We continue the build by installing Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition with GUI. The default install choice is server code (no GUI) but we will want the GUI to work with SharePoint and BI features interactively. For security, I am using “pass@word1” on all areas including local Administrator.
NOTE – There are some helpful tricks at http://www.win2012workstation.com/ if you plan to use this server with RDP for demos to get a more robust desktop like experience. Otherwise, you can always browse over HTTP from the VM host. Sometimes that’s a good way to show cross browser compatibility (IE, FireFox, Chrome, etc.)
I like to run Windows Update before doing anything else just to make sure I’m current and hopefully avoid errors.
I modified the computer name to be “DEMO2013A” for matching the Content Pack scripts from CodePlex documented requirements.
I modified the user “Administrator” to be just “Admin” for easier typing. This name will have to be typed into all sorts of places, easier to save a few keystrokes.
Next, it’s a good idea to load the VM guest additions. This might be different for other VM products (VMWare, Hyper-V, etc.)
Then we can modify PowerShell to have unrestricted execution policy. This will allow for running any PS1 script file without security prompt. I am using this for DEV, but in practice it is better to keep “RemoteSigned” for production.
One of my favorite demos with SP2010 was the “Information Worker” VHD because it had so many great visuals, people, org charts, SharePoint team sites, and databases for BI. I haven’t been able to find any IW download VHD for SP2013.
However, today we have http://sharepointdemobuilds.codeplex.com/. Ivan Sanders was kind enough to package sample content with automated deployment. NOTE – There is no complete VHD file. You must obtain installation media for each Microsoft product (Windows, SQL, SharePoint). Trial editions are available and work fine, but you will need install from media. Below are screenshots from my experience configuring SP2013 with the demo content.
Please leave a comment if you found this post series helpful.
First we need to create a VHD container for the machine we plan to build. This can be done on any Windows 7/8 machine by opening Computer Manager and right clicking on Disk Management. I chose to create a 96 GB dynamic file. That allows room to expand while minimizing current disk usage.
The disk must be initialize to prepare it for the Windows O/S install we’ll perform next. Default options (MBR) are fine here.
The VHD file is now complete and ready for use in any VM host software. I chose VHD format for wide compatibility.
Next, we will create the VM guest machine. I am using VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org) because it’s free and runs well on any Windows 7/8 desktop. The specifications I am using are shown below. NOTE – More RAM would boost performance. I have 10GB RAM and pointed to the VHD file we just created for storage. Also, I attached the Windows 2012 install media ISO to the virtual CD-ROM so we can boot and install.
Microsoft offers 17 site templates in SharePoint 2013 Enterprise Edition. Below are descriptions of each with a homepage screenshot. Also, I included the PowerShell script I used to create all 17 site collections so you can copy/paste to run on your farm. Please leave a comment if you found this helpful.
A site for a person or team to post ideas, observations, and expertise that site visitors can comment on.
Developer Site
A site for developers to build, test and publish apps for Office.
Project Site
A site for managing and collaborating on a project. This site template brings all status, communication, and artifacts relevant to the project into one place.
Community Site
A place where community members discuss topics of common interest. Members can browse and discover relevant content by exploring categories, sorting discussions by popularity or by viewing only posts that have a best reply. Members gain reputation points by participating in the community, such as starting discussions and replying to them, liking posts and specifying best replies.
Document Center
A site to centrally manage documents in your enterprise.
eDiscovery Center
A site to manage the preservation, search, and export of content for legal matters and investigations.
Records Center
This template creates a site designed for records management. Records managers can configure the routing table to direct incoming files to specific locations. The site also lets you manage whether records can be deleted or modified after they are added to the repository.
Business Intelligence Center
A site for presenting Business Intelligence content in SharePoint.
Enterprise Search Center
A site focused on delivering an enterprise-wide search experience. Includes a welcome page with a search box that connects users to four search results page experiences: one for general searches, one for people searches, one for conversation searches, and one for video searches. You can add and customize new results pages to focus on other types of search queries.
My Site Host
A site used for hosting personal sites (My Sites) and the public People Profile page. This template needs to be provisioned only once per User Profile Service Application, please consult the documentation for details.
Community Portal
A site for discovering communities.
Basic Search Center
A site focused on delivering a basic search experience. Includes a welcome page with a search box that connects users to a search results page, and an advanced search page. This Search Center will not appear in navigation.
Visio Process Repository
A site for viewing, sharing, and storing Visio process diagrams. It includes a versioned document library and templates for Basic Flowcharts, Cross-functional Flowcharts, and BPMN diagrams.
Publishing Portal
A starter site hierarchy for an Internet-facing site or a large intranet portal. This site can be customized easily with distinctive branding. It includes a home page, a sample press releases subsite, a Search Center, and a login page. Typically, this site has many more readers than contributors, and it is used to publish Web pages with approval workflows.
Enterprise Wiki
A site for publishing knowledge that you capture and want to share across the enterprise. It provides an easy content editing experience in a single location for co-authoring content, discussions, and project management.
Product Catalog
A site for managing product catalog data which can be published to an internet-facing site through search. The product catalog can be configured to support product variants and multilingual product properties. The site includes admin pages for managing faceted navigation for products.
Today I opened Visio to draw a simple network topology. The default shapes are different from Office 2010 and have taken more of a Windows 8 (“Modern UI”) look. Below are some an examples and stencil downloads for drawing the newer style of Microsoft diagrams.
