Web Application Proxy and ADFS configuration

ADFS configuration is quite a complex section in which one small mistake leads to hours of troubleshooting as well as its respective resolution. 

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg188612.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/adfs2-step-by-step-guides(v=ws.10).aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2015/09/11/step-by-step-setting-up-ad-fs-and-enabling-single-sign-on-to-office-365.aspx

We are facing some weird error while configuring the web application proxy in Windows Server 2012 R2:

ADFS proxy could not be configured. Unable to retrieve proxy configuration data from the federation Server.

While troubleshooting the issue, we found one Microsoft KB which talks about this update:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/3013769

Most probable cause would be: This issue occurs when finding DRS objects times out. The Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) service tries to connect to every global catalog in the forest during DRS discovery. However, the DRS objects cannot be found because DRS is not initialized. Therefore, AD FS proxy times out.

But that didn’t resolves the issue in my case so I tried it from the scratch with the help of http://thesharepointfarm.com/2014/02/sharepoint-and-the-web-application-proxy-role/ - which resolves the issue for me but still didn’t clear as what went wrong!

Another step of troubleshooting that you can check is to check the certificates on ADFS Proxy.

If you have any further queries or questions then please let me know. I would be more than happy to help you as well resolves your issues J

Sharepoint 2013 Multi Tenant Setup

Multi-tenancy refers to the ability to manage and partition data of sites and otherwise shared services or software in order to accommodate multiple tenants. This is in contrast to running multiple instances of a service, or setting up separate hardware. 

In Microsoft products and technologies, multi-tenancy of services creates a hosting environment wherein server farm resources are maximized. Before learning about hosting environments, it is important to understand the services architecture.

General guidance for hosters in SharePoint Server 2013: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn659287.aspx

If anybody is looking for documentation or the complete process of setting up a SharePoint 2013 Enterprise server for Multi Tenancy then I would suggest looking at the following set of articles by Spence Harbar.  

The first is his walk through for how to build a multi-tenancy environment in 2010.  The second is a newer blog post on what changed in 2013. I don't think I've seen anyone do a full walk through specifically for 2013.

http://www.harbar.net/articles/sp2010mt1.aspx

http://www.harbar.net/articles/sp2013mt.aspx

More References:

https://www.techtask.com/multi-tenancy-sharepoint-2013-farm-mit-powershell-konfigurieren

http://tutorial.wmlcloud.com/windows_server/Multi-Tenancy-in-SharePoint-2013-(part-1)---Managing-Service-Application-Groups,-Creating-a-Site-Subscription-.aspx

https://santoshksp.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/configuring-multitenancy-hosting-in-sharepoint-2010-and-sharepoint-2013/

June 2015 CU for SharePoint 2013 is available

This CU includes all SharePoint 2013 fixes (including all security fixes) released since SP1. The CU does not include SP1.You need to install SP1 before installing this CU.

The KB articles for June CU are available at the following locations:

• KB 3054864 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 June 2015 CU
• KB 3054866 - SharePoint Server 2013 June 2015 CU
• KB 3054865 - SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server June 2015 CU
• KB 3054863 - Office Web Apps Server 2013 June 2015 CU

The Full Server Packages for June 2015 CU are available through the following links:

• Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 June 2015 CU
• Download SharePoint Server 2013 June 2015 CU
• Download Project Server 2013 June 2015 CU
• Download Office Web Apps Server 2013 June 2015 CU

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 CU contains the SharePoint Foundation CU. And the SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server CU contains Project Server CU, SharePoint Server CU and SharePoint Foundation CU.
 

Term Store Management option is missing - Solution is here!

One of our client has reported an issue that they wanted to use the term store management feature but it seems to be missing!

Refer the above screenshot - Two different screenshots has been taken from two different sites. Left one where the problem is and right side is the one where the option is properly reflecting!

If you need learn complete details then please have a look on these wonderful articles:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee519604(v=office.15).aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/sharepoint-server-help/create-and-manage-terms-within-term-sets-HA101631581.aspx

Problem description: Missing Term Store.

Error Message: The required feature is not enabled for this column type.

Let me tell you another interesting thing that I have explored it while doing the troubleshooting: If you try to find out any feature possibility based on this then you will not find anything. This is a hidden gem and you need to enable the functionality via PowerShell.

So Solution / Resolution is very simple here-

Enable-SPFeature –id "73EF14B1-13A9-416B-A9B5-ECECA2B0604C" –Url <URL>

Root cause: based on my research and troubleshooting did then I found out that this is a problem with the site which is having blank site template!

If you have any queries/questions 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. Thank you!

October 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013

This CU does NOT(!) include all SharePoint 2013 fixes previously released! It is recommended to install September 2014 CU before installing this CU.

The CU does not include SP1! You can install SP1 before or after installing this CU.

