Configure Servers and Services
This section covers how to add and remove servers from the farm and configure services to run on servers. The flexibility of SharePoint’s services model allows you to grow a farm from just 2 servers to a large farm with over 20 servers.
Adding and Removing Servers from a Farm
Adding a server to a farm is done just after the SharePoint installation is finished. This process is covered in detail in Chapter 1, but here is a quick recap of the steps:
1. Log into the server using the domain install account.
2. Install prerequisites.
3. Install SharePoint binaries.
4. Apply service packs and/or cumulative updates to match the farm build.
5. Install language packs, if needed.
6. Install any other software components such as Office Web Apps that are running on other servers in the farm.
7. If this server will become a WFE, manually install any custom code that is not deployed by a solution package. To learn more about solution packages, see Chapter 6, “Configuring System Settings.”
8. Run the SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard or PSConfig.exe to join an existing farm. Be sure to have the passphrase that you set when creating the farm.
Once the server is added, you are ready to begin configuring services for it. To view all the servers in the farm, go into Central Administration, select System Settings, and click Manage Servers In This Farm. See Figure 5.6.
Figure 5.6: Servers in a farm
NOTE You do not directly add database servers to a farm or remove them from a farm. When you create a database on a different SQL server, SharePoint automatically adds the server and it appears in the list shown in Figure 5.6. You can always recognize a database server since the Services Running column lists the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Database service. Mail servers that have been configured as outbound SMTP servers are listed as Not Configured. (See mail.hawmetal.com in Figure 5.6 for an example.)
To remove a server from the farm, you should run either the Configuration Wizard or PSConfig.exe on that server. Using one of these methods ensures that IIS websites, along with Registry and other local settings on that server, are properly removed.
To remove a server from a farm using the Configuration Wizard:
1. Log into the server using the domain install account.
2. Start the Configuration Wizard (Start ⇒ All Programs ⇒ Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products ⇒ SharePoint 2010 Products Configuration Wizard).
3. Click Next on the welcome screen.
4. Acknowledge the message that services will be stopped.
5. When prompted, choose Disconnect From This Server Farm, as shown in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7: Disconnecting a server from a farm
6. Acknowledge the warning and the server is then removed.
If the configuration database is not accessible, you will get an initial error message when trying to remove the server. Despite this, you can still remove the server, but the configuration database is not updated. To update the farm later, click the Remove Server link in the Farm Information table, as shown in Figure 5.6.
The Remove Server link can also be used to forcibly remove a server from a farm if the server is offline (due to a crash, for instance).
To remove a server using PSConfig.exe, follow these steps:
1. Log into the server using the domain install account.
2. Locate PSConfig.exe in the following folder: Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft SharedWeb Server Extensions14in and issue the following command:
psconfig -cmd configdb -disconnect
Once removed, the server can be rejoined to the farm or joined to a separate farm.
NOTE Removing a server from the farm does not uninstall the SharePoint binaries or any other software from the server. To uninstall SharePoint from a server, open Control Panel and select Add Or Remove Programs.
Managing SharePoint Services
A SharePoint service is similar to a Windows service (in fact, some are Windows services) and dictates what role (i.e., WFE or application server) and specific functions a particular server has. The services installed vary depending on whether SharePoint Foundation, SharePoint Server Standard, or SharePoint Server Enterprise has been installed. Other services become available if additional software has been installed. For example, if Office Web Apps or Project Server 2010 is installed on the farm, new services are created.
TIP Do not confuse services with service applications. When you create or delete a service application, the list of services installed is not affected. For example, you will have a Business Data Connectivity service installed whether or not you have created a Business Data Connectivity service application. If you plan on using the Business Data Connectivity service in a farm, you create the service application, associate it to a web application, and then start the service on the server(s) in the farm that should run this service application. Furthermore, not all service applications have a matching SharePoint service. For more information on service applications, see Chapter 4, “Creating Service Applications.”
Once a new server joins an existing farm, these three services are automatically started:
- Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application
- Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Workflow Timer Service
- Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Incoming Email
The Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service tells SharePoint that this server is a WFE. Therefore, by default, any new server added to a farm is assumed to be a WFE. If this server should be a dedicated application server instead, you need to stop this Web Application service, as described in the next section.
For a description of each built-in service and advice on whether it should be run on a WFE or application server, download a SharePoint 2010 topology diagram from the “Topologies for SharePoint Server 2010” page at the Microsoft Download Center:
www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=fd686cbb-8401-4f25-b65e-3ce7aa7dbeab
Viewing Installed Services
To view the list of installed services from Central Administration, select System Settings and choose Manage Services On Server. Figure 5.8 shows a list of some of the installed services that are part of SharePoint Server Enterprise.
Figure 5.8: Viewing installed SharePoint services
NOTE If you are not a local Windows administrator on the server that is running Central Administration, you will not have the Manage Services On Server link. Only local administrators who are also farm administrators can view and adjust service settings.
Starting and Stopping a SharePoint Service
The Services On Server screen (Figure 5.8) is used to start and stop a SharePoint service from Central Administration. Here are the steps to start or stop a service:
1. Go to System Settings and select Manage Services On Server.
2. Choose the correct server from the Server drop-down.
3. To start or stop a service, click Start or Stop in the Action column. Depending on the service, you may need to provide additional configuration settings when you start a service.
4. If you are stopping a service, you must confirm the action.
WARNING Although this seems to work just like starting and stopping a Windows service, there is an important distinction. When stopping a SharePoint service, you are not just stopping the service but also removing the service’s configuration settings. For example, if you stop the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service, IIS websites are removed and local IIS website folders are deleted. Because of this, be sure you stop services carefully and always make sure you have selected the correct server!
Configuring a SharePoint Service
Some services can also be configured from the Services On Server screen. For instance, you can click on Document Conversions Load Balancer Service to set which server the document conversion load balancer runs on. Other services are not configurable and cannot be started or stopped. By default, they are hidden, but you can show them by changing the View drop-down.