SharePoint Best Practices
Guidelines and Recommendations
for a Successful Deployment
Hank Farlow
Senior Consultant
SharePoint Technical Lead
Advanced Logic Industries (ALI)
hfarlow@ali-inc.com
Who is Hank Farlow?
•
•
•
•
SharePoint lead at ALI
25 years experience in the computer/software industry
15 years (total) at Microsoft
8+ years working with SharePoint, SQL Server and
Windows enterprise platform
SharePoint Best Practices: Architecture
Fundamentals
Core Logical Architecture
Physical Architecture
Designing Information Architecture
Avoid Common Mistakes
Review materials (BP Book, Governance
/Deployment Checklist, Tools)
Microsoft Confidential
WSS 3.0 and SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS)
Web Forms, Excel
Services, BDC
Doc Management,
Web Content
Management,
Search, & Portals
Platform &
Collaboration
(blogs & wikis)
SharePoint
Server 2007
Enterprise
SharePoint
Server 2007
Standard
Windows
SharePoint
Services 3.0
Microsoft Confidential
MOSS
For Internet Sites
& Enterprise Intranet
Intranet/Extranet
Standard
Workgroup/Team
Sites
IIS Web Sites = IIS Virtual Servers = Web Applications
IIS
WSS 2.0 / SPS 2003
Web Sites
Virtual Servers
Physical Server
Web Application(s)
Top Level Site(s)
Site Collections
Site(s)
Site Collection
WSS 3.0 /
SharePoint Server
Web Applications
Consistency in Hierarchy
WSS 3.0
Web Applications
Site Collections
Sites
Templates & Features
MOSS 2007
Web Applications
Site Collections
Sites
Templates & Features
Microsoft Confidential
Servers Have Services and Roles
Servers have Roles
Web Front End (WFE)
Query
Calculation (Excel)
Index
(Non SharePoint) Database Server
Simplified Really Just 3 Roles
WFE/Query – 99%
Index (App Tier)
SQL
Note: Never put Query and Index on same server if there is another Query
server!
Microsoft Confidential
32 bit or 64bit binaries (Today)
SharePoint 2010 requires 2008 64bit & 64bit SQL 2005
or 2008
Install
Basic NOT RECOMMENDED except for POC
Advanced – Allows you to connect to SQL
WFE only vs. Full install
Language Packs (Downloads on the Web)
WSS
MOSS
Ifilter packs (Office provided, installable such as PDF)
Microsoft Confidential
WFE/
Query
All SP Roles
“All in
One”
WFE/Q
uery
Index
SQL
SQL
SQL
POC
Good Start
Microsoft Confidential
Ideal
Picking Your Topology
Performance
10 Server Farm (Large)
User requests
Load balances web
front end servers
5 Server Farm (Medium)
User requests
Index Query
Query Calc +
Application
servers
Web front ends
+ application(s)
2 Clustered SQL server
Application(s)
Clustered SQL server
3 Server Farm (Small)
User requests
Each load-balanced server
includes:
• Web front end
• Applications
Dedicated SQL server
Single Server
User Requests
One Server which contains:
• Web front end
• Application
• Database
Availability
Usage
# Users
Solution (The answer before the question)
Authentication Type (Anonymous vs. AD)
Logging/auditing/monitoring
Business & Tech Requirements
Client & Server Performance Requirements
SLAs (Uptime/High Availability Req.)
WAN Considerations (Multi farm)
Data
GBs/TBs of data
Total # Files and Items
Consider using the capacity planning tool
Microsoft Confidential
You MUST learn the difference between site and site
collection despite the confusion.
Site = Web = Spweb aka subweb
STSADM = Web
UI=site
Site Collection = SpSite
STSADM = Site
Central Admin = Site
UI= Site Collection
Microsoft Confidential
Defaults have Faults
Server
List and Site
Collection
Database
• Basic Install (BAD!)
