Intlock have been in the market since 2005, selling its SharePoint Usage Report solution. Intlock have developed a web analytics reporting solution for SharePoint 2007, it is called CarioLog 2007. There are three models of the solution; Lite, Professional and Enterprise. The basic set of reports (Cardiolog Lite) is completely free, and you can add more reports to the solution. More information on the various models and pricing can be found here.
Additional Report Bundles
CardioLog comes with basic reports that provide excellent web analytics over SharePoint. There are also additional report bundles that are targeted specifically for each solution workload listed below -
The additional reporting bundles will be available for purchase during September 2008. More information about the basic reports and additional report bundles can be found here.
Now that MOSS is officially supported on SQL Server 2008, you might be looking for information on how to upgrade to SQL Server 2008. Below are some useful links that may assist;
Upgrading to SQL Server 2008
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb677622.aspx
How to: Upgrade to SQL Server 2008 (Setup)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144267.aspx
Using Upgrade Advisor to Prepare for Upgrades
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144256.aspx
On the SharePoint Team Blog this morning is an exciting announcement about support for SharePoint technologies in a virtualised environment. Most importantly is our support for 3rd party virtualisation software.
"Today we’re excited to announce support and licensing updates for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in virtual machines. This is part of a larger announcement affecting multiple Microsoft products, including Exchange Server, SQL Server and SharePoint Server.
As of today, we formally support SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running under Hyper-V through our normal support channels. In addition, we now offer support for SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in 3rd party virtualization software that is certified through our Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). The SVVP is an opt-in program that non-Microsoft virtualization providers can choose to participate in. A list of participating vendors is here.
We’re working on performance and deployment guidance for SharePoint Server 2007 running under Hyper-V that will be published in the next few days on Microsoft TechNet. This blog post will be updated with a link as soon as it’s published.
We have also updated our license terms to allow you to take full advantage of virtualization mobility by waiving the limitation on short-term reassignment (the 90-day license reassignment rule) for SharePoint Server 2007. Effective September 1, 2008, the new rule allows you to move your server licenses and software running instances from one physical server to another as often as you like in the following circumstance – both servers must be located within one or two datacenters within 4 time zones of each other.", SharePoint Team Blog
Today Microsoft released the source code for the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint—based on the Silverlight Beta 2 release. The Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint provide a way for developers to better understand how to integrate Silverlight applications with SharePoint. Silverlight is an incredibly popular technology and with the increase in SharePoint adoption we’re finding an increased call for integrating technologies like Silverlight with SharePoint.
In this release, you’ll find five blueprint samples:
- Hello World
- Media Player
- Slider Control
- Custom Navigation
- Colleague Viewer
Included in the release are documentation for each of the samples and the source code (go to the Releases tab of the CodePlex site). Also posted to the site is an FAQ document. In the coming days and week, we’ll publish additional screen-casts and any other supporting documentation we create or that is provided to us through the developer community.
The links to get to the Silverlight Blueprints for SharePoint are:
- http://www.ssblueprints.net/sharepoint
- http://www.codeplex.com/SL4SP
The SharePoint Team have announced that SharePoint is now officially supported running on SQL Server 2008 (http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/08/15/sql-server-2008-support-for-sharepoint-products-and-technologies.aspx).
"You may already be aware of the recent RTM announcement of SQL Server 2008. We are happy to announce that Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 & Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 now support SQL Server 2008. Our documentation has been updated to include support for SQL Server 2008. Please refer to:
In the next few weeks, we will publish a TechNet article that describes the benefits of running SQL Server 2008 with SharePoint Products and Technologies. Here, we’ve highlighted a few of the benefits that SharePoint customers inherit when choosing to use SQL Server 2008:
1. Improved Manageability
Manageability and governance is important for SharePoint as well as the SQL Server database engine. Now administrators can also benefit from the new management features introduced in SQL Server 2008 – from Policy-based administration to back-up compression. For details, please refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645579(SQL.100).aspx.
2. High Availability
Availability in SQL Server 2008 has been improved through enhancements in data mirroring. For details, please refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645581(SQL.100).aspx.
