I also wanted to thank Jason Gallicchio for inviting me to speak and keep up the good work!  So without further adieu go check out my slides and of course feedback is always welcome.  In the near future I will be unveiling my new blog…can anyone guess what it will be running on….. hmmm

DOWNLOAD:

Upgrading to SP 2010

Cheers,

Jason Medero

Enjoy the great documentation.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=65686896-c171-46a8-a95f-54f43ad79952&DisplayLang=en

Cheers,

Enjoy the great documentation.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=65686896-c171-46a8-a95f-54f43ad79952&DisplayLang=en

Cheers,

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blogs/GetThePoint/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=8d9e2a99%2Df288%2D47c2%2D916b%2D2f32864f7b82&ID=68&RootFolder=%2A

I would then make some mass changes, add some items to the list and then export back to SharePoint but create a whole other list in the process.  The process for this was to simply right click the linked table (The SharePoint list) that I had originally exported from SharePoint.  Then click on export as the screenshot below describes.

Once I selected a SharePoint list another dialogue box would pop up for me to enter the URL of the SharePoint site.  Or select from an address that I have used previously.  I proceeded to enter the IP address of the server (simply because I couldn't remember what the server name was but somehow remembered the IP of the server.  So I punched in 172.16.1.100 and specified a name for my new list that was to be created at the URL that I specified above.  I checked the box to open the list when the process was finished so I could check to make sure everything was going to be ok after the creation.  I clicked ok and for some reason I got the error shown below "Microsoft Office Access could not connect to the site you specified.  Verify the address of the site or contact your administrator"…..hmmm I quickly found the servername that I was using and dropped that in.  It worked and created the new list at the specified URL above and exported all of the items perfectly!

Lesson is use the servername if you can.  I have also tested using a friendly name (Host header URL) and as long as their is an entry in the Hosts file or an A record created in DNS I did not have any problems.  Hope this tips helps!

Cheers,

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blogs/GetThePoint/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=8d9e2a99%2Df288%2D47c2%2D916b%2D2f32864f7b82&ID=68&RootFolder=%2A

I would then make some mass changes, add some items to the list and then export back to SharePoint but create a whole other list in the process.  The process for this was to simply right click the linked table (The SharePoint list) that I had originally exported from SharePoint.  Then click on export as the screenshot below describes.

Once I selected a SharePoint list another dialogue box would pop up for me to enter the URL of the SharePoint site.  Or select from an address that I have used previously.  I proceeded to enter the IP address of the server (simply because I couldn't remember what the server name was but somehow remembered the IP of the server.  So I punched in 172.16.1.100 and specified a name for my new list that was to be created at the URL that I specified above.  I checked the box to open the list when the process was finished so I could check to make sure everything was going to be ok after the creation.  I clicked ok and for some reason I got the error shown below "Microsoft Office Access could not connect to the site you specified.  Verify the address of the site or contact your administrator"…..hmmm I quickly found the servername that I was using and dropped that in.  It worked and created the new list at the specified URL above and exported all of the items perfectly!

Lesson is use the servername if you can.  I have also tested using a friendly name (Host header URL) and as long as their is an entry in the Hosts file or an A record created in DNS I did not have any problems.  Hope this tips helps!

Cheers,

Configuration Failed

One or more configuration settings failed. Completed configuration
settings will not be rolled back. Resolve the problem and run this
configuration wizard again.

Additional exception information:
Failed to upgrade SharePoint Products and Technologies.

We didn't have the problem in production and I couldn't figure out why, being that the error messages were not very descriptive.  I thought it could possibly be that an update was applied to the SQL server that was hosting my SharePoint farms.  Or maybe it was that an update was applied to one of the web front ends in the farm and not the other.  So I began to run through all of the server to make sure that all my servers were on the same version (they were).  Long story short we just ended up migrating the data to a new farm and had no idea that it was the GroupBoard Workspace template that was installed in DEV and was not installed on PROD.

This morning I had a client that wanted me to upgrade them to the Infrastructure Update (IU) and when I ran the SPCW I again got the error message above.  I did some researching and it turned out that the client was heavily using many of the application templates that Microsoft has made available.  I was lucky enough to run into this KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/941678/

I followed the instructions on the second method because I could access all sites including the group workspace site.  Installed the update in my case was the X64 update for the group workspace template.  All worked without a hitch!  I wanted to post this issue because I have run into it more than once and thought it might save SharePoint folks some valuable time.

Cheers,

Configuration Failed

One or more configuration settings failed. Completed configuration
settings will not be rolled back. Resolve the problem and run this
configuration wizard again.

Additional exception information:
Failed to upgrade SharePoint Products and Technologies.

We didn't have the problem in production and I couldn't figure out why, being that the error messages were not very descriptive.  I thought it could possibly be that an update was applied to the SQL server that was hosting my SharePoint farms.  Or maybe it was that an update was applied to one of the web front ends in the farm and not the other.  So I began to run through all of the server to make sure that all my servers were on the same version (they were).  Long story short we just ended up migrating the data to a new farm and had no idea that it was the GroupBoard Workspace template that was installed in DEV and was not installed on PROD.

