SharePoint etc.

Sharepoint 2010 Anonymous Access

I recently had a task to configure anonymous access for a SharePoint 2010 portal. The process is generally quite simple. My application was using classic authentication and I followed the steps that are well illustrated here: http://www.topsharepoint.com/enable-anonymous-access-in-sharepoint-2010

However, just updating the site collection settings was not enough. In my case I had updated the css for the site style and referenced some images in that style sheet. So, to render the page, an anonymous user needed access to my style and images document libraries. However, these libraries had unique permissions so did not inherit the anonymous policies set on the site collection’s site permissions.

Luckily, when you navigate to the Site Actions –> Site Permissions link, SharePoint 2010 has a convenient link to show you uniquely secured content.

Click the link to see uniquely secured content

Then, you can navigate to the items that have unique permissions and set their anonymous access using the ribbon after clicking the link to manage permissions.

Click 'manage permissions' to set anonymous policy for uniquely secured content

After resetting these permissions, anonymous access worked like a charm.

One other note is that anonymous access only allows view access to content without further customization. This means that anonymous users cannot rank content, tag content, add content, etc. So, if you need anonymous users to have this type of access you will need to find extended solutions to the out of the box access.

January 26, 2011 Posted by danluciano | Authentication, SharePoint 2010 | Leave a comment

2011 Goals

A new year already. Seems like just yesterday I was setting my lofty goals for 2010. Last year was exciting and 2011 should be as well.

So, my goals for this year will be much as they were for last year with some additions. My role at Sogeti, USA has changed just a bit so that it is not just SharePoint focused. The role is now more generic and focused towards portal technology which will include Websphere. I am excited by this change since I will be able to learn more about Websphere so I can better understand how it compares to the SharePoint platform. I won’t be ignoring Sharepoint either. So, without further ado, here are my main goals for 2011:

Learn about Websphere portal technology
Continue SharePoint 2010 and 2007 skill growth
Obtain PMP certification
Support H-SPUG and SPSHOU as a volunteer/speaker
Blog more and answer more questions on forums
Provide excellent consulting services to my clients by improving ROI on tech investments

I also have some non-professional goals including:

Vacation in a new location
Eat healthier and excercise more
Pick and complete one home improvement project from the list

I wish everyone luck with their personal goals as well. I know how difficult it can be to meet some of the expectations we put on ourselves, but the rewards generally are worth the effort. Here’s to a great 2011.

January 9, 2011 Posted by danluciano | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

SharePoint 2010 User Profile Sync Error Fixed

Last night, I decided to play on a real server installation of SharePoint 2010 rather than the Win7 image I’ve been using for the past several months. I had a Hyper-V image I had installed and configured, but had to reinstall a Server 2008 image with the Hyper-V role to load it up. Of course, after loading my Hyper-V image, it had to be activated. I did this, but the net effect was that one of the Forefront services was stopped and I was receiving a MOSS MA error when trying to configure my existing AD sync job on the server.

After some reading on the social forums, I saw some horrifying posts about manually starting the Forefront service. I know you should never do this but luckily there were also comments stating the correct way to restart the service. You do this from SharePoint Central Admin by managing services on the server. In my case, the User Profile Synchronization Service was reported as Started. So, I stopped the service and then restarted the service by resupplying the service credentials. After several minutes, both Forefront services had restarted and User Profile Sync service showed that it had started again.

Now, I needed to update my AD connection configuration. I attempted to make my modification and received another error related to a login failure. I was not sure why I received this error but wondered if it related back to my activation of windows since AD also was running on the machine hosting SP2010. So, I deleted my AD connection and recreated it. Now, I was able to modify the containers to populate and did not receive any errors. Finally, I started the sync and viola – user accounts sync’d into my environment.

So, my lesson learned is that if you have to reactivate Windows Server 2008 R2, the user profile service will need to be updated.

Stop and Start the User Profile Sync Service in Central Admin
Recreate the AD connection and configuration (delete the old configuration)
Restart the profile import

I did not have any custom properties or additional mapped properties, but I’d imagine you may need to recreate these mappings depending on AD customizations in other environments. So, be careful if you need to move around Hyper-V images that aren’t properly prepped.

For more information on prepping images see this article on sysprep (compatibility) and this one (usage) . Note that if you are runing AD on your SP2010 box as I was, sysprep is not an option.

