Event: SharePoint Saturday Boston 2010

SharePoint Saturday Boston, 2010 (#3)


When:
Saturday, September 25th, 2010


Where:
Microsoft Corporation

201 Jones Road

6th Floor

Waltham, MA 02451

Call for Speakers:

http://www.sharepointsaturday.org/boston/Pages/speakers.aspx/

Three SQL Server Settings for SharePoint Environments: Autogrowth Option, Auto Shrink Option, Shrink Database Task

As I was tuning a SharePoint environment today, I thought it would be a good opportunity to post a brief message about three SQL Server settings: Autogrowth, Auto Shrink, and the Shrink Database Task.

1. Autogrowth - Fixed Amount:

This setting applies to data files (.mdf) and transaction log files (.ldf). Autogrowth allows or prevents SQL Server from automatically increasing the size of the files when the need arises. In SharePoint environments, it is best to do capacity planning in advance and set the intial database sizes appropriately. Then, set the Autogrowth value for both the data files and the log files to a fixed amount. This ensures that the files grow in consistent increments. The fixed amount should be somewhat substantial, relative to the size of the database. This ensures that the growth does not occur too frequently.



2. Auto Shrink - Turn it Off:

Auto Shrink is an option that allows or prevents SQL Server from automatically reducing the size of database files. By default, the SQL Server Model database has the Auto Shrink option off. As Paul Randal points out, enabling Auto Shrink can lead to Auto-Grow, Auto-Shrink loops as well as database fragmentation, and other performance issues (Randal, 2007). As a general rule of thumb for most SharePoint environments, this option should remain off for system and content databases.




3. Shrink Database Task - Don't Schedule It:

The Shrink Database Task is an available Maintenance Plan Task. If set, this operation will reduce the size of a database according to a schedule, leaving a specified amount of free space. As with the Auto Shrink option, the Shrink Database Task leads to performance issues and is not recommend in SharePoint environments.

So, if an existing SharePoint environment does have a scheduled Shrink Database Task, then a suggested action would be to remove the Shrink Database Task and then plan to monitor and manage database size using a manual approach. When determining a plan for managing database size, it is important to keep Database Recovery Models in mind.

Reference

Randal, P. (August, 2008). Top Tips for Effective Database Maintenance. Retrieved July 30, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.08.database.aspx?pr=blog.

Randal, P. (March, 2007). Turn AUTO_SHRINK off!! Retrieved July 30, 2010 from http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlserverstorageengine/archive/2007/03/28/turn-auto-shrink-off.aspx.

Why Information Silos Are So Persistent

Information silos are disparate entities that exist as rogue systems, utilities, spreadsheets and Access databases. Actually, an information silo might be anything that is not centrally managed or does not conform to existing design patterns. Silos may or may not be considered an official part of the enterprise...awareness about the silo doesn't change its definition.

Most of the time, these tools were developed to fill a gap. A gap between what the enterprise offers and what certain areas of the business actually need to function. They serve a purpose; and in many cases they are significant to the processes that they support.

Considering where technology is today, why are are information silos so persistent, more prevalent than ever? Why can't IT just build something into the enterprise architecture?

One reason (or cause) is because of the technology, which has become easier to work with and more accessible to people inside and outside of IT Departments. A person of any role can go on the Internet and figure out how to set up an Access database. In many cases, this is much easier than approaching a centralized IT department with their requirements. The Internet isn't going to say "no." By circumventing IT, nobody asks for funding, tries to minimize or question the need, or compromise the intention in any way. But, if the request did go to the IT department might, there might be resistance.

Secondly, a rogue solution is much less risky for a business person in terms of exposure and process transparency. By setting up a tool of their own, a business person may struggle a bit with configuration, but at no point is their process going to be visible to other people for criticism. If the person was to bring their requirements to the table and ask for help, then a lot of questions might be asked, putting guarded knowledge at risk. Unfortunately, for protective types, this means that the process would, in fact, become more transparent. The original process owner would become a "stakeholder" with influence rather than an "owner" with full control.

Beyond that, information silos also exist when an organization's methodologies and practices for providing holistic solutions are not mature enough to truly help. For example, IT organizations which are disorganized and reactive, might not be capable of helping the business person with their needs. There's no process, no authority, no plan to handle this sort of thing.

All of these situations challenge a centralized Information Management strategy.

General Business Requirements vs. Solution Requirements

What came first, the solution or the need? Let's hope the need, but we all know that is not always (often not) the case. With the great technologies available to us today, rapid application development enables us to solve problems. But, does the ease of development actually create a new set of problems? Yes, it does.

