I have created another quick video based on the blog post I did about configuring Usage Analysis processing on Windows SharePoint.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l52vEpldE_s
The only difference in the video is that I spend a little time towards the end showing what the results are from the Usage processing and what the reports actually look like.
As always send me any feedback or suggestions (director@ciaops.com).
SharePoint Usage Analysis
Hands up if you knew that Windows SharePoint includes a basic Usage Report similar in some ways to Google Analytics? Now the tough question – who also knows how to enable it (since it isn’t by default). If you answered No to either question, then this post is for you.
The first step is to check whether Usage Analysis is enabled on your Windows SharePoint site. It isn’t on SBS2008 Companyweb so I’ll use that as my example. Log into the SharePoint as an administrator and select Site Actions in the top right of the screen. You’ll only see Site Actions if you have the appropriate rights.
From the menu that appears select Site Settings.
In Site Settings select Site usage report in the Site Administration section.
If you see a screen like show here chances are the usage analysis has not been enabled. Next step is now to enable it.
Run the SharePoint Central Administration from the server console via Start | Administrative Tools | SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.
Select the Operations tab, then click Usage analysis processing under the Logging and Reporting section (at the bottom left).
Click to Enable logging and usage analysis processing. You will also need to choose time when usage processing will run. Usage processing can be intensive so select a time of low load on your server. Click OK when complete.
You will not be able to view any logs until the scheduled processing runs. After that you should see something like that shown above when you return to Site Usage Report. Here you can select to view a number reports of you site’s access. This can be extremely handy when you need to get a feel for the usage of your site.
For further information about configuring Windows SharePoint to take advantage of all the product has to offer please visit www.wssops.com for information about the Windows SharePoint Operations Guide.
Determining TCP activity
1. Netstat
Simply go to a command prompt and type netstat –an and you should see something like that shown above. You can see the protocol, local_ip_address:port, foreign_ip_address:port and the state.
This really only tells you the basics of which ports are connected to what IP addresses but it doesn’t actually tell you what programs are using those ports.
2. Fport
Fport is a free program that can be downloaded from :
http://www.foundstone.com/us/resources/termsofuse.asp?file=fport.zip
and when run in the command window will not only show the TCP ports but it will also show which program on your system is using that port, as shown above. For example we can see that iTunesHelper.exe is using port 1029 TCP is is process 3548.
Fport therefore provides a lot more information but it isn’t updated constantly and you need to run it in a command prompt.
3. Prio
Amoungst other things Prio can do what both netstat and fport do but do it as part of your task manager. You’ll find the free download Prio at:
http://www.prnwatch.com/prio.html
Once installed Prio will provide you with an additional tab in your task manager (accessed via Ctl-Alt-Del) called TCP/IP as shown above. In there you’ll see an up to date list of all the TCP connections and the programs using these ports.
So all 3 tools provide you with the ability to inspect what TCP/IP connections are taking place on your system. This can be of significant assistance when tracking down rogue applications accessing the Internet without your knowledge.
PDF icon in SharePoint
Now that you finally have Windows SharePoint up and running on SBS 2003 or SBS 2008 via (companyweb) you start uploading documents. When you upload Microsoft Office Documents like Word and Excel you see a nice icon next to the document, however when you upload an Acrobat document (PDF) you don’t.
As you can see from the above screen shot there are 3 files in document library. The bottom two being Excel and Word files automatically have a little icon to the left denoting the type of file, however the first file is actually a PDF and as you can see there is no distinguishing icon.
Unfortunately by default SharePoint doesn’t include a PDF icon, however with a little bit of configuration you can add it. Here’s how:
Firstly, you’ll need to download a suitable PDF icon to use. A good one can be found at:
http://www.adobe.com/images/pdficon_small.gif
and looks like:
Download the file and save it into the directory c:\program files\common files\Microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\template\images on the SharePoint server.
Next locate the file c:\program files\common files\Microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\template\xml\docicon.xml on the SharePoint server. Right mouse click on the file and select edit.
Locate the element where you will see entries for each icon starting with <Mapping key=”…. Enter the following on a new line:
The name of the file must match the name of the PDF icon you downloaded. Note that the extension names in the docicon.xml file do not have to be in alphabetical order so it is best to place the entry at the end of the existing list.
