WSSOPS turns two

I’m very proud to say that my Windows SharePoint Operations Guide (WSSOPS) has now turned two. It has certainly come a long way since that initial very rough release to the few foundation subscribers who were good enough to sign up back then. I certainly hope that their faith in what I have created has been justified.

There is also all the other subscribers who have come along over the years (and some who have now moved on). I thank you all for your support and hope that you have received value from what I have produced over the years. I continue to work hard every month to improve that value that you receive for your subscription.

I’d also like to thank Karl Palachuk from SMB Books who has provided me the opportunity of selling my Guide through his site. Due to his continued support, patronage and promotion I’m sure the Guide would not be as popular as it is now, especially outside Australia.

So where to now for the Guide? Well, from its initial focus on Windows SharePoint (WSS) and Search Server Express (SSX) the Guide has expanded to include information on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) and Windows Foundation Server 2010. Soon the Guide will include information about Microsoft Office Web Apps and BPOS SharePoint. As always I welcome any suggestions as to what people would like to see included.

As subscribers are aware, the Guide is more than just a tome of pages about SharePoint, it includes a DVD full of white papers, links, videos and other marketing material. It includes a free internet hosted demonstration SharePoint as well as a discount on support rates from the CIAOPS. As well, all subscribers gain free access to all of the CIAOPS webinars for their period of their subscription as well as any prior webcasts which have all been recorded. For a full list of benefits see www.wssops.com. I hope to keep improving these benefits in the future and welcome an suggestions people may have.

In creating the Guide I have also tried to continue to produce a number of free resources for people who are interested in learning more about SharePoint. You can find free document downloads at http://www.slideshare.net/directorcia and free video tutorials at http://www.youtube.com/user/directorciaops. Recently, I also created a CIAOPS yahoo email list that allows anyone (once registered) to ask any questions or contribute on issues dealt with by the CIAOPS. More information about this group can be found in this blog post. I will be posting more information there this month and can hopefully encourage some really positive information around SharePoint, productivity and cloud computing (and anything else of interest).

So to the many, many people who have been supported of the Guide over the years I say thanks. I will continue to work hard to increase the information and the value that the Guide contains for subscribers going forward. I always welcome any comments or feedback so please let me know what’s on your mind via director@ciaops.com.

Finally, where’s the best place to keep up with Guide and what’s happening with Windows SharePoint? This blog of course!

Only for SharePoint 2010

In a recent blog post I mentioned how SharePoint Designer 2010 was now available for free download from Microsoft. What I have discovered after downloading and installing it is in fact that it only works with SharePoint 2010 sites. This means that if you want to work with previous versions of SharePoint (version 2 & 3) then you are going to have SharePoint Designer 2007 installed as well.

Luckily SharePoint 2007 is also a free download from Microsoft that you can find here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=baa3ad86-bfc1-4bd4-9812-d9e710d44f42

Clearly there must be some major changes behind the scenes if the new version of SharePoint Designer doesn’t support older version of SharePoint. However, when you look at the changes to the SharePoint 2010 interface (e.g. ribbon interface) you can understand why this is so.

SharePoint Designer 2010 now available

Now that SharePoint Foundation 2010 is readily available for download (see previous blog post) I have also found that SharePoint Designer 2010 RTM is also available for download free.

Just click the links below for the version you desire and you will be taken to the Microsoft download site for that product:

SharePoint Designer 2010 (32-bit)

SharePoint Designer 2010 (64-bit)

SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008

After manually installing all the prerequisites for SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008 I attempted to install SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008. If you really want to try this yourself and are baffled where the prerequisite Microsoft Filter Pack 2.0 is then you should contact me as you won’t find it on the Microsoft download site (that’s version 1.0 and 2.0 Beta, neither of which works) from what I see.

Because SharePoint Foundation 2010 detects an existing SharePoint v3 installation the only option that is available is an upgrade. Fair enough you say, but when you proceed you get:

which is basically game over. Interestingly when you go to the web link provided (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=975805) it doesn’t exist which kinda indicates that maybe the KB article is still being written on this one. Nothing also comes up when you do a Google search.