The KB articles for October CU are available at the following locations:

• KB 2889946 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 October 2014 CU
• KB 2899469, KB 2880962, KB 2880485 - SharePoint Server 2013 October 2014 CU
• KB 2752098 - Fix for SharePoint 2013 Indexing Connector for Documentum (if installed)
• KB 2889959 - Project Server 2013 October 2014 CU
• KB 2889898 - Office Web Apps Server 2013 October 2014 CU

The Packages for October 2014 CU are available through the following links:

• Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 October 2014 CU: 2889946
• Download SharePoint Server 2013 October 2014 CU: 2899469, 2880962, 2880485
• Download SharePoint 2013 Indexing Connector for Documentum October 2014 CU: 2752098
• Download Project Server 2013 October 2014 CU: 2889959
• Download Office Web Apps Server 2013 October 2014 CU: 2889898

After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

September 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013

September 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013 has been released

http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2014/09/10/september-2014-cu-for-sharepoint-2013-has-been-released.aspx

KB 2883087 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 September 2014 CUhttp://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2883087

KB 2883068 - SharePoint Server 2013 September 2014 CU

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2883068

Note This is build 15.0.4649.1001 of the cumulative update package.

August 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013 has been released

The KB articles for August CU are available at the following locations:

• KB 2883081 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 August 2014 CU
• KB 2883086, KB 2883085, KB 2883078, KB 2880559, KB 2760213 - SharePoint Server 2013 August 2014 CU
• KB 2883083 - SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server August 2014 CU
• KB 2883093 - Office Web Apps Server 2013 August 2014 CU (KB delayed)

The Packages for August 2014 CU are available through the following links:

• Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 August 2014 CU: 2883081
• Download SharePoint Server 2013 August 2014 CU: 2883086, 2883085, 2883078, 2880559, 2760213
• Download Project Server 2013 August 2014 CU: 2883083
• Download Office Web Apps Server 2013 August 2014 CU: 2883093

After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

Notes:

Be aware that all Update for SharePoint 2013 require SharePoint Server 2013 SP1 OR March 2013 PU for SharePoint 2013 to be installed first.

·       This CU does NOT include all SharePoint 2013 fixes previously released! It is recommended to install July 2014 CU before installing this CU.

·       The CU does not include SP1! You can install SP1 before or after installing this CU.

·       After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

·       Be aware that for SharePoint Server you have to install the SharePoint Foundation fixes as well! Same for Project Server where you have to install the SharePoint Foundation and the SharePoint Server fixes.

July 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013

The KB articles for July CU are available at the following locations:

KB 2882999 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 July 2014 CU

KB 2882989 - SharePoint Server 2013 July 2014 CU

KB 2882990 - SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server July 2014 CU

KB 2883003 - Office Web Apps Server 2013 July 2014 CU

The Full Server Packages for July 2014 CU are available through the following links:

Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 July 2014 CU

Download SharePoint Server 2013 July 2014 CU

Download Project Server 2013 July 2014 CU

Download Office Web Apps Server 2013 July 2014 CU

After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

Note:

Be aware that the SharePoint Server 2013 CU contains the SharePoint Foundation CU. And the SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server CU contains Project Server CU, SharePoint Server CU and SharePoint Foundation CU.

June 2014 CU for SharePoint 2013

The KB articles for June CU are available at the following locations:

KB 2881063 - SharePoint Foundation 2013 June 2014 CU

KB 2881061 - SharePoint Server 2013 June 2014 CU

KB 2881062 - SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server June 2014 CU

KB 2881051 - Office Web Apps Server 2013 - be aware that Office Web Apps Server 2013 fixes will be released with a different cadence to SharePoint in the future.

The Full Server Packages for June 2014 CU are available through the following links:

Download SharePoint Foundation 2013 June 2014 CU

Download SharePoint Server 2013 June 2014 CU

Download Project Server 2013 June 2014 CU

Download Office Web Apps Server 2013 June 2014 CU

After installing the fixes you need to run the SharePoint 2013 Products Configuration Wizard on each machine in the farm.

Note:

Be aware that the SharePoint Server 2013 CU contains the SharePoint Foundation CU. And the SharePoint Server 2013 with Project Server CU contains Project Server CU, SharePoint Server CU and SharePoint Foundation CU.

The PerformancePoint Services service application has not been configured

If you have configured your farm recently and planning to use Performance Point functionality then you must have notice this error:

The PerformancePoint Services service application has not been configured and is required to use the PerformancePoint features.  The service can be configured from "Manage Service Applications" in SharePoint Central Administration.

The above error message is self-explanatory as it’s conveying that the performance point service application has not yet configured in your farm and we need to do the configuration first before we go ahead and use it in full fledged manner.

Note:

If you find a different solution, please report it as a comment to this post. Be sure to double-verify it: undo your solution and verify that the problem comes back, then redo it and verify that the problem goes away.

Today in this article, I will elaborate how to configure this service application and get rid of this error message.

