Real-World SharePoint Experiences by John Powell

Microsoft hasn't released an updated version of the eScrum process template for Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2008 Beta 2, code name "Orcas."  Until a supported version is available, these instructions will enable you to deploy the eScrum 1.0 process template (for TFS 2005) on TFS 2008 Beta 2.

Assuming you already have TFS 2008 Beta 2 up and running, you will need to install the following prerequisites:

1. Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library v 1.0
2. Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0
3. Visual Studio 2005 Team Explorer (the eScrum installer checks for it).  If you are adventurous, you could modify the eScrum msi file using Orca (not to be confused with Orcas) to eliminate the launch condition check for Team Explorer 2005.  Orca is a msi editor packaged in the Windows SDK, but you can download it separately here.

Once you have the prerequisites, install the eScrum template.  In addition to adding a process template to TFS, the installer will also deploy a WSS 2.0 site template and create an additional website.  After the installation you will modify the website configuration and replace the WSS 2.0 site template with a WSS 3.0 site template.

Follow these steps to remove and replace the eScrum WSS 2.0 template that was installed in WSS 3.0. 

1. Download the eScrum WSS 3.0 template and place it in a temporary directory on the TFS server (c: emp).  I upgraded this template to WSS 3.0 by installing it on a WSS 2.0 image and then performing an in-place upgrade to WSS 3.0.
2. Remove the WSS 2.0 template that the eScrum installer deployed.  Run the following command on the TFS server (or the WSS server if you split WSS from TFS): C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedweb server extensions12BINstsadm -o deletetemplate -title eScrum
3. Reset IIS 
4. Deploy the template you downloaded by running the following command: C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedweb server extensions12BINSTSADM.EXE -o addtemplate -filename "c: empescrum.stp" -title eScrum
5. Reset IIS

Follow these steps to ensure the eScrum website is configured properly (there is a website on the TFS server in addition to the WSS site).

1. Open the eScrum web.config file (C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation ServerWeb ServiceseScrum) and ensure the following configuration section is the first node in the <configuraiton> section:

  <configSections>
        <sectionGroup name="system.web.extensions" type="System.Web.Configuration.SystemWebExtensionsSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
            <sectionGroup name="scripting" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
                <section name="scriptResourceHandler" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingScriptResourceHandlerSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                <sectionGroup name="webServices" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingWebServicesSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
                    <section name="jsonSerialization" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingJsonSerializationSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                    <section name="profileService" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingProfileServiceSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                    <section name="authenticationService" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingAuthenticationServiceSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                </sectionGroup>
            </sectionGroup>
        </sectionGroup>
        <section name="loggingConfiguration" type="Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Configuration.LoggingSettings, Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=1a5b963c6f0fbeab"/>
    </configSections>

1. Using Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Team Explorer, create a new team project using the eScrum template. 
2. Once the project is created, there is one more configuration step required to get the eScrum website to work.  Edit the RegisteredGroups xml file located in C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation ServerWeb ServiceseScrumRegisteredGroups.xml and add the name of your TFS server and Project (you can add more projects by adding more <Server> nodes), for example:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<RegisteredGroups xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
    <isflatGroupCollectionDirty>false</isflatGroupCollectionDirty>
    <Server Name="TFSSETUP" Uri="http://orcasbeta2_tfsvsts:8080/">
        <Group Name="eScrumProject" />
    </Server >
</RegisteredGroups>

Verify the eScrum website is working by accessing the url where you installed it.

Verify the eScrum WSS 3.0 site is working for the TFS project you created.

Although unsupported, I hope these instructions will help until Microsoft releases a Visual Studio 2008 TFS eScrum process template.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Microsoft hasn't released an updated version of the eScrum process template for Visual Studio Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2008 Beta 2, code name "Orcas."  Until a supported version is available, these instructions will enable you to deploy the eScrum 1.0 process template (for TFS 2005) on TFS 2008 Beta 2.

Assuming you already have TFS 2008 Beta 2 up and running, you will need to install the following prerequisites:

1. Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library v 1.0
2. Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions 1.0
3. Visual Studio 2005 Team Explorer (the eScrum installer checks for it).  If you are adventurous, you could modify the eScrum msi file using Orca (not to be confused with Orcas) to eliminate the launch condition check for Team Explorer 2005.  Orca is a msi editor packaged in the Windows SDK, but you can download it separately here.

