Prerequisites

WSS install requires the following configuration:

• NTFS install drive
  • Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 (not supported in IIS 5 compatibility mode)
  • ASP.NET 2.0 Framework
  • WinFX (workflow components)

Running Setup

WSS 2003 supports both stand-alone and farm (remote SQL) installs.   When you run setup.exe you are first prompted with the EULA.

By the time the EULA is displayed, setup has verified the following:

●     Admin requirement check is passed (you must be an administrator)

●     OS requirement check is passed

●     IIS minimum version check is passed, current IIS version is 6.0

●     .NET Framework version 2.0.50727 is installed

●     WinFX version check is passed, minimum required version is [3.0.3807.7]

●     File system check is passed, the path root is C:\ is NTFS

●     System drive free space check is passed

By the time you see the EULA, setup logging has already started.  Log files can be located by Clicking Start>Run and typing %temp%. 

When you click next in the setup wizard, you are presented with two choices.  There are two installation types to choose from; Single Server which will install all components and the SQL Express Desktop Engine, and Farm which has a few other options.

Advanced Setup

Choosing the Advanced setup option from the initial screen provides some additional choices.

Stand-alone

The stand-alone setup is the same as the Single Server Setup configuration.  The exception is that you have the option to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).

Web Front End

The Web Front End option installs SharePoint and allows connection to either a new farm or existing farm and will not install SQL Embedded.  Other options that can be set at this point are:

Data Location

The data location specified here will allow administrators to control the local path where search index files are stored.

These index files can be quite large and as such administrators may want to select a drive other than the one where the OS is installed.

Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP)

You can also choose to participate in the CEIP.  This setting can also be specified later.

Clicking install now will continue with the installation.At the end of the install, the configuration wizard is launched with some new options.

The installation proceeds without any intervention until complete.

Configuration Wizard (New Farm)

After running the Web Front End setup, the configuration wizard is different from the Standalone / Basic setup.

You will need to supply the name of a SQL server to use along with credentials to be used for the connections to SQL.  Clicking next will again warn you that some services may need to be stopped (the same as the Single Server Setup).

Next, you are offered the option to connect to an existing farm (in the event that this is an additional Web Front End in an existing farm), or the option to create a new farm and thus a new configuration database.

Next, you will need to provide the name of the SQL server, pick a configuration database name (SharePoint_Config is the default and is pre populated in the dialog), and provide the credentials to be used in the SQL connection.  The account used for the SQL connection must be a securityadmin and dbcreator in SQL permissions.

Once the required information is supplied, clicking next will provide the opportunity to set the port for the SharePoint Central administration site to be set along with the security to be used (NTLM [the default], or Kerberos).  It should be noted that Kerberos is more secure but requires some additional configuration at the Active directory domain in order for it to work.

When you click next on the above dialog, you will see a confirmation of the information you provided.

Click on Advanced settings and enable the Active Directory Account Creation Mode.  This mode will require a specific OU to be created in your Active Directory where the SharePoint user accounts will be stored.

Use Active Directory account creation mode when it is necessary to create new user accounts rather than using existing domain accounts.  For example, an Internet service provider (ISP) may need the ability to allow SharePoint site owners the capability to create user accounts or invite users to collaborate on a Web site where existing domain accounts for those users do not already exist.

Once you have provided all the necessary details, click Next.  At this point the wizard will perform its operations and report any errors encountered.

Upon successful configuration, the settings are again displayed.

Clicking finish will launch the SharePoint Central Administration site to allow for additional configuration and provisioning.  It should be noted that the first install in a farm does not create a Web application or provision a site.