August 19, 2010

PPS – SharePoint URL is a valid site but …

I received this error today when launching Performance Point Server (PPS) Designer for the first time.

The SharePoint URL is a valid site but PerformancePoint Services features have not been configured. Please contact your site collection administrator for assistance.

Turns out there is a feature “PerformancePoint Services Site Collection Features” you must first activate. After that everything works great and connected!

August 19, 2010

Enabling SSRS 2008 R2 on SharePoint 2010

Today I felt the need to step outside of SharePoint a little and wander over to the SQL consoles and learn something new. Bottom line: works the same, just more reliable. SSRS 2008 R2 seems to me to be roughly equal on config options to what we had for SQL 2005. Similar wizard to get it created, similar Central Admin link to give the URL, even the menu names match.

However, the whole thing “feels” more reliable. Once complete I can clearly see the SSRS features on the Site Settings menu. Next, I need to learn BIDS (Business Intelligence Development Studio) to create a report (RDL) and try uploading it for rendering.

Steps Taken

Open “Reporting Services Configuration Manager” and follow wizard steps to create SSRS on SQL backend.
When asked use “SharePoint integrated” mode.
It will make a SQL database and IIS website. I used my main SP web application (http://sp2010) so that final URL is http://sp2010/ReportServer/
Open “SharePoint Central Administration”
Navigate to “General Application Settings > Reporting Services Integration”
Type that same URL, choose “Windows Authentication”, and provide a user account.
I’m using DEMOadmin for everything which is not a best practice, but works in DEV systems to avoid any “access denied” messages.
Create desktop shortcut to “C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL ServerMSRS10_50.MSSQLSERVERReporting ServicesReportServerReportBuilderReportBuilder_3_0_0_0.application”
Click the desktop icon for first install
Enjoy the Report Builder 3.0 application to create .RDL and upload to SharePoint

August 18, 2010

Profile Import Details: Forefront MIISCLIENT.EXE

Profiles sure have changed with SharePoint 2010!

We now have a User Profile Service Application and 2 Windows services as well as the Forefront Identity product. It gets a bit confusing so I wanted to write a post with my observations in case it helps anyone else out there Googl-ing for answers.

Opening MIISCLIENT.EXE while sync is actively running has been very educational and helpful for me in troubleshooting. Consider it an eventlog for just the profile service. Below you can see my full import creating 141 new records in the database. I used this to confirm the service health as well as get familiar with the FULL and DELTA operations it runs that map to the Full and Incremental we see in Central Administration.

Oh, and there are 3 SQL databases now! [Sync DB], [Social DB], and [Profile DB] are all required. Look at Harbar.net’s incredible Architecture Overview Diagram to learn more about the topology. It’s tedious to get everything configured and connected but once online the new social features are incredibly useful.

Helpful References

Forefront File Stuff

C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office Servers14.0Synchronization ServiceUIShellmiisclient.exe
C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office Servers14.0ServiceMicrosoft.ResourceManagement.Service.exe
C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office Servers14.0Synchronization ServiceBinmiiserver.exe

August 17, 2010

The Unattended Service Account Application ID is not specified or has an invalid value.

This error showed up on the Monitoring > Health Analyzer of my SharePoint 2010 VM. Apparently after using the wizard to create a new farm, you must double back to supply Visio Services with user credentials for remote data connections.

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepoint2010general/thread/559f72a4-d9ca-4004-b5ca-a0fa6dbad51f was a helpful reference on the steps and below are screenshots.

Steps Taken:

Open Health Analyzer and view details
Manage the Visio Graphics Service (SA) and confirm Application ID is empty.
Manage the Secure Store Service (SA) and Generate New Key
Create a New Target Application
Provide a unique ID, name, and contact email. Select Group Type.
Accept default and just click Next
Provide a user name for both fields. I used “DEMOAdmin” as that is the only user on this machine. Click OK.
Enter the Target Application ID back on the Visio Graphics Service (SA) page and click OK.
Go to the Health Analyzer rule, open it and click Reanalyze Now, then you should be ready to go.