Install MOSS 2007 & WSS 3.0 on Windows Server 2008 R2 – you will need SP2 slipstream

Today i encountered an issue while installing the moss 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2, it threw an error stating "This program is blocked due to compatibility issues". I thought it could be hardware compatibility issue, then i found out that it is required to upload the lastest service pack to updates folder of moss in Moss software.

For Info: Refer those,
Ref - 1
Ref - 2

Renaming the SharePoint Central Administration Content Database

Installing SharePoint using the GUI works really well and makes the install process pretty simple. Using the Command Prompt to perform the install on the other hand probably gives you a better sense for what is being done. It certainly gives you more control over the naming of things like databases and application pools. One in particular is the SharePoint Central Administration site collection's content database. By default it is named by concatenating "SharePoint_AdminContent_" with a newly generated GUID.


This Central Admin content database name may not be aesthetically pleasing, or DBAs may have different naming conventions or standards they will want this database to follow. All is not lost if you have used the setup wizard GUI and SharePoint has generated a database with a name like this. Content databases can be renamed by backing up and restoring the database with the new name, and then removing the old one from the web application and adding the new one in its place.

Unlike renaming regular web applications, it is best to remove the old content database and add the database restored with the new name using the Command Prompt. There is a Content Databases section in Central Administration, but in this case the content database is the same one on the backend that hosts Central Administration and that section.

The below steps best for me when I need to rename the Central Administration content database:


1. Stop the Central Administration application pool in IIS. This will prevent data loss and ensure no one else is performing operations while the content database is adjusted.

By default, the Central Administration application pool is called "SharePoint Central Administration v3" in IIS.

2. Backup the Central Administration content database using SQL Server Management Studio. I backed up the database "SharePoint_AdminContent_b73dd91a-a0f2-4d8bad9f-ba4ab59a4de3" in this example.

3. Restore the previously backed up Central Administration content database to a new database using a new name. I restored that database with the name "SharePoint_AdminContent" (without the GUID) in this example.

4. Open a Command Prompt window under the context of the SharePoint server farm account. This is the same account used as the identity of the Central Administration application pool.

5. The easiest way is to right-click the Command Prompt in the start menu, then choose "Run As" and enter the service account's credentials.

6. Enter the STSADM command in the Command Prompt window using the "deletecontentdb" option. For example, I entered the following STSADM command:

stsadm -o deletecontentdb -url http://servername:3097/ -databasename SharePoint_AdminContent_b73dd91a-a0f2-4d8bad9f-ba4ab59a4de3

7. Enter another STSADM command using the "addcontentdb" option. For example, I entered the following STSADM command:

stsadm -o addcontentdb -url http://servername:3097/ -databasename SharePoint_AdminContent

8. Delete the old content database. I deleted "SharePoint_AdminContent_b73dd91a-a0f2-4d8bad9f-ba4ab59a4de3" in this example.

9. Restart the Central Administration application pool in IIS (SharePoint Central Administration v3).

SharePoint Central Administration: High Availability, Load Balancing, Security & General Recommendations

Please refer this : This

Dynamic Charts & Graphs in SharePoint

Nice Articles Refer : this

Server error: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkID=96177

When look into the “Event Viewer”, found the following error description:


The schema version (3.0.149.0) of the database DATA

DATABASE_NAME on DATABA_SESERVER_NAME is not consistent with the expected database schema version (3.X.X.X) on DATABASE_NAME. Connections to this database from this server have been blocked to avoid data loss. Upgrade the web front end or the content database to ensure that these versions match.

Resolution:

The first thing we did was either remove content database from the web application which are having the error or Detach the database. This doesn’t seem to work. So we run the command

stsadm –o upgrade –inplace –url Central_Administration_URL –forceupgrade

and we were back in the business J.

STSADM “Command Line Error”

Today I was deploying a solution to my server through the command line.
After pasting command that I had copied from a web I received the "Command Line Error".

Resolution:

The solution is to write the command without paste. The reason is the encoding of the pasted text. I found the explanation in the blog in the related links.

