for 14 dialog click Add… and enter Network Service in the Enter the object names to select and then click OK.
  4. On the Permissions for 14 dialog select Full Control under Permissions for NETWORK SERVICE and click OK.
  5. On the 14  Properties dialog click OK.

NOTE

The previous steps are applicable only prior to running the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard.  If you have run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard, follow the steps below:

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt and change directories to %commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14 and enter psconfig –cmd –configdb disconnect to disconnect from the current configuration database.
  2. Open SQL Server Management Studio or SqlCmd and delete the existing configuration database.
  3. Follow the previous steps to modify the ACL on the 14 directory and run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard to create and configure the server farm.

NOTE

In the event the steps above do not immediately resolve the issue, open the Registry Editor and  delete the "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\14.0\Secure\FarmAdmin" Registry key and then run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard.

ISSUE #2:  when running the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard you may experience the error:

An exception of type Microsoft.Office.Server.UserProfiles.UserProfileException was thrown.  Additional exception information: Unrecognized attribute 'allowInsecureTransport'. Note that attribute names are case-sensitive. (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\WebClients\Profile\client.config line 56).

To resolve the issue you can perform the following steps:

Download and install KB976462 from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976462 for Windows Server 2008 R2 or KB971831 from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?ProjectName=KB971831&DownloadId=7285 for Windows Server 2008 and run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard.

ISSUE #3:  when running Setup.exe for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 you may experience the error:

Setup is unable to proceed due to the following error(s):
A system restart from a previous installation or update is pending. Restart your computer and run setup to continue.
For the list of pre-requisites needed to install the product please refer to:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=106209
Correct the issue(s) listed above and re-run setup.

Check the value of the following Registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\UpdateExeVolatile - if the value of the UpdateExeVolatile Registry key is anything other than 0 you will see this message.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\PendingFileRenameOperations - if the PendingFileRenameOperations Registry key has any value you will see this message.

To remove an orphaned UpdateExeVolatile registry key value

  1. Open a registry editor, such as Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.
  2. Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\
  3. In the right navigation pane, double-click the UpdateExeVolatile key.
  4. Configure the key with a value of 0
  5. Close Registry Editor.
To delete the orphaned PendingFileRenameOperations registry key
  1. Open a registry editor, such as Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe.
  2. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
  3. In the right navigation pane, right-click the PendingFileRenameOperations key and select Delete.
  4. Close Registry Editor.

ISSUE #4:  when running the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard you may experience the error:

Failed to register SharePoint services.
An exception of type System.ServiceProcess.TimeoutException was thrown.  Additional exception information: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.
System.ServiceProcess.TimeoutException: Time out has expired and the operation has not been completed.
   at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController.WaitForStatus(ServiceControllerStatus desiredStatus, TimeSpan timeout)

Run Setup.exe when the steps above have been completed.

To resolve the issue you can perform the following steps:

Download and install KB976462 from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976462 for Windows Server 2008 R2 or KB971831 from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?ProjectName=KB971831&DownloadId=7285 for Windows Server 2008 and run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard.

ISSUE #5:  when running the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard you may experience the error:

Error: Cannot add the specified assembly to the global assembly cache: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\policy\Policy.11.0.Microsoft.SharePoint.dll.

To resolve this issue you can perform the following steps:

Delete the contents of %commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\policy\ and run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard.

ISSUE #6:  when running Setup.exe for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 you may experience the following error:

The language of this installation is not supported by your system

This issue is largely caused by corruption of the binaries, you can use the extract command in a Command Prompt and check the log to determine the health of the binaries; otherwise, download a new copy of the binaries and retry setup.

Posted by Bill Baer | 6 Comments

Configuring the Web and Application Server Roles for Microsoft SharePoint Server and Foundation 2010 [UPDATED]

I’ve had a couple of questions on configuring the Web and Application server roles on Windows Server 2008 to support Microsoft SharePoint Server and Foundation 2010.  This post will describe the minimal prerequisite configuration to support Microsoft SharePoint Server and Foundation 2010 on Windows Server 2008.

NOTE

PrerequisiteInstaller.exe can be used to programmatically configure Web and application servers and install the required prerequisite software.  See also http://blogs.technet.com/wbaer/archive/2009/11/18/installation-notes-for-microsoft-sharepoint-server-and-microsoft-sharepoint-foundation-2010-beta.aspx.

