Microsoft Project Server and Web Technologies

Article
02/20/2014

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Introduction

This article describes how Microsoft® Project Server, Microsoft Project Professional, and Microsoft Project Standard work with the Internet, data access, data analysis, and data security. It also discusses Internet and intranet Web technologies implemented by Microsoft Project Server, and provides numerous links to more detailed information.

Deploying Microsoft Project Server

Using Microsoft Project Server in the Enterprise Mode

Microsoft Project Server is a Web-based product with a three-tier architecture that consists of Active Server Pages residing on a server based on Microsoft Windows® that stores its data in a Microsoft SQL Server™ database. These pages are viewed through a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer. To access Microsoft Project Server, the user types its URL in the Web browser, and then logs on.

Some of the server pages are also accessible by using Microsoft Project as the client. You can do this by setting options on the Collaboration menu in Microsoft Project.

Plans are published directly to the database from Microsoft Project after saving the plan and making a connection to Microsoft Project server.

In the enterprise mode, Microsoft Project Server is designed to be used in conjunction with Microsoft Project Professional. Deviations from this standard configuration can be implemented but are not recommended, for example, connecting a Microsoft Project Standard client to the enterprise.

Microsoft Project Server requires SQL Server 2000. For Microsoft Project Server system requirements, see the Basic Server Installation or The Server Platform resource kit articles.

A new database-related technology used in Microsoft Project Server (enterprise use only) is Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). For more information, see the OLAP Cubes article on MSDN.

Microsoft Project Server builds an OLAP cube based on enterprise project data by using SQL Server Analysis Services. The information is then displayed in Microsoft Project Web Access, through the Portfolio Analyzer feature, using OWCs. For general information about SQL Server Analysis Services, see Part 6 - Analysis Services in the SQL Server 2000 Resource Kit.

Remote Data Service (RDS) is the technology used by Microsoft Project Web Access to retrieve data from the Microsoft Project Server database through ASP. To view detailed information about the use of RDS, and why the implementation is secure, see the Microsoft Project Server 2002 Security Architecture and Planning Guide article on TechNet.

Microsoft Project Server and SMTP

Microsoft Project Server uses Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for client e-mail notifications. During installation of Microsoft Project Server, you will see the Enter SMTP mail server information dialog box. You will need to enter the name of the mail server to be used, as well as the port number. The standard port number for the SMTP mail service is 25. The From address box must contain a valid e-mail address on the mail server, designated in the SMTP mail server box. This account will be used to send e-mail notifications and reminders. The information entered at the time of installation can be modified and managed through the Admin Center in Microsoft Project Web Access.

For more information about Microsoft Project Server and SMTP, see the Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Team Services resource kit article.

Internet and Intranet Technologies

Some of the features of Microsoft Project 2002 depend on functionality that is provided by the Web browser components that are installed on users' computers.

For information about the system requirements and operating environments for Microsoft Project Standard and Microsoft Project Professional clients, see The Client Platform resource kit article.

For information about the system requirements and operating environments for Microsoft Project Server, see The Server Platform resource kit article.

For information about how Microsoft Project Server and the Internet can work together, see the Microsoft Project Server and the Internet resource kit article.

Web Browser Requirements for Microsoft Project 2002

To take full advantage of the features offered by Microsoft Project Server, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later is required (Internet Explorer 5.5 or later is recommended) for both the server (Microsoft Project Server) and the client (Microsoft Project Professional or Microsoft Project Standard).

Web Features Available in Microsoft Project 2002

When you run Microsoft Project 2002 under a version of Microsoft Windows that includes Internet Explorer 5.01 or later, or the necessary Windows Web Browsing Components, all Microsoft Project 2002 features that depend on Internet Explorer 5.01 components are available, as described in the following sections.

Web features

Microsoft Project 2002 allows users to follow hyperlinks in documents.