November 14, 2010 Posted by danluciano | Hyper-V, SharePoint 2010, User Profile Serives | Leave a comment

SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 and Windows Server 2008

I recently needed to create a “duplicate” of my production environment which was running SSRS 2005 SP3 on Windows Server 2003. We had two instances of the reporting server, one was integrated with SharePoint 2007 SP2 and the other was a native instance.

I found several issues while running the installation on my new testbed servers. Basically, the organization no longer was fully supporting Windows Server 2003 installs as the install had to be manually patched. They had a good image for Windows Server 2008, so we decided that there would likely be a minimal impact for installing SharePoint 2007, SSRS 2005, SQL 2005, PPS 2007, and ProClarity in this environment. Well, we were wrong and this blog is about the issues faced an how to overcome them.

First, here was the server topology:

1 SQL 2005 box running on Windows Server 2008 (SSAS, DBMS, SSIS). No issues with install and configuration.
1 SharePoint 2007 WFE on Windows Server 2008. No issues with install and configuration
1 Application Server box running –

SharePoint 2007 – no issues with install & config
PPS 2007 – no issues with install & config
SSRS 2005 native and integrated – problems here see below
ProClarity – problem here which will be touched on as it impacted SSRS 2005 eventually too

So, first, the SSRS configuration issues. You can read an earlier post in my blog about how SSRS 2005 is configured on Windows Server 2003. (I have not linked it since all Live blogs will be migrating to WordPress). For the native and standalone installs, I had problems getting the web service identity to configure. I had created the stub web sites and application pools in IIS 7 for the SSRS sites.

The following are the key steps for the config wizard to run:

I had assigned a domain account to run the application pools and changed the application pools to run in classic mode.
I had to create a local group on the server for IIS_WPG. For some reason, this group does not exist on Server 2008 and must be created manually. I believe this step is the secret sauce for a clean service account configuration using the SSRS configuration wizard.
If your service accounts still do not configure cleanly, then follow this KB – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938245 (regedits, be warned)
The DB script will not generate properly no matter what from what I found. Please see this connect article on how to properly get the DB scripts to generate

Now for the last points on ProClarity-

ProClarity will want to use the default web application and will want that web application to run in 32bit mode. If you are running a 64bit SSRS install (which you should use on a 64bit server) and install SSRS after ProClarity, you will need to modify the default site’s application pool to install otherwise it will not pass a pre installation check which will gray out the SSRS installation option. Here is how you can fix this:

1. Right click on the application pool for the default web site and choose “Advanced settings”. Update “Enable 32-Bit Applications” setting to “False”

2. Go to your Windows system folder and navigate to the applicationHost.config file (C:Windowssystem32inetsrvconfig) and find the following tag:

<applicationPools>
<add name="DefaultAppPool" enable32BitAppOnWin64="false" />

Make sure the setting is “false” and run an iisreset to consume the change.

Now SSRS will not complain about the ASP.NET runtime being incorrect and the bits can be installed and configured. Be sure that you do not use the Default Web Site for SSRS though as you will need to set this back to 32bit for ProClarity to run again.

September 30, 2010 Posted by danluciano | SSRS 2005 | Leave a comment

SharePoint 2010 and PerformancePoint Services

I decided to spend some time configuring and using PerformancePoint Services (PPS) on my Windows 7 SharePoint install. I had never installed SQL on Win7 to this point, so I popped in the SQL 2008 R2 disc (so I can later add PowerPivot) and installed the DBMS, SSAS, SSIS, and SSRS with integrated configuration. The key pieces to me were-

DBMS so that I could hook up some AdventureWorks sample data
SSAS (Analysis Services) for the cube to do analytical reporting in PPS
SSRS (Reporting Services) for future deployment of sample reports and custom built reports

After I had SQL in place, I visited codeplex to get the AdventureWorks sample databases for SQL 2008 R2. The installer will add the databases to your SQL 2008 R2 install but you will have to select the correct instance. In my case, SharePoint 2010 was running off of a CE DB version so I did not want to select the “SharePoint” DB instance.