Once you have the prerequisites, install the eScrum template.  In addition to adding a process template to TFS, the installer will also deploy a WSS 2.0 site template and create an additional website.  After the installation you will modify the website configuration and replace the WSS 2.0 site template with a WSS 3.0 site template.

Follow these steps to remove and replace the eScrum WSS 2.0 template that was installed in WSS 3.0. 

1. Download the eScrum WSS 3.0 template and place it in a temporary directory on the TFS server (c: emp).  I upgraded this template to WSS 3.0 by installing it on a WSS 2.0 image and then performing an in-place upgrade to WSS 3.0.
2. Remove the WSS 2.0 template that the eScrum installer deployed.  Run the following command on the TFS server (or the WSS server if you split WSS from TFS): C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedweb server extensions12BINstsadm -o deletetemplate -title eScrum
3. Reset IIS 
4. Deploy the template you downloaded by running the following command: C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedweb server extensions12BINSTSADM.EXE -o addtemplate -filename "c: empescrum.stp" -title eScrum
5. Reset IIS

Follow these steps to ensure the eScrum website is configured properly (there is a website on the TFS server in addition to the WSS site).

1. Open the eScrum web.config file (C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation ServerWeb ServiceseScrum) and ensure the following configuration section is the first node in the <configuraiton> section:

  <configSections>
        <sectionGroup name="system.web.extensions" type="System.Web.Configuration.SystemWebExtensionsSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
            <sectionGroup name="scripting" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
                <section name="scriptResourceHandler" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingScriptResourceHandlerSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                <sectionGroup name="webServices" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingWebServicesSectionGroup, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35">
                    <section name="jsonSerialization" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingJsonSerializationSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                    <section name="profileService" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingProfileServiceSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                    <section name="authenticationService" type="System.Web.Configuration.ScriptingAuthenticationServiceSection, System.Web.Extensions, Version=1.0.61025.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35" requirePermission="false"/>
                </sectionGroup>
            </sectionGroup>
        </sectionGroup>
        <section name="loggingConfiguration" type="Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Configuration.LoggingSettings, Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=1a5b963c6f0fbeab"/>
    </configSections>

1. Using Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 Team Explorer, create a new team project using the eScrum template. 
2. Once the project is created, there is one more configuration step required to get the eScrum website to work.  Edit the RegisteredGroups xml file located in C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation ServerWeb ServiceseScrumRegisteredGroups.xml and add the name of your TFS server and Project (you can add more projects by adding more <Server> nodes), for example:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<RegisteredGroups xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
    <isflatGroupCollectionDirty>false</isflatGroupCollectionDirty>
    <Server Name="TFSSETUP" Uri="http://orcasbeta2_tfsvsts:8080/">
        <Group Name="eScrumProject" />
    </Server >
</RegisteredGroups>

Verify the eScrum website is working by accessing the url where you installed it.

Verify the eScrum WSS 3.0 site is working for the TFS project you created.

Although unsupported, I hope these instructions will help until Microsoft releases a Visual Studio 2008 TFS eScrum process template.

Filed under: Uncategorized

A 

Content Query

Approach 

Store the content in a single list and use content query web parts to present views of the data in that list. 

Show Me 

Pros 

• The list item only exists in one place; the target locations have read-only views of the content
• Whenever a change is made, changes to the content at the target location is automatic and immediate

Cons

• Depending on the implementation, users may not have rights to view content in the master list
• The out-of-the-box content query web part is limited in how it presents views of the data; for example, it would be extremely difficult to present a calendar view
• May require a techncal resource to modify the content query view.  Check out the community-developed Enhanced Content Query Web Part as an alternative

List Copy Feature

Approach: use the "Send To Other Location" feature to copy a file from one source list to one or more target lists.  Choose the option to prompt the user to update target lists when publishing a major version.