This morning I had a client that wanted me to upgrade them to the Infrastructure Update (IU) and when I ran the SPCW I again got the error message above.  I did some researching and it turned out that the client was heavily using many of the application templates that Microsoft has made available.  I was lucky enough to run into this KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/941678/

I followed the instructions on the second method because I could access all sites including the group workspace site.  Installed the update in my case was the X64 update for the group workspace template.  All worked without a hitch!  I wanted to post this issue because I have run into it more than once and thought it might save SharePoint folks some valuable time.

Cheers,

January 13, 2009 Philly Office Geeks

For all the folks not
attending the SP Tech Conference in San Francisco you guys will be lucky enough
to get pretty much the same session for free in Philly!  This will be my
first time presenting at the philly group and look forward to meeting a bunch of
new SharePoint office geeks.  For a summary of my presentation check it out
below.

January 27-29, 2009 SP Tech Conference

Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Airport  Burlingame, CA

I am really excited about
this new session that Chris and I put together.  A lot of our customers are
Microsoft shops and already have a license to use this but usually don't know it
because it is relatively a new product.  Yes there are third party products
that offer integrations into SharePoint for backup and recovery but if you are
already paying for a license under lets say an Enterprise agreement why spend
money on another license.  This breakout session will cover setting up DPM
to protect critical SharePoint data which is very simple and quite intuitive. 
SharePoint and DPM work seamlessly together and this session will prove that!

This conference should be
another great one.  I had the opportunity to work in San Francisco for
about 6 months and know first hand just how popular of a product WSS/MOSS is in
this area.  Should be a great turnout with a bunch of great speakers too!

604: PROTECT AND DEFEND
YOUR DATA

By Jason Medero and
Christopher Regan
With most SharePoint implementations storing critical business data, it is
crucial that this data be protected and quickly restorable in the event of a
disaster. Learn how utilizing Data Protection Manager 2007 as your
backup/restore/disaster recovery solution provides a full-fidelity solution with
granular control. We will walk you through the initial configuration of DPM as
well as setting up a recovery farm. 

 February
2-4, 2009 SharePoint Best Practices Conference

10950 North Torrey Pines
Road, La Jolla, California, United States 92037

I attended the last Best
Practices conference in Washington, D.C and was very intrigued at the direction
of the conference.  This conference was not a "how to" it was more of a
why/when and whats best.  I think that this provides attendees with much
more value to take back to their organization.  Because lets face it are
you really going to remember or get a chance to write down each step that the
presenter may be going through….no probably not unless you are super fast and
even then how much do you really digest when you are busy writing until the
presentation is over.

I really believe that
attendees will be able to digest more information because of this approach and
more importantly be armed with some solid knowledge of lessons learned. 
And with the great lineup of speakers and sessions this is going to be another
great SharePoint conference.  I highly suggest you check out the website
but the sessions that I will be speaking on are:

ITP308, Site Templates
versus Site Definitions: The Great Debate
-
Jason Medero

When do we use site
templates and when do we use site definitions? This is a question that many
SharePoint implementations will face. This session will cover common scenarios
that organizations we have seen and answer the questions of when and why do I
develop a site definition over a site template. In addition, the session will
include an introduction to site templates and site definitions including how
SharePoint can utilize these two approaches to benefit any implementation.

 IW265, Sub-site or Site
Collection ? Best Practice Approaches, Considerations, and Lessons Learned –
Gary Lapointe, Jason Medero

One of the more difficult
tasks planners face when designing a WSS or MOSS environment is whether to use
sub-sites or site collections and in what combination.    This is
a critical process to get right from the beginning as it could have extreme
ramifications on the overall success of the implementation.  This session
will cover the pros and cons of using site collections and the best practices
that affect the decisions to use them.  We will look at the various ways in
which a logical, hierarchical, taxonomy can be met using site collections and
how to keep various assets synchronized between related site collections. 
Also, because sometimes even the best laid plans can't account for the
unforeseen we will delve into the various approaches available to change the
site collection architecture post implementation (how and why you might need to
convert sub-sites to site collections and site collections to sub-sites).

I will be co-presenting on
this topic with the STSADM extensions king himself Gary Lapointe!  Between
the both of us I am quite sure that by the time this session is over your head
will be spinning with extremely valuable information!

February 21st SharePoint Saturday NYC
1290 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY
10104-0101, United States

This conference is great
because its in my own back yard (well close enough)!  The main man behind
this code camp/one day SharePoint event is Michael Lotter.  They have
recently began accepting presentation abstracts and I am not yet quite sure what
topic I am going to submit.  If you are interested in coming to this free
event (yes free as in beer).  Now you can't beat that with a stick,
presentations by some of the best SharePoint experts in the field today for
free!

So as you can see the next
couple of months are going to be pretty busy but I am excited.  My favorite
part of these events is the networking that occurs and putting a real live face
to the twitter picture 

Cheers,

January 13, 2009 Philly Office Geeks

For all the folks not
attending the SP Tech Conference in San Francisco you guys will be lucky enough
to get pretty much the same session for free in Philly!  This will be my
first time presenting at the philly group and look forward to meeting a bunch of
new SharePoint office geeks.  For a summary of my presentation check it out
below.

