05 0672329476 ch03.qxd 3/13/07 12:26 PM Page 53 …ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780672329470/...Clustering for SharePoint. Choosing the Right Clustering Technology for SharePoint

IN THIS CHAPTER

. Understanding Scalability forSharePoint

. Scaling Logical SharePointComponents

. Utilizing and UnderstandingClustering for SharePoint

. Choosing the Right ClusteringTechnology for SharePoint

. Understanding MicrosoftCluster Service Clustering forSharePoint’s SQL Database

. Scaling SQL Server with HighAvailability Alternatives

. Choosing the Appropriate SQLServer High AvailabilityAlternative

. Scaling Across a SharePointFarm

. Justifying and DeployingBusiness Portals

. Addressing Common BusinessIssues with SharePointFeatures

. Deploying a TeamCollaboration Solution withSharePoint

. Deploying a Corporate IntranetSolution with SharePoint

. Deploying a Customer ExtranetSolution with SharePoint

. Best Practices

CHAPTER 3

Planning Redundancyand Scaling the

SharePointEnvironment

Any enterprise platform needs to be able to adjust, grow,and scale out to fit the needs of a changing organization.SharePoint is no exception to this rule, and the creatorsfocused on the ability to scale certain components withinSharePoint to be able to adjust to the unique conditionsthat exist in various environments. For small organizationsin need of simply document management and teamsharing, Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) offers a richset of easily deployed capabilities. For larger or growingorganizations, the full Microsoft Office SharePoint Serverproduct allows for the centralization of information andthe distribution of knowledge.

This chapter focuses on techniques and information neces-sary to scale a SharePoint implementation to organizationsof varying sizes. Specific components that can be scaled aredescribed and contrasted. High-redundancy options such asclustering and Network Load Balancing for SharePoint andSharePoint’s SQL Databases are outlined. In addition, exam-ples of scalability in organizations of different sizes arepresented.

Understanding Scalability forSharePointThe first step in scaling a SharePoint environment is tounderstand the level of usage it will receive, both presentlyand in the future. After the level of usage is determined,

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understanding which specific components can be extended is vital to structuring thesystem to match the desired user load. The key is to match SharePoint functionality tothe specific identified need.

Mapping SharePoint Functionality to Business NeedsWhen deploying SharePoint, the primary concern in regards to scalability is how manyusers will utilize the system. For departmental collaboration, the numbers may be small.For large, publicly accessible portals, on the other hand, the numbers could scale upquickly. Scaling a SharePoint implementation based on the number of users is simplisticbut can be used as a starting point. In addition to total number of users, the followingfactors should be identified to more fully understand the load placed on a SharePointserver:

. Number of users

. Pages per user per work day

. Length of work day (hours)

. Type of work performed and level of Office integration

. Size of document repositories

Collecting this information and understanding who will be accessing a SharePoint envi-ronment is the first step toward properly scaling the environment.

Planning for Capacity with SharePointWhen designing a SharePoint environment, it is always best to start the design simplyand then expand on that design as needs arise. With SharePoint, this means that a singleserver should be planned and other servers added as new constraints are identified. Asingle server should not exceed several general limits in SharePoint, and those limitsshould be understood. These limits are as follows:

. Number of SharePoint users fewer than 2,000—The number of specifically definedusers in a SharePoint site should not exceed 2,000, or the risk of performance degra-dation arises. If more users are needed, Active Directory group membership can beused to scale the number of users to the tens of thousands.

. Site collections of fewer than 50,000—Each site collection should hold no morethan 50,000 users for optimal performance.

. Subsites to a website fewer than 2,000—More than 2,000 subsites of any one siteslows server performance.

. Documents in a single folder of a document library fewer than 10,000—Performance degrades if more than 10,000 documents are stored in a single folder.Using multiple folders, however, increases this limit to almost two million docu-ments.

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. Items in a view fewer than 2,000—Any more than this slows access.

. Fewer than 100 web parts per page—Loading more than 100 web parts slowsdown the users’ ability to view a page.

. Individual document size less than 50MB—The bigger a document grows, thegreater strain that document has on an environment. The default “hard limit” inSharePoint is 50MB; any larger documents would seriously slow down the server.The maximum document size is 2GB.

Understanding these limits is an important part of scaling the environment. If, afterdesigning and implementing a SharePoint environment, any of these limits is reached,SharePoint should be scaled to match.

Gauging Content GrowthIn addition to the amount of data that initially is loaded into SharePoint, an understand-ing of how fast that content will grow is critical in properly scaling an environment.Running out of storage space a year into a SharePoint deployment is not an ideal situa-tion. It is important to understand how quickly content can grow and how to control thisinevitable growth.

Proper use of site quotas in SharePoint is an effective way to maintain control over thesize that a SharePoint database can grow to. Implementing site quotas as they are createdis a recommended best-practice approach and should be considered in most situations. Itis easy to bloat SharePoint with unnecessary data, and site quotas help local site adminis-trators to make judicious use of their available space.

SharePoint’s SQL database can grow in size dramatically, depending on how heavily it isused and what type of content is included in it. Table 3.1 illustrates the effect that variousdata sources can have on a SQL database. Of particular note is the search and indexedcontent, which can grow large in tandem with the existing content.

TABLE 3.1 Effect of Various Components on SQL Server

Storage Type Size

Database overhead 12MBWSS site overhead 4MBDocument metadata (10 properties) 12KBSearch content Up to 25% of content sizeIndexed content Up to 50% of content sizeTransaction log 2–4% of content size on average after initial content

upload

After SharePoint is implemented, it is important to monitor the system to ensure that it isnot growing too fast for its own good. In addition to some of the default alerts and tools,

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a Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) has been specificallydesigned to collect information about SharePoint, including the ability to monitor growthof specific components.

Scaling Logical SharePoint ComponentsThe key to SharePoint’s success is in its capability to intelligently present informationneeded for each individual user, allowing them quick and easy access to that information.SharePoint accomplishes this through various logical mechanisms that exist to help orga-nize this content, structuring it in a way that pulls unstructured data together andpresents it to the user. For example, a file server simply holds together a jumbling ofdocuments in a simple file structure. Multiple versions of those documents furtherconfuse the issue. SharePoint contains mechanisms to organize those documents intological document libraries, categorized by metadata, which can be searched for andpresented by the latest version.

In addition to the most obvious logical components, SharePoint allows sets of data to bescaled out to support groups of users. For example, by utilizing different site collectionswith their own unique sets of permissions, SharePoint can be configured to host differentgroups of users on the same set of machines, increasing flexibility.

