Tag: SharePoint

SBS 2011 Companyweb upgrade gotcha


Hopefully people know that Companyweb content databases on SBS 2011 Standard are limited to 10GB in size total because SBS 2011 Standard uses SQL Express 2008 R2 as its storage mechanism. What you may not appreciate is that there is NOT a 1:1 conversion process during a migration.

This means that if you are migrating your content databases from SBS 2008 or SBS 2003 Companyweb they may end up being significantly bigger in SBS 2011 Standard. This is something I didn’t appreciate until recently. I was working on a migration of a 7GB Companyweb site to SBS 2011 when I uncovered the issue. I had successfully migrated the databases to WSS v3 from WSS v2 but during the migration to SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2011 Standard I received the following error part way through the conversion process:

Action 4.0.98.0 of Microsoft.SharePoint.Upgrade.SPContentDatabaseSequence failed

After a bit of Googling it would seem that this error is due to lack of free space on the source drive. That wasn’t the issue for me but when I looked at the Companyweb content databases they had grown to almost 10GB in size. Given that 10GB is the limit of the version of SQL that SBS 2011 Standard uses I had no option but to use a full blown version of SQL, which doesn’t have the database size limitation, to at least complete the migration process.

After completing the migration process I found the databases had grown from their original 7GB to over 16GB. This raises an important gotcha when migrating old Companyweb content. Even though your existing databases are less than the 10GB limit imposed by SQL 2008 Express R2 on SBS 2011 Standard you need to allow for the databases to grow substantially during the migration process. This would indicate that you can’t comfortably convert databases that are greater than 4GB without the risk of the conversion process exceeding the database limitations.

I can’t say for certain if different types of content (i.e. files versus lists) makes any difference and whether coming from Companyweb on SBS 2003 via WSS v3 or Companyweb on SBS 2008 directly makes any difference during the conversion process. I do however suggest that if you are looking at conversions of Companyweb data around the 4GB mark or more you test to ensure that the conversion process will run within the 10GB limit that you are restricted to on SBS 2011 Standard.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administration Cookbook


I have recently completed providing technical feedback for the book :

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administration Cookbook from Packt Publishing

Which covers:

The book starts off by demonstrating the various upgrading and post-upgrading tasks to be performed in SharePoint 2010. Next come recipes for managing SharePoint service-level applications and for monitoring the SharePoint environment. The book introduces one of the best new tools that should be in your arsenal, PowerShell, and the commands you will need to script your tasks with Powershell.

You can purchase the book from :

https://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-sharepoint-2010-administration-cookbook/book

and is a worthwhile addition to any IT Professional who administers SharePoint 2010.

Melbourne is on


I am confirming that the CIAOPS SharePoint bootcamp will be coming to Melbourne, Victoria on Thursday the 19th of May 2011. At this stage I can’t confirm the 20th but the 19th is definitely on. The location will be:

St Kilda Road Parkview Hotel
562 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne. 3004

This day is filling fast so you if you are thinking of attending then I’d sign up up soon to reserve your place. You can do that via http://www.ciaops.com/bootcamp. Remember, as soon as you sign up you will receive access to my SharePoint Operation Guide until May 2012.

I’ll also be promoting this event as much as possible through social media. As such I have decided on the Twitter hash tag #ciaboot. I’d also encourage people to go to the SharePoint Guide Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/wssops, follow the event and start a discussion about you’d like to see covered on the day.

The bootcamp is also confirmed for Sydney but still tentative for Brisbane so if you are interested please register.

Getting started with Companyweb 2010 video

As promised I have now uploaded the video companion to my recent E-book “Getting started with Companyweb 2010”. The video provides you with a basic tutorial on using Companyweb (SharePoint Foundation) 2010 on Small Business Server (SBS) 2011 Standard.

 

You’ll learn the basics of document libraries, calendars, picture libraries, the recycle bin and search. This is great starting point for those who may have never used SharePoint on SBS.

 

Subscribers to my SharePoint Guide have access to a version of the video that they can rebrand for their own use with their customers if desired.

 

Expect to see more videos coming out from the CIAOPS on SharePoint 2010 and Office365 (which is getting close to release folks).

Getting started with Companyweb 2010


About 2 years ago I produced a document called ‘Getting started with companyweb’ that covered a basic tutorial on SharePoint on SBS 2008. I made that available for download as well as viewing on Slideshare. Since then the document has been viewed or downloaded at least 20 times a day, which is amazing to me.

Now that SBS 2011 Standard is available with SharePoint Foundation 2010 I figured that it is about time to update the document. So now you’ll find ‘Getting started with companyweb 2010’ available for download and again via Slideshare.