Show Me

Pros

• Users can choose when to update content in the target location
• Users can choose which list items to copy to target location
• Users can be notified when the target location is updated

Cons

• Cannot be applied at the list level; each list item must be configured to be copied to a target location 
• Only works with document library type lists (documents, pictures, pages, etc)
• Only copies when a major version of the source is created
• Is not automatic; requires user to select the option to update target lists when creating a major version
• A separate copy is maintained in the target lists; can get out of sync with source

Use a Workflow to Copy List Items 

Approach

Show Me

Pros

• Can be applied at the list and list-item level (using conditions)
• Can use conditions to provide-data driven control over when list items are copied to the target location 

Cons

• A copy of the list item exists at every target location
• Requires some technical knowledge of creating workflows with SharePoint designer

Put Shortcuts in target lists that point to source list

Approach

Upload an html document to each target list that contains a meta-refresh tag to the source document.  Note: SharePoint will not allow you to upload .url and .lnk files.  This approach falls into the category of workaround / hack.

Show Me

Pros

• The content is stored in one source location

Cons

• Difficult to maintain; the solution is target-driven, not source driven.  If the source is renamed or moved, all targets must be manually updated.
• Requires some technical knowledge to construct the html meta-refresh

Use an event handler to copy list items

Approch

Show Me

Pros

Cons

• Not as easy to maintain as a workflow created in SharePoint Designer

Filed under: Uncategorized

A 

Content Query

Approach 

Store the content in a single list and use content query web parts to present views of the data in that list. 

Show Me 

Pros 

• The list item only exists in one place; the target locations have read-only views of the content
• Whenever a change is made, changes to the content at the target location is automatic and immediate

Cons

• Depending on the implementation, users may not have rights to view content in the master list
• The out-of-the-box content query web part is limited in how it presents views of the data; for example, it would be extremely difficult to present a calendar view
• May require a techncal resource to modify the content query view.  Check out the community-developed Enhanced Content Query Web Part as an alternative

List Copy Feature

Approach: use the "Send To Other Location" feature to copy a file from one source list to one or more target lists.  Choose the option to prompt the user to update target lists when publishing a major version.

Show Me

Pros

• Users can choose when to update content in the target location
• Users can choose which list items to copy to target location
• Users can be notified when the target location is updated

Cons

• Cannot be applied at the list level; each list item must be configured to be copied to a target location 
• Only works with document library type lists (documents, pictures, pages, etc)
• Only copies when a major version of the source is created
• Is not automatic; requires user to select the option to update target lists when creating a major version
• A separate copy is maintained in the target lists; can get out of sync with source

Use a Workflow to Copy List Items 

Approach

Show Me

Pros

• Can be applied at the list and list-item level (using conditions)
• Can use conditions to provide-data driven control over when list items are copied to the target location 

Cons

• A copy of the list item exists at every target location
• Requires some technical knowledge of creating workflows with SharePoint designer

Put Shortcuts in target lists that point to source list

Approach

Upload an html document to each target list that contains a meta-refresh tag to the source document.  Note: SharePoint will not allow you to upload .url and .lnk files.  This approach falls into the category of workaround / hack.

Show Me

Pros

• The content is stored in one source location

Cons

• Difficult to maintain; the solution is target-driven, not source driven.  If the source is renamed or moved, all targets must be manually updated.
• Requires some technical knowledge to construct the html meta-refresh

Use an event handler to copy list items

Approch

Show Me

Pros

Cons

• Not as easy to maintain as a workflow created in SharePoint Designer

Filed under: Uncategorized

In SharePoint 2003, each area had a built-in list "Listings" which was used to maintain links between content in different portal areas as well as external links.  This was somewhat of a flawed design in that listings could very easily become broken if the content or area it points to is renamed, moved or deleted.  But that is a topic for another blog post on listing validation.  This article gets into the details of exactly how a SPS 2003 Listing is migrated to MOSS 2007.

A list named "Listings" is created in each site.  This is no longer a built-in list; in other words, you can delete or rename it if you choose.

A content type, "Listing" (which inherits from the Link content type), is created at the site-collection, and the Listings list is set to use that content type.

Here is the definition of the Listing content type:

If you edit one of the listing items, you can see how it was migrated.  Note the url has been fixed up with the more readable MOSS url and the description contains the cryptic SPS 2003 url.

