SharePoint Server 2010

We’ve heard loud and clear that you want system requirements information as early as possible to assist in your budgeting and planning, so today we’re happy to announce (and confirm) some preliminary system requirements for SharePoint Server 2010:

1. SharePoint Server 2010 will be 64-bit only.
2. SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit Windows Server 2008 or 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2.
3. SharePoint Server 2010 will require 64-bit SQL Server 2008 or 64-bit SQL Server 2005.

In addition to the requirements listed above we also wanted to share with you some preliminary detail about SharePoint Server 2010 browser compatibility.

To ensure the best possible experience across multiple browsers we’re focusing our SharePoint 2010 engineering efforts on targeting standards based browsers (XHTML 1.0 compliant) including Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.x. running on Windows Operating Systems. In addition we’re planning on an increased level of compatibility with Firefox 3.x and Safari 3.x on non-Windows Operating Systems. Due to this focus Internet Explorer 6 will not be a supported browser for SharePoint Server 2010.

So, what can you do today to get into the best shape for SharePoint Server 2010?

1. Start by ensuring new hardware is 64-bit. Deploying 64-bit is our current best practice recommendation for SharePoint 2007.
2. Deploy Service Pack 2 and take a good look at the SharePoint 2010 Upgrade Checker that’s shipped as part of the update. The Upgrade Checker will scan your SharePoint Server 2007 deployment for many issues that could affect a future upgrade to SharePoint 2010.
3. Get to know Windows Server 2008 with SharePoint 2007, this post is a great starting point.
4. Consider your desktop browser strategy if you have large population of Internet Explorer 6 users.
5. Continue to follow the Best Practices guidance for SharePoint Server 2007.
6. Keep an eye on this blog for updates and more details in the coming months.

Below are a few common Q&A’s (which we’ll add to as required)

Q: What about Internet Explorer 6 and SharePoint 2010 publishing sites?

A: The Web Content Management features built into SharePoint 2010 will provide a deep level of control over the markup and styling of the reader experience. These features will enable customers to design pages that are compatible with additional browsers for viewing content, including Internet Explorer 6. A standards based browser such as Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8 or Firefox 3.x will be required to author content.

Q: Is Internet Explorer 6 officially supported by Microsoft?

A: Official Microsoft Product Support for Internet Explorer 6 follows the lifecycle of the Operating System with which it was shipped. In order for customers to receive product support through the Mainstream Support and Extended Support phases, they need to have installed a supported Service Pack. For example, customers who are using Windows XP must transition to Service Pack 3 by July, 2010 and are eligible to receive support for Internet Explorer 6 until April, 2014.

You can find additional information on Microsoft’s Support Lifecycle Policy including specific dates, product information and support offerings here: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy.

Q: Why are you only supporting the 64-bit versions of SQL Server 2005 or 2008 for SharePoint Server 2010?

A: This decision was based on our current test data for SharePoint Server 2010 and real world experience from customers running SharePoint Server 2007 with 32-bit SQL Server. SharePoint performance and scalability can benefit significantly from 64-bit SQL Server and the throughput increases are significant enough for us to make the difficult decision to only support SharePoint Server 2010 on 64-bit SQL Server 2005 or 2008. It has been our strong recommendation for some time that SharePoint Server 2007 customers take advantage of 64-bit SQL Server due to the inherent performance and scale benefits it can provide.

~ Gangadhar Kotu

Backup Script for MOSS 2007

Having a good backup in place should allow you (and your business users) to sleep better at night... knowing that your SharePoint data is protected. MOSS 2007 has some fantastic backup/restore functionality... but it still doesn't have a scheduler. However, it is possible, like with SPS 2003, to create a batch job to use the stsadm tool for a scheduled backup.

The script looks like this and is very easy to implement. Remember, check the date stamps on you files often to ensure that things are running successfully.
@echo off
echo ====================================================
echo Backup Script For Office SharePoint Server 2007
echo ====================================================
cd \program files\common files\micrsoft shared\web server extensions\12\bin
@echo offstsadm.exe -o backup -url http://servername -filename c:\backupssharepoint\backupsharepoint.dat -overwrite
@echo off
echo completed

~ Gangadhar Kotu

Garbage Collector .net

Pals,

The .NET garbage collector provides a high-speed allocation service with good use of memory and no long-term fragmentation problems. This article explains how garbage collectors work, then goes on to discuss some of the performance problems that might be encountered in a garbage-collected environment.
Here are the some of the articles on the usage of Garbage collector in .net.

1. http://forums.asp.net/t/1095468.aspx
2. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms973837.aspx (Blog)
3. http://blogs.msdn.com/ricom/archive/2003/12/02/40780.aspx
4. http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dotnet/garbagecollection.aspx

~ Gangadhar Kotu (గంగాధర్ కోటు)