When the software development process is lengthy and drawn out, it forces many planning activities such as requirements analysis, design specifications, and planning. Not doing these things leads to costly adjustments later. The lengthy process also forces organizations to really think about what solutions they are developing and how these solutions fit into the big picture. We've got it pretty easy today. With portals, collaboration, search, BI, content management, and workflow platforms today, some times doing it "wrong", undoing it, and doing it again is actually less expensive than the cost of planning and documenting.

Yes, I am familiar with the twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto (Agile Alliance, 2001). I like agile development when it follows some organized processes and produces artifacts that can be used for reference later. You still need documentation for future development, disaster recovery, and repair.

However, what I don't like is "premature solutioning" or the practice of directly jumping from a problem to a solution design without any sort of further questioning, analysis, thought, or sanity checks. When you encounter a problem, and immediately form a solution and begin developing it, a lot is lost. You are not considering what other stakeholder needs are, what other colleagues are already working on, and how this "fly by the seat of your pants" solution actually fits in (or doesn't) into your overall information architecture.

Working with my colleagues, we recently began formalizing our thoughts around the solutioning process. One of the first roadblocks we encountered had to do with semantics. We began observing that our push for "requirements" was being misunderstood. When a problem-solution situation arose, we would explain that we needed to analyze requirements. The response to this typically included design specifications. We would then stop and say, no, we don't want detailed design specifications, what we want is to understand the problem better and understand how it impacts other people, so we can create a solution that will fit into our information architecture in a way that adds value and doesn't undermine anything else we are doing.

After a few more of these scenarios we decided that we had to make others aware of our solutioning process and how we think, so that everybody would be able to communicate with each other better. The first thing we did was make a distinction between the types of requirements that we would discuss in the course of solutioning.


We decided on the following:

General Business Requirements - Facts and opinions that help understand the problem better. These are not design specifications and do not explain a solution. Instead, this information explains what the business needs are.

Solution Requirements - Facts and opinions that define how a solution is supposed to look, feel, or act. This information directly dictates the design specifications.


So, now when a new request arises, we start by gathering "general business requirements." We then consult with stakeholders, policies, procedures, standards, goals, etc. and analyze the information. Once we have all the facts, we begin to design a solution. At that time, we ask stakeholders to help us define the "solution requirements." The result of the latter activity is a design specifications document. Next, we schedule and plan the development activities and proceed from there.


Reference

Agile Alliance (2001). Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html.

SharePoint 4.0: Summary Links Data Column Type

In SharePoint, there is a column type called, "Summary Links Data." Microsoft desribes this column type as "Columns that represent summary links for a page. Summary Links include a title, description, image, and URL and are used on publishing pages to present grouped links by using a set of shared styles" (Microsoft, 2010).

This column type is brilliant in theory, but unfortunately they don't appear to work as expected. Here is my assessment of the Summary Links Data column type.


In SharePoint 2010, if I add a Summary Links Data column to document library, then add a new document, the new or edit document properties page looks correct. The Summary Links Data column is represented by an editable summary links control.

However, after the links have been added and the document uploaded, you return to the document properties using the "View Properties" page. The result of this is that the links are not visible. Huh?


OK, so let's try a custom list. Added the column to a custom list. Adding or editing an item results in a non-editable field. So, the Summary Data List story just got even worse in custom lists...

Reference

Microsoft (2010). Create a site column. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/create-a-site-column-HA010177759.aspx.

Site Columns: SharePoint 2010 vs. SharePoint 2007

When comparing the "create site column" screen of SharePoint 2010 versus the one in SharePoint 2007, the features are mostly similar except for three enhancements in 2010. These include:

1. Column types for Rich Media and Managed Metadata.
2. "Enforce unique values."
3. Column validation.

(Microsoft, 2010)


During the past few years, I do remember occasions when I was "wishing" for the ability to apply unique permissions at the site column or content type level, but these abilities are not something available in SharePoint 2010.

I imagine field level or content type security would require a more dynamic design at the list and library level, since the list and libraries still work off the static template model, storing their own column definitions in XML as they were defined at the time of list or library creation, and maintaining their own security settings. This is evident when you delete a site column that is being used in a list or library. The site column is removed from the site column gallery, but a local instance of it still remains on the list or library.