Any page that contained a SPS 2003 Grouped Listings web part is replaced with a Content Query web part in the corresponding MOSS page.  The web part is named "Grouped Listings," but that's just the title.  It's a Content Query web part.

Filed under: Uncategorized

In SharePoint 2003, each area had a built-in list "Listings" which was used to maintain links between content in different portal areas as well as external links.  This was somewhat of a flawed design in that listings could very easily become broken if the content or area it points to is renamed, moved or deleted.  But that is a topic for another blog post on listing validation.  This article gets into the details of exactly how a SPS 2003 Listing is migrated to MOSS 2007.

A list named "Listings" is created in each site.  This is no longer a built-in list; in other words, you can delete or rename it if you choose.

A content type, "Listing" (which inherits from the Link content type), is created at the site-collection, and the Listings list is set to use that content type.

Here is the definition of the Listing content type:

If you edit one of the listing items, you can see how it was migrated.  Note the url has been fixed up with the more readable MOSS url and the description contains the cryptic SPS 2003 url.

Any page that contained a SPS 2003 Grouped Listings web part is replaced with a Content Query web part in the corresponding MOSS page.  The web part is named "Grouped Listings," but that's just the title.  It's a Content Query web part.

Filed under: Uncategorized

There are a few very important things you need to be aware of when choosing between 32-bit and 64-bit MOSS environments.

Upgrade and migration

.Net 1.1 framework is not installed on Windows Server 2003 64-bit by default.  You can download and install it, but here's the issue: to run .Net 1.1 code in IIS, you have to set IIS to run in 32-bit mode.  This is a global server setting and by doing this, you are also running MOSS in 32-bit mode, losing any benefits of a 64-bit installation.  In other words, you might as well have gone 32-bit in the first place.  Here is the Microsoft support article on how to configure IIS for .Net 1.1 on Windows 2003 64-bit.

Why is this an issue?  Chances are, you have an investment in third-party or custom-developed .Net 1.1 SharePoint 2003 customizations such as web parts and controls.  Be prepared to build extra time into your migration schedule to update these to .Net 2.0.  In many cases, this is the desirable path and the right time to do it is during upgrade.  The downside is that you are potentially de-stabilizing solutions and customers won't see a big return in terms of functionality for this investment.  But if the customer wants to run 64-bit, then the investment is necessary.

Indexing and IFilters

Not all IFilters are available in a 64-bit version.  In fact, at the time of this posting, the PDF IFilter is not available from Adobe.  You can get a 64-bit from a Foxit software here.  If necessary, you can make your index server 32-bit until 64-bit IFilters are widely available.  You can mix 32-bit and 64-bit MOSS servers in the same farm, by the way.

Hardware drivers

The technicians building the servers need to ensure 64-bit drivers are available for the hardware and that they use them!

Application integration

Applications that co-exist with SharePoint may be dependent on .Net 1.1.  A good example is Business Scorecard Manager.  Check out this article on that subject.

Experiencing isues that are specific to 64-bit environments

You may find as I have errors that are specific to 64-bit environments.  Because 64-bit is relatively new in terms of adoption, you may also find it more difficult to find solutions.  I'm not saying that Microsoft won't support you, but I am saying you will find less information from blogs and forums which are often very helpful for problem solving.  A great example of this is the following error which I have been unable to resolve and exists on 2 different 64-bit farms.  The symptoms go like this: you are unable to open IIS Manager on the server.  iisreset will fix the issue.  The event log is filling up with variations of the following error message:

By the way, if anyone has the solution to that problem, please let me know!

Do the benefits outweigh the gotchas?

64-bit architectures are more scalable and performant.  64-bit servers can have more physical memory and CPUs as well as increased virtual memory capabilities.  Consider this example from Microsoft:

The application, which had been running on a dual processor, 32-bit server was moved to a new four-way, x64 server with 32 GB of RAM running Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and a beta x64 version of SQL Server 2005. The historical query, which had taken 8 hours to finish on 32-bit Windows and SQL Server, now finishes in less than 5 minutes. 