How to install SharePoint Server 2007 on a single machine

Pre-Install

There are several things that you must do before you even insert the SharePoint 2007 CD they are:



Install Windows 2003 R2 with the latest service pack (2 at time of writing) and all of the latest Windows Updates.

Join your machine to a domain or create a domain by running DCPromo.exe from the Start > Run dialog.

Install the .net frameworks v3.0 and v2.0 from Windows Update. You can also download the full redistributable packages if your server is not online.

Install Windows 'Application Server' from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel with default settings

Prepare a service account in your active directory domain to use for all Sharepoint services.

NOTE: Do not use the main domain\administrator account. This causes a problem if ever you wish to install Project Server 2007 on the same machine.


Give your service account local administrator rights and logon as this account throughout the entire installation process.

Install SQL 2005 (and latest service pack) with typical settings.

Assign your service account to the 'Security Administrators' and 'Database Creators' server roles in SQL server (You will need to use SQL Server Management Studio).

Base SharePoint Server Install


You are now ready to install SharePoint 2007 itself, follow these steps:


Login as your service account

Insert your CD (or attach your ISO image) and run setup.exe if it does not autorun.

NOTE: If you get an error about web service extensions here, ensure that 'ASP.net V2.0.50727' web service extension is allowed in IIS. If it is not in the list, perform a 'repair' on .net 3.0 framework using add/remove programs and then the web service extension will appear in the list. This is caused when IIS is installed after the .net framework


Enter your CD key and accept the license agreement.

Choose 'Advanced' on the installation type dialog.

NOTE: The definition of 'Advanced' means that you are using full SQL server (which may or may not be on the same machine). If you had selected 'Basic' then it would have installed the cut down version of SQL (MSDE).


Select 'Complete' on the Server Type screen and click 'Install Now'. The setup will now commence and you'll get a blue progress bar.

Once installed you will get a screen with a check box that reads "Run the SharePoint products and Technologies Wizard now". Ensure this is ticked and click 'Close'.

After a short pause, you'll get a 'Welcome' screen. Click 'Next'.

You will get a warning that the wizard is about to reset several services, click 'Yes'.

You'll be asked about the farm configuration, select to 'No, I want to create a new server farm'.

Provide the database server (your server name) and your account details (account in the domain\user format). Leave the database name as the default. Click 'Next'.

Leave the authentication mode as 'NTLM', set a specific port number is desired (not required) and click 'Next'.

NOTE: In a production environment, you would most likely use Kerberos where possible (if your infrastructure supports it).

You'll get a summary screen; click 'Next' to kick-off the process.

NOTE: If it fails here, it is most likely that you do not SQL setup correctly. Ensure your service account is in the right groups. Please also note that this section can take a very long time, especially step 2 (up to 45 minutes).

You'll get a success screen at the end, click 'Finish'.

The wizard will attempt to load the central administration window. You may need to login here, use your service account. You may also get prompted to add the site to your trusted sites; go ahead and do that.

NOTE: This authentication prompt is caused by the secure version of IE on Windows 2003 Server. You can turn if off by modifying the security settings in IE.

Services on Server Configuration


The first bit of configuration to do is set your server to host all services. You do not strictly have to enable all of these services, but I find it helps if you are using the machine to test / investigate functionality.

When the Central Administration screen appears, go to 'Operations' tab, then 'Services on Server'.

Start the 'Document Conversions Load Balancer Service'.

Start the 'Document Conversions Launcher Service', you'll have to choose the 'Load Balancer Server'; there should only be one option. If there are no options, ensure that the 'Document Conversions Load Balancer Service' has been started.

Start the 'Excel Calculation Services'.