Now, that I had my data, I had to drill down to the Analysis services cube sample project and open it into Business Intelligence Design Studio (BIDS) which looks a lot like Visual Studio 2008. Once there I opened the sample cube project and checked the deployment target was correctly set in the project properties. Simple matter of right clicking the project and choosing deploy to get the cube installed. (Sample project usually is found in this path: (C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server100ToolsSamplesAdventureWorks Analysis Services Project)

I already had a PerformancePoint Service application running, but had not created the unattended service account. To do this, I had to:

Navigate to the Secure Store Service Application page
In the ribbon, Generate a Key and issue the passphrase
Return to the PPS service application
Create the Secure Store unattended user (which will now appear in the Secure Store Service Application page)

Ok, now you can create a new site collection based on the Business Intelligence template. Once the site is created, you can navigate to the click once deployment button that will install Dashboard Designer on your local machine.

Once in Dashboard Designer, create a new Data Source connection to the SSAS cube. Then, click the create tab and choose Analytic Report. You can take some data points and drop them in as rows and columns using the GUI interface. Once you are happy with the results save the report. Now, create a dashboard and add the report to the dashboard and save that. Finally, right click the dashboard and choose deploy.

Now, you can find the dashboard page in your SharePoint instance. Here are some shots of what I was able to create to highlight some basic functionality:

Initial Report (KPI was generated from a Task list as my “Hello KPI” trial run and is not connected to the Analytic report) Right clicking on Geography, Country, … gives this context menu:

Right clicking on Measure gives this menu (Decomp Tree!)

Decomp Tree is pretty slick-The control is on a layout ASPX page but is built using Silverlight. You can hover over the boxes for more details but my screen cap won’t let me show that part.

Enjoy and have fun making pretty and informative reports using these out of box mechanisms.

September 8, 2010 Posted by danluciano | PerformancePoint 2010, SharePoint 2010 | Leave a comment

5 Tips for MSDN Forum Etiquette

Recently, I saw a Tweet that noted that many SharePoint threads were going unanswered or lacked a response. I felt an obligation to help.

Helping out on the forums can be a thankless job. My company will not pay me more because I post on the forums and sometimes responses feel like they go into the ether. So, I thought I’d jot down a few things that the community can do as a whole to help improve forum etiquette.

Mark responses as helpful: People posting on the forums often do so to meet professional goals. This is the primary reason I participate in addition to keeping my skill sharp. Many of my peers are attempting to meet Microsoft MVP status and one measuring stick is forum participation. Marking responses as helpful is something that few people do but helps others reach their goals. I view marking helpful posts as a way to pay it forward. Almost any post marked as “Answer” should be considered “Helpful” by default. So, if you visit an answered thread and that answer helps you, take the time to mark it helpful. Its only a mouse click away and will brighten someone’s day.
Mark answers: This one seems simple, but far too often you’ll find the answer stated but not marked as such. Then, below the answer you’ll find a dogpile of “builds” on that response. I think it is fine to build on a response, but please mark the answer as you do so. The forum is a community effort and we cannot rely on the Microsoft moderators to mark all the answers for us.
Stating the question: Sometimes, in order to provide the best answer, more information is needed from the thread creator. As a thread creator, it is a good idea to provide as much detail as possible. However, people hunting for threads to answer may skip a thread that lacks the context for them to provide a response. It would be prudent to quickly write a note asking for the information required (such as product version, server roles, code snippets, etc.) I’ve found that by requesting more information, sometimes the thread creator will actually uncover the answer which brings me to the next point…
Don’t forget to close the loop: Marking the answer is one way this can be done. However, if you apply a response and it works, don’t forget to come back and mark the answer. If you figure out the answer yourself, return and post what you did. It is important to the next person that arrives at the thread with the same issue that they can find the answer.
Be polite: Remember that anyone you respond to could be your future client or co-worker. So, always practice patience and respond in a positive and supportive manner. I don’t see many people violating this principle, but it still is important to remember.

August 29, 2010 Posted by danluciano | MSDN | Leave a comment

Setting up Network for Hyper-V VM

Background

I worked on building a SharePoint 2010 Hyper-V image this weekend. In order to get the image installed, I had to ensure that my wireless network connection on the Hyper-V host could be shared with the Virtual Machines I created. The procedure I followed can be found here.

Process

This procedure was used while creating an image with Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Hyper-V role added. The host OS uses a DLink wireless connection to my home internet. This wireless connection was shared.