• All On C Drive
• No Backup
• Restore Complexity
• All One site collection
• Not Configured: Quota, Expiration, Auditing, Versions,
Workflows, Meta Data capture
• All items view default (flat)
• One database (content)
• Db config (log and db location)
• No maintenance plan
When Planning, understand the hierarchical structure
* Farm
Internet, Extranet, Intranet
Servers
Web Front End, APP, SQL
* Web Applications
Central Admin, SSP Admin, Content
Databases
Content, Config, SSP, Search
* Site Collections
Internet, Intranet Portal, Wikis, Blogs, Team, Doc, Meeting
* Sites
Wikis, Blogs, Team, Doc, Meeting Workspaces
Lists
Doc Lib, Pages, Events, Discussions, Surveys, etc…
Items
Files, calendar items, contacts, customers, images, custom
SharePoint Server Logical Model
Permanent
Structured
SharePoint Server Sites
Central
Portal
Permanent Central Portal
Web Application
Division
Portals
Ad Hoc
WSS Site
Templates
SharePoint
Server
Sites
Groups & Teams
Permanent Division Portals
Web Applications
or Site Collections
Semi Structured
Consolidation on 1 to 3
Web Applications
Projects & Workspaces
My Sites
1 Web App per
Region
Unit
TechNet Max
Hank’s Guideline
Hank’s MAX
Web Apps per Farm
8
5 Content Webapps with
8GB RAM
16 app pools
100 web apps w/
32GB RAM, 64 bit
Databases per
WebApp
-
100 per SQL server
300 with 32GB RAM,
64 bit
Site Collection per
Web App
50,000
100,0000
-
Size per content
database
-
100GB
1 TB with serious list
and site optimization
(advanced only)
Size per Site
Collection
-
15GB in multi-tenant DB
100GB in dedicated DB
25GB in multi
1TB in dedicated Db
Sites in Site
2000
100
500
Items per List
2000 items per
view
Use Custom Views and
search UI for large lists
It’s pain tolerance
Operations and IT Failures
Server
Information
Architecture
Network
Operational
Backup/Restore
• Poor configuration (Not planned - defaults)
• Insufficient RAM and Disk allocation
• Poor choice of Site vs. Site Collection Structure
• Flat Lists
• One Content Database
• Poor Network between WFEs and SQL
• No plan for WAN (User complaints without answers)
• No Backup
• Emergency: No Restore plan or steps
• Disaster Recovery – More like Disaster
Adhoc
• http://blogs
• 100MB
• Self Service
• 1 year if not
used
• No confidential
IP
Groups & Teams
• http://docs
• 500MB
• Self Service
• 6 months auto
delete
• Excluded from
search
Blogs & Wikis
Doc Workspace
WSS Governance Model
• http://team
• 5GB-15GB
• Help Desk
provisioned
• Listed in Site
List
• Archived on
Demand
• Confidential
OK
Structured
SharePoint Server Intranet Governance Model
Corporate
Business Taxonomy
With Divisional
Stakeholders
Central
Portal
Permanent Central Portal
Enterprise Search
Enterprise Browse
Division
Portals
Ad Hoc Self
Service
w/ Life Cycle
Management
Per
User
Groups & Teams
Permanent Division Portals
Business Process Management
Division News
Group Reporting & Scorecards
Semi Structured
Group, Team, Project
Sites and Workspaces
Projects & Workspaces
My Sites
Blogs, bios,
Social networking
SharePoint Server Intranet Governance Model
Corporate
Business Taxonomy
With Divisional
Stakeholders
MSW
http://office
Ad Hoc Self
Service
w/ Life Cycle
Management
Per
User
http://sharepoint
http://my
Permanent Central Portal
Enterprise Search
Enterprise Browse
Permanent Division Portals
Business Process Management
Division News
Group Reporting & Scorecards
Semi Structured
Group, Team, Project
Sites and Workspaces
Blogs, bios,
Social networking
Path to Success
Search & Browse
Site
Provisioning
Branding & Consistency
• Security
User Experience
• Training
• Validation
Information
Architecture
• Master Pages
• Layouts
• Designers
• Ownership
• Quotas
• Easy to find
• Enterprise Wide Strategies
• Content Types
How Do I Get the Business Involved?
Governance Checklist
SharePoint Best Practices
Guidelines and Recommendations
for a Successful Deployment
Wrap Up
Sample Tools
Governance Plan Review
Deployment Checklist Review
Q&A