Two core points are mandatory to get this working as:

1.    Performance Point Service application

2.    Performance Point Services

How to configure Performance Point Service application?

a)    Open the Central Administration

b)    Application Management section

c)    Click on Manage Service Applications.

d)    Click New

e)    Click PerformancePoint Service Application.

f)     Type a name for the service application

g)    Select the Add this service application's proxy to the farm's default proxy list check box.

h)   Select the Create new application pool option

i)     Type a name for the application pool.

j)      Under the Configurable option, select the managed account to run the application pool.

k)    Click Create.

l)     Click OK.

That’s it – by this way PPS service application will be created.

Finally second most important point i.e. Performance Point Services

1.    In Central Administration

2.    System Settings section

3.    Click Manage services on server.

4.    Select the server that you want.

5.    Click Start next to PerformancePoint Service.

Done – check your performance point functionality now and it should be up & running without any issues.

If you have any queries/questions 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, Thank you.

Product Applies To:

·         SharePoint Server 2010

·         SharePoint Server 2013

Backup Site collection, Subsite, List / Library - SharePoint 2013

Hello Guys, today I am going to share one of my interesting topics in SharePoint 2013. This is an important one that you have to be ‘aware of’ as it belongs to recovery model. Yes, you are absolutely right; I am talking about Backup-Restore methods in SharePoint 2013.

Microsoft SharePoint 2013 has comes up with so many enhancements and backup restore is one of them. I will try my best here to cover the backup-restore based on GUI (Graphical User Interface) and Powershell so that you will be proficient enough to work on these mentioned methods independently.

Backup Operations

Backup operations are associated with:
-Site collection
-Subsite
-List and Document Libraries

[How to take the backup of SharePoint 2013 site collection using PowerShell]

Here is the complete syntax:-

Backup-SPSite -Identity <SiteCollectionGUIDorURL> -Path <BackupFile> [-Force] [-NoSiteLock] [-UseSqlSnapshot] [-Verbose]

Backup-SPSite http://server_name/sites/site_name -Path C:\Backup\site_name.bak

[How to take the backup of SharePoint 2013 subsite /List / Library using PowerShell]

Here is the complete syntax:-
Export-SPWeb http://site –Path "site export.cmp"

[LIST / LIBRARY BACKUP]
export-spweb -identity http://URLOFYOURSITE -path \\servershare\AMOL\AMYLIST.cmp -itemurl /NAMEOFYOURLIST

If you have any queries/questions 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, Thank you.

The URL for this file is too long for the application

One of our business owners has reported an issue “SharePoint reporting these errors when I open an Excel file, you can support me in check if not missing any site configuration.”

Error #1:

The URL for this file is too long for the application.  A temporary copy of this file will be opened on your computer.  You must save this copy as a new file. – This is the most common one where many levels of nested sub folders in a library.  If your folder paths start exceeding 120 characters by themselves, it's time to reorganize your content folders.

Error #2:

The specified file or folder name is too long. The URL path for all files and folders must be 260 characters or less (and no more than 128 characters for any single file or folder name in the URL). Please type a shorter file or folder name.

Troubleshoot issues with Windows SharePoint Services.

Error #3:

The URL for this file is too long for the application.  A temporary copy of this file will be opened on your computer.  You must save this copy as a new file

I think this is an old (in fact very old) / generic error message which come while editing the office documents. Let’s try to understand a little background behind this issue!

What’s the cause behind this issue?

Here is the reference: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894630

What the above article saying?

This behavior occurs if the number of characters in the URL exceeds the maximum number of characters that is supported for URLs in SharePoint Server 2007 / 2010, in SharePoint Portal Server 2003, and in Windows SharePoint Services.

To determine the length of a URL, SharePoint Server 2007, SharePoint Portal Server 2003, and Windows SharePoint Services convert the string in the URL to Universal Character Set (UCS) Transformation Format 16 (UTF-16) format, and then count the number of 16-bit characters in the string. A URL that contains more than 260 characters is not supported.

Additionally, a URL that contains one or more of the following components is not supported:

1.    A folder name that has more than 256 UCS-2 characters

2.    A file name that has more than 128 characters

More details on “Understanding URL and path lengths”, “URL path and restrictions”, “Resolving URL length problems”:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff919564(v=office.14).aspx

Resolution:

Make sure that the names of folders and of files do not exceed the maximum lengths that are supported for URLs in SharePoint Server 2007, in SharePoint Portal Server 2003, and in Windows SharePoint Services.

Workaround:

Reduce the SharePoint URL’s, How to do this? – Here is the reference:

https://portal.slac.stanford.edu/sites/inc_public/pages/how-to-shorten-url.aspx

If you have any queries/questions 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, Thank you.

Note:

If you find a different solution, please report it as a comment to this post. Be sure to double-verify it: undo your solution and verify that the problem comes back, then redo it and verify that the problem goes away.

Reference:

http://sharepointknowledgebase.blogspot.com/2013/02/url-path-length-restrictions-sharepoint.html

Product applies to:

·         SharePoint 2010

·         SharePoint 2013