By using the Open and Save As dialog boxes (Fil e menu), users can open and save files on Web servers by using the HTTP protocol. By using the Web Folders object in Windows Explorer or in the Open and Save As dialog boxes, users can open, cut, copy, paste, or drag files to or from a Web server. These features also require that the Web server has one of the following programs installed:

Microsoft Office Server Extensions (OSE)

FrontPage Server Extensions

Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) protocol

You can also use the Save As Web Page command on the File menu to save data in a Microsoft Project file as a static HTML file that can be viewed on a Web server.

Microsoft Office Server Extensions

In addition to using the HTTP protocol to open and save documents, the OSE Start page gives users a logical starting place for browsing or searching for documents on a Web server.

You can use Web subscriptions to notify you when a project file has been modified.

Microsoft Project Help

Microsoft Project 2002 Help requires Internet Explorer 4.01 or later, or the Windows Web Browsing components.

Microsoft Project Help will not work with a version of Internet Explorer earlier than 4.01, unless Web browsing components were installed during setup.

Programming tools

Developers of Microsoft Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) macros created in Microsoft Project can identify themselves to users by digitally signing the VBA project that contains their macros. When a macro is altered, the digital signature is automatically voided to indicate that the macro might have been tampered with.

Roaming user profiles

Traveling users (sometimes referred to as roaming users) move between different computers on a network. By using roaming user profiles, traveling users can move between computers and take their application settings and working files with them, along with any system preferences.

Web Features Requiring the Windows Desktop Update Shell

Some features of Microsoft Project 2002 require a later version of the Windows Desktop Update shell than that which is shipped with Windows NT® Workstation 4.0. The following Microsoft Project 2002 features require the updated version of the Windows Desktop Update shell:

Switching between files by using the Windows taskbar or by pressing ALT+TAB

Using the Windows installer to advertise a program on the Windows Start menu

Sending files to the Windows Desktop from Web Folders

The following versions of the shell meet the Microsoft Project 2002 requirements: the version installed with Internet Explorer 4.01 or later, and the version installed with Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

To ensure that features that depend on the Windows Desktop Update shell are available, administrators can install the shell for Internet Explorer 4.01 or later by using the Internet Explorer Administrator's Kit (IEAK), along with the Custom Installation Wizard. This step is necessary only for computers running the Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating system.

Web Server Support

Collaborating and sharing information are increasingly important elements of the day-to-day operations of organizations. Users must be able to find, work with, and exchange information easily with their co-workers and clients. Networks based on Web protocols are easy to install and administer, and they offer the promise of universal access to information in a heterogeneous client environment.

As a result, more organizations are relying on the Internet and on corporate intranets as the infrastructure for their collaborative processes. Microsoft Project 2002 helps facilitate these trends with Microsoft Project Server.

In addition, Microsoft Project 2002 lets users manage files on a Web server by using Web folders, and publish files to Web servers from the Save As dialog box in Microsoft Project.

Web Server Components in Microsoft Office Server Extensions

You can save a Microsoft Project 2002 file on a Web server that has Microsoft Office Server Extensions (OSE) installed. You can install OSE on any Web server with one of the following configurations:

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 with SP6 or later, and Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0

Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or later, and Personal Web Server 4.0.

OSE allows Microsoft Project 2002 users to search and navigate documents published on Web servers. However, certain features, such as links between projects and resource sharing with a resource pool file, will not function correctly when projects are stored on an OSE Web server.

A Web site with OSE installed is called an OSE-extended Web. When you set up an OSE-extended Web, Microsoft Project 2002 users can work with documents on the server by using Web features installed on their computers.

Even if you do not install OSE on your Web server, users can still take advantage of some of the Web features included in Microsoft Project 2002. These features work with any Web server that runs Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions or any Web server that supports the Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) Internet protocol. The following Microsoft Project 2002 features do not require OSE:

Using the HTTP protocol to open and save files on Web servers from the Open and Save As dialog boxes (Fil e menu).

