In the steps for performing a single-server install, SharePoint was first installed but not configured, and the PowerPivot Installation Wizard handled the configuration of
SharePoint. When installing PowerPivot in a multiserver farm, the SharePoint farm needs to be set up and configured first, and then the PowerPivot application servers can be added. Note that PowerPivot needs to be installed using a Farm Administrator account, otherwise SQL Server setup will not pass the pre-requisites tests. The following steps assume that this is a new farm install. Detailed instructions on SharePoint installation are beyond the scope of this chapter, but a summary of the steps involved is provided for guidance. If the farm already exists, you may skip ahead to the section on preparing the application servers.
INSTALLATION TIP
Getting the installation environment set up correctly can sometimes be a challenge. It is a good idea to first perform a single-server installation to a virtual machine (VM) to become acquainted with the installation process and to get all the services configured properly. Using a VM will also enable you to undo any changes more easily if you desire to configure things differently.
1. If not already done, prepare domain accounts for the SharePoint Service accounts and the SQL Service accounts following standard best practices for SharePoint farm design.
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FIGURE 10.3 SharePoint home page with PowerPivot Gallery.
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2. Prepare the database server.
. Install SQL Server 2008 R2 on the database server.
3. Prepare the web front-end servers (WFEs) and create the farm.
. Install SharePoint on the first WFE using the Complete Installation option. At the end of the installation process, check the box to Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard. This will enable you to create the new farm. Step-by-step instructions for this process are beyond the scope of this chapter, but be sure to enable the following services:
. Excel Services . Secure Store Service
. Usage and Health data collection (see the “Monitoring PowerPivot”
section later in this chapter for more information)
. Install SharePoint on any additional WFEs and run the Configuration Wizard to join to the farm and specify the database server and passphrase that were established earlier.
4. Prepare the application servers.
. Install SharePoint on the application servers, run the Configuration Wizard and join to the farm, and specify the database server and passphrase that were established earlier.
5. At this point, the SharePoint farm is installed and configured. The next step is to install PowerPivot on the application server.
. On the application server, launch the SQL Server 2008 R2 setup from the installation media. Select Installation, New Installation or add features to an existing installation.
. Proceed through the next few screens, and on the Setup Role screen, select SQL Server PowerPivot for SharePoint, and choose Existing Farm from the drop-down list, as shown in Figure 10.4.
. Proceed through the next few screens, and on the Server Configuration screen, specify the Analysis Services service account. Also be sure to add the current user to the Analysis Services Engine screen so that the SharePoint Farm Admin has access to Analysis Services.
. Proceed through the remaining screens to complete the installation. After it’s complete, launch SharePoint Central Administration and navigate to System Settings, Manage Servers in this Farm, and you can confirm that the SQL Server PowerPivot System Service is running on the application server.
6. Deploy and configure PowerPivot on the SharePoint farm.
. From Central Administration, navigate to System Settings, Manage Farm Solutions.
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FIGURE 10.4 Setup role: Existing Farm.
FIGURE 10.5 Manage farm solutions.
From here, you should see two solutions: powerpivotfarm.wsp and
powerpivotwebapp.wsp. The powerpivotwebapp.wsp is probably already deployed to Central Administration (notice the port number), but still needs to be deployed to the default web application. Click the Deploy Solution link and specify when you
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want the deployment to occur. Be sure to select the default web application from the Deploy To drop-down.
. Next, a PowerPivot service application is required for the WFEs to communi-cate with the PowerPivot services via the PowerPivot System Service proxy.
From Central Administration, navigate to Application Management, Manage Service Applications.
7. Select New from the menu bar and choose SQL Server PowerPivot Service Application.
FIGURE 10.6 Manage service applications.
FIGURE 10.7 New PowerPivot service application.
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A configuration screen will appear allowing specification of application pool and proxy settings. Generally, it is considered more secure to have application services running under separate application pool IDs. However, the PowerPivot service appli-cation and the PowerPivot System Service require Farm account rights to access the Secure Store Service database. For this reason, it is recommended to change the following two settings:
. Application Pool: Select Use Existing Application Pool and select SharePoint Web Services System.
. Check the box at the bottom of the page to add the proxy to the Default Proxy group.
8. Lastly, the PowerPivot feature needs to be activated. Launch the default website from a WFE and select Site Actions, Site Settings. Under Site Collection Administration, select Site Collection Features. Scroll down to the PowerPivot Feature Integration for Site Collections entry and click the Activate button, as shown in Figure 10.8.
9. Stop Excel Calculation Services on the WFE.
Because the SharePoint instance on the WFE was installed as a Complete installation, Excel Calculation Services (ECS) are installed and running. However, if the instance of ECS on the WFE tries to connect to PowerPivot, it will fail because the Analysis Services OLE DB driver is not installed on the WFE. Because this farm is architected for PowerPivot work to be handled by the application server, ECS should only be running on the application server and should therefore be stopped on the WFEs:
. From Central Administration, navigate to System Settings, Manage Services on Server.
FIGURE 10.8 PowerPivot feature activation.
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. From the drop-down, make sure that the server selected is the WFE.
. Scroll down to Excel Calculation Services and click Stop.
10. Creating the PowerPivot Gallery.
For setup on an existing SharePoint farm, navigate to More Options in the Site Actions menu, find PowerPivot Gallery in the Libraries column, and create a new library.
PowerPivot is now installed, configured, and active on the SharePoint Farm.
IS KERBEROS REQUIRED??
When accessing data on a multiserver SharePoint Farm, users have to be authenticat-ed from the WFE, to the other servers. This is often referrauthenticat-ed to as the double-hop situa-tion (although with PowerPivot it would be more than a double-hop). The way this was handled in MOSS 2007 was to configure Kerberos delegation, which was often very frustrating to get working correctly. With SharePoint 2010, Microsoft has introduced the Windows Identity Foundation, which provides a claims authentication mechanism. As a result, Kerberos is not required for PowerPivot to work in a multiserver environment in SharePoint 2010.
Using PowerPivot for SharePoint
PowerPivot applications are created using Excel 2010 with the PowerPivot add-in, as covered in the preceding chapter. After a PowerPivot application is created, it should be uploaded to the SharePoint PowerPivot Gallery to be shared across the organization.