Connect.Collaborate.SharePoint
Sep
24
Now that WSSDemo.com is running the Technical Refresh, I can get on with the content. First up is a demo of the new Project Tasks list template which includes a gantt chart.
This is not just a screen shot, it's the real thing.
Categories:SharePoint

 
Sep
22

I’ve just had an insane 2 weeks with work but I did manage to get my site updated to the technical refresh and would have forgotten about my birthday if it wasn't for my friends at the SAJ;-).

MOSS allows you to run side by side with WSS v2 but the final TR patch process (psconfig.exe) will try to patch the WSSv2 config database which it should not try to do unless you specify this in a registry key. They error in the log is

[FarmSequence] [DEBUG] [9/18/2006 8:39:04 PM]: Initializing old farm - Server=community;Database=wssv2config;Trusted_Connection=yes;App=SharePoint Portal Server;

[SPManager] [ERROR] [9/18/2006 8:39:04 PM]: CanUpgrade [SPFarm Name=SharePoint_Config] failed.

[SPManager] [ERROR] [9/18/2006 8:39:04 PM]: Invalid object name 'dbo.PortalGlobals'.

Your Database name will be different (I have so many databases that the default names just make it too confusing for me to figure out what they are for).

But why would you want to run WSSv2 on the server when v3 is soo much better? Maybe you have Project Server 2003, VSTS or a 3rd party solution built on tom of WSSv2 that can’t be upgraded to v3 yet (and this is your dev/test server as you wouldn't install a beta product on a production server, would you).

I had to remove WSSv2 from the server, re run pscong, then re-install WSSv2 and restore my stsadm backups.

Categories:SharePoint

 
Sep
16

Not that I expect you to have any problems upgrading to the SharePoint Technical Refresh, especially if you follow the instructions.

I tried upgrading my MOSS Beta 2 to TR and it failed but I think it may have been because the first server in the farm, that had the central admin site on it, had been removed. Even though the central admin had been added to the second server, the upgrade process insisted that there was another server in the farm that had to be upgraded and wouldn’t allow the site to run.

Why I like stsadm backup files:

Because you have to install binaries from scratch and create a new config db, you know there is no strange stuff hanging around in the DB or file system. After restoring the backup, you should have a pretty clean system which will increase the chances of a successful patch.

Key thing to consider before restoring the stsadm backup of your content is the database.

After creating the content database (via the WSS and MOSS central admin), extend it to cater for the size of the site, otherwise it will default to 10Mb (SQL Server Model db settings) and will increment it by 1 mb.

For a WSSv2 content DB, change the recovery mode to Simple otherwise you will have a transaction log that is larger than the data.

Categories:SharePoint

 
Sep
12

Last Friday I tried applying a patch to this sites server but it failed, causing IIs/SharePoint not to work. I had successfully applied the patch to a virtual version of the server but that virtual server didn’t match the historic environment of the live server (built in January 2004), it only matched the SharePoint site content. There was no rollback option for the patch and the SharePoint uninstall process wouldn’t run. Thank goodness for stsadm backups and my desktop PC.

I threw a spare HDD into my desktop PC and in 6 hours had installed WsK3R2, SQL Server, WSSv2 (to support my old site), MOSS Beta 2 and restored the site content for both sites. Thanks to Fulton at Intergen, I managed to swap out the wssdemo.com server for the desktop PC over the weekend as I was flying out of my home town first thing Monday morning.

Now I have some time to rebuild the server, well I don’t have the time but will somehow get it done, and hope the SharePoint Technical refresh will be released publicly soon so that I can include that on the server before swapping out my desktop PC.

I have lost count of how many times I have restored my SharePoint content backups to other servers. Have you ever done it? Practice now before you have to do it for real. A backup is not a backup untill you know you can restore it.
Categories:SharePoint