Scaling Out with Site CollectionsBuilding on the success of SharePoint Team Services and Windows SharePoint Services2.0, SharePoint sites in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 allow various teams or groups ofusers to have access to particular information relevant to them. For example, sites can beset up for each department of a company to allow them access to information pertinentto their groups.

Sites can be scaled out to support various site collections for each group of users. Thisallows the data to be distributed across a SharePoint environment logically, allowing amuch larger population of users to be distributed across a SharePoint server environment.Each site collection can be administered by a unique owner designated within the sitestructure, as shown in Figure 3.1. This allows for security to be scaled out across aSharePoint site.

Scaling Out with IIS Virtual Servers and Web ApplicationsSharePoint stores its data in a SQL Server 2000/2005 database, but serves up access to thatdata via HTML and ASP.NET web services. Access to this data is served up to the user viathe Windows Server 2003 Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0. IIS is composed ofvarious logical structures known as virtual servers, which are entry points of sorts to webcontent. Each virtual server can be configured to point to various sets of informationlocated on the web server or extended via SharePoint to be unique SharePoint web appli-cations.


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FIGURE 3.1 Setting site permissions for a SharePoint site.

NOTE

A web application in SharePoint 2007 is the equivalent of a portal in the SharePointPortal Server 2003 product. Web applications are physically unique instances ofSharePoint, with separate sets of site collections and separate settings. For example,an organization could have a web application for external vendors and another sepa-rate one for internal employees to keep data physically separate and to provide fordifferent authentication settings.

Utilizing unique virtual servers and/or web applications with SharePoint can help to scalethe functionality of an environment further, allowing the flexibility to grant access toSharePoint using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption or across different ports. In addi-tion, deploying multiple virtual servers allows for the use of multiple host headers for aSharePoint organization, such as sharepoint.companyabc.com, docs.companyabc.com,info.companyabc.com, moss.organizationa.com, and so on.

Utilizing and Understanding Clustering forSharePointThe operating system for SharePoint—Windows Server 2003—provides two clusteringtechnologies: Network Load Balancing (MSCS). NLB is available on all version of the plat-form, including the Standard Edition, whereas MSCS is only available on the Enterprise

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and Datacenter server platforms. Clustering is the grouping of independent server nodesaccessed and viewed on the network as a single system. When an application is run froma cluster, the end user can connect to a single cluster node to perform his work, or eachrequest can be handled by multiple nodes in the cluster. In cases where data is read-only,the client may request data and receive the information from all the nodes in the cluster,improving overall performance and response time.

Clustering technologies in Windows Server 2003 can help to scale SharePoint by allowingmore resources to assist in the overall environment. For example, multiple network load-balanced SharePoint front-end servers can distribute traffic to a clustered set of SQL data-base servers, as illustrated in Figure 3.2.


FIGURE 3.2 NLB-enabled front-end servers and clustered SQL database servers.

The first Windows Server 2003 clustering technology is NLB and is best suited to providefault tolerance for front-end SharePoint web servers. NLB provides fault tolerance andload balancing by having each server in the cluster individually run the network servicesor applications, removing any single points of failure.

The second clustering technology Windows Server 2003 provides is Cluster Service, alsoknown as Microsoft Cluster Service or simply MSCS. Cluster Service provides system faulttolerance through a process called failover. When a system fails or is unable to respond toclient requests, the clustered services are taken offline and moved from the failed server toanother available server, where they are brought online and begin responding to existingand new connections and requests. Cluster Service is best used to provide fault tolerancefor file, print, enterprise messaging, and database servers.

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NOTE

Microsoft does not support running both MSCS and NLB on the same computer due topotential hardware sharing conflicts between the two technologies.

Understanding Active/Passive ClusteringActive/passive clustering occurs when one node in the cluster provides clustered serviceswhile the other available node or nodes remain online but do not provide services orapplications to end users. When the active node fails, the cluster groups previouslyrunning on that node fail over to the passive node, causing the node’s participation inthe cluster to go from passive to active state to begin servicing client requests.

This configuration is usually implemented with database servers that provide access todata that is stored in only one location and is too large to replicate throughout the day.One advantage of Active/Passive mode is that if each node in the cluster has similar hard-ware specifications, there is no performance loss when a failover occurs. The only realdisadvantage of this mode is that the passive node’s hardware resources cannot be lever-aged during regular daily cluster operation.

NOTE

Active/passive configurations are a great choice for keeping cluster administration andmaintenance as low as possible. For example, the passive node can test updates andother patches without directly affecting production. However, it is nonetheless impor-tant to test in an isolated lab environment or at a minimum, during after hours orpredefined maintenance windows.

Understanding the Active/Active Clustering ModeActive/active clustering occurs when one instance of an application runs on each node ofthe cluster. When a failure occurs, two or more instances of the application can run onone cluster node. The advantage of Active/Active mode over Active/Passive mode is thatthe physical hardware resources on each node are used simultaneously. The major disad-vantage of this configuration is that if you are running each node of the cluster at 100%capacity, in the event of a node failure, the remaining active node assumes 100% of thefailed node’s load, greatly reducing performance. As a result, it is critical to monitor serverresources at all times and ensure that each node has enough resources to take over theother node’s responsibilities if the other should fail over.

Choosing the Right Clustering Technology forSharePointFor these fault-tolerant clustering technologies to be most effective, administrators mustcarefully choose which technology and configuration best fits their specific SharePoint

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needs. NLB is best suited to provide connectivity to stateless SharePoint front-end webservers. This provides scalability, and the amount of redundancy it provides depends onthe number of systems in the NLB set. The Windows Server 2003 Cluster Service providesserver failover functionality for mission-critical applications such as SharePoint’s SQLdatabase servers.

Although Microsoft does not support using both NLB and MSCS on the same server,multitiered applications can take advantage of both technologies by using NLB to load-balance front-end application servers and using MSCS to provide failover capabilities toback-end SQL databases that contain data too large to replicate during the day.

Choosing Microsoft Cluster Service for SharePointMicrosoft Cluster Service is a clustering technology that provides system-level fault toler-ance by using a process called failover. MSCS is used best in SharePoint to provide accessto the SQL database server or servers. Applications and network services defined andmanaged by the cluster, along with cluster hardware including shared disk storage andnetwork cards, are called cluster resources. Cluster Service monitors these resources toensure proper operation.

When a problem occurs with a cluster resource, Cluster Service attempts to fix theproblem before failing the resource completely. The cluster node running the failingresource attempts to restart the resource on the same node first. If the resource cannot berestarted, the cluster fails the resource, takes the cluster group offline, and moves it toanother available node, where it can then be restarted.

