This module dives into what SharePoint is, how it is put together, and all of the different ways it is packaged up. It covers all of the available SKUs, such as SharePoint Foundation, Search Server 2010 Express, SharePoint Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise, and FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint. It will also dive into when you should and should not use the For Internet Server license. Also, this module will explore SharePoint in the cloud and the various options that go along with it. Finally, it will end with an overview of the other servers in the SharePoint story such as SQL Server and Windows Server.

 

This is easily the most important module. Without SharePoint installed properly, nothing else matters. Here at SharePoint911 we have a unique perspective on installing SharePoint because we have installed it for over 100 different customers.  In this module we will not talk about a hypothetical install, but actual client installs. This module will walk you through doing a SharePoint install the exact same we do it for customers on their production systems. Then during the hands on lab you will do just that. We won’t be installing SharePoint as one account because that is easier; instead we will explain a proper, least-privilege installation. With a least privilege install, each account only has the permissions it needs. This makes your farm less susceptible to attack and is also more impressive to show off to your coworkers. Also, the lab is written so you could easily apply the same steps to your production server when you get back to the office.

 

Service applications in SharePoint are how the various services are offered up. In SharePoint 2007 this was done through a Shared Services Provider (SSP) as a packaged deal. Now in SharePoint 2010 these services are offered a la carte. In this module you will dive into the inner workings and terminology necessary to deploy, configure, and scale service applications.

 

From our experience we have found that very few people, no matter how seasoned, know the proper terminology in SharePoint. For this module, this will be the focus. It is the age old battle of, “What is a site?” Turns out that four letter word means something different to everyone. After this lecture, you will never say "site" again. Once everyone is speaking the same language, this module will help you prepare to start creating content for your users and how those decisions affect everything from authentication to storage. Site collections are the answer and here you will learn how to slice and dice them every way possible.

 

After you get SharePoint set up and get it planned out, users are going to want to start putting content there. And once there’s content in SharePoint, permissions become very important. In this module we will cover how permissions are given in SharePoint. We will cover how they control who can access what content and we will also cover how SharePoint handles permissions at the administrative level so that you can delegate permissions to other members of your team.

 

Now that we know all about Service Applications and their architecture it’s time to dig in and see what each Service Application brings to the table and how to use them. In this module we will cover the Managed Metadata service application and explain how you can use metadata in your farm. Then we will cover the Business Connectivity Services and explain how you can use it to access external information. We will also cover the Secure Store and PerformancePoint service applications, and we’ll finished up by covering the Usage and Logging service and how you can use it to keep an eye on your SharePoint farm. 

 

While Search is a service application, we did not cover it in the service applications module. It’s a big enough deal that it deserves its own dedicated module. In this module we will cover the different flavors of search in SharePoint and help you decide which one is right for you. Then we will discuss how to configure the search service and tune it to your farm. We will wrap things up by showing you how to make search stand up and dance when your users use it. We will cover ways to customize the search experience in the UI as well as with things like Best Bets and managed properties.

 

The User Profile Service Application (UPSA) can be a tricky beast to tame, but never fear, after this module you won’t even need your whip and a chair to get it to behave. We will explain what the UPSA is and what it provides to your farm. Then we’ll go over My Sites and how they provide value to SharePoint and your organization. Since the UPSA can be difficult to work with we’ll also go over some of the common problems with it and how to overcome them.

 

SharePoint is fun inside your company, but it’s even more fun if you can share SharePoint with your customers and partners. In this module we show you how to configure SharePoint to work in Extranet and Internet environments. This includes using Claims authentication and network devices like firewalls and reverse proxies to keep your farm safe from bad guys. Finally we will demystify Alternate Access Mappings and show you how to configure them for external access.

 

We now have SharePoint installed and configured and our users are taking full advantage of it, but how do we protect all this hard work? This modules covers disaster recovery in SharePoint 2010. We talk about the different kinds of disasters that your SharePoint farm might see and how you can prepare for them and recover from them, whether you’ve prepared for them or not.

 

It’s a sad reality, as SharePoint administrators we are sometimes forced to deal face to face with our enemies, the SharePoint developers. That confrontation can go much smoother if we’re all on the same page, and if you have some idea how you want their code to interact with your farm. This module will talk about the importance of Features and Solutions, as well as the best way to move code through your organization with good development and testing practices.

 

Sliced bread better be looking over its shoulder, because PowerShell is sneaking up on it to take its lead as the best invention ever. PowerShell is the command line interface for SharePoint 2010 and as a SharePoint administrator you’ll find yourself leaning on it the more you use the product. This module takes some of the scariness out of PowerShell. We will show you how to get around in PowerShell and then show you real world ways you’ll take advantage of it while you’re keeping your SharePoint farm happy.

 

If SQL isn’t happy, SharePoint isn’t happy. To be a successful SharePoint administrator you need to know your way around SQL and be able to keep it running. This module will cover what each version of SQL offers your SharePoint farm. We will discuss the different disaster recovery strategies that SQL offers. We will finish the module by going over basic care and feeding of your SQL servers.

 

SharePoint 2010 is where you want to be, but what if you have content that is trapped in an older version of SharePoint?  This module covers all the available upgrade strategies so you can determine which one is right for your environment. We will cover how to test your upgrade to ensure happy users.  There will probably also be a lot of war stories being told, so bring your Kleenexes. And even if you are not upgrading it is good to understand the methods because one day you will upgrade to V.next and every time you apply a patch to 2010 it is a mini upgrade. Lots of little life lessons to learn here.

 

Business Intelligence is hot, almost as hot as SharePoint. One great way to take SharePoint to the next level is to use it for BI. This module covers all the ways you can use SharePoint to access external data. We will then cover all the different ways that SharePoint can surface that information using SQL Server Reporting Services, PowerPivot, PerformancePoint and Excel Services.