There is much talk about PRA (Public Records Act) Compliance and it usually comes up in so many conversations that I’ve been having. Lot of the times I get the following question “So is SharePoint 2010 PRA Compliant?” Now for my readers who are NOT from New Zealand go over to NZ Archives site on what PRA compliance guidelines have been set out for NZ [ http://archives.govt.nz/advice/digital-continuity-action-plan ]. In a previous post many moons ago I did an overview on “SharePoint DoD 5015.2 and what it means to New Zealand public agencies who are looking at PRA compliance” . Which was just an overview. You’d also notice that some of my previous links to Archives.govt.nz has changed which I’ve updated as well. (Hmm change.. PRA.. ) This current post is most relevant to anyone who is working in the NZ public sector who are using or pla ...[Read More]

Please read first two posts in this series. Planning for SharePoint 2010 Part 1, Planning for SharePoint 2010 Part 2. In the last two posts I showed you how to move your data tier to your new 64bit Farm. That is you moved all your databases and tested that you now have a 64bit based database server to host all the content databases. Let’s look at how we can move the application server and the web front end server tiers. In this case you can choose to move both Tiers Tier B and C at the same time or individually. In either case the approach is the same. In order to move your Application Server(s) and the Web Front End Server(s) you’ll need to first install the SharePoint binaries on the servers on Farm B. With information you gathered in your audit you’ll need to do a fresh install of SharePoint on the SPAPP1 server. Note that yo ...[Read More]

Please read Part 1 of this post series before you continue. In this post I will highlight how to move your (32 bit) SQL Server tier to 64 bit. In the case of moving your data tier there are few prerequisites that you should consider. In this case we have the assumption that your new 64bit SQL server deployment has followed best practice guidelines for SQL server. From a SharePoint point of view you should consider the following to enable effective management of your existing content databases or any new databases you are creating. SQL Server 2008 or 2005 (64bit) are both supported when moving to SP2010. Details about preparing your database server can be found here (TechNet). This may be a good time to also plan what your SQL maintenance regime would look like for your new data tier. Start with Database maintenance guidance for Sha ...[Read More]

Here is a detailed outline of what I discussed and presented at my TechEd session on Wednesday 16th September in Auckland – New Zealand titled Planning for SharePoint 2010 - Upgrade Planning and Guidance OFC306. Thanks to all of you who came along to the session. This is a first in a series of posts and White Papers that I will publish as part of an ongoing series on planning to upgrade to SharePoint Server 2010. Needless to say that I will only cover planning aspects and will NOT be talking about any new features or functionality of SharePoint 2010. Please visit the SharePoint team blog for details of SharePoint 2010. System Requirements for SharePoint 2010 This has been common knowledge for a while and the SharePoint product team announced that SharePoint 2010 will only be available in x64 (64bit) versions. Therefore the first step ...[Read More]

I got the following question from a mate of mine recently. I’ve edited the message to only contain the bits that I am blogging about.. “Basically I want to know what the implications are for search if we're on the non-enterprise licence for SharePoint. One of our IT guys has expressed concerns over whether we can have a fully effective search (including people finder type capability) without being on the enterprise licence.” If you use the word “SharePoint” and “Search” then the above can be interpreted in many ways. In this case what my friend was looking for was mainly what does the Enterprise version of SharePoint Search (MOSS 2007) provide over and above the Standard version of SharePoint Search (MOSS 2007). What is not entirely common knowledge is that Microsoft rebranded the SharePoint Search offering as “Microsoft Search Ser ...[Read More]

Well it’s been a while since I’d been able to blog. With my full time job and also organising the first ever New Zealand SharePoint Conference it has been quite busy. If you still haven’t registered and you have an interest on learning and networking with some of the best in the SharePoint world then this is your opportunity! (Plug over) Well now Service Pack 2! Yes that was released some time ago. And if you are still wondering what to do or worst still haven’t even updated your servers to Service Pack 1 then it’s time to do so. If you haven’t read my previous post about updating your servers I recommend that you read this post titled “SharePoint Service pack 2 is coming are you ready?” Microsoft recommend that Service pack 1 plus post SP1 updates as a minimum. My post highlights how you should go about applying the updates and getti ...[Read More]

Previously I blogged about how to bring your SharePoint deployments to at least up to Service Pack 1, and some general approaches on how to ensure that you apply the correct updates to each of your deployments. Any new SharePoint farm that is being deployed now should definitely have service pack 1 included. Also please please use x64 you'll be doing yourselves a big favour by choosing the x64 architecture and the binaries. Microsoft has made available the February updates which also happen to include the previously released post SP 1 infrastructure updates. Recommendation for a new SharePoint Server installation and configuration is as follows: (Note that you should download the correct version and you have to install the WSS update first then the MOSS update) Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 1 The 2007 Microsoft Of ...[Read More]

Via Ryan Duguid and the MSFT SharePoint Blog. The Accessibility Kit for SharePoint (AKS) v2.0 is now available for download. This new version provides some key new features as listed below. Key Features in the AKS v2.0 The AKS v2.0 introduces the following: Smart Control adapters which greatly reduce the amount of custom configuration previously required for AKS control adapters. The Web Part Zone Control Adapter, a special Smart Adapter that modifies the output of SharePoint so that it does not use tables for layout of the Web parts. HiSoftware’s Compliant Code Engine (HCCE) to assist organizations in creating code that is compliant to standards-based HTML or XHTML. Additional requirements under Canadian Common Look and Feel 2.0 (CLF 2.0) guidelines. Examples of remediation to comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Fren ...[Read More]