Several conditions can cause a cluster group to fail over. Failover can occur when anactive node in the cluster loses power or network connectivity, or suffers a hardwarefailure. In addition, when a cluster resource cannot remain available on an active node,the resource’s group is moved to an available node, where it can be started. In most cases,the failover process either is noticed by the clients as a short disruption of service orcauses no disruption at all.

To avoid unwanted failover, power management should be disabled on each of the clusternodes in the motherboard BIOS, on the network interface cards, and in the Power appletin the operating system’s Control Panel. Power settings that allow a monitor to shut offare okay, but the administrator must make sure that the disks are configured to never gointo Standby mode.

Cluster nodes can monitor the status of resources running on their local system, and cankeep track of other nodes in the cluster through private network communicationmessages called heartbeats. Heartbeats determine the status of a node and send updates ofcluster configuration changes to the cluster quorum resource.

The quorum resource contains the cluster configuration data necessary to restore a clusterto a working state. Each node in the cluster needs to have access to the quorum resource;otherwise, it will not be able to participate in the cluster. Windows Server 2003 providesthree types of quorum resources, one for each cluster configuration model.


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Clustering using MSCS is most often used in SharePoint configurations to provide forserver redundancy on SQL database servers. By implementing MSCS clustering onSharePoint SQL database servers, the server components themselves become more redun-dant, but not the actual database itself because it is stored on the shared storagecomponent.

Choosing Network Load Balancing for SharePointThe second clustering technology available with Windows Server 2003 is NLB. NLB clus-ters provide high network performance and availability by balancing client requests acrossseveral servers. When client load increases, NLB clusters can easily be scaled out byadding more nodes to the cluster to maintain or provide better response time to clientrequests.

Two great features of NLB are that no proprietary hardware is needed, and an NLB clustercan be configured and running in minutes. NLB clusters can grow to 32 nodes, but iflarger cluster farms are necessary, DNS (domain name server) round robin or a third-partysolution should be investigated to meet this larger demand.

One important point to remember is that within NLB clusters, each server’s configurationmust be updated independently. The NLB administrator is responsible for making surethat application configuration and data are kept consistent across each node. Applicationssuch as Microsoft’s Application Center can be used to manage content and configurationdata among those servers participating in the NLB cluster.

NLB is the mechanism used most commonly in SharePoint to provide for load-balancedaccess to multiple SharePoint front-end servers. Organizations seeking to scale upSharePoint front-end capabilities should consider use of this technology for anenvironment.

Scaling SQL Server with High AvailabilityAlternativesA high availability solution masks the effects of a hardware or software failure and main-tains the availability of applications so that the perceived downtime for users is mini-mized. If there is a need for uninterrupted operation of an organization’s SharePointdatabases, it is recommended that the IT professional implementing SharePoint under-stands the high availability alternatives offered in SQL Server.

With regard to SharePoint, SQL Server 2005 offers three high availability alternatives: logshipping, failover clustering, and database mirroring. Peer-to-peer replication is anotherSQL high availability alternative; however, it is not applicable to SharePoint. It enablesload-balancing and improved availability through scalability based on established transac-tion replication technology. The SQL Server 2005 high availability alternatives applicableto SharePoint will be described in the sections that follow.

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Log ShippingLog shipping is a recommended solution for creating redundant copies of databases froma source SQL Server to another target SQL Server, as illustrated in Figure 3.3. The normalprocedure of log shipping involves the transaction logs being backed up from a sourceserver (primary server), copied across to another target server (secondary server), andfinally restored. Previously, log shipping was available only in the Enterprise Edition ofSQL Server 2000. However, it is now included with SQL Server 2005 Standard andEnterprise Edition.


FIGURE 3.3 Understanding log shipping concepts.

To provide high availability for SharePoint mission-critical databases, log shipping isadequate because first, it is inexpensive, and second, it is relatively easy to administer.This is the most cost-effective method available for creating redundant databasescompared to significantly higher costs associated with a hardware cluster. Unlike databasemirroring, which is limited to a single destination server, when using log shipping, it ispossible to configure more than one secondary server for redundancy.

On the other hand, log shipping offers a slower and manual failover process that is notseamless. Therefore, log shipping might not be the best solution for providing an organi-zation with high availability when compared to the Windows clustering and databasemirroring approaches. All SharePoint database connections will also have to be manuallychanged to reflect the name of the new target SQL Server.

Windows 2003 and SQL Server 2005 ClusteringWindows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2005 support the shared-nothing cluster model. Ina shared-nothing cluster, each node of the cluster owns and manages its local resourcesand provides nonsharing data services. In case of a node failure, the disks and servicesrunning on the failed node will failover to a surviving node in the cluster. However, withhigh availability clustering, only one node is managing one particular set of disks andservices at any given time.

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SQL 2005 on Windows 2003 Enterprise or Windows 2003 Datacenter can support up toeight nodes within a single cluster. Failover clustering of SQL Server 2005 can be config-ured in two ways: a single-instance failover (Active/Passive) configuration or a multiple-instance failover (Active/Active) configuration.

NOTE

It is possible to create a two-node cluster with SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition,which was not possible in the past.

Single-Instance Failover ConfigurationIn a SQL Server single-instance failover configuration, illustrated in Figure 3.4, the clusterruns a single instance of SQL Server on all nodes in the cluster. If the main SharePointSQL Server instance fails on the primary node, the surviving node or nodes will run thesame SQL Server instance. In this configuration, all the servers within a cluster share amaster database along with a set of SharePoint databases, such as the configuration andcontent databases.

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FIGURE 3.4 Understanding a single-instance failover configuration.

Multiple-Instance Failover ConfigurationIn the multiple-instance failover configuration, shown in Figure 3.5, each of the activenodes has its own instance of SQL Server. Each instance of SQL Server includes a separateinstallation of the full service and can be managed, upgraded, and stopped indepen-dently. To apply a multiple-instance failover configuration, at least two instances of SQLServer must be installed on the cluster and each instance should be configured to run ona certain node as its primary server.

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FIGURE 3.5 Multiple-instance failover configuration.

It is then possible to separate SharePoint databases among the instances of SQL Server forscalability purposes. SharePoint databases that regularly refer to each other should beplaced on the same SQL Server instance. Before implementing a multiple-instance failoverconfiguration, the expected load on each of the database applications should first be eval-uated, followed by a second evaluation to determine whether a single node can handlethe combined load in a failover situation. If a single node cannot work, the use of twosingle-instance failover mode clusters should be considered.