Required Roles

  • Application Server
  • Web Server

Role Services

  • Application Server Foundation
  • Web Server (IIS) Support
  • COM+ Network Access
  • TCP Port Shaping
  • Windows Process Activation Service Support
    • HTTP Activation
    • Message Queuing Activation
    • TCP Activation
    • Named Pipes Activation
  • Distributed Transactions
    • Incoming Remote Transactions
    • Outgoing Remote Transactions
    • WSS-Atomic Transactions

Features

  • .NET Framework 3.0 Features
    • .NET Framework 3.0
    • XPS Viewer
    • WCF Activation
      • HTTP Activation
      • Non-HTTP Activation
  • Message Queuing
    • Message Queuing Services
      • Message Queuing Server
  • Remote Server Administration Tools
    • Remote Administration Tool
      • Web Server (IIS) Tools
  • Windows PowerShell
  • Windows Process Activation Service
    • Process Model
    • .NET Environment
    • Configuration API’s

Optionally you can configure the required Roles, Roles Services, and Features by running the following statement from an elevated command prompt:

start /w pkgmgr /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;IIS-WebServer;IIS-CommonHttpFeatures;
IIS-StaticContent;IIS-DefaultDocument;IIS-DirectoryBrowsing;IIS-HttpErrors;
IIS-ApplicationDevelopment;IIS-ASPNET;IIS-NetFxExtensibility;
IIS-ISAPIExtensions;IIS-ISAPIFilter;IIS-HealthAndDiagnostics;
IIS-HttpLogging;IIS-LoggingLibraries;IIS-RequestMonitor;IIS-HttpTracing;IIS-CustomLogging;
IIS-Security;IIS-BasicAuthentication;IIS-WindowsAuthentication;IIS-DigestAuthentication;
IIS-RequestFiltering;IIS-Performance;IIS-HttpCompressionStatic;IIS-HttpCompressionDynamic;
IIS-WebServerManagementTools;IIS-ManagementConsole;IIS-IIS6ManagementCompatibility;
IIS-Metabase;IIS-WMICompatibility;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel;
WAS-NetFxEnvironment;WAS-ConfigurationAPI;WCF-HTTP-Activation;
WCF-NonHTTP-Activation

Introduction to the Microsoft SharePoint SharePoint 2010 Database Layer [UPDATED]

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 introduces both new databases and databases whose distribution and purpose differs over previous versions of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies. This post details the changes in the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 database layer. This section provides information about Shared Service Applications that have a database dependency and is not an exhaustive list of all Shared Service Applications available in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.  At the time of publication this is not 100% complete.

Usage and Health Data Collection Service

The Usage and Health Data Collection Service collects and logs SharePoint health indicators and usage metrics for analysis and reporting purposes.

Logging Database

The logging database is the Microsoft SQL Server, MSDE, or WMSDE database that stores health monitoring and usage data temporarily, and can be used for reporting and diagnostics.

Search Service

Administration Database

The Administration Database is what the Shared Services Provider database was in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and is instantiated once per Search application aligning with the Administration Component. The Administration Database hosts the Search application configuration and access control list (ACL) for the content crawl.

Property Database

The Property Database stores crawled properties associated with the crawled data to include properties, history data, crawl queues, etc.

Crawl Database

The Crawl Databases host the crawled data and drives crawl - the Crawl Database is what the Search database was in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Web Analytics Service

The Web Analytics Service provides rich analytics giving you insights into your web traffic, search, and SharePoint assets enabling you to better understand your user and deployments. With SharePoint Web Analytics, you’ll be able to tailor the system to meet the needs of your users, optimize how they use and discover information, and create targeted content for your sites.

Staging Database

The Web Analytics Staging database is the working database that stores un-aggregated Fact Data, asset metadata, queued batch data, and provides short term retention of this content.

Reporting Database

The Web Analytics Reporting database stores aggregated standard report tables, Fact Data aggregated by Site Group, date, and asset metadata in addition to diagnostics information.

Configuration Database

The configuration database handles all administration of the deployment, directing requests to the appropriate database, and managing load-balancing for the back-end databases. When a front-end Web server receives a request for a page in a particular site, it checks the configuration database to determine which content database holds the site's data. You can run the configuration database on the same computer as a Web server or on a remote computer running Microsoft SQL Server. The configuration database concepts are relatively unchanged in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. In Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 the SiteMap table was stored in the configuration database which provided information about which content database contains data for a given site. When Windows SharePoint Services or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 received the URL of a request, settings in this database determine which content database contains data for the site. In Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Windows SharePoint Services 4.0 the SiteMap is serialized to disk to improve performance and reduce database callback operations that could result in contention when serving requests on large server farm deployments.