In order for field level or content type security to be possible in SharePoint, each site column and local column definition would need to be expanded to include a security definition. List and library views would also need to become more security aware, rendering different columns based on varying security contexts. So, pushing down unique site column or content type security is more than the platform can handle at this time.


Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010



Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Reference

Microsoft (2010). Create a site column. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/create-a-site-column-HA010177759.aspx.

Microsoft (2010). Introduction to Columns. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms450825.aspx.

Fiddler

A gentleman named Eric Lawrence has developed a very useful Web debugging tool named, Fiddler. The Fiddler Web site is http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/version.asp. I've used this tool recently to pinpoint performance issues, security issues, and authentication issues.

"Fiddler is an HTTP debugging proxy written by Eric Lawrence of Microsoft.[1] It seamlessly captures HTTP traffic and logs it for the user to review.[4] It can also be used to "fiddle" with HTTP traffic as it is being sent.[3] By default, traffic from Microsoft's WinINET HTTP(S) stack is automatically directed through Fiddler at runtime, but any browser or application can be configured to route traffic through Fiddler.

The new version, known as Fiddler2, offers support for interception and tampering with HTTPS traffic." (Wikipedia, 2010)

To install Fiddler, follow these steps:

1. Download Fiddler.
2. Run the setup.exe.


To run a trace, follow these steps:

1. Open Fiddler (Start > All Programs > Fiddler2).
2. Begin a trace (File > Capture Traffic).
3. Launch Internet Explorer and produce the activity you would like to trace.
4. Stop the trace (File > uncheck Capture Traffic).
5. Save the trace file (File > Save > All Sessions).
6. Now, you are able to analyze the activity and pinpoint issues. You may also consider comparing the Fiddler trace to the Application Event log from the client and server machines.

Reference

Lawrence, E. (2010). Fiddler2 - Installation Information. Retrieved July 20, 2010 from http://www.fiddler2.com/fiddler2/version.asp.

Wikipedia (2010). Fiddler (software). Retrieved July 20, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_(software).

Microsoft Certifications for SharePoint 2010

For the 2010 generation, the Microsoft SharePoint certifications tracks have been enhanced. Below is a breakout of the certifications available.


Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): SharePoint Administrator 2010

70-668 PRO: SharePoint Server 2010, Administrator
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Exam.aspx?ID=70-668

70-667 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Exam.aspx?ID=70-667


Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD): SharePoint Developer 2010

70-576 PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Exam.aspx?ID=70-576

70-573 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/Exam.aspx?ID=70-573


Microsoft Certified Master program (MCM)
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/architect.aspx


Microsoft Certified Architect certification (MCA)
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/master.aspx#tab2



Reference

Microsoft (2010). Microsoft SharePoint – Training Portal. Retrieved July 21, 2010 from http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/sharepoint.aspx.

Prometric (2010). Microsoft Certifications. Retrieved July 21, 2010 from http://www.prometric.com/Microsoft/default.htm.

Connected Lookup on Codeplex

It is called many names; Connected Lookup, Cascading Dropdowns, Dependencies, etc. Whatever the nomenclature, the requirement to have one choice column drive the choices in a another choice drop down is an extremely common requirement in SharePoint applications.

There is a Codeplex project that I discovered today, for WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007. I've pretty much halted future development on MOSS 2007 at this point but I thought I'd post the link regardless.

Reference

Codeplex (2010). SharePoint Connected Lookup. Retrieved July 12, 2010 from http://cl.codeplex.com/.

Link: Process Monitor

Microsoft offers Process Monitor as a free download. In short, this tool helps capture detailed events and isolate issues. I recently used Process Monitor when I encountered a performance issue with one of my portals; the default.aspx page was taking a long time to save. Process Monitor helped me isolate the issue and determine that the cause was a buffer overflow.

Reference

Microsoft (2010). Windows Sysinternals, Process Monitor v2.91. Retrieved July 6, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

SharePoint Datasheet View, Office 2010 Compatibility

When considering when to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 on your client machine(s), there are many considerations, one of those being the level of compatibility of between the Office Suite and SharePoint Server 2010 and/or SharePoint Server 2007.

As it stands, Microsoft Office 2010 Standard Edition lacks many key compatibility features with SharePoint Server, while the Editions such as Office Professional and Office Professional Plus offer much more (Microsoft, 2010). One of the most important usability features of compatibility is the ability to manage information inside SharePoint lists and libraries is datasheet view. I know that once this feature is adopted by a user base, it is not something that can be taken away because people rely on on datasheet to manipulate data fast and easy.