NOTE

SharePoint databases will not be statically load balanced across multiple instances ofSQL Server. This design alternative is best suited for organizations that have indepen-dent databases that could benefit from multiple servers being used at the same time,such as multiple site and content databases.

Database MirroringDatabase mirroring is a new high availability alternative introduced in SQL Server 2005.This solution increases database availability by maintaining an up-to-date copy of thesource database on a hot standby server in real-time.

Database mirroring consists of two mandatory roles and a third optional role. The firstmandatory role is the Principal Server, which contains the source database and is thesource of all transactions. The secondary mandatory role is the Mirror Server, which isanother server, one that focuses on receiving transactions from the principal server. TheWitness Server is the third and optional role, which detects and enables automaticfailover between the principal and mirror servers in the event of a failure.


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FIGURE 3.6 Understanding database mirroring.

Mirroring is implemented on a per-database basis and works only with databases that usethe full recovery model. The simple and bulk-logged recovery models do not supportdatabase mirroring. Database mirroring is supported in SQL Server 2005 Standard Editionand Enterprise Edition.

Database mirroring offers a substantial improvement in availability over the previous highavailability alternatives. Implementation is simplistic and it is straightforward to main-tain. It is similar to log shipping; however, when a database mirroring session synchro-nizes, it provides a hot standby server that supports rapid failover with no loss of datafrom committed transactions. In addition, unlike log shipping, the failover is nearlyseamless and client applications can recovery with minor interruption by reconnecting tothe mirror server.

NOTE

Database mirroring was introduced with the release of SQL Server 2005. However, thefeature was not enabled by default and was not supported by Microsoft in production.Database mirroring is now supported with the release of Service Pack 1 for SQLServer 2005.

Choosing the Appropriate SQL Server HighAvailability AlternativeIT professionals designing the back-end database infrastructure for SharePoint are facedwith the dilemma of choosing the right high availability technology for their solution. If

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the Service level agreement at the organization requires a hot standby server to be avail-able for immediate failover, failover clustering and database mirroring in High AvailabilityConfiguration mode are the right choice. The failover is nearly seamless for the adminis-trator and clients. If a warm standby server, wherein a less expensive, but not as immedi-ate solution is required, log shipping and database mirroring in High Protection or HighPerformance mode should suffice. In this scenario, failovers must be conducted manuallyand the clients will be initially affected. Finally, other factors that affect these decisionsare cost, hardware, and site proximity.

Scaling Across a SharePoint FarmIn addition to the logical structure of SharePoint, which can be scaled out, SharePointincludes the ability to physically spread data and content across multiple servers. This isone of the principal design changes implemented since the first versions of SharePoint,which did not scale very well beyond a single server. The concept of the SharePoint farmsubsequently allows for a much greater range of flexibility and scalability of an environ-ment because services and databases can be distributed.

Defining Farm Server ComponentsSharePoint farms consist of two, three, four, or more servers sharing a common configura-tion database. A farm provides for the distribution of processing and application poweracross multiple machines in addition to providing a limited degree of additional redun-dancy into an environment.

Each SharePoint server installed into a SharePoint farm takes on specific sets of roles inthat environment. The roles for SharePoint servers in a farm are as follows:

. Web Server—This type of SharePoint server is stateless and does not contain anydata. It is used to provide web-based services for end users. Part of a front-end serverconfiguration, multiple load-balanced web servers can be deployed to scale out thedistribution of SharePoint data to multiple users.

. Search Indexing Server—A designated search server is used to conduct searchesagainst indexed data in SharePoint.

. Excel Calculation Server—An Excel Calculation Server runs the calculationsrequired for Excel Services, which provide for spreadsheet functionality for browserclients.

. Database Server—A database server runs either SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005and houses SharePoint databases. Windows SharePoint Services can also house data-bases on the light version of SQL, called MSDE in SQL 2000 and SQL Server Express in2005. Databases may be split across multiple locations, with multiple content data-bases in a farm split across multiple database servers.


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NOTE

A single server can perform more than one of the roles listed in a SharePoint farm. Itis, in fact, more common for multiple roles to be performed on specific servers than tohave dedicated servers for each task.

As an organization’s requirements from SharePoint scale beyond the capabilities of asingle server, additional servers added into a farm become a necessity. Understanding howthose servers can be designed and scaled properly into an environment is key.

Utilizing Shared Services Across SharePoint FarmsSharePoint scalability does not end at the farm level. On the contrary, SharePoint’s capa-bility to extend its resources to large deployments is supported by the concept of sharedservices. Shared Services is the capability to share specific functionality across multipleSharePoint farms. For example, search capability can be extended across more than oneSharePoint farm utilizing the Shared Services model. Although individual items cannot beshared using this approach, the following items can be shared:

. Alerts

. Audiences

. Personal Mysites

. Single sign-on service

. Business Data Catalog

. Excel Services

. Portal Usage Reporting

. SharePoint Server Search and Indexing

. User profiles

Several limitations exist for deploying SharePoint using the Shared Services approach,however. The following are limitations of using this model:

. The parent and child farm servers must belong to the same domain or trusteddomain environment.

. Server farms cannot be separated by firewalls and must have essentially full networkaccess between each other.

. SharePoint Server editions and languages must be the same between servers in eachfarm.

. A child site cannot switch roles with a parent site.

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. When configured to use Shared Services, a server farm cannot be removed from thatfunctionality. In addition, some services have to be turned off in the child serverfarm to be able to use Shared Services.

For the largest SharePoint deployments, Shared Services allows a degree of scalabilitybeyond the server farm itself, allowing for the sharing of resources between multipleSharePoint environments.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 requires that a Shared Services instancebe created for each farm, not matter what the size. Even single server instances must builda Shared Services Provider (SSP). The SSP is used for administration of specific farmwidecontent, and is used as a placeholder if the farm is expanded in the future.

Justifying and Deploying Business PortalsAs the cost of providing a portal structure goes down, it makes business sense to createportal-based solutions as opposed to purchasing, installing, and maintaining software onindividual PCs for accessing information. Maintaining a web browser on each desk and acentralized application structure flexible enough to provide access for any set of users isgenerally much more cost effective and presents a means for implementing innovativesolutions that might have been too costly to deliver using traditional methods. Whenapplications or new features are added to the portal, they are instantly available to userswithout having to touch every desktop. Delivering information and applications via aweb browser also reduces the burden on the IT department while providing them withthe necessary control over who has access to the information and applications.

Leveraging Various SharePoint Components for a Portal SolutionThe backbone of the business portal is Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Itprovides the platform for creating an enterprise portal for centrally managing, storing,sharing, and accessing information. When appropriately designed, the portal can be usedto quickly find relevant information and provide a means for team collaboration. Userscan create their own customized view of the portal to meet their needs, and informationcan be targeted to an individual based on her role.