3. Enhanced Data Security
The SQL Server 2008 database engine introduced new encryption functions that enhance security. SharePoint administrators can take advantage of these new encryption features by simply turning on transparent data encryption (TDE). No additional changes need to be made on the SharePoint side. For details, please refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645578(SQL.100).aspx.
Last but not least, don’t forget to apply SP1 on SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Keep in mind, SP1 is also a requirement for installing on Windows Server 2008.
Stay tuned for the TechNet article! ", Jie Li, Technical Product Manager, SharePoint
Spencer Harbar has a great article that lists the hotfixes that have been released since SP1 which he is keeping up to date. I will stress as per Spencer, "You shouldn't deploy these willy nilly unless you are experiencing issues - it's best to wait for the regular "roll up" packages."
Click here for more information.
I have been collecting M&M chocolate dispensers and other M&M memorabilia for the past seven years. Tonight I decided to create a new blog to share my collection with others who might also collect similar items or might just be interested in having a look at them. I have over 70 items in my collection and will be posting images of the collection.
Check out my collection at http://mandmcollector.wordpress.com/.
There are only 67 days now until Tech.Ed Australia 2008. Microsoft are now giving you an extra two weeks to register for the $250 Tech.Ed Early Bird discount. By extending the deadline to 11 July Microsoft is giving you even more chance to maximise your Tech.Ed investment and an opportunity to take advantage of your budgets in the new financial year.
Have some fun with www.faceinhole.com. Place your face or your friends face into a well known picture; Thanks for the link Chris.
Grumpy Wookie (Chris O'Connor)
CodeJedi (Me)
The SharePoint and Enterprise Search teams have posted articles about the release of some SharePoint WebPart to provide integration of FAST ESP into SharePoint.
"It’s been around 45 days since the acquisition of FAST Search and Transfer closed and we’re moving quickly to provide interoperability for Microsoft customers between FAST ESP and Microsoft SharePoint Server.
The first deliverables from this work are a set of FAST ESP Search Web Parts for quickly integrating results from FAST ESP into SharePoint Server 2007 and a FAST ESP Search site template.
Using these Web Parts and Site Template SharePoint administrators will be able to quickly and easily build FAST ESP-based search sites inside SharePoint 2007 by simply dropping in and configuring the appropriate components.
The Web Parts and Site Template are available as a free download (both compiled code and source code) from CodePlex at www.codeplex.com/espwebparts and are part of the Search Community Toolkit.
Some of the FAST ESP search capabilities that can be exposed within SharePoint Server 2007 using these Web Parts include:
• Search Box Web Part -- Search box for query term submission and includes “did you mean” functionality for query correction
• Result List Web Part -- Displays search results and supports sorting, pagination, and navigator-based filtering
• Navigator Web Part -- Displays dynamic navigators that profile search results across a set of pre-defined dimensions and allow users to refine the search through navigation clicks
• Breadcrumb Web Part -- Displays the search term(s) and list of navigators used to obtain the current result set
The FAST ESP Web parts are designed to be open and extensible, and we’re actively encouraging customers and partners to download them, customize them to align with their branding and extend them to fit their search and user experience requirements.
Expect the features, functionality and range of ESP Web Parts to grow through contributions from the search developer community as well as further contributions from the FAST & Microsoft Search Team!". FAST & Microsoft Search Teams.
Microsoft have a great resource for SharePoint Developers, MS SharePoint Developers. You can watch videos casts, read white papers, download VPCs and learn lots from the How to Develop series. Check out this highly valuable resource.
Each month an internal email goes around highlighting the rankings of the various MSDN and TechNet blog sites. Last month I received a ranking of 1775 out of 5788 MSDN blogs which puts me in the top 31% of MSDN blogs. I wanted to thank all the regular readers and visitors to my blog, it is much appreciated.
If you are interested in who made the top of the list; the most hit MSDN Blog for May was http://blogs.msdn.com/saraford/ with 116,605,106 total views, that's right 116 million views and the most hit TechNet Blog for May was http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/ with 3,470,823 total views.
In addition I also noticed that Joel Oleson has compiled a list of the Top 100 SharePoint Blogs based on Technorati ratings, and wow I made the list at number 69 (great number by the way).
