Provision the Web Analytics Service Application on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

Good information from Bill Baer's Blog:


http://blogs.technet.com/b/wbaer/archive/2009/11/21/step-by-step-provisioning-the-web-analytics-service-application-on-microsoft-sharepoint-server-2010-beta.aspx

Also usage reporting functionality is not available in SharePoint Designer 2010. SharePoint Designer 2007 has the reporting functionality.

After  Web Analytics Service Application is provisioned, users with proper permissions can go to Site Actions/Site Settings page to view usage reports. The reports are under Site Actions heading.

SharePoint 2010 can't open xlsx file in the browser

Received message "Unable to process the request. Wait a few minutes and try performing this operation again".

Fix:
1. Ensure that Excel Service Application is created and running under "Manage service applications"
2. Ensure that Under "Manage services on server", the Excel Calculation Services is started and running on the web front end(s) of the farm
3. Ensure that the Excel Service Application is associated with the proper web applications under "Configure service application associations"

Update: Excel file can't be edited in browser without Office Web Apps. 

Create a Search Scope for FAST Search for SharePoint 2010

Please see "Creating a Scope in FAST Search for SharePoint 2010"

Basically, you can't use SharePoint CA to accomplish this task, you have to use PowerShell scripts.

Crazy SharePoint 2010 Database Names

I just finished the installation and initial configuration of SharePoint 2010 RTM development environment on a 2 server environment, with all databases on a separate sql server 2005 server.

By following the Farm Configuration Wizard, I was done in no time. However, a big drawback is the names of the databases created. I know how to rename content databases, including central administration content database, by way of detaching and re-attaching after database renaming. You can use CA UI for all content databases, other than CA content database. Since once the CA admin content db is detached, the CA UI does not work anymore. So to add the CA content db back, you need to use stsadm command, such as

stsadm -o addcontentdb -url "url to the CA" -databasename "db name"

Then the CA UI should be up and running.

The challenge is how to rename or recreate those databases used by service applications with preferred naming pattern . Using Central Admin, I deleted the PerformancePoint Service Application, including the databases, then recreated the service application. However, there is no option to name the database during the creation process using CA UI.

It looks like that the only way to accomplish this is to use PowerShell cmdlets, see

Deploy by using DBA-created databases (SharePoint Server 2010), but I have not tried it yet.

I wish that Microsoft had made this easier for service application database names.

If you have done renaming those service applications databases, could you please share your thoughts and procedures?