Team and workgroup collaboration, document management, and list management areaccomplished using the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 engine within MOSS 2007. It isoriented to facilitating information sharing and document collaboration. Its featuresmake it easy for users and teams to work together and enable managers to coordinatecontent and activities. Microsoft Office 2003/2007, when used in conjunction withWindows SharePoint Services, further enhances user productivity by providing an inte-grated desktop that accesses server collaboration services using tools that users are familiarwith.


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Leveraging Full Portal Collaboration with Office 2007/2003TechnologiesMicrosoft Office 2007 and the older 2003 version provide interfaces that users are familiarwith and are the primary tool for creating and modifying documents. Elements ofMicrosoft Office 2007/2003 can also be integrated with SharePoint technologies toprovide a central web-based accessibility to information.

The tightest integration for a SharePoint 2007 environment can be realized with the 2007versions of the Office clients; however, 2003 clients are supported against a SharePoint2007 farm. Although technically supported, using older versions of Office such as OfficeXP or Office 2000 in a SharePoint 2007 environment is not generally recommended tobecause there are major functionality limitations.

Managing Business Processes with BizTalk Server 2006Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 and custom-developed web parts provide the means forintegrating line-of-business applications into the MOSS 2007 environment. MicrosoftBizTalk Server 2006 includes the tools to integrate applications, whereas web parts can bedeveloped for the integration with SharePoint. This provides end users with the ability toperform business transactions and retrieve information from business systems withouthaving to leave the site or learn new applications. In addition, BizTalk itself centralizesaccess and control to disparate volumes of corporate data, allowing more intelligent busi-ness decisions to be made.

Improving Communications and Collaboration with Exchange Server2007 IntegrationAn effective SharePoint environment encompasses both collaboration and communica-tion concepts into its design. The ability to alert users of document changes, for example,takes advantage of email routing. MOSS 2007 has the capability to interface with anySMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server to relay messages, but is most effective whenintegrating with the newest 2007 version of Exchange because multiple new integrationpoints have been built between the two applications, both released within a few monthsof each other.

Using SharePoint 2007 with Exchange Server 2007 or, to a lesser extent, Exchange 2003,allows for tight integration with the various components of Exchange itself, such asshared calendars, direct access to mailbox items, task lists, and public folders. Alerts canbe sent to specific mailboxes, for example, to allow them to be viewed by multiple users.A departmental calendar can be set up in Exchange and displayed in SharePoint.

Leveraging an existing Exchange Server 2007 deployment with SharePoint greatly extendsthe reach of both applications, filling gaps in the functionality of each product. The mostfunctional, collaborative environments can be created by a combination of thesetechnologies.

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NOTE

Lesser versions of Exchange, such as Exchange 2000/2003, are supported directlyfrom within SharePoint as web parts, although the integration features such as thoseavailable with the Exchange Server 2007 version of Outlook Web Access are not asrich.

More specific information on Exchange 2007 and configuring Exchange to work withSharePoint 2007 can be found in Chapter 18, “Configuring Email-Enabled Content andExchange Server Integration.”

Addressing Common Business Issues withSharePoint FeaturesMOSS 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 were designed to address business needsand issues that commonly arise in organizations. This section pulls together the informa-tion about SharePoint features described in other chapters of this book to summarizesome common business issues and how features of SharePoint can be used to addressthem. Scenarios that represent these issues are described along with the specificSharePoint technologies that can be used to address that particular issue.

Addressing the Redundant Re-creation of Documents withSharePointIn many organizations users duplicate effort by creating documents or by gathering infor-mation when someone else in the organization has already done so. This happensbecause either the users didn’t know the information existed or they couldn’t find it, andresults in an inefficient use of time.

SharePoint solution: Full-text indexing and search of SharePoint document libraries,workspaces, metadata information, and lists

SQL full-text indexing of Windows SharePoint Services sites enables indexing and search-ing site content so that users can quickly find the documents or information they need.

Addressing the Inability to Efficiently Search Across Different Typesof ContentUsers need information, and often the only way they can get it is to perform multipledifferent types of searches on multiple content sources and then manually consolidate theresults. This results in the possibility of content not being searched (either because it isoverlooked or just takes too much time) as well as an inefficient use of time.

SharePoint solution: MOSS 2007 content sources that can be indexed and searched


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Adding frequently used sources of information as content sources in a SharePoint 2007environment provides a means for users to perform one search request and have theresults from many different content sources displayed together. For example, a singleSharePoint search request could span other SharePoint sites, websites external to the orga-nization, file shares, and Microsoft Exchange Public Folders. This enables users to easilysearch across many sources to find the information they need.

NOTE

Only the full MOSS 2007 version of the product supports searching and indexingcontent from external sources. WSS 3.0 supports only indexing local content in WSSsites.

Addressing Inefficient Means of Document Collaboration withSharePoint Document LibrariesA team of people need to collaborate on a project and produce a set of documents to besent to a client. User A works on the first document and saves it as “Doc1.” User A emailsUser B to let User B know the document is available for review. User B makes changes andadditions and saves the document as “Doc1 R1.” User B creates an email with a list ofideas about additional changes that could be made and emails it to User A and User C.User C replies to User A and User B regarding User B’s email about proposed changes,makes her own changes, saves it as “Doc1 R2,” and emails User A and B to let them knowchanges have been made. User A also replies about the proposed changes, makes “final”changes to the document, saves it as “Doc1 Final,” and emails the document to the client.

Two days later, the client emails back with the list of changes the client wants to see inthe document. User A edits the document again and saves it as “Doc1 Final R1.” Theprocess continues until there are suddenly 10 versions of the document and 16 emailsfloating around about what should be in the document. At this point, the team isn’t surewhat changes have been made, the folder where the document is stored is cluttered withvarious versions of the document (and taking up a lot of space), and nobody knowswhich version(s) were sent to the client.

SharePoint solution: WSS team site with shared document library, document versioningenabled, document discussions

Rather than having multiple versions of multiple documents floating around with differ-ent names, a team site for the project with a shared document library could be used. Eachclient document would be stored in the library, and by using versions and enteringversion comments, shown in Figure 3.7, the team would know who made changes, beprovided with a brief overview of what or why changes were made, and know which onewas sent to the client. By using document discussions in place of emails to have an onlinediscussion of the document, all comments are stored in one place, with the documentright there for easy access as opposed to sifting through multiple emails.

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FIGURE 3.7 Using versioning and version comments in a SharePoint document library.

