Tag Archives: SharePoint 2010
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Let’s get right down to it. Oracle’s VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) application is:
- Free – Zero cost. What are you waiting for? Go download it!
- Fast – Low performance overhead. New VT and Nested Paging support take it to the next level.
- Flexible – Runs on any modern processor. Support both VHD and VDI disk images. ISO or physical CD for media.
- Fun– Support for many powerful features. Saved state (no IIS cache waiting), host integrated clipboard, default NAT (network address translation) make this a breeze to get started with. No coding or special tricks required. It just works.
But don’t just take my word for it. Eric Harlan thinks it’s cool. And so does Jeremy Thake. Of course VM Ware Workstation is a good option and others will work but for the free price VirtualBox is hard to beat. It’s just plain easy to learn. Most of my tech friends want to run a SharePoint 2010 DEV server on their personal Windows 7 64-bit laptop as a personal lab to learn with. I have yet to find a better tool for this.
1 – Create VHD with Windows 7’s Computer Manager
- Start Run compmgmt.msc
- Right click “Disk Management” and click “Create VHD”
- I personally like Dynamic Disks for the extra storage flexibility. Yes, there is a small performance hit when it expands.
- Right click “Initialize” on the new disk
- Right click “New Volume” on the online disk
- NTFS quick format with a volume name that matches the VHD file.
- Detach the VHD file
- Cogratulations! You’ve creative a Microsoft native format VHD that can be easily managed by many tools.
2 – Create VirtualBox Guest with VHD file and RAM allocation
- Open Oracle VirtualBox
- Click “New” to start
- Select the O/S type for the guest. Note: this is important for integration (clipboard, file share, network) so please read all choices. Windows Server 2008 R2 is the “Windows 7” kernel type and typically what I run.
- Give it as much RAM as possible (max out the green line).
- When asked for hard drive click “Use existing” and browse for the VHD file. You’ll need to register the VHD path in the Media Manager.
- Finish and check the advanced settings. I suggest a few changes beyond the default :
- Enable PAE
- Enable VT
- Enable nested paging
- Set CPU to 2 (or more if you can)
- Enable 2D video acceleration
- Increase video RAM to 50% of host. I use 64MB of the host 128 MB.
- Now you’re ready to boot install media.
- Under “Storage” browse for a local .ISO on the host to mount on the virtual CD drive. When finished click “Start” and you’re all set.
PerformancePoint Services – Error 5 – Unattended Service Account required
Today I came across the below error and how to fix it.
- Open “Central Admin Manage Service Applications Performance Point”
- Open “PerformancePoint Service Application Settings”
- Below “Secure Store and Unattended Service Account” specify a user name and password for PPS to use for opening data sources.
- Click OK. Close the Dashboard Designer application and come back in clean. It should work just fine now.
Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-SharePoint Products-PerformancePoint Service
Event ID: 5
Task Category: PerformancePoint Services
Level: Error
Description:
PerformancePoint Services has not been configured with a valid Unattended Service Account. The setting is located in "Manage service applications" in SharePoint Central Administration under the PerformancePoint Services management page.
SharePoint 2010 Management Shell – “Run As Admin” always
Today while watching Todd Klindt’s webcast with Idera, a cool trick was shared to avoid having to always right click and run as administrator. You simply need to right click the icon you have, click the “Advanced” button, and check the “Run as administrator” box. This will keep the setting permanently to make it easier to use.
Since we’ll probably be in Powershell every single day it’s a good trick to know about.
Don’t Delay – PreUpgradeCheck Today!
More than 2010 upgrade readiness, this tool is a one stop 2007 best practices analyzer. Most 2007 farms have dozens of small customizations. Get started today because it will require time to take inventory and review the output. The results help build a deep awareness of your system configs. This command is read-only and safe to run in production any time, even during the work day.
So go ahead, RDP over and run “STSADM –O PREUPGRADECHECK” now!
- Joel – 5 Reasons SharePoint 2010 PreUpgradeCheck is better than Prescan
- Technet Preupgradecheck: Stsadm operation (Office SharePoint Server)
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!
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
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
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.
Patching SharePoint 2010 (14.0.5114.5000)
Today I am updating my virtual machine with the 5 patches I found available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff800847.aspx. 7 are listed, 1 was Japanese, and for 1 was not apparent how to download. So I ended up with 5 I could apply. When all was finished I went from product version 14.0.4762.1000 up to 14.0.5114.5000 hoping I will see improved performance and fewer bugs. Overall this felt identical to the MOSS 2007 patching process, however there is now a percent complete given on step 9 of 10. Subtle but helpful.
Steps Taken:
- Download all EXE to C:SP2010 Hotfixes
- Run SPF (KB 2028568) first
- Reboot and Run SP config wizard
- Run Office (KB 2204024)
- Run SP config wizard
- Run Office (KB 2124512)
- Run SP config wizard
- Run Office (KB 2281364)
- Run SP config wizard
- Run Office (KB 983497)
- Run SP config wizard
Files Downloaded:
- office-kb2124512-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
- office-kb2204024-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
- office-kb2281364-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
- office-kb983497-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
- spf-kb2028568-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
Toggle Developer Dashboard
Here are the commands to change the global developer dashboard setting in SharePoint 2010 and 2013.
OnDemand Mode:
$sp2010 = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService.DeveloperDashboardSettings; $sp2010.DisplayLevel = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPDeveloperDashboardLevel]::OnDemand; $sp2010.RequiredPermissions = 'ManageWeb'; #EmptyMask = all users. ManageWeb = full control or higher. $sp2010.TraceEnabled = $true; $sp2010.Update();
On Mode:
$sp2010 = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService.DeveloperDashboardSettings; $sp2010.DisplayLevel = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPDeveloperDashboardLevel]::On; $sp2010.RequiredPermissions = 'ManageWeb'; #EmptyMask = all users. ManageWeb = full control or higher. $sp2010.TraceEnabled = $true; $sp2010.Update();
Off Mode:
$sp2010 = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService.DeveloperDashboardSettings; $sp2010.DisplayLevel = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPDeveloperDashboardLevel]::Off; $sp2010.Update();
STSADM command line:
stsadm -o setproperty -pn developer-dashboard -pv ondemand stsadm -o setproperty -pn developer-dashboard -pv on stsadm -o setproperty -pn developer-dashboard -pv off
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