When complete, save the file and exit the editor.
Go to the DOS prompt on the SharePoint server via Start | Run | Cmd and type iisreset to restart IIS.
If you now refresh the page you should find the PDF icon displayed like so:
Just because you have now have a PDF icon doesn’t mean that your PDF documents will be indexed by SharePoint (which is possible). That also needs to be configured, but that’ll be the subject of a future post.
This information can also be found in my Windows SharePoint Operations Guide along with exactly how to configure PDF search. Not only that the Guide has a vast array of information about not only installing and configuring SharePoint but also how to get some of the best add-ons for SharePoint up and running to provide your installation with additional value and functionality.
Traffic on Twitter
I had a poke around and there seems to be plenty of other traffic reports from places all over the world on Twitter.
Now when you are out and about traffic information like this, regularly updated, could be very handy. It would be a little hard to read on a PDA as you are driving along but none the less I think this is a great demonstration of where Twitter information does have benefits.
Interestingly, this sydneytraffic account is put together by someone not affiliated with the local authorities. I hope they at least take notice of things like this that could be of real benefit to people on the go.
Challenge the norm
One of the best ways to improve your productivity is to do email less. Yes, that’s right do email less. This means setting aside dedicated times to check and respond to email. Now many people would say that is totally impossible for them to do but my response is, have you actually challenged that way of thinking? Have you actually tried rather than just saying you can’t?
Here’s a great video (4 mins) from Tim Ferris the author of the Four Hour Work Week on how he manages email.
You’ll notice in there he actually briefly mentions this topic of challenging the norm when it comes to email. Interestingly, the person Tim speaks of who did this found that their boss actually commended them on improving their productivity and recommended the idea to other managers.
At the end of the day email is a tool, it shouldn’t rule your life. As Tim says, if you have a system that isn’t working you need to try something to improve it. In short, I encourage you to challenge the norm with email. Try looking at you inbox less and see how much more work you get done. All I ask is you give it a try.
For more help with improved technology productivity please see www.doemailless.com.
Another dud
Well April 1 has come and gone and the Conflicker worm didn’t destroy humanity. As “Worm chaos fails to strike” noted:
“there was no evidence it was doing anything other than modifying itself to be harder to exterminate.”
Like, duh! Why would it do anything else? As I noted in previous posts (here and here), the media does nothing to help the cause of IT security by using inflammatory articles. Why? Because they get ‘average’ users all apprehensive as to what will happen to their machines and then when nothing does (in this case again), users believe that it is all simply a case of ‘crying wolf’ and don’t change their online behaviour. This means their systems continue to remain unpatched and unsecured making it easier again for the bad guys.
There seems little doubt that the Conflicker worm is real and that it has many systems in its grasp but in the end it is all about money not about some sort of security statement or proof of concept attack.
The disjoint between informed IT security and the ‘average’ user simply grows when incidents like this occur. The lack of understanding and drive for sensationalism by the media simply makes the situation worse. In the end the only solution I can see is to force people to update their systems. You’re not allowed on the road with an unsafe car are you? Why are you allowed on the Information Superhighway with an unsafe PC? In the end regulation is the only way we can overcome this issue as I see it.
Till then, the bad guys just keep kicking goals.
SharePoint Designer is now FREE!
This is big news as it means probably the three best tool for improved productivity in a business, Windows SharePoint, Search Server Express and SharePoint designer are now all FREE to download and use. Combine this with the new Windows Foundation server that has just been announced (and assuming it will run SharePoint) you can now drop a high quality Intranet solution into a business for very little money.
If you want to see the video of the announcement about SharePoint designer click – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=901f0335-63da-4e9c-bfbe-4ed22a92d276#filelist
To actually download SharePoint Designer to start modifying your SharePoint site click – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=baa3ad86-bfc1-4bd4-9812-d9e710d44f42&hash=gw61uO9NAwuBCXKIqV1LhuYD9Omkv5eLYQkFoqVFMUp9BZFnh8BuAaLkZa3gI1ndEgvoXQhF9vcR7Oy0%2fSJPLg%3d%3d#filelist
and the Homepage for SharePoint designer is here – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/FX100487631033.aspx
All Windows SharePoint Operations Guide subscribers will receive this free version of SharePoint Designer in the May DVD release.
I’m excited!