Browsing, publishing, and managing the folders and files on Web servers from the Web folders object in My Computer, Windows Explorer, and in the Save As and Open dialog boxes (File menu) in Microsoft Project 2002.

Although OSE can operate with Microsoft Project Server, it is recommended that you use SharePoint™ Team Services from Microsoft. If OSE is already installed, you can upgrade to SharePoint Team Services by clicking Upgrade on the Manage SharePoint Team Services page in the Admin Center of Microsoft Project Web Access. If you see an ADO error in the application log after upgrading, see the STS: ADO Error Appears in the Application Log After You Upgrade to SharePoint Team Services article on the Product Support Services Web site.

Other Microsoft Web Server Components

In addition to IIS, Windows 2000 Server also provides other components that complement enterprise intranets.

Microsoft Proxy Server

Every day, more and more companies connect their internal networks to the Internet for a variety of reasons, such as increased productivity, improved customer service, and collaboration. Some of the biggest issues these organizations face as they extend their networks to the Internet are security, manageability, and cost. Microsoft Proxy Server offers firewall security, content caching, and management tools that help organizations address these issues effectively.

Microsoft Certificate Server

Microsoft Certificate Server is a general-purpose, customizable server application for managing digital certificates. It can be used in a variety of security applications, including verifying the identity of users and Web servers.

Microsoft Index Server

Microsoft Index Server allows users to perform full-text searches of Web server content to retrieve information in almost any format from any Web browser.

Microsoft Site Server

Designed to help you get the most out of your corporate intranet, Microsoft Site Server helps users publish, find, and share information quickly and easily. Features include extensive search capabilities and tools to perform thorough analyses of the usage and effectiveness of your intranet.

Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server

Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server combines document management with a rich, customizable dashboard site to enable users to locate, write, review, and manage content in their organization

Digital Dashboard

Microsoft Project Web Access and Digital Dashboards that incorporate Microsoft Project Web Access deliver advanced collaborative features, leveraging the accessibility and availability of information on both the Web and corporate intranets to provide unprecedented access to business intelligence. Digital Dashboards enable better knowledge management by consolidating personal, team, corporate, and external information and by providing single-click access to analytical and collaborative tools, all in a single, familiar desktop view.

Because they rely on widely available Web technologies and the familiar user interface of Internet Explorer, Digital Dashboards provide exceptional ease of use and ease of development. And because they provide users with access to an unlimited realm of corporate or external information and data analysis tools, Digital Dashboards provide the most efficient and flexible knowledge management solutions available today.

While Microsoft Project Web Access makes the information available, a Digital Dashboard delivers the information to knowledge workers, enabling them to analyze and act on this information. Digital Dashboards are customized solutions that bring critical, tailored information directly to a knowledge worker's desktop by integrating personal, team, corporate, and external data in a single, familiar environment—accessible in the office or on the road. A Digital Dashboard also makes it easier for people to find the information they need while filtering out unnecessary information, thus increasing productivity and efficiency. Consequently, knowledge workers can focus on their key business priorities and make more informed decisions.

As Digital Dashboards gain popularity, they will become the primary means through which knowledge workers view their daily activities, share information with coworkers, and obtain feedback on project status and performance. Thus, Digital Dashboard systems can have a profound effect on workers' priorities simply by focusing their attention on the processes and data the organization chooses to present. By increasing the profile and availability of precise scheduling and planning information, the Microsoft Project Web Access Digital Dashboard becomes a catalyst for a better understanding and acceptance of project management throughout the organization.

By using Microsoft Project Web Access, users can view project information in custom ways and at varying levels of detail, depending on their own preferences and the information made available to them by the project manager or administrator. Team members can see lists of their own tasks and action items in relation to the entire project, while resource managers and business development managers benefit from concise, action-oriented views of project information.