Content Database

The back-end content database stores all site content, including site documents or files in document libraries, list data, and Web Part properties, as well as user names and rights. All the data for a specific site resides in one content database on only one computer.

Central Administration Content Database

See also Content Database.

Shared Services Provider (SSP)

The Shared Services Provider layer is obsolete in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 replaced with Shared Services Applications, to understand changes in database design associated with the Shared Services Provider database, see also Search and People in this section.

NOTE

A Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Shared Services Provider when upgraded will result in a new Search, User Profile, Excel Services, Application Registry Backwards Compatability, and Managed Metadata Service shared services applications. New databases will be created as required to support the upgrade and Web application settings are preserved through establishing a proxy for each service application.

User Profile Service

The User Profile Service encompasses user profiles and My Sites.

Profile Database

The user profile database is a flexible database that stores and manages user and associated information. The database allows for a flexible schema that supports multiple data types. It can be queried and it can be updated. For example, a company can define the attributes of an employee record in the profile database. Then for each record, an employee object will be created and saved. This information is now usable in a number of ways, such as in WebParts, in the Web service, or to create rule based groups or roles.

  1. Properties
  2. Profiles
  3. Multiple values
  4. Vocabularies
  5. Colleagues
  6. Memberships
  7. Change Log

Synchronization Database

The synchronization database is used to store configuration and staging data for synchronization of profile data from external sources such as Active Directory.

Social Tagging Database

The social tagging database stores social tagging records and their respective Url which are coupled with information from the profile and taxonomy databases at the front-end layer at execution/request. This database is used to store social tags and notes created by users.

Managed Metadata Service

The Managed Metadata Service publishes a term store and, optionally, a set of content types.

Term Store Database

A database in which managed metadata is stored. The Web front end public APIs interact with the data layer to get or set data. The data layer talks to the term store directly if the shared service is local to the farm, or it talks to a backend Web service on an application server if the shared service is not local. The backend Web service then interacts with the data layer on the application server to get to the term store.

State Service

The State Service maintains temporary state information for InfoPath Forms Services.

State Database

The state database maintains temporary state information for InfoPath Forms Services.

Business Data Connectivity Service

The Business Database Connectivity Service provides a means for storing, securing, and administering external content types and related objects.

Database

Stores external content types and related objects.

Secure Store Service

The Secure Store Service replaces the Single Sign On Service in previous versions of the product.

This service provides storage and mapping of credentials such as account names and passwords. Portal site–based applications can retrieve information from third-party applications and back-end systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relations Management (CRM) systems.

The use of Secure Store functionality enables users to authenticate without asking the user multiple times for the credentials needed to authenticate in that system.

Store Database

Provides storage and mapping of credentials such as account names and passwords.

Posted by Bill Baer | 2 Comments

Step-by-Step: Provisioning the Search Service Application

Contents

Provisioning the Search Service Application

Moving Query Components

Creating Mirror Query Components

Creating Query Components

Creating Crawl Components

Creating Crawl Databases

Creating Property Databases

Provisioning the Search Service Application

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

Select New | Search Service Application on the ribbon user interface.

CA

On the Create Search Service Application dialog specify the name for the new Search Service Application or accept the default name, usually Search Service Application 1.

Provide a name for the new Search Administration Web Service Application Pool or use an existing Application Pool.

Provide a name for the new Search Administration Site Settings and Query Web Service or use an existing Application Pool.

CA2

Click OK on the new Create New Search Service Application dialog to provision the new service application

Once the Search Service Application has been successfully provisioned on the server farm you will have a 1x1x1 topology or otherwise 1 Search Administration, 1 Crawl, and 1 Query component on the machine hosting SharePoint 2010 Central Administration and all associated databases on the default database server.

Topology

NOTES

The Search administration (Admin) topology does not scale out - there can be on one (1) search administration component and one (1) search administration database per Search Service Application.

The Crawl topology can be scaled out by adding Crawl Components or Crawl Databases.  Crawl Components can have a many-to-one relationships with Crawl Databases.

The Query topology can be scaled out by adding Property Databases or by adding Query Components.  Index Partitions subdivide the full-text index.   A new Query Component can either be the first component in a new partition (see above illustration (Query Component 0)) or an additional component in an existing partition.

In the public beta, Index Partitions have a many-to-one relationship with Property Databases.

Moving Query Components

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application: Search Service Application page, locate the Index Partition category. (The default Query Component is typically named Query Component 0). Click Query Component 0 and then click Edit Properties.

On the Edit Query Component page, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list and then click OK.  This will move the Query Component to the selected server.

