Dear Enda,

Halloween greetings to you! I hope you like the new look newsletter. I have been trying to simplify the format as much as possible, so you can find what you need. Please flick on through the newsletter and let me know if you like or don't like what you see.

This week I have tonnes of great content for you, particularly around Unified Communications and Collaboration. I have a feature article on SharePoint from a SharePoint MVP, events taking place in Dublin and Belfast, details of the SharePoint User Group launching in November, as well as loads more great resources.

Sticking with the Communication & Collaboration theme,, I have included below some interesting questions and answers from a local Microsoft site. You can see more of these, along with details of UC & C events in Dublin and Belfast, as well as hearing directly from Eircom how their 'New World of Work' is estimated to save them just under a million Euros per year through productivity gains @ http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/connect/.

Laptop Winner
I am pleased to announce the lucky Winner of the Dell Laptop competition I ran last month is Alan Kinane. Alan is a Senior Consultant in Outspan Technologies in Dun Laoghaire. Well done Alan!

Ask the Unified Communications and Collaboration Expert

Q I'm developing a search strategy for my organisation we currently have SharePoint 2007 but it is not currently deployed should I build my search strategy on MOSS or Windows Search Server 2008 Express?

A SharePoint Server 2007 provides a comprehensive search solution for organisations as it supports, document shares, SharePoint libraries, inter/intra net sites, Exchange public libraries, people search and Line of Business Data via the BDC, since the release of SharePoint 2007 Server SP1 we also now support open search standards to provide federated search scenarios and connectors for vendor solutions such as EMC Documentum. More information on Microsoft search and partner solutions can be found here.

Q I'm developing a SharePoint 2007 deployment for my company. Is there a single place which shows me the best practice approach?
Q We're using instant messaging extensively in our organisation. Can we use this away from our PC's?
Q What are the bandwidth requirements of OCS? Do I need to change anything in my network to accommodate VoIP and video?
..... find out the answers @ http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/connect/ask/


Finally, I will be attending Tech Ed, the Microsoft IT Professionals Conference, next week and I am really looking forward to catching all the latest technical content over there. I will of course be reporting back through the next newsletter and my blog on all the best bits! I am also pretty happy about spending the week in such a cool city - and it's still 17 degrees plus over there!

Thanks for reading!

Enda Flynn
TechNet Manager
Microsoft Ireland

Microsoft Unified Communications & Collaboration Seminars
13 November 2008, Dublin: 21st Century Communications and Collaboration Register here.
20 November 2008, Belfast: 21st Century Communications and Collaboration Register here.

Who Should Attend: The seminar is primarily intended for technical decision makers including: CIO's, IT Directors and IT Managers

Summary: Eircom predicts annual savings of "just under a million " through their adoption of Microsoft's Unified Communications and Collaboration tools. This event will introduce you to the "New World of Work" Eircom have achieved, which uses Microsoft's Unified Communication and Collaboration technologies to save money and increase efficiency. The event will feature customer presentations (including Eircom), in-depth product demos and a panel discussion.


Microsoft Licensing Clinics
Due to the continuing complexity of product licensing, Microsoft is offering Licensing Clinics to help you get to grips with the fundamentals. These clinics outline all the licensing options available to you and the best solutions for your company. A brief presentation is followed by a Q&A session. These morning sessions will be kept to a small number to encourage discussion The clinic will give a high-level overview on the following areas:

The various licensing programmes
How products are licensed
Software Assurance
Online licensing management tools
Overview on licensing virtual machines

The morning sessions are being held in Microsoft Ireland's atrium building in Sandyford Industrial Estate, on the 11th November (register here) and the 16th December (register here).

Microsoft Consultancy Services Presents: Microsoft Virtualisation Technology Day
Microsoft Premier Support are delighted to announce a 1 Day Technology Event focused on the Microsoft Virtualisation product stack.

This event is aimed at providing skills to deploy and administer a Virtualised Data Centre, using Microsoft Server Virtualisation products and System Centre Virtual Machine Manager 2008.

