Security token service is not available- SP2010

Security token plays an important role with respect to authentication purpose, if this stops functioning then you will start getting so many tickets regarding access as well as critical tickets which are dependent on the same as few other services are also dependent on this service i.e. security token.

Here is the Microsoft link which talks about in details on security token:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee806864(v=office.14).aspx

While doing the sanity check across all front ends, we have noticed the security token service exception in the event viewer logs with respect to one of the server.

Here are the details:

Error message: Security token service is not available.

Checked the IIS status and found all the application pools and websites were in stopped status.

Started all the SharePoint entities which were in stopped status.

Checked the rule again and it was not there in the HA (Health Analyzer) list anymore.

Issue resolved, we are good now. Thank you.

Few IMP points which are essential while troubleshooting this issue:

In our case, the security token service was working initially without any issues and the farm was already built properly. But in your case, if it’s a newly built farm then it might be a hotfix issue as per this Microsoft article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2493524

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh564135(v=office.14).aspx

If you have any queries regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues.

Also-if you have a different resolution regarding the same issue then request you to share the same so that it would be useful to other as well. Thank you.

Your backup is from a different version of Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and cannot be restored to a server running the current version

Problem Description:

Requirement comes up to transfer the backup of one site collection from production to development environment.

-          Took the backup of the site collection by using PowerShell command without any issues

-          As soon as I tried restoring the backup then I faced the following error message

Error Message:

Your backup is from a different version of Microsoft SharePoint Foundation and cannot be restored to a server running the current version. The backup file should be restored to a server with version '14.0.0.6134' or later.

Checkpoints:

-Compare the development SP version with the production version and found out the following info:

Development- 14.0.6123.5006

Production- 14.0.6120.5006

-it’s quite obvious from the above versions that it’s not going to work L and we should be ready to hear the answer “It seems that you need to update your development server with the same patch which is running in production and then you can restore the backup” / upgrade your destination farm to the same version of the source farm, After your farms are at the same product version, the restore will succeed.

Resolution:

You must be wondering as How exactly I have achieved this resolution?

Here are the details:

-Restored Production backup to staging application but in a separate database

-Took that database and restored to development environment – which automatically place that DB to the same version

-Attached the database to default application, that’s it- issue resolved J

Site is up and running, easily restored to the development environment without any waiting time.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, thank you.

What is the difference between a PU, a CU and a COD?

I thought of Sharing this Article written By Stefan to my Readers . Its really good to understand what is

Service Pack
Cumulative Update (CU)
Public Update (PU)
Critical On Demand Fix (COD)

Service Pack

What is it: A service pack is a combination of previously released fixes, fixes which have only been released in context of the service pack and potentially new functionality added to the product.

What is included: new fixes, new functionality, all previously released fixes (older Service Packs, CUs, PUs)

Multilingual: No. You need separate Service Packs for each installed language

What is the prerequisite: Usually there is no prerequisite to install a service pack.

When to install: it is recommended to evaluate and install Service Packs as soon as possible.

Impact on future fixes: CUs and PUs released more than 12 months after the last service pack can only be installed if the Service Pack has been installed before

Installation Sequence: no specific sequence. You can install a service pack on top of CUs and PUs released later.

Release Cycle: no specific release cycle

Cumulative Update (CU)

What is it: A cumulative update includes fixes for problems with our product that have been reported by customer in context of support cases.

What is included: New and all previously released fixes (CUs and PUs) since the oldest supported service pack (within the first 12 month after a Service Pack has been released the CU includes also fixes released after the previous service pack)

Multilingual: Yes. The CU package includes fixes for all languages.

What is the prerequisite: The oldest supported service pack. Within the first 12 months after releasing a SP you can install on the latest SP and the previous one. CUs released more than 12 months after the newest SP require the newest SP to be installed.

When to install: CUs should only be installed to resolve specific issues fixed with the CUs as mentioned in each CU KB article: "Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problems described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.". Or if adviced to install by Microsoft Support.

Impact on future fixes: In general a CU is not a prerequisite of future CUs and PUs. But in some situations a CU can be a prerequisite of a COD (see below).

Installation Sequence: no specific sequence.

Release Cycle: every second month (February, April, June, August, October, December)
Public Update (PU)

What is it: A public update usually includes security fixes for the product or fixes for problems which affect a broad number of customers.

What is included: please review the KB article for each public update in detail to see which fixes are included.

