Build a SharePoint Server 2013 Two-Tier Dev Environment on Windows Server 2008 R2

Introduction

This posting walks through the process of building a SharePoint Server 2013 Two-Tier Dev Environment on Windows Server 2008 R2, step-by-step.  It builds upon previous postings involving:  building Windows Server 2008 R2 clone template, building a domain controller and DNS server and installing a named SQL Server 2008 R2 instance. Additional detail on the topics discussed here can be found in the References section.  Troubleshooting guidance can be found in the Troubleshooting section.

Preparation

1. Download an evaluation copy of SharePoint Server 2013 from the TechNet Evaluation Center.
2. Burn to DVD.

Step 1: Build two Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 servers

• Build the two servers using the procedure discussed in previous posting.  For this posting, name these VMs spdev11 and spdev14.

Step 2: Build a Domain Controller and DNS server

• Build a DC and a DNS as discussed in a previous posting.  For this posting, the DC and DNS were built on spdev11.

Step 3: Provision SharePoint Server 2013 Service Accounts

1. Add domain service accounts to be used with SharePoint Server 2013.  A second set of service accounts must be provisioned for the 2013 instance:
   
   For this posting, the following accounts are used:
1. sp2_admin: farm administration account used to run Central Administration.  As for SharePoint Server 2010 previously, farm administration account used in SharePoint Server 2013 must be provisioned on the SQL Server 2008 R2 instance with dbcreator and securityadmin database roles:
   
   
   This account must also have local Administrator permission on the server hosting SharePoint Server 2013:
   
2. sp2_app: services account used to run all services.
3. sp2_web: web application account.

Step 4: Install SQL Server 2008 R2

• Install a named instance of SQL Server 2008 R2 per a previous posting.

Step 5: Configure SharePoint 2013 host

1. Configure the name of the server.  For this posting, the server name is: spdev14.
2. Reboot.
3. Configure the network adaptor:
1. Set IP address.
2. Set Gateway.
3. Set DNS to point to the DNS created above.
4. Join the server to the domain.
5. Reboot.

Step 6: Install SharePoint Server 2013

1. Launch the SharePoint 2013 setup (on spdev14).  The SharePoint 2013 launch dialog appears:
   
2. Click Install software prerequisites.  The familiar Products Preparation Tool dialog appears:
   
3. Click Next.  A new License Terms for software products dialog appears:
   
4. Check the acceptance, and then click Next.  A progress dialog appears:
   
5. This installation takes about five minutes.  When this portion completes, a restart prompt appears:
   
6. Click Finish.  Restart will automatically occur.  On reboot, login, and the installation will automatically resume, this time installing the usual roles:
   
7. On completion of the prerequisite installation, another reboot is prompted:
   
8. On reboot, login, and the SharePoint 2013 installation dialog reappears.
9. Click Install SharePoint Server.  After a moment, the familiar Enter your Product Key dialog appears:
   
10. Enter your product key.  If this is an evaluation version, the product key will be shown on the download page of the SharePoint Server 2013 evaluation.
11. Click Next.  The usual License Terms page appears:
    
12. Check the acceptance, and then click Continue.  The Server Type page appears:
    
13. Select Complete, and then click Install Now.  A progress dialog page appears.
14. After about 10 minutes, the prompt to launch the Configuration wizard appears:
    
15. Proceed to the next step.

Step 7: Configure SharePoint Server 2013

1. On the Run Configuration Wizard page, click Close.  The first page of the familiar SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard appears:
   
2. Click Next.  A prompt appears warning about services needing to be shutdown and restarted:
   
3. Click Yes.  The Connect to a server farm page appears:
   
4. Click Next.  The Specify Configuration Database Settings page appears:
   
5. Enter the appropriate information, and then click Next.  If a connection cannot be made,
   
   see the Troubleshooting section for resolution steps for common issues.
6. On the Specify a Farm Security Settings page, enter the passphrase.  Note: unlike for 2010, you must now use numbers and special characters in this passphrase.
7. Click Next.  The Configure SharePoint Central Administration Web Application page appears:
   
8. Configure the port and authentication method as desired.
9. Click Next.  The Completing the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard page appears:
   
10. Click Next again.  A progress dialog appears.  Configuration takes about 15-20 minutes.  On completion, the usual Configuration Successful page appears:
    
11. Click Finish and proceed to the next and final step.

Step 8: Configure Services

1. After clicking Finish, a browser instance is opened pointing to the usual customer improvement request:
   
   .
2. Select as desired, and then click OK.  The Welcome page is presented:
   
3. For this dev instance, the Start the Wizard option is clicked.  A progress image will appear:
   
4. If this seems to hang indefinitely, just close it, launch Central Administration again, and then run the Configuration Wizard again.  The Services page appears:.
5. Click Next.  After about a minute, the Create Site Collection page appears:
   
6. Configure the Title and URL as desired, and then click OK.  For this posting, the familiar Team Site template was selected.  A progress page again appears.  After about a minute or two, configuration completes and a completion page is displayed:
   
7. To view the new site home page, right-click the URL and open in a new tab.  Generating the page will take several minutes.  Once it completes, the new Team Site home page is displayed:
   
8. This completes this walkthrough.

Summary

This posting has presented a step-by-step walkthrough for installing SharePoint Server 2013 on Windows Server 2008 R2, using SQL Server 2008 R2 as the backend, in order to create a small, two-tier farm for development and training purposes.  Additionally, some troubleshooting steps are provided below for addressing common installation and configuration issues.

References

• AlsTechTips
• How to build and deploy clone servers on VMware Workstation
• Build a SharePoint Server 2010 Two-Tier Dev Environment on Windows 2008 R2
• How to add a named SQL Server 2008 R2 instance
• Microsoft TechNet Evaluation Center
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Evaluation Resources
• Microsoft TechNet
• Hardware and software requirements for SharePoint 2013
• Creating solutions by using Adventure Works sample data
• Microsoft Support
• How to determine the version and edition of SQL Server and its components

Notes

• The intent here is to build a network comprised of both SharePoint Server 2010 and SharePoint Server 2013 in order to explore migration pathways.  It builds upon the previous two-tier SharePoint 2010 farm in order to create the minimum environment needed for exploring and testing migration from 2010 to 2013.

Troubleshooting

1. Cannot connect to database master at SQL Server..
   
1. Verify that you have correctly entered the name of the SQL server instance and that there are no typos in the service account name or password.
2. Verify that you have added the new Central Administration service account to the logins of the SQL Server 2008 R2 instance that you are trying to connect to
   
3. Verify that the Central Administration service account has been granted the appropriate roles on this database instance.
4. Verify that the SQL Server Browser service has been started.
5. Verify that the TCP/IP protocol has been enabled
   
2. SQL server at [instance name]... has an unsupported version...
   
1. Verify that you have installed, at a minimum, SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack SP1.
2. If this is a named instance you are connecting to, verify that you repeated the service pack installation after installing the named instance
   
   .