It will be delivered by experienced engineers and consultants, all whom have worked with Virtualisation in the field. Expect lots of demo's, notes from the field and an opportunity to speak to and share experiences with the team who have been designing, implementing and supporting these Technologies!

There are a limited few number of places remaining for a delivery of this seminar in December, however there is another date scheduled for February. Please register your interest by emailing trcunnin@microsoft.com with the subject line 'Microsoft Virtualisation Technology Day'

Loads of good stuff coming up in the User Groups!

SharePoint User Group Launching in Ireland!
It's been on the cards for a while now...but I'm delighted to announce that, SharePoint MVP, Stephen Cummins is going to head up the Irish SharePoint User Group, which is due to have its inaugural meeting on the evening November 17th! Stephen is actually going to be the first speaker too - the opening topic is Planning and setting up your first MOSS farm: Hardware, Software, Licences, Capacity and Availability. Please see http://www.sugie.org/ for full details of meeting.

SQL User Group
On November 10th, Arun Justus will hold a "Technical BI Workshop" in the Auditorium in the Atrium building at 18:00. Arun is a BI technical advisor for Microsoft in 12 countries. Registration for this event is here http://sql.mtug.ie/Events/EventInfo.aspx?ID=97175f34-dc28-4fa6-94ff-aa344e2fea29.

Finally, Kimberly Trip is returning to Ireland on December 4th to speak in the Auditorium in the Atrium at 18:00. I have no details on the presentation yet. However, you can still register at http://sql.mtug.ie/Events/EventInfo.aspx?ID=166a7fcc-6003-4980-aaa0-efe7641875f3. As you know, Kimberly is considered to be the #1 speaker in SQL Server today.

Watch this space in future editions for news of forthcoming User Group meetings...additional local User Groups are planned to launch in the coming months too!

MS PRESS BOOK OF THE FORTNIGHT

IT Professional Training at reduced rates - places still available!

03/11/2008, Dublin (BT): Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

10/11/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge ): Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization in Depth
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

13/11/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge ): Introduction to Installing and Managing Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007
2 days, ?267. Register Your Interest Here

17/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Applications
2 days, ?267. Register Your Interest Here

17/11/2008, Cork (PFH): SQL Server 2008 Implementation and Maintenance
5 days, ?1,000. Register Your Interest Here

19/11/2008, Belfast (New Horizons): Implementing and Administering Windows® Small Business Server 2008
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

19/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Customization and Configuration in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
2 days, ?267. Register Your Interest Here

21/11/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Installation and Deployment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0
1 day, ?133. Register Your Interest Here

24/11/2008, Belfast (BT): Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization in Depth
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

24/11/2008, Cork (PFH): Implementing and Administering Windows® Small Business Server 2008
3 days, ?600. Register Your Interest Here

01/12/2008, Belfast (BT): Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

02/12/2008, Cork (PFH): Advanced SharePoint Development
4 days, ?799. Register Your Interest Here

08/12/2008, Galway (New Horizons): Updating Your Skills from Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server or Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

08/12/2008, Dublin (New Horizons): Visual Studio 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

15/12/2008, Dublin (Global Knowledge): Managing System Center Operations Manager 2007
3 days, ?400. Register Your Interest Here

15/12/2008 Dublin (New Horizons): Developing Web Applications Using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
4 days, ?533. Register Your Interest Here

Transitioning from File Shares to SharePoint

While currently most files are designed to be stored on standard file systems, the move to a web based system - SharePoint - is happening because of the added benefits for users. These include check-in/out, workflow, auditing and records management. SharePoint can perform the same functions as a file share: there is item level security, and a recycle bin, and SharePoint Explorer view can be used to perform file share like actions. SharePoint Explorer's interface contains many of the same characteristics and functionality as Windows Explorer. These are still however many types of file not designed for storage in SharePoint. The standard kinds of documents to put into SharePoint are MS Office documents, but also PDFs and ZIP files. For SharePoint to crawl the content of these, additional ifilters must be installed and configured.