Regardless of whether Office 2010 is 64-bit 0r 32-bit, the edition of office must be ABOVE STANDARD. This means that if you have Office 2010 Standard, you DO NOT have datasheet view. I cannot imagine having a SharePoint environment in which I do not have access to datasheet view, and so I would base my decision on which Office Suite to use solely on datasheet view...in other words, Office 2010 Standard is dead to me and I only care about Professional and higher from this point forward.

In the process of upgrading my primary client system to Office 2010 Professional Plus, I also had to decide between 64-bit and 32-bit. 32-bit is still recommended for maximum compatibility with add-ins and third party products, while 64-bit is intended for individuals who are working with large amounts of data (Microsoft, 2010). 32-bit is also more convenient to run. Datasheet view is automatically available to use if you have Microsoft Office 2010 (above Standard Edition) 32-bit. Datasheet view isn't automatic for 64-bit though, as evident by this error message:

Error: "The list cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons:..."

To make my life as complicated as possible, I decided to go with 64-bit. So, how is does 64-bit Office 2010 complicate the datsheet view capability? Well, I quickly learned that as of the 64-bit flavor of Office 2010 has additional requirements in order for datasheet view to be available. After installing the 64-bit Office suite (remember, must be Standard Edition or higher), you must do one of the following, in order to avoid the obnoxious pop-up error above:

A. Download and install the 2007 Office System Driver for Data Connectivity Components.

or

B. Install the 2007 SharePoint Services Support, which is available on the Microsoft Office 2007 installation media.


Reference

Microsoft (2010). 2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity Components. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7554F536-8C28-4598-9B72-EF94E038C891&displaylang=en.

Microsoft (2010). 64-bit editions of Office 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792.aspx.

Microsoft (2010). Compare server integration features between Office suites available through volume licensing. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/compare-server-integration-features-between-office-suites-available-through-volume-licensing-FX101850719.aspx.

Microsoft (2010). Compatibility Between the 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Office 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee691831(office.14).aspx.

Microsoft Office 2010: About 64-bit

As the computer industry as a whole is evolving 64-bit to the de facto standard, even for client systems, we seem to be at a cross roads with this next wave of Microsoft Office products where we still need to choose between 64-bit or 32-bit.

One important thing to be aware of is that running 64-bit AND 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office on the same operating system is not supported. Here are some links that provide information about the 64-bit version of Office 2010 as well as information about compatibility in general.

Microsoft TechNet: 64-bit editions of Office 2010

Microsoft TechNet: Application compatibility assessment and remediation for Office 2010


Reference

Microsoft (2010). 64-bit editions of Office 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681792.aspx.

Microsoft (2010). Application compatibility assessment and remediation for Office 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff394407.aspx.

SharePoint 3.0: Command for Forcing Hotfix Installation

From "%COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\bin", run this command:

psconfig.exe –cmd upgrade –inplace b2b –force


Reference

Microsoft (2010). Command-line reference for the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard (Office SharePoint Server). Retrieved June 17, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263093(office.12).aspx.

Links: Microsoft Licensing Information for SharePoint 2010

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Licensing
http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/Pages/Licensing-Details.aspx

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Licensing
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Licensing
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/licensing-R2.aspx

SharePoint 4.0: Attach Content Database to Web Application

An especially important administrative capability for disaster recovery, upgrading from SharePoint 3.0, and general administration of Web applications is the ability to attach a content database to a Web application.

Here are the steps:

1. Attach the content datbase to the SQL Server instance. If moving a content database in from a different farm, then this may require doing a SQL Server database restore. Be sure that the MDF and LDF files are created in a location which is consistent with your other content datbases.

2. Open PowerShell. With the security context of an administrator account having shell access, open PowerShell on a SharePoint 2010 server.
Start > Administrative Tools > SharePoint 2010 Management Shell

3. Test the content database.
Type the following command:
Test-SPContentDatabase -Name %ContentDbName% -WebApplication %WebApplicationName%

4. Attach the content database to SharePoint Web Application.
Type the following command:
Mount-SPContentDatabase -Name %ContentDbName% -WebApplication %WebApplicationName%

5. Verify the attached content database. Navigate to SharePoint Central Administration > Application Management > Manage Content Databases. Verify the database name, database status, and current number of site collections. If necessary, adjust the Site Collection Level Warning and Maximum Number of Site Collections settings appropriately.


Reference

Microsoft Technet (2010). Add a content database (SharePoint Server 2010). Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc825314.aspx.