EditQueryComponent

Creating Mirror Query Components

When you create a Mirror Query Component, you create a replica of the Index Partition on another server.  You will typically create new Mirror Query Components when you need to increase throughput or availability.

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application: Search Service Application page, locate the Index Partition category. (The default Query Component is typically named Query Component 0). Click Query Component 0 and then click Add Mirror.

AddMIrror

On the Add mirror query component dialog, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list and then click OK.

AddMirrorComponent 

Repeat the steps for each server in the topology as required.

Creating Query Components

When you create a new Query Component, you create a new Index Partition which subdivides the full-text index.  You will typically create new Query Components and Index Partitions when the total number of items in your Index exceed the recommend scale for a single Index Partition, or when you need to increase throughput or availability.

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Index Partition and Query Component.

Topology2

On the Add Query Component dialog, select a server in the topology from the Server drop-down list, Property Database, and specify the location of the Index Partition.

AddQueryComponent

Click OK on the Add Query Component dialog to save the changes and create the new Query Component.

Creating Crawl Components

You will typically create new Crawl Components to improve the overall crawl speed and subsequently freshness of the content and to improve availability.

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Crawl Component.

Topology2

On the Add Crawl Component dialog specify the server where the Crawl Component will be hosted, the Crawl Database to which the Crawl Component will be associated, and the temporary location on the Index.

AddCrawlComponent

Click OK on the Add Crawl Component dialog to save the changes and create the new Crawl Component.

Creating Crawl Databases

You will typically create new Crawl Databases to improve the overall crawl speed and subsequently freshness of the content and in correlation to the creation of new Crawl Components.

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Crawl Database.

Topology2

On the Add Crawl Database dialog specify the database server where the Crawl Database will reside, the database name, and optionally the select whether the Crawl Database will be dedicated to hosts specified in Host Distribution Rules.

Host Distribution Rules are useful in specifying:

1. A particular host that is processed by a one or more Crawler Databases.
2. A particular host is processed by only one or more Crawler Database.

Host Distribution Rules are commonly used to support large and complex content corpuses that require horizontal scale (scale out) topologies.

AddCrawlDB

Click OK on the Add Crawl Database dialog to save the changes and create the new Crawl Database.

Creating Property Databases

You will typically create new Property Databases to support the horizontal scale (scale out) of the Query Component(s).

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Managed service applications under Application Management.

On the Services Applications page, select the Search Service Application.

On the Search Administration page, locate the Search Application Topology section and click Modify.

On the Topology for Search Service Application:  Search Service Application 1, select New | Property Database.

Topology2

On the Add Property Database dialog specify the database server where the Property Database will reside and the database name.

AddPropertyDatabase

Click OK on the Add Property Database dialog to save the changes and create the new Property Database.

Step-by-Step: Provisioning the Web Analytics Service Application on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Beta

Prerequisites

Usage and Health Data Collection and the Session State Service Application have been provisioned on the farm.

Provisioning the Web Analytics Service Application

Open SharePoint 2010 Central Administration.

Select Manage service applications under Application Management.

Select New | Web Analytics Service Application on the ribbon user interface.

CA

On the Create Web Analytics Service Application dialog specify the name for the new Web Analytics Service Application or accept the default name, usually Web Analytics Service Application 1.

Provide a name for the new Application Pool.

Provide the name of the default database server where the Web Analytics reporting and staging databases will be hosted and specify the desired retention period.

A2_thumb

Click OK on the new Create Web Analytics Service Application dialog to provision the new service application.

On a single server deployment select System Settings from SharePoint 2010 Central Administration and then click Services on Server.

From the list of available services start the Web Analytics Data Processing Service and Web Analytics Web Service. 

Untitled picture

Data is logged into .usage files on the front-end Web servers where it is processed into the staging database created in the previous steps through the Timer Job infrastructure.  The data in the staging database is retained for 30 days and transitioned into the reporting database for longer term retention as specified in the retention period when the service application was created.  The information is subsequently surfaced through a variety of Web Parts by the Web Analytics Web Service.

NOTE

If you have installed Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 in a server farm environment with one or more application servers start the Web Analytics Data Processing Service and Web Analytics Web Service on the application server where the service will run.

Following the successful completion of the steps above you will having a running instance of the Web Analytics Service Application.

To confirm Web Analytics is running, select Monitoring from SharePoint 2010 Central Administration and then select View Web Analytics reports under Reporting.  You should see a blue bar with the text Date Range 10/21/2009 - <current date -1> (UTC <time zone specifics> Change Settings.