Multilingual: Yes. The PU package includes fixes for all languages.

What is the prerequisite: Usually the oldest supported service pack. Within the first 12 months after releasing a SP you can install on the latest SP and the previous one. PUs released more than 12 months after the newest SP usually require the newest SP to be installed.

When to install: As a PU includes security fixes it is recommended to evaluate and install PUs as soon as possible.

Impact on future fixes: In some situations a PU can be a prerequesit of future CUs and PUs. E.g. the March 2013 PU for SharePoint 2013 will be a prerequesit for all future CUs (and potentially PUs) for SharePoint 2013.

Installation Sequence: A PU can only be installed on a system which does not already have the included fixes applied through another source - e.g. through an earlier released CU. As PUs are advised to be installed by all customers while CUs should only be installed by customers affected by one of the fixes incuded in the CU the test cycle for a PU is much longer than for a CU. That means a PU released in March can be superseeded by a CU released earlier (e.g. February CU or December CU). Also in some situations a CU requires an earlier released PU to be installed first - otherwise the fix will not install.
Release Cycle: once a month (if required)
Critical On Demand Fix (COD)

What is it: A COD is a fix which is provided only to a small number of customers affected by a critical problem directly through Microsoft Support to provide a quick relief. The code change in the COD will be included in one of the next CUs and it is advised to install that CU on top of the COD as soon as it has been released.

What is included: only the specific fix for a specific issue.

Multilingual: Usually not.

What is the prerequisite: Usually the CU that was used as the baseline to develop the COD. Microsoft Support will provide guidance which CU is required to be install as a prerequisite for the COD.

When to install: Only if advised by Microsoft Support.

Impact on future fixes: A COD will not have an impact on future CUs or PUs. But the next CU can potentially revert the the code change introduced in the CU. See Installation Sequence.

Installation Sequence: As the COD will be released as soon as possible to a small number of affected customers it might happen, that the next CU released shortly after before or after the COD will not include the code change introduced by the COD. Customers which need the fix in the COD have to wait for the CU which will include the fix included in the COD. Microsoft Support will provided guidance on which CU can be installed on top of a COD.

Release Cycle: on demand
   
http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2013/03/21/common-question-what-is-the-difference-between-a-pu-a-cu-and-a-cod.aspx 

February 2013 CU for SharePoint 2010 has been released

The KB articles for February CU

• KB 2760791 - SharePoint Foundation 2010
• KB 2767793 - SharePoint Server 2010
• KB 2767794 - SharePoint Server 2010 with Project Server
  As you see there is a separate Full Server Package for SharePoint Server 2010 with Project Server which simplifies patching of this common installation.

The Full Server Packages for February 2013 CU are available through the following links:

• Download SharePoint Foundation 2010 February 2013 CU
• Download SharePoint Server 2010 February 2013 CU
• Download SharePoint Server 2010 with Project Server February 2013 CU - 

After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm

March Public Update for SharePoint 2013 available and mandatory

The product group recently released the March 2013 Public Update (PU) for the SharePoint 2013 product family.

Important: Due to a change in the package configuration introduced after SharePoint 2013 RTM the March Public update is a mandatory requirement in order to install subsequent SharePoint 2013 Updates.

That means that in order to install future cumulative updates for SharePoint 2013 it will be mandatory to first install the March public update.

• KB 2768000 - SharePoint Foundation 2013
• KB 2767999 - SharePoint Server 2013
• KB 2768001 - Project Server 2013

The Full Server Packages for March 2013 PU are available through the following links:

• Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 March 2013 PU
• Download SharePoint Server 2013 March 2013 PU
• Download Project Server 2013 March 2013 PU
  After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

Be aware that the SharePoint Server 2013 PU contains the SharePoint Foundation PU. And the Project Server 2013 PU contains SharePoint Server PU and SharePoint Foundation PU.
That means only one package has to be installed for the SharePoint 2013 product family.

Thanks Stefan for this Information

http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2013/03/21/march-public-update-for-sharepoint-2013-available-and-mandatory.aspx

Customizing the SharePoint 2013 Developer Dashboard using custom scripts

Wow Stefan Gobner has shared a wonderful article on Customising Dev Dash in 2013.

In SharePoint 2013 Dev dash has helped the admins to help troubleshoot a lot of performance issues .
 The Developer Dashboard can now be extended by injecting custom JavaScript code into the developer dashboard window.