Addressing the Excessive Use of Email Attachments/Ability toKnow When Documents Have Been ModifiedA user emails an attachment to a group, revises the attachment, and then emails it to thegroup again, and so on. This results in excess email traffic, excess storage, and the poten-tial that recipients won’t see the current version of the attachment if it is modified afterthe email is sent.

SharePoint solution: Document workspaces/libraries and alerts

Document workspaces and libraries can be used for storing documents in a centralizeddocument library, accessible by all team members. Alerts set up by team members notifythem when the document changes. Team members know where the most current versionof the document is located and are notified automatically when the document changes.

Addressing Difficulty Organizing or Classifying ContentIn a traditional file system environment, a user creates a document. For future reference,should the document be stored in a folder based on the subject of the document, in afolder based on document type, in a folder based on the client the document was createdfor, or in all three places? Decisions of this type need to be made all the time, weighingthe consequences of storing the document in one place versus another versus storingmultiple copies of the document.

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When using SharePoint, using document metadata and topics prevents the documentcreator from having to worry about where the document is stored. Metadata, or specificfields of information that can be stored with the document, can be used for informationsuch as subject, client, and document type. Because these fields are searchable, a docu-ment can be easily found regardless of what folder it is in. Some organizations go as far asstoring all documents in one big document library and then use metadata (shown inFigure 3.8), topic assignments, and search to classify and find information.

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FIGURE 3.8 Adding metadata columns to SharePoint document libraries.

Addressing Access to Line-of-Business Application InformationAn organization might use a business application such as SAP or Microsoft Great Plains.Some individuals in the organization will need to access information stored in theseapplications, but it would be costly to install and maintain the application on eachdesktop and to train all the users.

SharePoint solution: ASP.NET web parts, single sign-on

ASP.NET web parts can be developed and used to access and display information fromother applications and data sources. Single sign-on can also be enabled to provide seam-less integration with the application. This provides the user with an easy, usable methodfor accessing information, and the IT department can maintain the code centrally andnot have to worry about desktop deployment and specific training for the line-of-businessapplications. SharePoint 2007 also supports web parts written for SharePoint 2003, whichopens it to the capability to view content from multiple third-party software and web partvendors.

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Using SharePoint for Sharing Information with Partners, Vendors,and/or ClientsAn organization needs to collaborate with another organization—for example, a market-ing company that is doing research and developing collateral for the organization, or aclient that the organization is working with on a specific project. The users from bothorganizations email documents and other information back and forth. Typically, theseemails are sent to all people involved with the project so as to not leave anyone out. Thiscan result in excess email traffic and emails being sent to users that they might not need(or want) to see.

SharePoint solution: Team site with extranet access

The Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 team site template fits the needs of groups of peopleworking collaboratively. The site can be set up for extranet access, enabling outside partiesto participate as team members. Using a team site over a traditional email-based methodof communication provides all kinds of benefits, including giving people the ability toreview only what they want to review, set up alerts to be notified when specific informa-tion changes, set up a process for approving final documents, participate in online real-time discussions, and look at prior document versions.

Deploying a Team Collaboration Solution withSharePointA team collaboration site is used by a group of people working together for a commonend result or to complete a project. The success of the team or project depends on theeffectiveness of the team and its ability to collaborate efficiently to complete the project.Therefore, the site is designed to facilitate team communications and sharing projectinformation.

Typically, a team collaboration site is an internal, decentralized site that has a relativelysmall number of members. However, it can be configured to provide access for membersexternal to the organization. When the site is implemented, it replaces the traditional file-share–based storage, use of email, and use of other traditional applications that the orga-nization might have for storing and accessing documents and other information.

Outlining Business Needs for the Team Collaboration SolutionThe general categories of business needs for this group are communications, projectmanagement, and document management. These needs can be mapped to SharePointfeatures as presented in this section:

. Communications—Interacting with other team members electronically using work-space instant messaging capabilities. Finding out when information has changedthrough the use of alerts. Having discussions on issues or documents using thegeneral or document discussion components.


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. Project management—Assigning major project tasks to individuals using a Taskslist. Tracking and following up on tasks using a Tasks list and various views of thelist. Centralizing and distributing information such as objectives, agendas, and deci-sions for project meetings in one place using meeting workspaces. Providing statusreports to management based on information in task items.

. Document management—Having a common place for storing documents by usingshared document libraries. Managing document revisions using the check-in/check-out and version retention features. Controlling document publication using contentapproval. Enhancing the ability to find and feature specific documents by assigningthem to topics and Best Bets. Classifying documents for retrieval using metadataattached to the document.

Implementing a Team Collaboration Solution with SharePointA team collaboration site is implemented using a Windows SharePoint Services team site.A shared document library is created in the team site for document management and aTasks list is created for assigning responsibilities. Content approval is enabled for thedocument library with the project manager assigned the role of approver. Documentworkspaces are also used for individual documents to incorporate direct access fromMicrosoft Office 2007/2003 applications. The team uses document discussions to commu-nicate ideas about document contents and a general discussion for items relating to theproject. The team site is part of a SharePoint implementation that has content sourcesdefined for searching relevant information and archived documents.

Outlining Ideas for Using the Team Collaboration SolutionThis section includes some ideas to incorporate into the team site solution in congruencewith the elements previously discussed.

The major project milestone tasks can be entered into a Tasks list, assigned to individualteam members, and then tracked by the project manager. The Tasks list can also be usedfor status reporting.

Users can initially create documents using Microsoft Office 2007/2003 applications andthen save them to a document workspace. The document workspace can be used by theteam members as a conduit for instant messaging on project-related issues. Discussionswithin the document can be used for providing feedback and recommendations for docu-ment content.

When the document is ready for “publishing,” it can be moved to the shared librarywhere it is reviewed by the approver. The approver can set up an alert to be notified whenthe new documents are added or modified within the library.

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Deploying a Corporate Intranet Solution withSharePointThe corporate intranet is used for communicating information to employees and provid-ing them with access to corporate line-of-business applications. The primary goals of acorporate intranet are to provide resources to employees that will help improve perfor-mance and to provide employees with centralized electronic access to corporate-basedinformation for things such as policies, procedures, and roles and responsibilities. Thebenefits of a corporate intranet include providing an electronic means of accessing infor-mation as opposed to reliance on human intervention, providing an easier way of findinginformation, automating processes, and eliminating duplication of effort. The end resultis a reduction in operational costs.

Meeting Business Needs with the Corporate Intranet SolutionThe general business needs of this group include searching for information, corporatecommunications, workflow processing, management of web-based content, and applica-tion integration. These needs can be mapped to SharePoint features as presented in thissection.

