Software Requirements

To successfully deploy Team Foundation Server, you must take into account the software requirements of each of the components. Here is a drill down of all the required software and additional practical considerations.

Required Service Packs and Software Components

At the time of writing, Team Foundation Server itself does not require any service packs. However, we have outlined the service packs for the components that Team Foundation Server depends on (for example, the operating system).

Team Foundation Server

Team Foundation Server requires Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1). It will not correctly function on any other current operating systems. To function correctly, the following software components must be installed: Windows SharePoint Services Service Pack 2 (SP2), Internet Information Server 6.0 (IIS, which is packaged with Windows Server 2003), and SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition and above. The key for a successful deployment is installing the components in the right order and correctly configured. The most accurate and complete source of information is the Visual Studio Team Foundation Installation Guide (TFSInstall.chm). The guide can be found on the CD or DVD installation media for Team Foundation Server.

SQL Server 2005

SQL Server 2005 has more flexibility than Team Foundation Server with regards to the operating system (again, assuming that you install the data tier [DT] on a separate machine than the application tier [AT]). SQL Server 2005 requires at least Windows 2000 Advanced or Datacenter Edition with Service Pack 4 or higher. It is fully supported on Windows 2003 Enterprise or Datacenter Edition, or Windows Small Business Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Standard or Premium Edition.

SQL Server 2005 has 64-bit support. If you try to run SQL Server 2005 32-bit edition on a server that has an x64 bit processor, it will run in Windows On Windows (WOW64) compatibility mode. Otherwise, SQL Server 2005 will effectively run Windows 2003 Service Pack 64-bit X64 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition.

Team Foundation Server requires at the very least SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition to run.

Team Foundation Build

Team Foundation Build can only be installed on Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) Standard or Enterprise Edition.

Visual Studio 2005 and Team Explorer

Visual Studio 2005 will install on Windows 2000, Windows XP Home and Professional, and Windows Server 2003. Note that Visual Studio 2005 is not supported on the Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.

Important

If you need to install Visual Studio 2005 on a pre-Service Pack 2 system, Aaron Stebner outlines the steps on his Web log at http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/. This may be useful if your operations department hasn't yet deployed Service Pack 2 to all desktops or in test installations.

All the editions of Visual Studio 2005 also require Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1, Microsoft Office 2003 (or greater) with Service Pack 1, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Version 9.0, and the .NET Framework 2.0 (which is installed as part off the Visual Studio 2005 installation process).

Team Explorer has the same requirements as Visual Studio 2005. It can be used as a standalone tool (a stripped down version of Visual Studio 2005 without any code building functionality). If you have any of the Team Editions installed on your target machine, Team Explorer will install as a plug-in, providing access to Team Foundation Server. Team Explorer is available on the Team Foundation Server CD or DVD media. Figure 1-4 shows a screenshot of the standalone version of Team Explorer.

Figure 1-4

Other Tools

The test controller and test rigs are used to run load tests with a large number of simulated users on remote computers. The test controller requires Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (any version of Windows Server 2003 will do), Microsoft SQL Express Edition, and the .NET Framework 2.0. The test rig must be installed on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2, or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4. The test rig also requires Microsoft SQL Express Edition and the .NET Framework 2.0.

Unsupported Software

If you want to integrate Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Project with Team Foundation Server, you must install Office 2003 before installing Team Explorer. Earlier versions of Office aren't supported.

If you are running any systems with Windows NT or Windows 98, you will have to upgrade them to Windows XP to connect them to Team Foundation Server.