January 27-29, 2009 SP Tech Conference

Hyatt Regency San Francisco
Airport  Burlingame, CA

I am really excited about
this new session that Chris and I put together.  A lot of our customers are
Microsoft shops and already have a license to use this but usually don't know it
because it is relatively a new product.  Yes there are third party products
that offer integrations into SharePoint for backup and recovery but if you are
already paying for a license under lets say an Enterprise agreement why spend
money on another license.  This breakout session will cover setting up DPM
to protect critical SharePoint data which is very simple and quite intuitive. 
SharePoint and DPM work seamlessly together and this session will prove that!

This conference should be
another great one.  I had the opportunity to work in San Francisco for
about 6 months and know first hand just how popular of a product WSS/MOSS is in
this area.  Should be a great turnout with a bunch of great speakers too!

604: PROTECT AND DEFEND
YOUR DATA

By Jason Medero and
Christopher Regan
With most SharePoint implementations storing critical business data, it is
crucial that this data be protected and quickly restorable in the event of a
disaster. Learn how utilizing Data Protection Manager 2007 as your
backup/restore/disaster recovery solution provides a full-fidelity solution with
granular control. We will walk you through the initial configuration of DPM as
well as setting up a recovery farm. 

 February
2-4, 2009 SharePoint Best Practices Conference

10950 North Torrey Pines
Road, La Jolla, California, United States 92037

I attended the last Best
Practices conference in Washington, D.C and was very intrigued at the direction
of the conference.  This conference was not a "how to" it was more of a
why/when and whats best.  I think that this provides attendees with much
more value to take back to their organization.  Because lets face it are
you really going to remember or get a chance to write down each step that the
presenter may be going through….no probably not unless you are super fast and
even then how much do you really digest when you are busy writing until the
presentation is over.

I really believe that
attendees will be able to digest more information because of this approach and
more importantly be armed with some solid knowledge of lessons learned. 
And with the great lineup of speakers and sessions this is going to be another
great SharePoint conference.  I highly suggest you check out the website
but the sessions that I will be speaking on are:

ITP308, Site Templates
versus Site Definitions: The Great Debate
-
Jason Medero

When do we use site
templates and when do we use site definitions? This is a question that many
SharePoint implementations will face. This session will cover common scenarios
that organizations we have seen and answer the questions of when and why do I
develop a site definition over a site template. In addition, the session will
include an introduction to site templates and site definitions including how
SharePoint can utilize these two approaches to benefit any implementation.

 IW265, Sub-site or Site
Collection ? Best Practice Approaches, Considerations, and Lessons Learned –
Gary Lapointe, Jason Medero

One of the more difficult
tasks planners face when designing a WSS or MOSS environment is whether to use
sub-sites or site collections and in what combination.    This is
a critical process to get right from the beginning as it could have extreme
ramifications on the overall success of the implementation.  This session
will cover the pros and cons of using site collections and the best practices
that affect the decisions to use them.  We will look at the various ways in
which a logical, hierarchical, taxonomy can be met using site collections and
how to keep various assets synchronized between related site collections. 
Also, because sometimes even the best laid plans can't account for the
unforeseen we will delve into the various approaches available to change the
site collection architecture post implementation (how and why you might need to
convert sub-sites to site collections and site collections to sub-sites).

I will be co-presenting on
this topic with the STSADM extensions king himself Gary Lapointe!  Between
the both of us I am quite sure that by the time this session is over your head
will be spinning with extremely valuable information!

February 21st SharePoint Saturday NYC
1290 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY
10104-0101, United States

This conference is great
because its in my own back yard (well close enough)!  The main man behind
this code camp/one day SharePoint event is Michael Lotter.  They have
recently began accepting presentation abstracts and I am not yet quite sure what
topic I am going to submit.  If you are interested in coming to this free
event (yes free as in beer).  Now you can't beat that with a stick,
presentations by some of the best SharePoint experts in the field today for
free!

So as you can see the next
couple of months are going to be pretty busy but I am excited.  My favorite
part of these events is the networking that occurs and putting a real live face
to the twitter picture 

Cheers,

 Just wanted to pass on a solution to a problem that I ran into today in case anyone else runs into it.  So today I had a customer who was simply trying to access their SharePoint Usage reports .  Unfortunately when they were going into site settings and selecting the link they were receiving a 403 forbidden error..  So the first thing i checked was that the application pool account had the correct rights in SQL server (dbcreator and security admin) on the content databases in which I was accessing.

 Everything looked fine and then it struck me.  I wonder if the application pool account is running under the correct identity of the application pool that was running the web application that I was trying to access the usage reports through?  Bingo I checked the application pool identity under IIS and it was running under Network Service (very bad because this service account does not have rights to access the content databases).  So I quickly changed the application pool identity to the account which had the correct permissions above ran an IISRESET (just in case) and the usage reports were now accessible!

Another day another problem solved now if I could only keep all of the solutions I have written down on this blog in my brain that would be even better.

 Cheers,

Jason Medero
WSS MVP
Need SharePoint Consulting?? Contact me