Tag: SharePoint

Is knowing how to search more important?

When you need to know something these days where do you go? Google (sorry Microsoft but that’s the fact). Now the good thing about Google is that it returns just about everything that matches your search, which conversely is also the problem with it. I know lots of people who say they can’t find ANYTHING with Google. The reason why? They have no idea how to use Google properly. I doubt whether many people have read about the advanced search features Google offers. All they do is type the first thing that come into their head into the search box and expect what they want to be on the first page.

 

I think that I am getting pretty good at finding what I want these days. Typically, it does take some time, some refining and bouncing from site to site but eventually I do find it. Case in point. I was looking for some information on using the command stsadm -addcontentdb and Windows Internal Database (microsoft/ssee##) and Windows Sharepoint v3. After some refining I found a site that didn’t give me the answer but gave me enough clues to deduct a solution that worked. Yeah. Now, is it fair to say that I’m a good searcher or a deducer? With the power of Internet search these days I’m pretty sure that the answer you are looking for is out there BUT first you have to find it. Then typically the search results you get is usually not a direct solution to your problem, you gotta apply a bit of lateral thinking to find the solution that you require.

 

Now perhaps I do have an advantage being qualified as an Electrical Engineer and perhaps all those years at university did actually provide me some benefit in the methods I use today to locate information. To be an expert these days you don’t need to know the answer you just have to know where to look. The faster you can obtain an answer the smarter you are I believe. So if you haven’t looked at the advanced search features Google offers then I strongly suggest you do because it will put you ahead of the pack. As for improving you ability to decipher, decrypt and deduce an answer, well that only improves with practice. Remember a craftsman is only as good as their tools and for information workers Google is the tool of choice. So sharpen your skills so you can wield it like a master.

Windows Sharepoint v3 Operations Guide

I’d like to announce the release of my Windows Sharepoint v3 Operations Guide. This guide is specifically aimed at Windows Sharepoint Services (WSS v3) rather than Microsoft Office Sharepoint Services (MOSS) and specifically aimed at Small Business Server (SBS) networks.

 

The Guide is available in three ways:

 

– Any one single chapter for AUD$49

– All chapters for AUD$149

– All chapters and DVD of required files updated regularly for  AUD$249 annual subscription

 

All payments can be made via http://donation.saturnalliance.com.au

 

For more information about the content see:

 

http://supportweb.ciaops.net.au/Shared%20Documents/wssops.aspx

 

Much of the content is till in the final stages of completion but the chapters on installation on a Windows Server and SBS are complete. If there is enough demand for what I’m creating then I’ll spend more time working on completing the all the chapters.

 

Each chapter will include a comprehensive step by step process including screen shots at all the relevant stages. As improvements, updates and enhancements are made they will be included in the product and made available to subscribers immediately. For subscribers the DVD will include the actual Sharepoint installation files, SQL 2005 Express as well as all the relevant documents from Microsoft and myself.

 

So, have a look and let me know what you think and what you would like to see as I would like to really develop something that is worthwhile to all those working with WSS v3 out there. Keep an eye here as well as the link above as I begin to post more information about what the Guide will contain.

No one seems to know

I’ve been doing some research lately into the different versions of SQL server into which you can store Sharepoint V3 data.

 

Firstly, you can install it into SQL 2000 but as we all know this version is old hat and not really recommended going forward, but if you have SBS 2003 ( as opposed to SBS 2003 R2 ) then you can still use the version of SQL 2000 that came with it to store Sharepoint V3 data.

 

Now the recommended method of storing Sharepoint V3 data is in an SQL 2005 server. Right, if you install Sharepoint V3 you are going to get WMSDE database, which from my understanding is a cut down version of SQL 2005. Why do I say that? Well, when WMSDE installs it ALWAYS installs to C:\WINDOWS\SYSMSI\SSEE\MSSQL.2005 enough said. So you can also install Sharepoint v3 into WMSDE, SQL 2005 Express, SQL 2005 Workgroup, SQL 2005 Standard and SQL 2005 Enterprise.

 

I understand the limitations that have been imposed on each product (which can be found here). Aside from these limitation of database size, memory and processor usage what I don’t understand is whether there is really any difference in performance or otherwise between the different versions of SQL 2005. Interestingly, I can’t find anything or anyone who can tell me!

 

Why is this an issue? At the high end of the market where there are plenty of dollars it doesn’t matter but at the small business end there is a HUGE difference. Let me illustrate. If you use the inbuilt WMSDE that comes with Sharepoint V3 you don’t pay anything and you get no database size limitation. The major limitation with WMSDE is that it ALWAYS installs onto the C: drive. So, if you don’t want that you need to install Sharepoint V3 onto SQL 2005 Express which can be located on the drive and directory of your choice. But, SQL 2005 Express (which is still free) has a limitation of a 1GB of RAM usage and a 4GB database size. For most small networks this is probably ok but let’s say you have a bigger rollout planned. So, to overcome this you must upgrade to SQL 2005 workgroup. Now you are going to have to go out and buy the server software BUT if you are on SBS 2003R2 Premium you’ll have it included. Again, you can install SQL 2005 workgroup data onto any drive you want but it still does have limitations. SQL 2005 Workgroup has a 3GB RAM limit but no database size limit. The great thing on SBS 2003R2 Premium is that you don’t need any additional client licenses.