Start the 'Office SharePoint Servers Search' service, observing the following guidelines:

Tick both Query and Indexing check boxes

Specify a contact email address (this can be any address)

Enter your service account in the 'Farm Search Service Account' section

Accept all other defaults and click 'Start'

Leave all remaining services in their default configuration

Web Application Setup



The next stage is to create the 3 web applications that will be required to host the basic set of sites for a typical deployment, these are:



Shared Service Provider Administration Site (Recommended to be called 'SSPAdmin')

My Site Host (Recommended to be called 'MySite')

The Main Intranet (or 'Portal') Site (Recommended to be called 'Intranet')

It is much simpler if all of these sites are on port 80 in IIS; this means that you do not have to remember to enter the ports all of the time. However having all three sites on port 80 means that each needs their own Host Header (required by IIS to differentiate between sites on the same port). The simplest way to do this is to create new 'Host (A)' records in DNS for each of your three sites. These should point to the IP address of your server; to do this follows these steps:



Open the DNS Management tool from Administration Tools on your domain controller

Navigate to your DNS zone

Create new 'Host (A)' record

Enter the Host header (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet') for the site and the IP address of your server

Click 'Add Host' and repeat for each of the three sites

Now the DNS entries are configured, we can create the three web applications in SharePoint; follow these steps for all three of your web applications (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet'):



In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab

Click 'Create or Extend Web Application' and then click 'Create a new Web Application'

Fill out the new web application screen observing the following points:

Change the New IIS Site description to read something like 'SharePoint – 80 - ' where is the name of the web application your are creating (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')

Ensure the 'Port' is set to 80

Set the 'Host Header' to match the DNS record you created (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')

Change the 'Application Pool Name' to match the 'New IIS Site Description'

Enter your service account for the Application Pool account settings

Change the 'Database Name' to read something like 'WSS_Content_' where is the name of the web application your are creating (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')

Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'

Repeat for all three web applications (i.e. 'SSPAdmin', 'MySite' or 'Intranet')

Shared Service Provider Setup



The next stage is to create the Shared Service Provider (SSP). The SSP is required in order to provide several key services such as Search or My Site. You can read more about SSP on my blog article about it here. To configure the SSP, follow these steps:



In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab

In the 'Office SharePoint Server Shared Services' section, click 'Create or Configure This Farms' Shared Services'

Click 'New SSP'

Fill out the 'New Shared Services Provider' screen observing the following guidelines:

For the 'SSP Administration Site' web application (the first one you get asked for), choose the web application that you created earlier (suggested name was 'SharePoint – 80 - SSPAdmin')

For the 'My Site Location' web application (the second one you get asked for), choose the web application you created earlier (suggested name was 'SharePoint – 80 - MySite')

Enter your service account for the 'SSP Service Credentials'

Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'

The creation of an SSP can take some time (up to 1 hour on a virtual machine). When it is finished you will see a 'Success!' screen, Click OK.

Collaboration Portal Site Collection Setup



The next stage is to create a collaboration portal which is one of the more feature-filled site types and represents a typical intranet environment. To do this, follow these steps:



In Central Administration, go to the 'Application Management' tab

In the 'SharePoint Site Management' section, choose 'Create Site Collection'

Fill out the 'Create Site Collection' observing the following guidelines:

Ensure you have selected the 'Intranet' web application you created earlier (suggested name was 'Intranet')

Give your site a title ('Intranet' is suggested)

In the 'Template Selection' section, choose 'Collaboration Portal' from 'Publishing' tab

Enter you service account for the 'Primary Site Collection Administrator'

Leave all other settings on default and click 'OK'

When the 'Top-Level Site Successfully Created' message appears you have created the site, simply click the link that is provided (something like http://intranet)

Configure Indexing



The final step of the process is to configure indexing so that you have some search results. Though this step is optional, it is recommended as it will enable you to use the powerful search capabilities of SharePoint. To configure the index, follow these steps:



In Central Administration, click the 'SharedServices1' link on the left-side navigation (or whatever you name your SSP)

When the SSP Administration site appears, click on 'Search Settings' in the 'Search' section

On the 'Configure Search Settings' page, click 'Content Sources and Crawl Schedules'

Edit the 'Local office SharePoint Server Sites' content source by hovering your mouse over it and choosing 'Edit'

Fill out the 'Edit Content Source' observing the following guidelines:

Set a full crawl schedule to be at least once a day

Set a incremental crawl schedule for every 10 minutes

Tick the 'Start Full Crawl of this Content Source' tick-box

Click 'OK'

A crawl will now start. Initial crawls normally take up to 10 minutes.

The process is now complete. User should be able to access the main collaboration portal from http://intranet (or whatever you called the DNS record).