Essential SharePoint

Installing SharePoint Services

SharePoint Services is a component in Windows Server 2003. To install those services on an existing server you'll need the following:

• An account with Administrative privileges for the server

• Physical access to the server or access through the Windows XP Professional Remote Desktop utility

• Access to a dedicated SQL Server or SQL Server installed on the target server (recommended)

There are three configuration options for installing SharePoint Services, and you should choose your target configuration before proceeding. The main difference among configurations is where data is stored, as described in Table 2-6.

Table 2-6. Possible SharePoint Services database configurations

Description	Database used	Advantages	Disadvantages
Default	WMSDE	Least expensive, simplest configuration	Capacity limited to 2 GB; no full-text search; database maintenance more difficult
Single server with SQL Server	Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3	Supports full-text search; backups are easy to manage; capacity is better than WMSDE	Additional expense; web server and database share single processor; limiting performance
Server farm	Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3 installed on dedicated server	All of the SQL Server advantages plus better performance and scaling	Additional expense; more complicated to set up

For anything more than a personal or small-office site, I recommend using one of the SQL Server configurations because otherwise you just won't get the capacity you may need. ...