Subscribers of my SharePoint Guide will find a copy both companyweb documents that they can edit, re-brand and extend. This will allow them to get something to their customers, on their own letterhead, that’ll get them up and running with SharePoint on SBS quickly.

Look out for the soon to be released video companions for both of these documents as we know that people don’t like reading any more!

Enabling inline editing in SharePoint 2010

Here’s is a nice video I created that will show you to enable inline editing in SharePoint 2010. It is a pretty cool feature, easy to enable and makes working with SharePoint 2010 a whole lot easier.

CIAOPS SharePoint bootcamp

Announcing the CIAOPS SharePoint Bootcamp

The aim of this hands on course is to provide you with the technical and business skills to confidently sell and support a variety of SharePoint installations

 

All attendees receive:

1. A subscription to the CIAOPS Operations Guide (www.wssops.com) that includes documentation, videos and more. Existing subscribers will have their subscription extended by the equivalent amount. (valued up to $300)

2. A hard disk containing virtual machine images to be used for hands on training on the day which can be used for further training after the event (valued up to $ 100 ex).

3. Course notes, white papers, documentation etc.

4. Meals (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea as appropriate to the attended sessions)

 

Each day will be composed of 2 sessions:

Part 1 – Technical (9am – 12.30pm)

This session will show you how to install, manage, maintain and migrate SharePoint. You’ll also learn how to enable additional features with SharePoint to greatly improve its functionality. You also gain deep insight into SQL Database management as well as how to troubleshoot common SharePoint issues.

Part 2 – Business integration (1.30pm – 5pm)

This session will focus on the business applications of SharePoint and how it can improve business processes. You’ll learn about integration with Office products such as Word, OneNote and InfoPath. You learn how to build automated business solutions and template them for use in other SharePoint sites.

Costs

Single session – $ 299 ex GST (including a 6 month subscription to CIAOPS SharePoint Guide).

Both sessions = $ 399 ex GST(including a 12 month subscription to CIAOPS SharePoint Guide)

Registration

 

For more information and to book please visit – www.ciaops.com/bootcamp

 

I expect these sessions to fill quickly given the total limit of 20 attendees. There are currently 2 dates confirmed for Sydney with some tentative dates in Brisbane and Melbourne (depending on numbers and venue arrangements). Please visit www.ciaops.com/bootcamp for more information about these dates.

Early Bird

As an early bird bonus if you sign and pay before May you’ll receive immediate access to the CIAOPS SharePoint Guide (www.wssops.com) but your subscription will commence in May 2011.

Any questions please let me know (director@ciaops.com).

No Office Web Apps on SBS 2011 Standard

One of the really great features of SharePoint 2010 is the fact that it can used as a platform for Office Web Apps. Office Web Apps allows the ability to work with Office documents using only a web browser. You can see this for yourself if you have a Skydrive account.

SBS 2011 Standard has SharePoint Foundation 2010 included and many were looking forward to the opportunity of running Office Web Apps on their SBS 2011 Standard installation. In a small business environment, Office Web Apps makes a lot of sense since it provides greater flexibility for the business, especially in conjunction with remote access. The problem is that Microsoft has now said it won’t support Office Web Apps on SBS 2011 Standard.

The following was recently posted by Michael Leworthy in the Microsoft Connect forum:

Unfortunately after exhausting all avenues, I have to confirm that Office Web Apps will not be supported on the SBS 2011 Standard Server install. Office Web Apps is not supported on domain controllers, and we could not develop a supported workaround that we felt was in-line
with our commitment to security and reliability for the Windows Server platform.

Office Web Apps is fully supported on SharePoint Foundation Server 2010 running on the SBS 2011 Premium Add-on, or a non DC member server, and you can integrate this back into your SBS 2011 environment using these steps http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg616007.aspx. However,you will still require VL licensing for Office 2010 to utilize Office Web Apps.

I appreciate your patience while we working our way through this – unfortunately I could not succeed in your asks around this product,
or the licensing.

thanks
Michael

Some have raised the point as to how running Office Web Apps on a domain controller is any different from running Exchange, SharePoint and ISA on a domain controller which are also not ‘supposed’ to be run there. Different versions of SBS have done this for years, that is just the way SBS is. The current version of SBS also allows remote access via web folders, so how are any of these really any different to Office Web Apps in the security context mentioned?

At the moment, when you install Office Web Apps on SBS 2011 Standard, it will break things. There is no doubt that ‘work arounds’ will become available, however as it currently stands there is no supported method of installing Office Web Apps on SBS 2011 Standard (except on a second server) and that my friends is a damm shame, a damm shame.