Other Considerations
Offline access is also a consideration. Tools like Outlook 2007 and Groove can be used to sync with SharePoint, but this is not as simple as using the local hard drive on a laptop. File Shares are also easier to replicate and backup. SharePoint is a complex mix of IIS, file shares and SQL Server data. SharePoint does not always integrate with some 3rd Party applications either. It is difficult to copy attachments to and from Lotus Notes clients for example. Lots of applications can see UNC paths but not HTTP. SQL Storage is also more expensive than file storage, so must be definite productivity benefit in moving to SharePoint and a clear ROI.

Using SharePoint requires training. Most users know how to upload a file to a share, and use Save As... and Open. But SharePoint is not as simple. There is an additional cost involved here, as well as the time taken to transition and train users with the new system. There is also training users how to move content around within SharePoint and how to navigate the system, as well as use new functionality like versioning and Check-in/out.

Linked Files and Documents
Linked documents and files cannot be run from a SharePoint site, as the dependency on an external sources isn't captured in SharePoint. For example, the URL references created in a linked Excel file when it is uploaded to a SharePoint site are not translated by Excel, and the links will not work. The creator of an AutoCad file would be responsible for ensuring the file was either not linked to other files or are consistently created in the appropriate file format (*.dwf). In all situations, SharePoint is unable to resolve embedded links in documents/files.

Database, Configuration, and Log Files
In order to properly use database files, configuration files and log files, they need to be open and in a locked (writable) state. For example, in a normal file server scenario, shared MS Access databases need have several instances of the database open and locked to allow for users to update it. Similarly, log files and configuration files must be locked and in a writable state. Outlook *.pst files are designed to be used locally, as they have a one to one relationship with the *.pst file owner. SharePoint is not designed to manage locked files (.llck) and therefore it would not be a best use of the platform to run these types of files from a SharePoint site. They can, however, be stored in SharePoint, but would need to be downloaded to the local machine to work effectively. Common examples include: Access database files, Windows configuration files, application log files, Outlook personal stores and archive stores (.pst) and offline stores (.ost).

Large files
Large Audio/Video and Streaming Media and other large archive read only media such as DVDs, CDs storage (.iso, .wmv, .ram, .vhd) are too big and costly to store and share via SharePoint. Linking to these from SharePoint is the best option.

Application Developer Resources (i.e. Visual Studio)
Visual Studio and similar application development suites are designed so that developers can build applications and deploy them to others. This application work is often broken up into project files during development, with the goal of compiling the project files into a final executable file. While the project files can be uploaded to SharePoint to be shared with other developers, the best practice is to use a file compression utility (i.e. WinZip) to collect and upload the *.zip file to SharePoint.

Source Control
While SharePoint is an excellent document control/document versioning tool, it is not designed to be replacement for a Source Code Control solution like to Visual Source Safe.

Application Distribution: Batch, Command Scripts, Executables (.exe, .vbs, .cmd, .bat) SharePoint is not designed to be a host for Product or Application distribution similar to the functionality provided in Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), or as a replacement for a network server that is used to distribute application packages. The recommended application here would be to create a SharePoint site and provide hyperlinks to the server location where the application packages are stored.

Conclusion
Simply for storage, file servers are a better option, but for standard user generated content, SharePoint adds additional functionality that will make most users jobs easier. There will continue to be a need for some file storage however in most organizations.


Stephen Cummins, SharePoint MVP, runs the popular SharePoint blog www.spsfaq.com. He is a Microsoft Technologies Consultant who has specialised in SharePoint for the past seven years. He has managed in excess of thirty SharePoint Implementations to clients including: The Disney Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Deloitte & Touche, Kraft Foods International, McAfee, BP, The International Criminal Court, European Patent Office and Intel.

Stephen is going to be heading up the Irish SharePoint User Group, which is due to launch in the second half of November. See http://www.sugie.org for details of the inaugural meeting!

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