.lyman

So the year 2012 is the year of trying new things for me. So far I’ve dabbled in Visual Studio LightSwitch. My next task, SharePoint.

I’ve used SharePoint in the past for collaborating and sharing of Office documents (as an alternative to SkyDrive). Why not try to set it up, myself?

Thanks to the wonderful technology that is virtual machines, I fire up a copy of Windows Server 2008 and drop in SharePoint 2010.

Installing SharePoint wasn’t too difficult. After loading the disc, you must install some prerequisite updates and add ons in order for SharePoint to work properly (or even install in the first place). My first attempt at this was a failure, and so was my second. At first I didn’t know why. I then realized that Windows Update never ran. If you, too, have problems with the prerequisites, run Windows Update, let the machine restart, and try it again.

Once the prerequisites were done, the installation process of SharePoint was pretty smooth, like most other Microsoft Office-type products. After completion, it’s time to configure SharePoint. Launching the config wizard will allow it to create its necessary configurations including databases and what not. Be prepared for this to take several minutes: mine took almost ten.

Once it’s done, it will ask you to navigate to the SharePoint homepage. When asked for your credentials, enter your Server username and password. If correct, you will be presented with this screen:

Tinkering Behind the Scenes: SharePoint Central Administration

This is where all the good stuff goes down. I accessed it via port 39574 on my server. Yours might be different. When in doubt, follow the Central Administration entry on your Start Menu of your Server.

Application Management

This section pertains to the control of Web Applications, Site Collections (including quotes, creating and deleting, and configuring self-service site collections), Service Applications, and Databases.

System Settings

This is where the juicy settings typically lie. Here you can configure multiple servers if you have a SharePoint Farm, configure email and SMS settings, and get down and dirty with farm management including alternate access settings and features.

Monitoring

Review the health of your server overall including possible problems and solutions, check jobs, and work with reporting including logs, configuring diagnostics, and data collection.

Backup and Restore

This is where all your backups and restorations take place. This includes backing up your entire farm, as well as even a granular backup for a specific site collection.

I’ll let you discover the rest for yourself. No sense in giving it all away.

In Conclusion

Setting up a SharePoint server can be rather easy if you know something about how Windows Server works. It doesn’t have to be much, either. Once you have it installed, spend some time tweaking the settings and getting to know SharePoint for what it is, a great collaboration suite that allows you to work with clients and co-workers all over the world, share information, and even plan events and projects, all from your Web browser.

Until next time!