SharePoint Portal Server Environment

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Combining document management and search services with a rich, customizable dashboard site, Microsoft® SharePoint™ Portal Server 2001 is tightly integrated with Microsoft Windows® Explorer 5.5, Microsoft Office applications, and browsers to help users create, manage, and share content throughout their organization.

A SharePoint Portal Server client runs on Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0, and Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems. A SharePoint Portal Server client does not support Microsoft Windows 95.

The following figure shows the external connectivity of SharePoint Portal Server.

Figure 1: SharePoint Portal Server Environment

Clients

Users with appropriate roles can access SharePoint Portal Server from Microsoft Windows Explorer, Microsoft Office 2000, or by using the dashboard site from a Web browser. The client components of SharePoint Portal Server consist of functional extensions to Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows Explorer that enable document management functions within those applications. The client components communicate with the SharePoint Portal Server components using standard Internet protocols.

Digital Dashboard Site

SharePoint Portal Server provides a web site, called the dashboard site that is created automatically during installation. The dashboard site, viewed through a browser, provides a Web-based view of the document management and search services SharePoint Portal Server provides. Providing the user with access to information stored inside and outside of the user's organization, SharePoint Portal Server enables users to find and share documents regardless of location or format.

Web Folder Site

A Web folder site provides an interface for managing files on a remote Web server. Web folders provide document storage and publishing functionality.

Content Sources

The SharePoint Portal Server Search service can crawl content and its associated properties stored in:

  • Internal and external Web sites
  • Local and network file systems
  • Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server
  • SharePoint Portal Server computers
  • Lotus Notes databases

Content Crawling and Search Overview

Dashboard Site User Interface Overview

SharePoint Portal Server Concepts

SharePoint Portal Server Overview