Two steps are necessary to achieve this:

1.Custom JavaScript code, which interacts with the developer dashboard DOM, has to be added to a script file that can be accessed from the Developer Dashboard page. E.g. by placing the script file into the _layouts/15 directory.

2.The custom script file(s) have to be registered to be loaded into the Developer Dashboard page.
Below is a short example, which hides the ULS tab in the Developer Dashboard. This example also shows how to use jquery within the Developer Dashboard.

Create the custom logic in a script file

Create a "hideULSTab.js" inside the layouts/15 directory (program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\15\template\layouts) and add the following script code to it:

// register a code block that runs after the page is loaded
$(document).ready(function()
{
   // iterate over all tabs (identified by CSS class "ms-dd-Tab")
   $('.ms-dd-Tab').each(function(index, para)
   {
      // look for the tab which has "ULS" title
      if ($(para).text().indexOf("ULS") !== -1)
      {
         // hide the title
         $(para).hide();
      }
   });
});

Register the script files with the Developer Dashboard

Our custom script code requires the jquery library – so we have to register two script files with the developer dashboard. That can be done using the following powershell commands:

$contentSvc = ([Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPWebService]::ContentService)
$DevDashboardSettings = $contentSvc.DeveloperDashboardSettings
$DevDashboardSettings.DisplayLevel = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPDeveloperDashboardLevel]::On

$DevDashboardSettings.userscripts.Add("http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jQuery/jquery-1.9.0.min.js")
$DevDashboardSettings.userscripts.Add("/_layouts/15/hideULSTab.js")

$DevDashboardSettings.Update()

As you can see we are registering two different script files: first the jquery library from an external site and second the script file we created earlier.

The powershell script will also enable the Developer Dashboard by setting the DisplayLevel to On.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2013/01/23/customizing-the-sharepoint-2013-developer-dashboard-using-custom-scripts.aspx

InfoPath cannot save the following form: Form Name

Use InfoPath 2013 to design sophisticated electronic forms to gather information quickly and easily.

What's New for InfoPath Developers?

Getting Started Developing Form Templates with Code

Welcome to the InfoPath 2013 developer reference for external automation

Welcome to the InfoPath 2013 developer reference for form templates

InfoPath Forms Services, which is available in SharePoint Server 2013, enables you to deploy an InfoPath form template to a SharePoint Server so that users without the InfoPath rich client can open and fill out InfoPath forms in a Web browser.

Let’s assume- when you try to publish and save the form, you receive the following error message:

InfoPath cannot save the following form: Form Name. This Document Library was either renamed or deleted, or network problems are preventing the file from being saved. Contact your network administrator

For Resolution, I would like convey Million thanks to Microsoft for publishing a KB article for this issue so that everybody can refer and resolve it quickly.

Resolution: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2752612

IMP Considerations while Uploading large files or many files to a library

Microsoft Recommendations

If you are uploading large files--or many files that add up to a large total size--to a library, you may get errors due to the file size limit in SharePoint or timeout errors in your version of Internet Explorer.
Steps you can take to get around these errors include:

• Upload 100 or fewer files. Uploading more than 100 files at a time is not supported.
• Avoid uploading files larger than 250 MB, which is the maximum file size by default.
• If your organization maintains an on-premises deployment of SharePoint, ask the server administrator to verify or increase the maximum file size limit to accommodate the size of the files you are uploading. The default size limit is 250 MB, but it can be increased.
• For file sizes exceeding 2 GB, if you see a "Working on it" message that never goes away, follow the instructions in Microsoft Support: Internet Explorer error "connection timed out" when server does not respond.

"Upload Multiple Documents" option is missing in SharePoint 2013

Problem Description:

Assume that you access a Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 document library through a computer that has Microsoft Office 2013 installed. When you try to upload multiple documents to the document library, the Upload Multiple Documents option is not available in SharePoint Server 2013.

Note: The Upload Multiple Documents option is deprecated in SharePoint Server 2013.

Resolution:

To work around this issue, do one of the following to upload documents to the SharePoint Server 2013 document library:

·         Use the Windows Explorer view

·         Use the SharePoint Server 2013 drag-and-drop functionality

For more information about how to upload, create, or delete files in a SharePoint Server 2013 library, go to the following Microsoft website:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/add-or-delete-files-in-a-library-HA102803549.aspx

If you have any questions/queries regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know, Thank you.