Make sure your VM has no existing network device associated
Create a new “Internal” virtual network adapter. Give it an obvious name.
Open up the Network and Sharing Center and click on the link to the adapters.
Ctrl+Click your Internet adapter for the host OS and the new Internal adapater (identified by its obvious name)
Now with both connections highlighted, right click and choose to Bridge connections
Once bridging is complete, go back to Hyper-V and add the internal connection to a VM.
When the VM is booted, it will see and share the internet connection

Note: This process may only work for a single VM. I saw comments indicating it may not share across multiple virtual network adapters. In that case you may need to use the ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) solution. (http://bryantlikes.com/SettingUpHyperVVirtualNetworking.aspx)

Lessons Learned

Do not bridge a connection that is already assigned to a VM. I tried this and it failed to pick up the internet connection. (Create the internal virtual network first and do not associate it with a VM!)
If you remove the bridge, delete the remaining bridge adapter. I did not immediately delete the bridge remnant from the adapters list and until I did, my local host could not access the internet.
ICS may be a better solution, but bridging works quick if you only need on VM

May 11, 2010 Posted by danluciano | Hyper-V | Leave a comment

Installing SharePoint 2010 RC on Win7

I figured an installation of SharePoint 2010 RC on Windows 7 would have some hiccups for two reasons:

I never installed on Win7 before
I have heard about issues getting the correct prerequisites for the installation

So, I went to the MSFT source first and used the installation guide posted here. I followed every step in order and had no issues until it was time to run the configuration wizard. I received the following error:

SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard
Configuration Failed
Failed to create the configuration database
An exception of type System.IO.FileNotFoundException was thrown. Additional exception information: Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.IdentityModel, version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35’ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.The Geneva framework version on the installation link above is not correct for RC. Use this link instead – Geneva Framework for SharePoint 2010 RC. Once I updated the installation of the Geneva framework, the configuration was successful.

During installation, my laptop used about 3GB of the available 4GB install. There is documentation indicating that the install requires a minimum 2GB RAM, but I would recommend using at last 4GB.

April 3, 2010 Posted by danluciano | SharePoint 2010, Windows 7 | 1 Comment

SharePoint Saturday Houston

It is now April and SharePoint Saturdays have already been occurring around the world. I attended my first SPS event last year in San Antonio. It was a good event and had a great turnout. Getting to meet other folks in the community and learn about experiences using the SharePoint platform was certainly eye opening. I was ready for Houston to host an event since the SharePoint community has been growing based on the local user group attendance.

After a month of getting organized and accumulating speaker abstracts, the Houston event’s speakers are about to be announced. The Norris Conference center will host the event. The H-SPUG December event was held there at the end of 2009 and was a big hit. This time, we’ll be using more space and have a larger audience which is exciting.

If you are interested in getting more out of SharePoint and don’t want to go to an event like SPTechCon or the SharePoint Conference, then this may be the event for you. The best part about SharePoint Saturdays are that they are free to the community attendees. Speakers volunteer their time and sponsors generously donate funding to help make the event successful.

If you have not registered, you can visit the SharePoint Saturday Houston (SPSHOU) site to sign up. If you’d like to sponsor, it is not too late. Sponsor info can be found here. The forms are all available on the SPSHOU portal.

I plan to post an update once the speakers are finalized. Look forward to seeing you at the event!

April 2, 2010 Posted by danluciano | SharePoint Saturday | Leave a comment

SharePoint 2010 RC Installation Changes

As expected, the SharePoint 2010 GUI installer was updated again in RC. So, for those of us that had been installing on a DC box, there was a new surprise. When installing on a DC, the SharePoint 2010 RC bits detect this and only allow StandAlone Install. So, all services are configured for you using Local System or Network Service. Likely, you want a farm install and not standalone.

I soon came across this posting that had the issue and resolution. This worked for me and should for the rest of us that need a single fully featured server for demos, prototyping, etc.

Solution with config.xml settings

March 29, 2010 Posted by danluciano | SharePoint 2010 | Leave a comment

SharePoint etc.

SharePoint and other trendy MSFT products

Sharepoint 2010 Anonymous Access

2011 Goals

SharePoint 2010 User Profile Sync Error Fixed

SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 and Windows Server 2008

SharePoint 2010 and PerformancePoint Services

5 Tips for MSDN Forum Etiquette

Setting up Network for Hyper-V VM

Installing SharePoint 2010 RC on Win7

SharePoint Saturday Houston

SharePoint 2010 RC Installation Changes

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