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of 64-bit Windows, check out this whitepaper from Microsoft.

Summary

Be aware of the "gotchas" with a 64-bit MOSS farm when determining if 64-bit is the right path for your (or your customer's) environment.

Filed under: Uncategorized

There are a few very important things you need to be aware of when choosing between 32-bit and 64-bit MOSS environments.

Upgrade and migration

.Net 1.1 framework is not installed on Windows Server 2003 64-bit by default.  You can download and install it, but here's the issue: to run .Net 1.1 code in IIS, you have to set IIS to run in 32-bit mode.  This is a global server setting and by doing this, you are also running MOSS in 32-bit mode, losing any benefits of a 64-bit installation.  In other words, you might as well have gone 32-bit in the first place.  Here is the Microsoft support article on how to configure IIS for .Net 1.1 on Windows 2003 64-bit.

Why is this an issue?  Chances are, you have an investment in third-party or custom-developed .Net 1.1 SharePoint 2003 customizations such as web parts and controls.  Be prepared to build extra time into your migration schedule to update these to .Net 2.0.  In many cases, this is the desirable path and the right time to do it is during upgrade.  The downside is that you are potentially de-stabilizing solutions and customers won't see a big return in terms of functionality for this investment.  But if the customer wants to run 64-bit, then the investment is necessary.

Indexing and IFilters

Not all IFilters are available in a 64-bit version.  In fact, at the time of this posting, the PDF IFilter is not available from Adobe.  You can get a 64-bit from a Foxit software here.  If necessary, you can make your index server 32-bit until 64-bit IFilters are widely available.  You can mix 32-bit and 64-bit MOSS servers in the same farm, by the way.

Hardware drivers

The technicians building the servers need to ensure 64-bit drivers are available for the hardware and that they use them!

Application integration

Applications that co-exist with SharePoint may be dependent on .Net 1.1.  A good example is Business Scorecard Manager.  Check out this article on that subject.

Experiencing isues that are specific to 64-bit environments

You may find as I have errors that are specific to 64-bit environments.  Because 64-bit is relatively new in terms of adoption, you may also find it more difficult to find solutions.  I'm not saying that Microsoft won't support you, but I am saying you will find less information from blogs and forums which are often very helpful for problem solving.  A great example of this is the following error which I have been unable to resolve and exists on 2 different 64-bit farms.  The symptoms go like this: you are unable to open IIS Manager on the server.  iisreset will fix the issue.  The event log is filling up with variations of the following error message:

By the way, if anyone has the solution to that problem, please let me know!

Do the benefits outweigh the gotchas?

64-bit architectures are more scalable and performant.  64-bit servers can have more physical memory and CPUs as well as increased virtual memory capabilities.  Consider this example from Microsoft:

The application, which had been running on a dual processor, 32-bit server was moved to a new four-way, x64 server with 32 GB of RAM running Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and a beta x64 version of SQL Server 2005. The historical query, which had taken 8 hours to finish on 32-bit Windows and SQL Server, now finishes in less than 5 minutes. 

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of 64-bit Windows, check out this whitepaper from Microsoft.

Summary

Be aware of the "gotchas" with a 64-bit MOSS farm when determining if 64-bit is the right path for your (or your customer's) environment.

Filed under: Uncategorized

There is a feature in MOSS that enables you to gradually shut down the farm for maintenance.  This feature is called "Quiescing."  I have to admit, this isn't a word I use everyday, so I looked it up on Dictionary.com and found the following:

"become quiet or quieter"

"To render quiescent, i.e. temporarily inactive or disabled. For example to quiesce a device (such as a digital modem). It is also a system command in MAX TNT software which is used to temporarily disable a modem or DS0 channel."

Here is how Microsoft spins it:

"Quiescing is the process of gradually bringing long-running applications of a resource offline without incurring data loss. It has been introduced in Microsoft Office servers for 2007."

So if you need to perform maintenance on a farm, you "quiesce" it. IMHO, something like "Take Farm Offline" would have been a better choice.

Why should you use the quiesce feature?

Simply put, to prevent data loss.

How do you quiesce the farm?

