AnapproachtosolutionarchitectureforSharePointProductsandTechnologiesDatepublished:September2008Summary:WhenyouworkwithWindows®SharePoint®Services3.0andMicrosoft®OfficeSharePointServer2007deployments,youmustensurethatthearchitectureofthedeploymentisintuitivetoyourusers,willscaleandgrowwithyourbusinessovertime,andimportantly,thatitperformswell.Thefirststageofarchitectingascalablesolutionistodesignanddeployaserverfarm.However,youmustalsodesignappropriateinformationarchitectureforthesolutionsandinformationdeployedonthatserverfarm.Byarchitectingtheinformationstructureandsolutiondeployment,youcanimprovetheefficiencyofyourWindowsSharePointServices3.0orOfficeSharePointServer2007deployments.Thispaperdescribesonewaytodesignyourinformationarchitecturebyusingmetadata,sitecolumns,contenttypes,andmanagedproperties.Italsoexplainsthefeatureandsolutionarchitectures,sitedefinitions,andsitetemplates.Youcanviewavideoofapresentationthatcoversthismaterialat=128174&clcid=0x409.ForalternativeguidancefordesigningSharePointProductsandTechnologiessolutions,seeSiteandsolutionplanning(=128170&clcid=0x409)intheOfficeSharePointServertechnicallibrary.TheinformationcontainedinthisdocumentrepresentsthecurrentviewofMicrosoftCorporationontheissuesdiscussedasofthedateofpublication.BecauseMicrosoftmustrespondtochangingmarketconditions,itshouldnotbeinterpretedtobeacommitmentonthepartofMicrosoft,andMicrosoftcannotguaranteetheaccuracyofanyinformationpresentedafterthedateofpublication.ThisWhitePaperisforinformationalpurposesonly.MICROSOFTMAKESNOWARRANTIES,EXPRESS,IMPLIEDORSTATUTORY,ASTOTHEINFORMATIONINTHISDOCUMENT.Complyingwithallapplicablecopyrightlawsistheresponsibilityoftheuser.Withoutlimitingtherightsundercopyright,nopartofthisdocumentmaybereproduced,storedinorintroducedintoaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans(electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise),orforanypurpose,withouttheexpresswrittenpermissionofMicrosoftCorporation.Microsoftmayhavepatents,patentapplications,trademarks,copyrights,orotherintellectualpropertyrightscoveringsubjectmatterinthisdocument.ExceptasexpresslyprovidedinanywrittenlicenseagreementfromMicrosoft,thefurnishingofthisdocumentdoesnotgiveyouanylicensetothesepatents,trademarks,copyrights,orotherintellectualproperty.©2008MicrosoftCorporation.Allrightsreserved.Microsoft,SharePoint,andWindowsaretrademarksoftheMicrosoftgroupofcompanies.Allothertrademarksarepropertyoftheirrespectiveowners.TableofContentsINFORMATIONARCHITECTURE1SiteColumns1BestPracticesforSiteColumns1ContentTypes2BestPracticesforContentTypes2ManagedProperties4BestPracticesforManagedProperties4ContentDatabases5ContentDatabaseArchitecture5HardwareConsiderations6ConfiguringContentDatabasesforDBAs6SOLUTIONARCHITECTURE7WebApplications,SiteCollections,andSites7ServerFarms7WebApplications8ContentDatabases8SiteCollections8Sites9VariationLabels9FeatureArchitecture10WhatIsaFeature?10WhatAreFeatureScopes?10WhatAreFeatureDependencies11HiddenFeatures11Feature-siteTemplateAssociations12InstallingandUninstallingFeatures12HowtoInstallFeatures12ScriptedFeatureInstalls12HowtoUninstallaFeatureCompletely12ActivatingandDeactivatingFeatures13ActivatingandDeactivatingFeaturesbyUsingtheUserInterface13ActivatingandDeactivatingFeaturesbyUsingtheCommandPrompt14SolutionsandDeployment14WhatIsaSolution?14WheretoDeployaSolution15HowtoSynchronizeSolutionsinaFarm16SiteDefinitions16WhatIsaSiteDefinition?16WhatDoSiteDefinitionsConsistof?16InstallingaSiteDefinition17SiteTemplates18WhatIsaSiteTemplate?18WhatDoSiteTemplatesConsistof?18InstallingaSiteTemplate181InformationArchitectureYoumustensurethatyoudesignyourinformationarchitecturebeforeyoudeployyourenvironment;thiswillsaveyousubsequenttimeandeffort.Thekeytodevelopingrobustandappropriateinformationarchitecturesistoresearchandunderstandthebusinessdataandbusinessintelligencerequirementsofyourusers.Whenyouplanyourinformationarchitecture,youwillfinditusefultoperformusageanalysistoestablishwhichsitesandsubsitesreceivethemosttraffic.Youcananalyzeusageinyourorganization'sexistingdeploymentsbyexaminingthelogfilesgeneratedbyInternetInformationServices(IIS).Therearenumerousthird-partytoolsavailablethatgenerateusagereportsbasedontheselogs.IfyourusersarecurrentlyworkinginaWindowsSharePointServices2.0environment,byusingtheCentralAdministrationWebApplication,youcanactivateUsageAnalysisProcessing.ThisgathersinformationfromtheIISlogsandgeneratesausagereportforaspecifiedsite.Youcanusethisinformationinconjunctionwithusersurveystoestablishwhatcontentisaccessedmostfrequently;thiswillenableyoutodeterminewhichcontentneedstobemosteasilyaccessible.Youcanalsouseusersurveystodevelopaclearplanfordevelopingmetadatathatbestdescribescontent.SiteColumnsTodevelopaccurateandpertinentmetadata,youmustfirstanalyzeuserrequirements.Thekeyaimoftaxonomyandmetadatadevelopmentistoprovidetargetedinformationtoyourusers.SharePointProductsandTechnologiesprovidesitecolumnsthatprovideareusa