Chapter 2: Advanced Installation and Tools Migration

Overview

Now that we have discussed how to plan your Team System deployment, it's time to begin the actual installation of the product and its tools. This chapter is all about teaching you how to install the different pieces of Team Foundation Server (TFS), and how to migrate existing tools to Team Foundation Server. Installing Team Foundation Server has become much easier since the beta days of the project, as you might expect. You are going to learn how to install TFS over multiple servers, and how to consolidate the install onto a single server. As well, you will learn how to install Team Foundation Server Proxy, which can speed up access to the version control system for distributed teams, and the Team Foundation Build Server, which can be used to automate your build processes.

Virtualization technology is really starting to take hold like wildfire in enterprise organizations. It can be a very effective tool for testing new software, or for getting the most out of your servers. In this chapter, you learn about Microsoft's virtualization technology, how to create a virtual machine, and some tips for installing TFS on a virtual machine.

We then look at some of the administrative functions you may need to perform on your Team Foundation Server, and the different ways you can implement them. And finally, we have a brief discussion on how to migrate some of your existing tools, such as source control or work-item tracking, into Team Foundation Server.

Before we get started with the actual installation, however, we should discuss the different types of administrators for TFS, and what they expect from TFS. We also look at the user accounts that should be created before installation begins, and at the required Active Directory setup, if applicable.