Tag: SharePoint

Migration by the numbers – Step 2

Step 2 in a series of posts documenting the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 upgrade process on SBS 2008. This is based on the document:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2dc66a0f-f840-4b29-93d3-13db70c85cba&;;displayLang=en

 

Step 2: Run the pre-upgrade checker for SharePoint Foundation 2010

 

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Select Start then right mouse click on Command Prompt and Select Run as administrator from the menu that appears.

 

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Click Continue to accept User Access Control.

 

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At the command prompt:

 

cd\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin

 

and press ENTER to change to the SharePoint programs directory.

 

Now at the command prompt type:

 

stsadm –o preupgradecheck

 

and press ENTER to run.

 

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You should now see something similar to that shown above as the command performs a number of checks and writes the results to a log file in the directory:

 

cd\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\logs

 

When the process is complete you will be returned to the command prompt and a summary report will also be displayed in your browser like so:

 

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It is very important to read ALL of this report, especially the last section.

 

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The simple reason is that this report gives you a whole swag of information about your WSS v3 installation including what SharePoint features are present, database sizes, URL’s etc. It is especially important to note and rectify any errors or warnings before proceeding.

 

It is important to be aware that certain features (like Group board workspace) won’t work in SharePoint Foundation 2010 and should be removed prior to migration. You may also want to closely consider how to handle any of the custom templates that have been used with your site (here’s some guidance on the Fabulous 40 WSS v3 templates).

 

In summary this preupgradecheck function is going to save you a lot of heartache if you carefully consider what it is telling you and take appropriate action.

Migration by the numbers – Step 1

So here’s the first in a series of posts documenting the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 upgrade process on SBS 2008. This is based on the document:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2dc66a0f-f840-4b29-93d3-13db70c85cba&;;displayLang=en

 

So download your copy boys and girls and follow the bouncing ball.

 

Step 1: Install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

 

Before you rush out and apply the patch it is probably easiest to check to see whether it has already present. To do so, run the SharePoint Central Administration console on the SBS 2008 server via Start | Administrative Tools | SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.

 

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Select the Operations tab.

 

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Then select the Servers in farm hyperlink under the Topology and Services section.

 

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Look at the version number at the top of the page. If it is at least 12.0.0.6421 then it has WSS v3 SP2 already installed (at the time of writing the most recent version is probably 12.0.0.6539) and you can progress to the next step.

 

If the version number isn’t up to date then you’ll need to download and install:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=79BADA82-C13F-44C1-BDC1-D0447337051B&displaylang=en

 

Once installed check the version number again and ensure everything is functioning correctly with SharePoint.

Unable to import spreadsheet into SharePoint

SharePoint has a great feature that allows you to create a custom list directly from a spreadsheet. All you do simply tell SharePoint where the spreadsheet is located when you go to create the list.

 

However, you may also get this error if you are using a SharePoint that is hosted outside your business.

 

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To overcome this simply go into your Internet Explorer Internet options and add the URL of the site that you are using to the Trusted Sites in the Security tab. That should now allow you to import the spreadsheet via the normal process.

Special characters in filenames

One of the biggest pains you find when migrating files to SharePoint is that it doesn’t like a number of special characters in filenames. These characters are typically:

 

~ ” # % & * : ? / \ { | }

 

which means when you attempt to copy them using Windows Explorer into SharePoint you’ll get an error and the copy process will terminate. This is a real pain because you then have to go through your existing file structure and locate the problem file, rename it and then start the copy again.

 

Trying to locate these files beforehand proved more difficult that I imagined using standard Windows commands. I did find a number of utilities on the net that did the job but I wanted something I could run from the command prompt that would simply record any offending files. In the end I commissioned someone to write a utility for me.

 

So all you have to do is run the utility at the command line and it will create a text file listing all the files with the default special characters listed above. The utility has also been created so that you can specify a list of characters to search for and it will use these. This means that you could use the utility to also locate files with specific characters in them, not just the ones listed above.

 

This utility is now freely available for all my SharePoint Operation Guide subscribers but if you aren’t get in contact with me (director@ciaops.com) and I’ll let you know what you need to do to obtain a copy.

Failed SharePoint 2010 migration advice

Saw this comment in a recent blog post of mine from Larry:

 

Help.  I got the old doc, went through the steps and it didn’t work.  Tried backtracking to Step 10, but 11 seems inappropriate and 12 doesnt work.  //companyweb comes back with 404!  Groan


Can you help or suggest a path to follow

 

The first thing is probably to get the new document at

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2dc66a0f-f840-4b29-93d3-13db70c85cba&;;displayLang=en

 

This should have the new step 10, which involves attaching SharewebDb to SQL 2008. Once that is done the rest of the migration should flow normally, allowing to attach and upgrade SharewebDb to SharePoint Foundation 2010. If it doesn’t, Larry send me an email directly (director@ciaops.com) I’ll do what I can.

 

And remember kids what I said in a previous post? Before you attempt a migration to SharePoint 2010 on SBS 2008 make sure you know how to recover Windows SharePoint v3 on SBS 2008 in case everything goes pear shaped. Secondly, DON’T do it on a production server the very first time. Use a test server (read virtual server) to reduce heartache.