So that’s it game over eh? One would have said that also about running Search Server Express 2008 on SBS 2008 wouldn’t you? Especially if you have been reading this blog (especially here). Well I’m here to tell you that I have worked out how to successfully install Search Server Express on SBS 2008. It ain’t pretty but it can be done and it’s only taken me almost 2 years to work out. Maybe getting SharePoint Foundation 2010 running on SBS 2008 is my next challenge from the gods of code? Hopefully, this won’t take me another 2 years!

Oh, you want more details on how to install Search Server Express 2008 on SBS 2008? You’ll just have to stay tuned or subscribe to the Windows SharePoint Operations Guide as it will be published there real soon.

ANZAC Day

Yesterday was the 95th anniversary of landing on the Gallipoli peninsula by Australian and New Zealand troops.The 25th of April is beginning to mean a lot more in our national consciousness as current generations begin to appreciate and honour the sacrifices these men and others through the ages have made to ensure we live the lifestyle we now do.

Yet only 3 years after the landing in Gallipoli, again on ANZAC day, Australian and New Zealand troops liberated the town of Villers-Bretonneux in northern France from the Germans after fierce fighting. It was a remarkable feat with Brigadier General Grogan VC, who saw the action, describing the successful counter attack by night across unknown and difficult ground, and at short notice as “perhaps the greatest individual feat of the war”. The Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, referred to the “altogether astonishing valiance” of the Australians, ( most likely meaning valour ).

The town and people of Villers-Bretonneux have never forgotten the feats of the soldiers from so far away and to this day also celebrate ANZAC day. Having been to Villers-Bretonneux myself I would recommend that if you are ever in the region you spend some time visiting where another ANZAC legend has been forged, on another ANZAC day.

There is no greater honour for the men who never returned than this tribute in the school grounds of Villers-Bretonneux:

For them and everyone who never returned from their service to our nation we simply say

Lest we forget

For those still on active duty we say stay safe and return home soon, we are proud of you.

To learn more about the ANZAC contribution in France during World War I visit – www.anzacsinfrance.com.

SharePoint how-to document

I recently posted up a SharePoint how to video covering creating and managing email notifications. As promised, I have now created a companion document covering the material that you can access via my SlideShare (along with plenty of other documents I have created). The direct link to the document is:

http://www.slideshare.net/directorcia/getting-started-with-sharepoint-alerts-3796685

and you can view it online as well as download it.

As always let me know what you think.

SharePoint command line backups

For many IT Professionals who deal with SharePoint as part of other systems (especially Small Business Server) I would have to recommend strongly that you always configure a command line stsadm backup. You’ll find the details here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288541.aspx

The stsadm –o backup command creates a single data file of your site that can easily be restored. Without this you are going to have to try and recover databases and web applications and it all gets very messy, especially with versions prior to version 3. An stsadm –o backup allows you to blow away a defective SharePoint site, install a new clean site and then use stsadm –o restore to get the data back.

This can be really handy if you also have to do a restore to different hardware or different network topology. To get the backup functioning in a different location typically takes some additional steps around security but that process is much easier than trying to recover SQL databases (especially MSDE) on a different server.

I’d also recommend that you also do an stsadm –o export (Windows SharePoint v3 or better only) since it allows you to more easily extract pieces of your backup as well as merge the data with existing sites. The stsadm –o backup command is a complete backup, all or nothing, and will overwrite any existing site if it is restored. The export command is how Microsoft recommends you part of the migration of companyweb in SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. More information about the export command can be found at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288940.aspx

The easiest way to automate these command line backup sis to create a batch file with the command and use the Windows Scheduler to trigger it at the appropriate time. Personally, I do it in the middle of the night and send the data files up to storage on the Internet.

Without an stsadm command line backup you may struggle to restore a SharePoint site in teh case of a disaster. Be proactive and implement an stsadm backup and then use the data file to test a full disaster recovery, just to be sure you know how to do it. Better now than in a crisis!