The Project Guide

The Project Guide is a new piece of functionality in Microsoft Project 2002 that guides users through the first steps of the project management process and empowers them to learn, explore, and discover Microsoft Project features.

The Project Guide is accessed through the Project Guide toolbar. This toolbar includes Tasks, Resources, Track, Report, Hide/Show, and the Next Steps and Related Activities buttons. When you click one of these Project Guide toolbar buttons, a side pane containing steps is displayed on the left of your screen. Clicking Hide/Show closes or opens the side pane for the selected option. Clicking Next Steps and Related Activities displays all of the default Project Guide based Help available. The remaining options offer detailed information on each topic, and include wizards to walk you through some specific goals. The view to the right of the side pane updates to correspond with the action selected. Likewise, the side pane updates to display pertinent information as new data is entered into the project plan.

If you do not want to use the Project Guide and don't want it displayed, there is an option to disable it. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Interface tab. Under Project Guide settings, clear the Display Project Guide check box.

For more information about the Project Guide, see the Microsoft Project 2002 Project Guide Architecture and Extensibility article on MSDN.

Office Web Controls

This section discusses the use of Microsoft Office Web Controls (OWCs) in Microsoft Project Web Access, in particular, the Portfolio Analyzer feature; it also helps you determine which users need an Office XP license in order to use Portfolio Analyzer.

OWCs are used in Microsoft Project Web Access by the Portfolio Modeler (under View Availability) in the Resource Center, as well as by the Portfolio Analyzer. The Portfolio Modeler and View Availability features use the Web controls in view-only mode; Microsoft Project Server distributes the OWCs needed to use these features. To create Portfolio Analyzer views, an Office XP license is required for administrators to utilize full interactivity of the OWCs. Users who only need to view Portfolio Analyzer views do not need an Office XP license unless they also want to use the controls in interactive mode. The following link discusses how Office XP licenses can be distributed by organizations that own an Enterprise, Select, or Maintenance Agreement, but have not yet deployed Office XP, or plan to deploy Office XP in phases. Organizations can share component-based Web pages with users who have not yet installed Office XP by using the licensing mechanism supported by Internet Explorer.

For more information about OWCs, see the Managing Office Web Components article in the Office XP Resource Kit.

Analysis Services and Data Security

You can configure Microsoft Project Server to work with SQL Server Analysis Services and to secure the OLAP cube built by Microsoft Project Server.

For more information, see the Microsoft Project Server Help file, which is provided on the Microsoft Project Server installation CD. You may also download a copy of the Help file (Pjsvr10.chm) from the General Reference Tools section of the resource kit toolbox.

IIS Server Security

This is a very important issue, and needs considerable planning on how to secure the IIS server on which Microsoft Project Server is installed.

For a Microsoft Project Server installation on a Windows 2000 Server computer, the IIS Lockdown Tool version 2.1 is available from the Microsoft Download Center.

Using the IIS Lockdown tool for IIS security is performed in the same way for both Microsoft Project Central and for Microsoft Project Server. Instructions for using the IIS Lockdown tool are described in the PRJ2000: Configuring the IIS Lockdown Tool and URLScan Security Tool with Microsoft Project Central article at the Microsoft Product Support Services Web site.

In addition, there are other measures that you should take to disable certain non-secure components on the IIS server—in particular, the Remote Data Service (RDS) Data Factory. For detailed information about Remote Data Service, see the Microsoft Project Server 2002 Security Architecture and Planning Guide article on TechNet.

If Microsoft Project Server is installed on a Windows .NET server, there are certain steps that the administrator must run, using the IIS Lockdown Wizard (a new, built-in feature in IIS version 6.0). For IIS security configuration information on Windows .NET server, see the PSRV2002: How to Set Up and Configure Microsoft Project Server on Windows .NET Server article on the Microsoft Product Support Services Web site.

For more information about IIS and security, see Chapter 9 - Security in the Internet Information Server 5.0 Resource Guide on TechNet.