Corporate communications:

. Notifying employees about company events by using an Events list

. Notifying employees about changes in policies and procedures by usingAnnouncements

. Obtaining feedback from employees by using discussion boards and surveys

. Providing access to company policies, procedures, and forms through shared docu-ment libraries

. Providing access to company-maintained information such as employee directoriesusing lists such as the Contacts list or the SharePoint User Profiles

Searching:

. Finding location-specific information by having the ability to search across localsites, division-based sites, and the corporate portal

. Having a means for searching content external to the SharePoint infrastructure,such as external websites, file systems, and other internal application databases aswell as SharePoint-based information and displaying the results together by usingcontent sources and source groups


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Workflow processing:

. Requiring documents to be approved before “publishing” by using content approval

. Notification of outstanding items by using alerts

. Simplifying processing by using Approve/Reject views

Managing web content:

. Providing non-IT staff the ability to create team-based sites when necessary throughSelf-Service Site Creation

. Standardizing the look and feel of sites by creating site templates

. Enabling users to create a place for collaboration when needed through the use ofshared document workspaces

. Providing a way to make meetings more effective and meaningful by using meetingworkspaces

. Removing the dependency on IT departments for updating sites and site content byusing the web-based customization features and document library concept

. Enabling users to tailor the view of the intranet to accommodate their specific needsby using personal sites

Application integration:

. Providing a single interface for intranet capabilities and access to applications byusing link lists

. Providing a way for users to view application data without having to load the appli-cation on the desktop by creating web parts that retrieve and display applicationdata

. Minimizing the problems associated with providing multiple user accounts andpasswords for various applications by using single sign-on for application access

Implementing the Corporate Intranet SolutionThe corporate intranet site is implemented using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007and includes Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 sites. Features used on the site home pageinclude announcements, links (to other major corporate sites and applications), search,events, and discussions. In the Quick Launch area are links to lists, such as the CorporateDirectory, and to shared libraries, including policies and procedures, newsletters, training,and benefits. Areas can be configured for operational groups within the organizationand/or geographical groups within the organization, depending on the organizationalrequirements. Content sources that contain information useful to employees for doing

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their job can be added for indexing and search. Security and content approval can beimplemented to enable controlled creation of sites and site content by a wide group ofusers. Integration can be provided for SharePoint-compatible applications by using preex-isting integration web parts and/or developing custom web parts. Single sign-on can alsobe used to make it easier for users to access applications from within the Site collection.

Ideas for Using the Corporate Intranet SolutionThis section includes some ideas to incorporate into the corporate intranet site solution incongruence with the elements previously discussed.

Disseminate important corporatewide information such as policy and procedure changesby using announcements. Put an expiration date on them. If users see the sameannouncements day in and day out, they have a tendency to ignore them.

Use a general discussion for obtaining employee feedback on policies, procedures, events,and other items of interest to employees. Moderate the discussion; have the HumanResources department or Legal department responsible for approving all items submittedto the discussion group to ensure that they are appropriate. Maintain a separate discus-sion forum for non-company-related items such as employees selling candy for theirchild’s youth group. This type of discussion should not take up valuable home page space,but should provide a link to it from the home page. Surveys can also be used to getspecific input on a topic.

Maintain a corporate Events list in a Calendar view to provide visual impact for upcomingevents. Depending on the corporate climate, things such as birthdays and vacations canbe maintained on the corporate calendar as well as company events and holidays.

Store company policies, procedures, and forms in shared document libraries for ease ofmaintenance and for accessibility. The department responsible for maintaining the docu-ments should also be responsible for the publishing of documents (approve contents),with read access provided to all other users.

TIP

For document libraries that contain company policies, procedures, and forms, include a“Frequently Asked Questions” document to provide answers to the questions askedmost often.

Create content source groups for a logical breakdown of content for searching to preventan inordinate amount of time from being spent performing searches.

Using Active Directory as the basis for the company directory assists in keeping theSharePoint-viewed company directory synchronized with Active Directory. A customizedview of the directory can be created that filters and displays only relevant columns ofinformation.


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Using an application such as Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007/2003, InfoPath forms can becreated, filled out, and stored in document libraries for access and processing. Alerts canbe set up in the library for the person(s) that need to process the documents so that whensomething is submitted, they are notified and can review the items. Approval processingcan also be used to approve and/or reject the documents. This concept could be used forthings such as expense reports and other workflow documents. For a real end-to-end solu-tion, application code can be developed to feed the data from the form documents intothe appropriate external application (for example, the accounting system) for finalprocessing.

Because there is generally a great deal of information on a corporate intranet, usersshould take advantage of the ability to create and customize their own personal site toinclude information they find useful. By using web parts that interface with MicrosoftOutlook 2003/2007, the personal site can become the primary user interface.

Deploying a Customer Extranet Solution withSharePointThe primary purpose of the customer extranet portal is to service the needs of customers.The customer extranet enables customers to find information about products and services,and place help desk calls. In some customer extranets, client access is provided for thingssuch as invoice payment and viewing account status and payment history. The customerextranet can also be used for document collaboration and managing joint projects withthe customer. The content for this type of portal can originate from internal and/or exter-nal sources.

Meeting the Business Needs of the Customer Extranet SolutionThe business needs of this group include searching for information, aggregating contentfrom multiple sources, providing a dynamic view of relevant business information, collab-orating on documents, sharing documents, managing joint projects, resolving issues, andproviding a means for business transactions. The SharePoint features used to meet theseneeds are outlined as follows:

Searching:

. Providing customers with a means for viewing information about their account byusing web parts that access line-of-business applications to retrieve and displaycustomer-related information

. Enabling customers to find product/service information without having to speakwith a service representative using the search features of SharePoint

. In addition to searching, providing the ability to view the results in a variety ofways depending on the needs by using the filtering and sorting features ofSharePoint

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Content aggregation:

. Combining information from various sources into a single source for purposes ofsearching using content sources

. Accessing information from multiple business applications into one view using webparts

Dynamic views:

. Using filters to display subsets of information such as product-specific or location-specific data

. Using sort capabilities to present the information in a different order

Document collaboration:

. Sharing documents with clients using shared document libraries

. Controlling publication of documents using content approval

. Categorizing documents so that they can be easily found using document metadata

. Finding documents on a specific subject by searching the document text or themetadata attached to the document

Working on joint projects:

. Assigning/delegating tasks between parties using a Tasks list

. Following up on overdue tasks by using views such as the Due Today view

. Sharing project-related information by using a team site

. Discussing and resolving project issues by using discussion boards

. Managing the overall project and reporting on its status by using a recurring eventor multiple meeting workspace site

