Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Explained

Prepared by Ian Matthews December 30, 2003 - Revised February 25, 2004

Microsoft's new "Windows SharePoint Services 2.0" (WSS) is an excellent web based collaboration tool which has very limited documentation and support.  The purpose of this page is provide fill some of the gaps. 

NOTE: This information below is offered with no guarantees and we accept no liability.

VERSION AVERSION:

In recent years Microsoft has produced a number of products which compete in the Web Server Extension space.

FrontPage Server Extensions
Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions 2000 (FPSE) and its 2002 replacement FPSE 2002 were provided by Microsoft via a free downloads.  They were designed for IIS 4 and IIS 5 but Microsoft did produce a Unix / Linux version that functions on Apache. As you might have suspected, FPSE add functionality to Microsoft FrontPage.  Things like a ready to use hit counter, basic search engine, and authoring controls all made the FrontPage developers life easier.  Most large ISP's support some form FPSE.   MS will likely not release another version of FPSE although I think FPSE 2002 will be supported for many years to come as it is built in to Windows Server 2003 IIS 6.  (Yes, you can uninstall FPSE 2002 from your IIS 6 via ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS, if you wish.)

SharePoint Team Services and SharePoint Portal Server 1.0
SharePoint Team Services (often referred to by MS staff as WSS 1.0 or STS) was made available in 2002 as a free download to extend the FrontPage capabilities beyond that of FPSE.

The 'full version' of STS was called SharePoint Portal Server 1.0.  SPS 1.0 was unstable (I believe this was because it ran off an Access database); one associate of mine could not keep it running for more than two months without having to repair it.  While SPS 1.0 did provide more functionality than STS, it was limited and garnered Microsoft few sales.  Both of these products are have been replaced.

Windows SharePoint Services and Windows SharePoint Portal Services
Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 (WSS) is the rebranded and updated replacement for SharePoint Team Services 1.0. WSS is a collaboration tool that empowers users to substantially modify and expand web content without requiring the use of a web page editor (like FrontPage). 

WSS is free to all those who own Windows 2003 Server.

WSS' 'full version' is called Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (SPS 2003).  SPS 2003 is the replacement for SPS 1.0.  At US$71/seat + US$4000 per server + US$30,000 if you want to connect it to the internet, SPS 2003 is very expensive.  This is in addition to SQL licenses you may require if you choose not to use MSDE. 

I have not used SPS 2003 but after discussions with my colleagues who have, I believe that the 'free' WSS contains about 80% of SPS 2003 functionality.   If you want to see an introductory video on the SPS click HERE. 

SPS 1.0 has become MS Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003.  Even though the 'free' WSS 2.0 was based on SPS 1.0, I consider WSS 2.0 to be a new product because it has so many new features.  For more detail download the Administrators Guide HERE and read the Planning, Upgrade Considerations section.

It should be made clear that WSS does not require a web page editor (like Front Page 2003).  Without FrontPage 2003, you can access about 95% of WSS capabilities through its web interfaces.  If you want to use FrontPage to edit WSS sites, you NEED to have the FrontPage 2003 or newer; FrontPage 2002 does work with some WSS functions but MS does not support it and I have not had good experiences with it.

While WSS and SPS 2003 do support many of the functions found in FrontPage Server Extensions, there are several important limitations.  For instance, they do not support ASP pages, linking to an Access database to display dynamic database content on a web page or even hit counters.  You can not run both FPSE and WSS on a single a site / virtual server but (contrary to some documentation) you can run both FPSE and WSS on the same IIS 6 server.

Both WSS and SPS store nearly all of there content (including any custom .HTM pages you build in FrontPage) in a SQL (or MSDE) database. 

WSS and SPS 2003 are not intended for anonymous access, although you can re-configure them to allow anonymous access. 

All of these factors mean that I will continue to build standard public websites using FPSE2002.  If a site requires collaboration, I will create a sub-site (like private.commodore.ca) and add a link to a site/new virtual server on the core site.  In this way users can get the best of both worlds. (FYI, private.commodore.ca does not exist... it was just an example.)

Still Confused?

