SharePoint Training - Original Posted May 19, 2005
I installed SPS and got it up and running properly. The SQL connection was a major problem as I was trying to connect it to a SQL cluster with multiple SQL instances installed. When I tried to configure SPS to connect, I used the cluster name but kept forgetting to put the instance name along with it so it kept failing. Anyways, I finally figured it out and SPS was up in a few minutes after that.
SPS is new to the company, and I really had no desire to teach everyone how to use it. So, I downloaded the SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) 2003 Training Kit from Microsoft's website at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bca45a99-e420-47fd-8aea-a8743735c710&DisplayLang=en.
I tried to run the install and kept getting odd errors about how it could not connect to the SPS server. Finally, I turned off SSL, and it installed properly. Somebody ought to fix that.
After a little fussing, I finally sent out invitations to everyone and made sure to mention that the training location was up and available for them to do some digging around and learn how to use SPS. I also sent everyone an email and put a link on the main SPS page for the Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) training on Microsoft's website at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/demos/wss/wss.html.
The end result? I had very few end users (have I mentioned that I hate end-users as they keep screwing up my network?) come to me with any questions, and the company is just loving SPS now that it is available. I must say that I have never seen such quick uptake on a new product before. It is a testament to the great work of the SPS team at Microsoft to put together all of the online training and to make the product so easy to use.