Resolving issues:

. Submitting issues/questions to a “help desk” using the Issues list

. Responding to issues in a timely manner by using the Alert feature on the Issues list

. Having the ability to check the status of outstanding issues by using the My Issuesview

. Managing and tracking issue resolution using views of the Issues list


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Business interaction:

. Providing clients with access to business information such as invoice/paymentstatus by using customized web parts

. Enabling clients to perform business transactions by providing links to web-basedapplication interfaces and/or customized web parts

Implementing the Customer Extranet SolutionThe customer extranet site is implemented using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007and includes Windows SharePoint Services sites. Depending on the specific implementa-tion, Microsoft BizTalk can be used to exchange business application information andprovide integration with business applications, while customized web parts provide thelink to SharePoint. In addition, integration for SharePoint-compatible applications can beprovided using preexisting web parts, developing custom web parts, and/or providinglinks to web-based front ends to business applications. Single sign-on can also be imple-mented to make it easier for users to access applications.

In addition, SharePoint now supports Forms-based authentication options in addition tostandard Windows authentication. This allows administrators to build a custom ASP.NETAuthentication provider to authenticate users against a foreign LDAP source or a SQLtable, removing the need to have Active Directory accounts for all users.

Features available on the extranet portal home page include a Links list, announcements,discussion board, and search. The Quick Launch area can contain links to lists such as alimited corporate directory (with the listings for the salespeople and other people whocustomers typically deal with, such as accounting personnel) and frequently accessedshared libraries such as newsletters, training documents, and product information. Areascan be configured for support, product/service information, and billing information. Acontent source group can be created for the content in each area to make searches moretargeted.

Document workspaces can be used to collaborate on documents. Team sites can be usedwhen working with the customer on a joint project. Content sources can be created forproduct/service documentation and historical accounting information.

Security needs to be tight to ensure the integrity of customer-specific information.Restrictions need to be in place to prevent one customer from obtaining access to anothercustomer’s data.

Outlining Ideas for Using the Corporate Extranet SolutionThis section includes some ideas to incorporate into the customer extranet site solution incongruence with the elements previously discussed.

In addition to providing standard content, use audiences to target specific content to anindividual or group of users.

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Use the Support area for linking to an Issues list as well as a document library containingtechnical information. Links to supporting websites could also be in this area. Otherpossibilities would be to include a Top 10 Issues list as well as a download library.

Include a shared library with documents relating to products and services offered and/orlinks to corporate or other websites that have this information in the Product/ServiceInformation area. There could also be a discussion board on this Area page so that clientscould submit product- or service-related questions or requests and provide their ideas andfeedback on products and services. When there is a need to get specific client feedback, asurvey can be used.

Use applications such as Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 and/or develop custom web partsfor the Billing Information area to enable customers to access their invoice/paymentinformation. Alternatively, provide links in this area to a site where invoice or paymentinformation can be provided. There could also be web parts or links to applications orsites where customers can submit payments and/or orders.

Use team sites when working on projects with the customer. Include a Tasks list to docu-ment division of responsibility, a Contacts list for maintaining the contact informationfor members from both sides of the team, a custom “punch” list to document items yet tobe completed, and a general discussion area as an alternative to email for documentingproject-related correspondence in a central location. Create a weekly status meeting eventor use a multiple meeting workspace for tracking and managing project status.

SummaryMicrosoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 both allowfor a great deal of collaborative capabilities that enable organizations to extend the capa-bilities of the environment beyond the borders of SharePoint itself. Through integrationwith other systems such as Office 2007/2003, BizTalk Server 2006, Exchange Server2007/2003, and many others, SharePoint allows for centralized access and control overmany of the processes that take place in businesses.

In addition to integration and collaboration with other infrastructure components,SharePoint is highly flexible in its capability to mold itself to the needs of an organiza-tion. Whether it is deployed as a customer extranet, a corporate intranet, or a teamcollaboration solution, SharePoint provides the built-in tools necessary to achieve theincreased integration and efficiencies required by businesses today.

MOSS 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 were specifically designed to be scal-able, expandable applications. The ability to expand a SharePoint solution to fit the needsof various organizations is key in the adoption strategy Microsoft has for SharePoint, andfeatures such as SharePoint farms, clustered back-end SQL database servers, NLB on front-end servers, and distributed services provide a great deal of flexibility for SharePointadministrators and designers. This flexibility allows SharePoint to scale to fit the currentand future needs of organizations of many sizes.


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Best Practices. Manage content growth through site quotas and monitoring solutions such as

Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 or the newer System Center OperationsManager 2007 product.

. Use site collections to scale SharePoint to varying groups with different securityneeds.

. Use IIS virtual servers (IIS websites) to manage varying types of web-based access toSharePoint sites, such as SSL-encryption or different host headers.

. Consider SQL Server 2005/2000 log shipping for simple redundancy of SharePointdata, if clustering is not an option.

. If the full level of scalability with SQL Server 2005/2000 is required, use theEnterprise Edition of the software and the Windows Server 2003 operating system.

. Utilize SharePoint farms to provide for scalability beyond single server SharePointenvironments.

. Don’t deploy any more than four search or four index servers in a single SharePointfarm.

. Consider the use of network load-balancing failover technology on the front-endSharePoint web servers of mid-size to large SharePoint deployments.

. Deploy MSCS clustering technologies for the database servers of large SharePointdeployments.

. Use Office 2007 components at the client level for the best integration withSharePoint technologies.

. Deploy MOSS 2007 with Exchange Server 2007 for the most robust messaging andcollaboration environment.

. Integrate SharePoint with BizTalk Server 2006 to control, manage, and centralizeaccess to business process data. This allows intelligent business decisions to be mademore easily.

. Use SharePoint document libraries to address the problems of redundant creation ofdocuments and inefficient document collaboration in an environment.

. Utilize SharePoint’s search and indexing capabilities to efficiently search acrossdifferent types of content.

. Use SharePoint document libraries and versioning to avoid the excessive use ofemail attachments during document collaboration.

. Utilize metadata in document libraries to effectively organize or classify content.

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. Deploy and utilize the features of a Windows SharePoint Services team site, such asdocument libraries, meeting workspaces, tasks lists, and discussions, when usersneed to collaborate on a common project.

. Use MOSS 2007 to index external content sources for creating a corporate intranetsolution that provides centralized access to information and processes.

. Utilize the extranet features of MOSS 2007 to manage content directed to customersoutside an organization.

. Map SharePoint’s functionality with the specific user needs of the organization.


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