Perhaps this chart will help:

Feature Without FrontPage Server Extensions With Server Extensions for FrontPage 2002 With SharePoint Team Services from Microsoft With Windows SharePoint Services1 Date / Time Comment Photo Gallery Substitution Include Themes External Web Navigation Page Banner Link Bar, Custom Link Bar, Back / Next Top 10 Lists   Save Form Results (E-mail, File)   Reports   Search Form and Table of Contents options for various template wizards   User Registration template   Database Results     Save Results to Database     Search Current Web     Hit Counter     Include Page Based on Schedule     Include Picture Based on Schedule     Table of Contents     Visual InterDev Navigation Bar     Table of Contents template     Lists     Document libraries     Discussion     Survey     Modify rules for document libraries       Rules customization in the Document Libraries Wizard       Data Source Catalog task pane       Data View Details task pane       Data View Conditional Formatting       Web Part Gallery task pane       Data Source Catalog       XML Support       Web Packages       Export & Import Web Packages       Customize data views       Data Source Details view       Data View Web Part       Data View styles       Web Parts pages and zones       Remote Web Site view Connect to remote sites Publish to FTP and DAV servers 1 Requires Windows Server 2003.

Source http://www.microsoft.com/office/frontpage/prodinfo/servers.mspx PDF version of this chart can be downloaded from HERE.

WSS INSTALL ISSUES:

Basically, there are three ways to install WSS:

1. "One Click" - download and run the executable.  This installs WSS and MS Desktop SQL Engine (MSDE).  MSDE is a stripped version of SQL 2000 which does not include SQL tools like Enterprise Manager.  This means you have to rely on the WSS command line tool stsadm.exe for key functions like backup. On the other hand you do not need any SQL licences which is a big deal if your site will be available on the internet.  Also, you can install SQL Tools (if you have a licence) and connect Enterprise Manager to the MSDE.

   1. Install SQL Tools from the SQL 2000 CD (if not already installed)

   2. From Enterprise Manager, right click on SQL SERVER GROUP, select NEW SQL SERVER REGISTRATION

   3. Enter "SERVERNAME\SHAREPOINT" (replace SERVERNAME with you actual server name)
       

2. Server Farm - During the first pages of the 'one click' install is an option for a server farm. If you have SQL and do not have a licence issue (i.e. going to publish on the web) this is the option I recommend using.  It is not complex.  At the end of the install it asks you for your SQL info... very nice... very easy.
    

3. Command Line - Use setupsts.exe.  Because the first two options do not ask many questions, you will have to do a command line install if you want to change any default setting.  If you are interested read the Administrators Guide: Install, Performing Quiet Install.

You should also not that there is a way to upgrade from MSDE to SQL but why not just install it correctly the first time.

Note that under all three options you CAN NOT select the WSS install location.  The path is hard coded so don't waist your time trying to get WSS to not run from C:\ . MSDE install location can be selected if you perform a command line install; see Single Server Deployment in the Administrators Guide.

WSS is incompatible with FPSE / FPSE2002 / SharePoint Team Services.  This was an area of confusion for me.  The bottom line is that you CAN have these older extensions installed and running on your other sites / virtual servers in IIS6, BUT they must not be running on any sites you want to run WSS.

Upgrading existing FPSE / STS sites is a pain in the butt.  You are really going to need a good reason to upgrade to go through the effort.  There is no 'in-place upgrade'; the whole process is command line.  Because WSS is so different from FPSE & STS, I don't think many sites will be upgraded. 

TEMPLATE OPTIONS:

After your install is complete, you can extend a virtual server by starting IIS6, right clicking on the site, selecting ALL TASKS, SHAREPOINT CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION.  Then signing in as any user in the Administrators NT group.  Select EXTEND OR UPGRADE..., select the site/virtual server you want extended, and chose EXTEND AND CREATE...  The other option EXTEND AND LINK... is only for use with server farms or pre-existing sites (i.e. you deleted a site but kept the content.)  On the next screen, I like to create my own App Pool and Database (so I can see what is going on via IIS6 and SQL Enterprise Manager) but you do not have to. 