A friend of mine Grumpy Wookie has posted about a new Microsoft Press book called SharePoint Best Practices.
Get field-tested best practices and proven techniques for designing, deploying, operating, and optimizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
Part of the new Best Practices series for IT professionals from Microsoft Press®, this guide is written by leading SharePoint MVPs and Microsoft SharePoint team members who’ve worked extensively with real-world deployments and customers.
You’ll find out how to deploy the software, design your environment, manage content, analyze and view data, perform disaster recovery, monitor performance, and more.
You’ll learn how to create SharePoint sites that help your organization collaborate, take advantage of business insights, and improve productivity—with practical insights from the experts.
Microsoft Press : Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Best Practices
Amazon : Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Best Practices (Paperback)
"Will have to put this on the shopping list. With the USD and AUD being so close to parity, it’s actually cheaper to buy books from Amazon, that my local Borders book-shop !", Chris O'Connor (a.k.a. Grumpy Wookie)
I am heading to the US for MGX (Microsoft Global eXchange - the Internal Microsoft Sales kick off event) in July so I may just have to purchase the book directly from the US and save on postage...Chris, did you want me to get you a copy too?
Microsoft have been using a Podcasting technology in house for a little while now called "Academy Mobile". This system allows internal Microsoft staff to record, upload, subscribe, download and listen to internal Podcasts simply and securely from inside or outside the network boundaries.
Microsoft have just announced the release of the framework behind this system to CodePlex, the open source community site. The Podcasting Kit for SharePoint will enable customers, partners and anyone else using SharePoint to rapidly obtain a Podcasting capability within SharePoint.
What Can You Do With Podcasting Kit for SharePoint (PKS)?:
- Listen and watch audio/video podcasts, anywhere on your PC or mobile device (Zune, SmartPhone, or any podcasting device)
- Share content by producing your own audio/video podcasts and publish them on PKS on your own.
- Connect and engage with podcasters via your integrated instant messaging program
- Find the most relevant content using the five star rating system, tag cloud, search engine and provide your feedback via comments.
- Get automatic podcast updates by subscribing to RSS feeds fully compatible with Zune and other podcasting devices
- Simple RSS feed based on a defined podcast series
- Simple RSS feed based on a person
- Dynamic RSS feed based on search results
- Play podcasts in real-time using Microsoft® Silverlight™ and progressive playback
- Retrieve instant ROI and metrics with the ability to track the number of podcasts downloaded and/or viewed, instant feedback via rating system and comments, and subscribers via the RSS feed
- Access the richness of SharePoint to extend the solution: workflows, community sub-sites, access rights, editorial and more
- Customize your own PKS User Experience
More information
PKS Home Page
PKS Podcast Page
PKS Podcaster Page
Chris Johnson, Program Manager - SharePoint has posted that Version 1.2 of the Visual Studio extensions for WSS are now available for download!
In summary, Version 1.2 is for Visual Studio 2008 only, for Visual Studio 2005 you will still need to download Version 1.1 (download).
Download VSeWSS 1.2
"Today we are releasing the English edition of the Version 1.2 extensions. We will be releasing the German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, and Korean language versions shortly.
We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting VS2008 support so we hope this helps you build fantastic SharePoint solutions on the latest Visual Studio toolset.", Chris Johnson, Microsoft Corporation
Chris also provide some great resource links;
mssharepointdeveloper.com
If you are looking learn more about SharePoint development we have also just launched a brand new resource to help you. http://www.mssharepointdeveloper.com. There are Whitepapers, Virtual Labs, Web casts, Screen casts, Quickstarts & other resources. You can also download a SharePoint development VPC with all the tools you need to get started already installed.
VSeWSS User Guide
In case you have not seen our User Guide for VSeWSS you can download it here: download. It is a great resource that explains how you can use VSeWSS in many common SharePoint development scenarios.
Another excellent feature of VSeWSS and time saver for many developers is the SharePoint Solution Generator;
This stand-alone program generates a Site Definition project from an existing SharePoint site. The program enables developers to use the browser and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer to customize the content of their sites before creating code by using Visual Studio.
