Windows Server 2008 R2 : Installing Windows SharePoint Services (part 2)

Reviewing Installed Software and Databases After the Installation

Now that the software is installed, many administrators want to get a better sense of what software was actually installed, and where the WSS 3.0 databases “live.” Reviewing the Programs and Features tool is helpful as a starting point. Installing SQL Server Management Studio Express is a helpful step for more curious administrators as it allows the administrator to see the databases that were installed and delve more into the configuration settings of the version of SQL Server that was installed.

Follow these steps to review Programs and Features:

The version of SQL Server that is installed with the Basic installation of WSS 3.0 is the SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (also known as SSEE) and no management tools are provided with it. A helpful step to take at this point is to download and install the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express tools by completing the following steps:

1.	Visit the following page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=en
2.	Scroll down the page and select either the 32- or 64-bit version of the application as appropriate. Click the Download button, and click Run.
3.	The wizard will open. Click Next.
4.	Accept the license agreement and click Next.
5.	Enter your name and company information and click Next.
6.	Click Next to accept the default feature selection and installation path.
7.	Click Install to complete the installation.
8.	Once the installation has completed, click Finish to close the wizard.
9.	Click the Start button, click All Programs, and now there will be a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 entry. Click that entry and then select SQL Server Management Studio Express.
10.	From the Connect to Server window, enter the following: \\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query and click Connect.
11.	The Management Studio Express will then connect to the WSS 3.0 databases, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. SQL Server Management Studio Express.
12.	Right-click the top-level node in the left pane and click Properties to see more information about the installation, including the location of the root directory, which actually contains the database files. The default root directory is C:\Windows\SYSMSI\SSEE\MSSQL.2005\MSSQL. Navigate to this directory and the .mdf and .ldf files will be visible.

An experienced SQL administrator can delve more into the features of the Management Studio Express, but less-experienced administrators should tread lightly as changes made in the Management Studio Express tool can affect WSS 3.0 performance and can cause failures in the installation.

Using the Central Administration Console to Complete the Installation

The Central Administration console is designed to make it easy for a SharePoint administrator to finish the configuration of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 environment and to perform administrative tasks outside of the user interface provided in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site collections. The tool offers a Home page, as well as two tabs—Operations and Application Management—which provide access to tools that help configure features such as services, security, logging and reporting, backup and restore, site management, workflow management, and external connections. This section walks through some of the basic tasks needed to finish the WSS 3.0 installation.

Configure Incoming E-Mail Settings

To enable incoming email, the SMTP service needs to be installed. Installing the SMTP service is only required if the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 sites need to be enabled to receive incoming email. This is generally considered to be a more advanced feature, as a certain amount of configuration is required, and both site end users will need to understand that new email addresses are needed and then understand what the results are. Fully configuring incoming email in WSS 3.0 typically involves coordination with the Exchange or email administrator, so the following covers the basic steps only.

To install the SMTP service, follow these steps:

1.	Click the Start button, then click All Programs, Administrative Tools, Server Manager.
2.	Click on the Features node in the Server Manager pane. Click on Add Features in the Features Summary pane.
3.	Click on the box next to SMTP Server, and the Add Features Wizard window opens clarifying which role services and features need to be installed. Click the Add Required Role Services button. Click Next.
4.	Click Next on the page that discusses the Web Server (IIS) role, which is already installed.
5.	Click Next on the Select Role Services page.
6.	Review the installation selection on the next page, and note that ODBC Logging and SMTP Server will be installed, as shown in Figure 6, and click Install. Figure 6. Adding the SMTP feature to the server.
7.	Make sure that the installation is fully successfully, and then click Close.

Completing the Configuration for Incoming E-Mail Settings

Now that SMTP Server features have been installed, the Incoming E-Mail Settings can be configured. To finish the configuration, follow these steps:

Note that there are typically configuration steps needed on the mail server as well for this feature to work, and then individual document libraries need to be enabled for incoming emails. These steps will vary based on whether Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange Server 2007 is being used, or whether another SMTP mail server is being used.

Configure Outgoing E-Mail Settings

From the Home tab for the Central Administration console, a link for Outgoing E-Mail Settings will be visible. Outgoing email enables WSS 3.0 lists and libraries to send alerts to users, and to send workflow forms and perform other mail-based communications when needed. This is a simpler configuration than incoming emails and is generally considered a “must-have” for WSS 3.0 testing and production configurations.

Follow these steps to configure outgoing emails:

Once this is complete, the administrator should test to make sure that alerts are functional by visiting a document library, creating an alert for the library, and then performing an action that will trigger the alert. If the alert emails are not sending properly, additional troubleshooting will be required.

Exploring the Default Site Collection

When Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is installed, an empty top-level site is created, as seen in Figure 35.3. Access this site by opening a browser on the server or from a workstation with access to the server and entering the URL you saw after completing the basic installation (typically the FQDN of the server). Enter the username and password of the account that was used to configure Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and you should see a page identical to the one shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Default top-level site in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.

The main components of this site are as follows:

• Current user— In the upper-right corner, the identity of the currently logged-on user is listed. Clicking this link opens a menu that gives options such as My Settings, Sign In as Different User, Request Access, and Personalize This Page.

• Help icon— You can click the question mark icon to gain access to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Help and how-to information. This information is actually quite useful and is a good place to start when getting familiar with WSS 3.0.

• Drop-down search options— The drop-down menu next to the search field offers only the option to search This Site, but depending on the context will offer other choices, such as searching only a specific document library.

• Quick Launch area— On the left side of the page is the Quick Launch area, which by default lists the option to View All Site Content, or access Documents, Lists, Discussions, Sites, People and Groups, and the Recycle Bin.

• Web parts— To the right of the Quick Launch area are several web parts, including Announcements, Calendar, the Windows SharePoint Services logo, and Links. If the titles of Announcements, Calendar, or Links are clicked, the list it is connected to opens, allowing more interaction with the data. For example, new items can be created, existing ones edited, alerts set, workflows started, and other actions.

• Site actions— This menu is only available to users who have a certain level of privileges on the site, and allows access to Create, Edit Page, and Site Settings options.

It is important for a future Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 administrator to understand these basic elements and features of the standard team site, so these will be reviewed in more detail in the following sections.

By clicking on the View All Site Content link at the top of the Quick Launch area on the left side of the screen, the full contents of the current site that the logged-in user has access to will be revealed. An example of this is shown in Figure 35.8. The libraries, lists, and subsites, if any, are shown in this view. This is a great place to check when visiting a new site to see which lists, libraries and subsites are available for the current user to access. As shown in Figure 8, the name of the list or library is shown, along with a description of the purpose and/or content of the list or library, how many items are stored in it, and the last modified date. With this information, it is very easy to tell how active the site is, the number of documents or list items available, and the most recently modified list and libraries. Clicking on the title of the list or library will open it so the contents can be viewed, and if your account has the appropriate privileges, new items can be added or existing items can be modified.

Figure 8. All Site Content page.

The Create link is provided for users with appropriate privileges on the site, and it gives access to the create.aspx page, as shown in Figure 9. The items that can be created are divided into the following groups: Libraries, Communications, Tracking, Custom Lists, and Web Pages. Note that the very last item under the Web Pages header is Sites and Workspaces, which allows you to pick a site or workspace template from the available templates.

Figure 9. The Create page.