Welcome to the Developer Dashboard

About the Developer Dashboard

The Developer Dashboard is an instrumentation framework  new to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and Server 2010 that can help diagnose particularly, classes of bugs that are easy to introduce through custom code, but often difficult to isolate by providing information about the request execution time, the number and callstack of each SPRequest allocation, the number, callstack, and query text of WCF calls and more.

The Developer Dashboard appears in a frame on the bottom of each page and can exist in one of three (3) possible modes – On, Off, OnDemand.  When the Developer Dashboard is in the ‘On’ mode, it is always displayed in a frame on the bottom of the page for each request, conversely, when the Developer Dashboard is in the ‘Off’ mode, it is not displayed, and finally when the Developer Dashboard is in the ‘OnDemand’ mode, it can be displayed or hidden by selecting an icon on the upper right corner of a page.  (see illustrations).

Developer Dashboard

DeveloperDashboard

OnDemand Mode Icon

ShowHideMe 

Using the Developer Dashboard

The Developer Dashboard makes it easy for IT professionals and developers to identify common issues, for example, if a value exceeds acceptable ranges it will be displayed in red and by hovering your mouse over any value you can receive additional information about that value or how common methods to resolve it depending on the situation.

For developers you can monitor any piece of code by wrapping it in the SPMonitoredScope or even create custom monitors for your own resources through implementing  ISPScopedPerformanceMonitor and adding the monitor to the SPMonitoredScope.

Enabling the Developer Dashboard

The Developer Dashboard can be enabled and disabled through the SharePoint Administration Tool (STSADM) or through Windows PowerShell.  The following examples illustrate each method:

STSADM

‘On’ Mode

STSADM –o setproperty –pn developer-dashboard –pv On

‘Off’ Mode

STSADM –o setproperty –pn developer-dashboard –pv Off

‘OnDemand’ Mode

STSADM –o setproperty –pn developer-dashboard –pv OnDemand

But wait there’s more…

Suppose you’d like to only display the developer dashboard if one or more counters (acceptable values) are exceeded, there’s a way to do that too by running:

STSADM –o setproperty –pn developer-dashboard –pv expensiveoperationsonly

Windows PowerShell

See below.

Scripted (Windows PowerShell)

Optionally you can script the configuration of the Developer Dashboard – to do so copy the following script and save it to somefile.ps1.

Param ([String]$mode)

function Main()
{
  $dashboard = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService.DeveloperDashboardSettings;
  $dashboard.DisplayLevel = $mode;
  $dashboard.RequiredPermissions ='EmptyMask';
  $dashboard.TraceEnabled = $true;
  $dashboard.Update()

  Write-Host "Configured Developer Dashboard with mode $mode."
}

Open the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Shell and change directories to where you saved somefile.ps1 and run ./somefile.ps1 OnDemand (or optionally On or Off).

Installation notice for the SharePoint Server Public Beta on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Windows 7

If you will be installing the SharePoint Server Public Beta on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 or Microsoft Windows 7 you will need to download and install an update from http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=23806  to resolve an issue that occurs in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 when provisioning Service Applications or when accessing pages that make service calls.  These operations will result in an error "System.Configuration.ConfigurationErrorsException: Unrecognized attribute 'allowInsecureTransport'. Note that attribute names are case-sensitive. (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\WebClients\<Service Area>\client.config line <Line Number>)". 

If you have already installed Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 on a server running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 or Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 does not need to be reinstalled when the update becomes available; however, Service Applications that have been successfully provisioned without the update installed may need to be removed and re-provisioned once the update has been successfully applied.

Bill Baer, Technical Product Manager – US-SharePoint

New Update Center for Microsoft Office, Office Servers, and Related Products

We launched a new update center for Microsoft Office, Office Servers, and related products today.  The Update Center for Microsoft Office, Office Servers, and Related Products provides information about current and past updates for Office, Forms Server, Groove Server, PerformancePoint Server, Project Portfolio Server, Project Server, Search Server, SharePoint Server, and Windows SharePoint Services.  You can additionally subscribe to the RSS feed to receive important news about new and existing updates as they become available.  Visit the update center at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee748587.aspx.

Posted by Bill Baer | 0 Comments
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Upgrade Support for Prerelease Versions to Release Versions of Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010

I’ve been receiving this question frequently this week so I’m sure others are asking as well:

Question

Can I upgrade prerelease versions of Microsoft SharePoint Server or Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 to the release version when it becomes available?

Answer

No, the prerelease (beta) versions of Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 are for evaluation purposes only and upgrade to the release version of these products when they become available is not supported.  This includes both the binaries and databases.

Bill Baer, Technical Product Manager, US-SharePoint

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