 

Oh yes, and finally, read this blog regularly!

Microsoft Migration doc updated

As expected, Microsoft has rectified the issue with the SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008 migration document as detailed in this blog post:

 

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sbsdocsteam/archive/2010/09/09/major-correction-to-quot-guide-to-migrating-from-wss-to-wsf-on-sbs-08-quot.aspx

 

As the post notes the article on the web page will be updated in the next week or so but the downloadable doc at:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2dc66a0f-f840-4b29-93d3-13db70c85cba&;;displayLang=en

 

has been updated. So those who want to complete the process should now be able to do so.

 

Still a few additional items I’ll post about shortly.

SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008 – Step 10

As noted in a previous blog post I think that step 10 in the Microsoft process of migrating to SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008 is incorrect:

 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff959273%28WS.10%29.aspx

 

So here’s what I think Step 10 should show (including pictures):

 

Step 10 – Connect the ShareWebDb database to SQL Server 2008 (CIAOPS versions)

 

The old WSS v3 database now needs to be attached to the new SQL Server for management. You will need to have the SQL Management Studio open (as an administrator) to complete these tasks.

 

Navigate to the Database folder for the SQLEXPRESS tree. Right mouse click on the Database folder in the SQL Server (in this case SQL Express 2008 R2 denoted as SQLEXPRESS at the top of the object explorer window) and select Attach.

 

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You will now see the Attach Database window like show below:

 

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Press the Add button.

 

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(in the screen shot above the database shown is called WSS_Content but in the standard SBS 2008 case it will be called ShareWebDb)

 

Navigate to the location of the old WSS v3 database. In the default case this will be c:\windows\sysmsi\ssee\MSSQL.2005\MSSQL\data and the database will be called sharewebdb. Select the database and press the OK button to continue.

 

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You should now see the database and log file listed in the lower window. Press the OK button to attach these databases.

 

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You should now see the word Executing appear in the lower left of the window. When complete you should be returned to the object explorer window where you should see the database now listed under the SQL Express databases folder.

 

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From there you should be able to continue on with Step 11 of the standard Microsoft process.

 

I’ll detail some other things about this process soon.

 

This information can from? My SharePoint Operations Guide that I’d recommend if you are needing to this sort of stuff.

SharePoint 2010 migration on SBS 2008 released from Microsoft

Microsoft has just released a technical document on installing SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008. You will find it here:

 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff959273(WS.10).aspx

 

It great to finally have a guidance document from Microsoft on this process but there are a few issues from what I see.

 

The major one is around section 10 whose heading is – Step 10: Connect the ShareWebDb database to SQL Server 2008 you’ll find that the contents are actually identical (word for word) with Step 12: Connect the ShareWebDb content database which appears to be a simple editing over sight.

 

Step 10 should in fact detail how to attach ShareWebDb to SQL 2008 which isn’t that hard but unless that is done first you are not going to be able to complete step 12 of actually connecting the database to SharePoint Foundation 2010.

 

Apart from that major issue I also believe the document could contain some additional items of information, such as:

 

1. The document speaks of using SQL Express 2008 but doesn’t appear to mention the fact that this version of SQL although free is limited to databases of 4GB in size. So if your existing companyweb on SBS 2008 is greater than 4GB the detailed process won’t work.

 

If you however install SQL Express 2008 R2 you can then have a maximum database size of 10GB and if you then use remote blob storage like I explained in a previous blog post, you can have a database up to 16GB. You can always use a full blown version of SQL 2008 which overcomes the database limit but if you want a free version make sure you go SQL Express 2008 R2.

 

2. After the migration process is complete and you bring up the new SharePoint site it will look almost identical to WSS v3. That’s because SharePoint Foundation 2010 has a visual upgrade feature that you have to select to upgrade the look and feel of the site. I believe that a major reason why people would want to go to all the trouble of installing SharePoint Foundation 2010 on SBS 2008 is so they can benefit from the new interface.

 

So after you do the upgrade go into the site settings for the site and select the visual upgrade option to change the look and feel of your site to new SharePoint interface.

 

3. If you have configured PDF icons and indexing on your existing version of WSS v3 on SBS 2008 you’ll have to reconfigure it on SharePoint Foundation 2010. Getting the PDF icon is pretty simple, here’s my video tutorial on the process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay6Xvb2oIUU

 

but getting PDFs to index now that is something much more tricky under SharePoint Foundation 2010. The solution is in my SharePoint Guide (which is yet another great reason to purchase it!).

 

3. If you try and install SQL 2008 Express on the SBS 2008 server you won;t be able to until you uninstall the existing SQL 2005 Express Management Studio. Not a major issue but handy to know when you are doing the prep work.

 

So there’s a few things I’ve noticed about the document upon first glance. The big issue is the fact that Step 10 needs to be correct to show the process of attaching the old WSS v3 database to SQL Express 2008.

 

I’ll let you know what more info I find as I dig deeper.