How to start Learning Sharepoint Administrator ( In Brief )

Hi guys,

I get many mails /calls from all over the world to understand how to start understanding / Learning SharePoint from the admin Point. I see that more of the developers are also interested. I feel if you have knowledge about development getting into SharePoint administration can be nothing like it the best. Maybe you don’t need to start fresh

For a Fresher, nowadays there are trainings conducted in some institutes. However it is difficult to find a good institute which can provide all the details about SharePoint. Cannot say awareness is less but yes compared to other products it is less.

First understand What is SharePoint and its applications?

Microsoft SharePoint is a Web application platform developed by Microsoft. First launched in 2001, SharePoint has historically been associated with intranet content management and document management, but recent versions have significantly broader capabilities. SharePoint evolved from projects codenamed "Office Server” and “Tahoe” during the Office XP development cycle.

“Office Server” evolved out of the FrontPage and Office Server Extensions and “Team Pages”. It targeted simple, bottom-up collaboration.

“Tahoe”, built on shared technology with Exchange and the “Digital Dashboard”, targeted top-down portals, search and document management.

The versions are (in chronological order):

• Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2001
• Microsoft SharePoint Team Services (2002)
• Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 (free license) - Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (commercial release)
• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (free license) - plus Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (commercial extension)
• Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 (free) - plus Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (commercial extension for Foundation), and SharePoint Enterprise 2010 (commercial extension for Server)
• Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 - plus Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 (extension on top of Foundation) SharePoint 2013 has been available to Microsoft volume licensees and TechNet and MSDN subscribers since late 2012

First get some knowledge about the IIS 6.0 ,7.0 Active directory , Server 2003 2008 later , Sql 2005 , 2008 later

You don’t even need a server machine / software or a windows 7 machine and install SharePoint on it at the beginning. Don’t even need to go for a training session. Only after you are done with this you can then have some virtual machines and then install server software’s and SharePoint on it with sql .

First use the labs available on : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/cc707678.aspx

SharePoint Server 2010 Virtual Labs

• Introduction
• Getting Started
• Connectors & Using the Business Data Connnectivity (BDC) Service
• Advanced Search Security
• Configuring Search UIs
• Content Processing and Property Extraction
• Developing a Custom Connector
• Fast Search Web Crawler
• Federated Search
• Linguistics
• People Search Administration and Management
• Relevancy and Ranking
• Customizing MySites
• Designing Lists and Schemas
• Developing a BCS External Content Type with Visual Studio
• Developing a Sandboxed Solution with Web Parts
• Developing a Visual Web Part in Visual Studio
• Developing Business Intelligence Applications
• Enterprise Content Management
• LINQ to SharePoint
• User Interface Advancements
• Visual Studio SharePoint Tools
• Workflow

This will help a lot with Little Expenses. your basics will get clear. This is just 30 - 40  % of the knowledge I would say.

Installation, configuration, Migration consists of the other part . 

You can use Hyper v machines to install server server 2008 on VM`s and then install the Microsoft Sharepoint Foundation version which is license free software on your machine to learn SharePoint Installation, configuration , Migration (surely for migration you need to have 2007 ). 

There are some good ebooks available on the net which you can use to learn more . However the best links or sites are Technet Library and MSDN Articles.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SharePoint

http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/sharepoint-designer-help/introduction-to-building-sharepoint-applications-HA010239046.aspx

 Step by Step SharePoint Server 2010 Installation Guide

 http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/44219/Step-by-Step-SharePoint-Server-2010-Installation-G

Installing SharePoint 2010 on Windows 7

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-cms/installing-sharepoint-2010-on-windows-7-005919.php

Learn SharePoint Server 2010

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/sharepoint/ee410529

SharePoint Server 2010

 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303422%28v=office.14%29.aspx

  

Some good books –

Beginning SharePoint 2007: Building Team Solutions with MOSS 2007  By Amanda Murphy, Shane Perran

 Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 Unleashed : By M. Noel

Microsoft SharePoint 2007 For Dummies : By Vanessa L. Williams

Professional SharePoint 2010 Administration : By Todd Klindt, Shane Young, Steve

Essential SharePoint 2010: Overview, Governance, and Planning : By Scott Jamison, Susan Hanley, Mauro Cardarelli

SharePoint 2010 For Dummies : By Vanessa L. Williams

SharePoint 2010 How-To : By Ishai Sagi

Pro SharePoint 2010 Administration : By Rob Garrett