Examples of SharePoint Administrative Tasks (part 3) - Using Windows PowerShell During the Upgrade Process

3. Using Windows PowerShell During the Upgrade Process

The following sections provide information about some Windows PowerShell commands you might find useful during an upgrade.

3.1. Preparing for an Upgrade

After installing SharePoint 2010 and before upgrading, you can use the Test-SPContentDatabase cmdlet to check your SharePoint Server 2007 databases for current or potential issues, such as orphan data, missing site definitions, missing features, or missing assemblies. Checking for these issues does not disrupt your SharePoint installation, and this cmdlet can also test the status of SharePoint 2010 databases, which can assist you in maintaining the continued health of your environment. The following example shows the command and its sample output.

Test-SPContentDatabase -name W_intranet -WebApplication http://www.contoso.msft

					  

Error           : True
UpgradeBlocking : False
Message         : Database [W_intranet] contains a site (Id = [46ad6d70-9a5c-4d
                  e0-8daa-0f73f2466a6a], Url = [/]) whose id is already associa
                  ted with a different database (Id = [6987d2d8-6291-4ead-9eb0-
                  aefe7097a58e], name = [W_Intranet]) in the site map. Consider
                  deleting one of these sites which have conflicting ids.
Remedy          : The orphaned sites could cause upgrade failures. Try detach a
                  nd reattach the database which contains the orphaned sites. R
                  estart upgrade if necessary.
Category        : SiteOrphan
Error           : True
UpgradeBlocking : False
Message         : Database [W_intranet] contains a site (Id = [46ad6d70-9a5c-4d
                  e0-8daa-0f73f2466a6a], Url = [/]) whose url is already used b
                  y a different site, in database (Id = [6063e77c-991f-4c4b-b3a
                  c-68cb62e66502], name = [w_Internet]), in the same web applic
                  ation. Consider deleting one of the sites which have conflict
                  ing urls.
Remedy          : The orphaned sites could cause upgrade failures. Try detach a
                  nd reattach the database which contains the orphaned sites. R
                  estart upgrade if necessary.

					  

The upgrade process is divided into two components, the content database upgrade and the visual upgrade. By separating these two components, your SharePoint team can decide to upgrade the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Web application without users noticing the change, because their sites will maintain the old look and feel. Using the browser, they can preview what their site looks like with the new SharePoint 2010 look and feel and then decide when they permanently want to switch to the visual upgrade. After they make the switch, the browser will not allow them to switch back to the SharePoint Server 2007 look and feel.

The Set-SPWeb cmdlet does not have any parameter to help with this task; you will need to use the properties of the SPWeb object to complete this task. Type the following commands if you want to switch sites back to the old look and feel.

Start-SPAssignment -Global
$web = Get-SPWeb http://teams ;
$web.UIVersion = 3;
$web.UIVersionConfigurationEnabled = $true;
$web.Update();
Stop-SPAssignment

Note:

Previously in this article, you created variables to store values and objects. Variable names are prefixed with the dollar sign, $. In the sample code shown here, you will see $true used. This, together with a number of other keywords that look like variables, is an example of a special variable. A special variable should be treated as a reserved word that you cannot use in your scripts to store values or object. The special variable $true represents the value True, $false represents False, $null$_ also has been used in this article and contains the current pipeline object. It is used in script blocks, filters, and the Where cmdlet. represents null, and

After you run these commands, the website will revert to the SharePoint Server 2007 look and feel. The Site Actions button will be in the upper-right corner, for example, instead of in the upper-left corner. The Site Actions menu will have the Visual Upgrade option available, although the Visual Upgrade option at the site collection level may not be enabled. To enable the Visual Upgrade option at the site collection level, use the following commands.

$site = Get-SPSite http://teams
$site.UIVersionConfigurationEnabled = $true

When updating the properties of the SPSite object, there is no update method; the changes to the SPSite properties take effect immediately. You could type the following line as an alternative to the previous two lines of commands.

(Get-SPSite http://teams).UIVersionConfigurationEnabled = $false

To reset all “team” websites within a site collection back to the SharePoint Server 2007 look and feel, use the following command.

PS C:\Users\zzspfarm> Get-SPsite http://teams |
>> Get-SPWeb -Filter {$_.Template -eq "STS#0}|
>> ForEach-Object {
>> $_.UIVersion =3;
>> $_.UIVersionConfigurationEnabled = $false;
>> $_.Update();
>> }
>><ENTER>

Note:

These commands also can be run on a site or site collection that has not been upgraded—that is, on a site that was created as a version 4 site, thereby making a SharePoint 2010 site look like a SharePoint 2007 site.