Once completed, you will click a link which will take you to your new site and be prompted to select a template to apply.  The problem is that there is virtually no explanation of what each template looks like.  Here is that detail:

	TEAM SITE This template creates a site for teams to create, organize, and share information quickly and easily. It includes a Document Library, and basic lists such as Announcements, Events, Contacts, and Quick Links.
	BLANK SITE Oddly enough, this site is not blank!  This template creates a Windows SharePoint Services-enabled Web site with a blank home page. You can use a Windows SharePoint Services-compatible Web page editor (read FrontPage 2003) to add interactive lists or any other Windows SharePoint Services features.
	DOCUMENT This template creates a site for colleagues to work together on documents. It provides a document library for storing the primary document and supporting files, a Task list for assigning to-do items, and a Links list for resources related to the document.
	BASIC MEETING All the basics to plan, organize and track your meeting. This Meeting Workspace contains the following lists: Objectives, Attendees, Agenda, and Document Library.
	BLANK MEETING A blank Meeting Workspace for you to customize based on your requirements.
	DECISION MEETING A Meeting Workspace in which to review relevant documents and record decisions. This Meeting Workspace contains the following lists: Objectives, Attendees, Agenda, Document Library, Tasks, and Decisions
	SOCIAL MEETING A planning tool for social occasions, featuring a discussion board and a picture library to post pictures of the event. This Meeting Workspace contains the following lists and Web Parts: Attendees, Directions, Image/Logo, Things To Bring, Discussions, and Picture Library.
	MULTIPAGE MEETING All the basics to plan, organize and track your meeting with multiple pages. This Meeting Workspace contains the following lists: Objectives, Attendees and Agenda in addition to two blank pages for you to customize based on your requirements.
As of January 2004, there is at least one more template that is available from Microsoft:
	Great Plains / MS Business Solutions / Dynamics This template can be downloaded HERE if you own a copy of Great Plains,  Dynamics.

Presumably, MS will be producing more of these templates if the product takes off.  Other companies like CorasWorks are already producing templates for sale.

SITE MANAGEMENT:

There are five critical pages to managing your site:

	CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION This is accessible only via IIS6 (see ALL TASKS) or you create your own link.  This page is intended to manage  the settings for all WSS sites on this server.  They are self explanatory  but you do need to go through each link.  This will not take much time or effort.  Note that the ANTIVIRUS option only works with special WSS aware versions of Antivirus software.
	VIRTUAL SERVER SETTINGS This page is accessible only from the CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION page (above).  This is where most of your key settings are.  Read everything carefully in here.
	SITE SETTINGS If you choose a template like TEAM SITE, this page can be accessed via the menu bar at the top of your site. If you do not see the SITE SETTINGS in the menu bar at the top (which will happen if you choose a template like DECISION MAKING ) then you can access the SITE SETTINGS via the MODIFY THIS WORKSPACE hyperlink located near the top right corner of the your page.  These are all the fun settings and you need to read through most of these as well.
	TOP LEVEL SITE ADMINISTRATION This is accessible from the Site Settings Page and you NEED to go through each item and understand its function.
	LIST PERMISSIONS In addition to the above site wide settings you can set restrictions on specific lists, surveys, documents....  Notice on the left side of each type of document, you will see a MODIFY option and then you can easily change permissions.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

I strongly recommend that new administrators take the 40 minutes to watch the "MS Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services: End-to-End Security Model" presentation.  You can find a newer and longer version of this presentation HERE.

Nearly all data and configuration files are stored in a database (either SQL or MSDE).  Therefore, it is difficult for you to see the files you are working on without FrontPage2003 or SQL's Enterprise Manager. 

If you are working on a DC, you will need to add AUTHENTICATED USERS (with default permissions) to the NTFS share that IIS6 is using for the site/virtual server.

Others have told me that they found the short Microsoft demo of WSS to be useful, but I did not.

I think MS has intentionally made documentation and support scarce for the base WSS product because they want to push companies into buying Share Point Portal Server.  The bottom line is that at the time this article was written you have only a handful of decent WSS resources.  That is pretty sad state for such an awesome technology. 

An exceptionally friendly writer suggested http://wss.collutions.com as another good source of WSS documentation.

If you run a WSS support site, send me an email and I will glad to provide a link.