1. From Central Administration, Operations, select "Quiesce Farm."

2. Enter the number of minutes in which you want the farm to be fully quiesced and click "Start Quiescing."

3. The page will display the quiescing status.  [From Microsoft] "Quiescing has three states: normal, quiescing, and quiesced. Normal is the active state in which the farm handles all requests that come into it. Quiescing is the state in which the farm only handles requests from existing sessions, and quiesced is the state in which the farm does not allow any new sessions to start."

How do you "un-quiesce" (reset) a farm:

1. From Central Administration, Operations, select "Quiesce Farm."

2. Click "Reset Farm."  Why couldn't they have come up with an obscure word for "reset?"

What quiescing doesn't do.

I expected that after quiescing a farm I'd see a page saying something like "This site is down for maintenance" when accessing a site collection.  It doesn't do that.  I found this information useful: 

[From Microsoft] "Not all applications and services use quiescing. Many other features and operations do not need to use quiescing because they do not have long-running sessions where users enter data over multiple server requests without saving information. For instance, when a user edits an item in a SharePoint list, the information is saved to the database in a single transaction."

[From Microsoft] "In InfoPath Forms Services, a form-filling session may require several communications with a server as the form posts back for server-side data processing for operations such as view switching. Data from the session is usually not saved until the very end when a user submits or saves the form that they're filling. If an administrator were to take the farm offline while some users were in the process of filling forms out, the users would lose all of the data accumulated so far in their session."

To summarize, there are 2 ways to use quiescing.  The first is to impress your friends.  Casually slip the word into a conversation and watch their expression.  The second way to use quiescing is to perform maintenance on your farm and prevent data loss (the key benefit of using this feature).

Filed under: Uncategorized

There is a feature in MOSS that enables you to gradually shut down the farm for maintenance.  This feature is called "Quiescing."  I have to admit, this isn't a word I use everyday, so I looked it up on Dictionary.com and found the following:

"become quiet or quieter"

"To render quiescent, i.e. temporarily inactive or disabled. For example to quiesce a device (such as a digital modem). It is also a system command in MAX TNT software which is used to temporarily disable a modem or DS0 channel."

Here is how Microsoft spins it:

"Quiescing is the process of gradually bringing long-running applications of a resource offline without incurring data loss. It has been introduced in Microsoft Office servers for 2007."

So if you need to perform maintenance on a farm, you "quiesce" it. IMHO, something like "Take Farm Offline" would have been a better choice.

Why should you use the quiesce feature?

Simply put, to prevent data loss.

How do you quiesce the farm?

1. From Central Administration, Operations, select "Quiesce Farm."

2. Enter the number of minutes in which you want the farm to be fully quiesced and click "Start Quiescing."

3. The page will display the quiescing status.  [From Microsoft] "Quiescing has three states: normal, quiescing, and quiesced. Normal is the active state in which the farm handles all requests that come into it. Quiescing is the state in which the farm only handles requests from existing sessions, and quiesced is the state in which the farm does not allow any new sessions to start."

How do you "un-quiesce" (reset) a farm:

1. From Central Administration, Operations, select "Quiesce Farm."

2. Click "Reset Farm."  Why couldn't they have come up with an obscure word for "reset?"

What quiescing doesn't do.

I expected that after quiescing a farm I'd see a page saying something like "This site is down for maintenance" when accessing a site collection.  It doesn't do that.  I found this information useful: 

[From Microsoft] "Not all applications and services use quiescing. Many other features and operations do not need to use quiescing because they do not have long-running sessions where users enter data over multiple server requests without saving information. For instance, when a user edits an item in a SharePoint list, the information is saved to the database in a single transaction."

[From Microsoft] "In InfoPath Forms Services, a form-filling session may require several communications with a server as the form posts back for server-side data processing for operations such as view switching. Data from the session is usually not saved until the very end when a user submits or saves the form that they're filling. If an administrator were to take the farm offline while some users were in the process of filling forms out, the users would lose all of the data accumulated so far in their session."

To summarize, there are 2 ways to use quiescing.  The first is to impress your friends.  Casually slip the word into a conversation and watch their expression.  The second way to use quiescing is to perform maintenance on your farm and prevent data loss (the key benefit of using this feature).

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