 

What now happens if you want to put Sharepoint V3 on a member server? You can still use WMSDE and SQL 2005 Express for free but if you want to use SQL 2005 workgroup you are going to have to buy the server software as you can’t install the SQL software that comes with SBS 2003R2 Premium on any other server but the SBS server. Although you do have to have to pay for the SQL 2005 Workgroup server software if you are using SBS 2003R2 you automatically have the client rights for this second server, again saving you money. But let’s say that you want to use an SQL version without limitations, then you need to upgrade to SQL 2005 Standard but when you do this you’ll also need to purchase client licenses for each network user who is going to access the server or a per processor license. Don’t forget that the SQL 2005 Standard edition software is pretty expensive. So as a business at the smaller end of town who wants to implement Sharepoint V3 there are some interesting questions.

 

Putting all that aside, I want to know what is the fundamental performance difference between WMSDE, SQL 2005 Express, SQL 2005 Workgroup and SQL 2005 Standard. I understand all the memory and database limitation but at its most fundamental level can anyone tell me whether there is any REAL difference? Now I can appreciate there is between WMSDE and all the other versions BUT is there really any difference between Express and Workgroup? What about workgroup and standard? Why so I pay so much more for standard just to get no RAM limitation. Surely there must be more to the higher price than that?

 

Interestingly, as I said before, I am yet to find anyone or anything that can give me hard evidence as to any differences between the versions of SQL apart from those imposed database and memory. I sort of get the impression that they are all the same product under the skin but simply artificially hobbled to create a range of versions for a range of prices.

 

Am I wrong? Can someone show me something that demonstrates the fundamental performance differences between the different versions of SQL 2005.

Ah ha, what I have now figured out

In my last post I mentioned how I was having some formatting issue posting updates to the blog using Windows Live Writer. Now that I have looked through the menu options on Live Writer I have solved that issue.

 

What you need to do under Windows Live Writer is go View | Update Weblog style. This will download a whole swag of formatting layouts and make then the default for Live Writer. Now, Live Write looks exactly like the format of the blog with the same fonts, backgrounds and what not.

 

So now, as you can see I have my paragraph breaks back! The bottom line is when you install the Community Kit for Sharepoint and you plan to use Windows Live Writer to post updates make sure you also Update the Weblog style in Windows Live Writer before you starting posting. All very simple when you know how eh?

Community kit for Sharepoint

Thought I’d do quick posting on what I’ve found so far about install the Community Kit for Sharepoint. To get it running all you need to do is download the source and then run the batch file that is included. When you run the batch file you will be asked for your Sharepoint server and then the blog site on the Sharepoint server. Once the batch file is complete your blog site will be automatically upgraded.

What I like

– The new look and feel is great. It really make the normal Sharepoint blog site look flash. Very much like WordPress now.

– The fact that blog postings URL’s have been changed to …\blog\archive\2008\… rather than the normal Sharepoint links. even better there is translation so that anything that has already been indexed by something like Google will remain valid and accessible to visitors

– The fact that I can still get to my Sharepoint blog admin commands which remain in Sharepoint style screens.

– It didn’t break my blog. I can still post via Windows Live Writer or manually via the blog. Also, all my existing entries remained.

– The automated trackbacks and links to del.icio.us, facebook and what not. You see it everywhere and it is now nice to have in Sharepoint blogs.

What I haven’t figured out yet

– Why my postings from Windows Live Writer and manual interaction with the blog seem to remove my paragraph breaks. This make things more difficult to read. I’m sure that it is some simple HTML or CSS thing but as yet I haven’t worked out how to get my paragraph breaks back.

– How to edit the theme and perhaps ad my own graphics and text. Now, I’m sure there is a reall simply way but you need time to sit down and fiddle with all this. Was really impressed with what has been done over at http://www.wssdemo.com/blog with moving icons and what not. Somewhere, I’m sure there is way to do that but as yet I haven’t found it.

Gotcha’s

– The only one so far is the fact that with the kit installed you can’t easily roll back to the way the blog used to be just in Sharepoint. Now, I’m sure you could remove the kit files from Sharepoint and that would fix the issue but it would still be nice to be able to revert back to the original Sharepoint blog look and feel quickly.

Summary

So all in all I am pretty happy with the ease with which the kit can be installed and the “make over” it gives standard Sharepoint blogs. Sure there is still stuff I’d like to do to make the kit more personalized to my blog as well as few minor issues to resolve (which take time), but generally I think that the creators deserve a hearty pat on the back for an excellent effort and making it available for free. Well Done.

Almost famous

I’d like to thank Wayne Small who have given me a bit of plug in his blog. Appreciate that Wayne. He was mentioning how I have applied the Community Blog kit to my Sharepoint blog and how different it now looks (for the better). I am preparing a detailed post about my experiences with this update and how simple it is and some observations I have come across. I just wanted to wait a while to everything works as expected before I comment too much. However, since Wayne has now graciously given me a plug I better hurry on and do it eh?

Gear up with Sharepoint

The drum beating around Sharepoint from Microsoft seems to be increasing (yeah!). They have just produced the following Gear Up web site that contains a whole host of information about driving adoption of Sharepoint within a business. If you are keen to get Sharepoint adopted in your business take a look at the Buzzkit available on the site.

On the site you find a huge amount of resources (videos, whitepapers, links, etc) that will help you through every stage of a Sharepoint implementation.

Hopefully now businesses will begin to understand the power that Sharepoint can unleash in their business. If you don’t contact me (director@ciaops.com) and I’ll explain why.