Summary

In this chapter you learned the following:

• q SharePoint is a web-based application that helps users share and collaborate with any type of data and information.

• q SharePoint lets the ordinary user create sites and document libraries in a secure and controlled manner.

• q The previous versions of SharePoint were STS (SharePoint Team Services) and SPS 2003 (SharePoint Portal Server). STS was replaced by WSS 3.0 (Windows SharePoint Services), and SPS 2003 was replaced by MOSS 2007.

• q Moss now comes in several editions, and with optional server modules.

• q WSS is the base module of SharePoint. It is used to create sites for managing and sharing information, such as projects, customer data, meetings, and local intranets.

• q MOSS is the optional add-on package. It enhances WSS with several new features, such as Search, Excel Services, and Forms Server, plus new site templates such as Internet Site, Intranet Portal, and Record Management sites.

• q To install SharePoint, the server needs Windows 2003 Server with IIS and ASP.NET activated.

• q SharePoint can use two types of SQL databases: MS SQL 2000/2005 Server and SQL Server Express.

• q SQL Server Express must be installed on the same computer as SharePoint.

• q MS SQL 2000/2005 Server can be installed on a separate computer if required.

• q WSS has a special version of SQL Server Express, named Embedded SQL Server Express.

• q SharePoint 2007 (WSS and MOSS) is best integrated with MS Office 2007.

• q You can use older versions of MS Office, but you will lose functionality, and the integration with SharePoint 2007 is not as good as with Office 2007.

• q You can use SharePoint to build intranets for the complete organization, for the department, or for any local groups of teams, if requested.

• q The index and search functionality MOSS 2007 are very good! It makes it possible to search anywhere and in practically any file type.

• q WSS 3.0 now comes with its own index and search engine, but it is limited to searching in WSS sites only.

• q You can use MOSS to index new file types by installing a corresponding IFilter (Index Filter).

• q You can search for content in both files and properties, such as Author, Title, and Size.

• q You can configure SharePoint to make your own library columns searchable.

• q You can define keyword best bets for frequently requested information.

• q SharePoint requires every user to have an account in order to authenticate. You can use local sever accounts or domain accounts, and thanks to the new pluggable authentication system you can also store accounts in a MS SQL server

• q To allow a secure access to the SharePoint server from the Internet you must use a MS ISA server or similar product.

• q If external users such as partners or customers need access, you must create an account for them in your environment.

• q Another way of allowing users in remote organizations access to your SharePoint server is to install the Active Directory Foundation Service (ADFS).

• q Using MS Groove a project team can share and collaborate on SharePoint list or library, regardless of the team members' organizational membership.

By now, you have a general idea of what SharePoint is and how you can use it. In the next chapter, you learn how to install and configure Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.