Three Nice Enhancements to the Send To Functionality of SharePoint in 2010

1. Multiple connections. In 2007, you could only configure one Sent To (presumably a Records Center) location per farm. In 2010, you can configure multiple Send To Connections.

2. Turn on or off manual submission from the Send To menu. For each configured Send To connection, you can check a box to either enable or disable this location from appearing in the context menu of a document.

3. Sent To action. Last but not least, for each configured connection, you can configure the Send To action to be copy, move, or move and replace with link. If you can remember in 2007, this was a mighty gap that required some workflow trickery to make it practical. Now we have some out of box comfort.

Thoughtful Quote

"To make knowledge work productive will be the great management task of this century, just as to make manual work productive was the great management task of the last century."

- Peter Drucker, 1978

How Communication Gaps Can be Viewed as Opportunity for Business Analyst Function

I find myself analyzing things quite a bit throughout the day. Some people accuse me of thinking too much. I don't know, it is just a natural thing I do, I guess. I ponder a lot.

One thing I ponder about from time to time is the impact that words have on work, people, and communications in general. Words are very significant in my profession. Words appear everywhere. In Web portals, they are used to instruct people how to use the Web site or how to perform a function. In presentations, words are used to concisely deliver a big message, one little message at a time. A funny thing about words is how they conjure up different emotions and different meanings to different people.

So, how does all of this relate back to the theme of this blog? Well, UX topics aside, there are some interesting behavioral patterns that I recently noticed, because I had been fixated on words. Recently, I happened to be observing a debate between colleagues, regarding the best way to configure a feature of a new Learning Management System (LMS). For background, this LMS Web application is intended to deliver courses and track professional development information for employees. It happens to be a third party product.

During the course of debates I realized that there is a distinct difference between the way that the software developer interpreted the name of a software feature versus the way that a business stakeholder interpreted it, in the context of them working together on the system implementation. Both individuals were working together, exploring how the third party application works, and trying to figure out the best way to leverage the product in order to meet the business requirements.

During this adventure, the two individuals came across a product feature called "curriculum." Here is the behavior that I noticed:

The software developer evaluated and experimented with the "curriculum" feature and tried to figure out different ways to use the feature in order to meet the business requirements.

The business stakeholder, performing the same experiment, forcefully attempted to make the software behave as they understand the word "curriculum" to mean in normal business context.

The two individuals then reached a disagreement when the software developer offered various options for how the feature could be used, while the business stakeholder argued that "no, a curriculum means this and so it must only be used like this." Not only did the two disagree on what the word means in general business context, but both also disagreed on the appropriate way to approach the software configuration task.

Do you see the distinction?

The software developer views the "curriculum" not for what the label means, but for what the actual program capability is and how it interacts with other related capabilities in the system. On the other hand, the business stakeholder had a fixed idea because of the label.

What is the point of all of this? Business analysis. A business analyst function is extremely important on a Web application project. Whether this function is performed by a dedicated expert, absorbed and performed by the project manager (or other resource), there needs to be a person who can understand the business requirements while also understanding the developers' way of thinking so that these two perspectives can be united and a common goal can be met.

SharePoint 4.0: Formula for Estimating Content Database Size

Formula

((D × V) × S) + (10 KB × (L + (V × D))) = C

C = Database Size in KB
D = # Documents * 3
L = # List Items
S = Average size of documents in KB
V = Average # Versions in a Document Library (Greater than 0)


Reference

Microsoft (2010). Storage and SQL Server capacity planning and configuration. Retrieved May 13, 2010 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc298801(office.14).aspx.

Links: MSDN Ramp Up Track, SharePoint for Developers

Microsoft has a Ramp Up program on MSDN, to help facilitate learning and professional development, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/default.aspx. There are some interesting tracks, including the following ones related to SharePoint:

MSDN Ramp Up Track, SharePoint for Developers Part 1
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/dd221355.aspx

1. Introduction to Web Parts
2. Data Lists for Developers
3. Programming Event Handlers
4. Workflow in SharePoint
5. Silverlight and SharePoint
   

MSDN Ramp Up Track, SharePoint for Developers Part 2
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/rampup/dd320759.aspx

1. Page Navigation – Integrate navigation into your SharePoint application
2. Page Branding – Brand a SharePoint site to look like your existing web application
3. Web Services – Access list data using built-in web services
4. Custom Content Types – Implement behaviors from different document types
5. User Management – Manage web site users without code