SharePoint workspace administration (SharePoint Server 2010)

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Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010

Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010 is an application that enables SharePoint Server 2010 users to efficiently synchronize local content with SharePoint site libraries and lists, whether or not they have access to the corporate network. If users need to work offline, content synchronization occurs automatically when they return online and connect to the corporate network. SharePoint Workspace 2010 is included with Office Professional Plus 2010 and you can configure or customize it as you would other Office applications.

To become familiar with SharePoint Workspace 2010, or to provide guidance for SharePoint users whom you support, see SharePoint Workspace 2010.

In this article:

  • Configure SharePoint Server 2010 for SharePoint Workspace

  • Set SharePoint site permissions for SharePoint workspace users

  • Customize SharePoint Workspace deployment

Configure SharePoint Server 2010 for SharePoint Workspace

SharePoint users can easily create SharePoint workspaces on their local computers so long as SharePoint Workspace 2010 is installed with their other Office 2010 applications and the servers running SharePoint Server 2010 are configured to support offline access.

To configure SharePoint Server 2010 for SharePoint Workspace, do the following:

  • Confirm that Remote Differential Compression (RDC) is enabled on SharePoint Server and install if it is not. RDC supports offline synchronization protocols, and optimizes performance during document transfer between SharePoint Workspace and SharePoint Server. You can check RDC status or install the feature from the Windows Server Manager.

  • Confirm that Allow items from this site to be downloaded to offline clients is enabled for SharePoint sites that will support offline viewing and contributions. You can configure this setting at the site level by clicking Site Settings, and then going to the Offline Client Availability options.

  • If your organization uses Line of Business Interoperability (LOBi) lists (for connections to external databases instead of to the SharePoint Server database) and if users have to take these lists offline, ensure that Offline Synchronization of External Lists is enabled. You can configure this setting in Central Administration under Manage farm features in System Settings, or at the site level by clicking Site Settings and then going to Manage site features.

  • If you use an alternate access mapping list, add the URLs of client-accessible sites to the list. You can access the alternate accessing mapping list under System Settings in Central Administration.

For more information about how to prepare SharePoint Server 2010 for SharePoint Workspace, see Configure and customize SharePoint Workspace 2010.

Set SharePoint site permissions for SharePoint workspace users

Make sure that potential offline SharePoint users have been granted at least Read permissions for sites to which they need to connect. Users who are expected to contribute content to site lists or libraries need Contribute permission. Site administrators can define groups and set permissions by selecting the Site Permissions options from the Site Actions menu.

For more information about how to set SharePoint site permissions, see Determine permission levels and groups (SharePoint Server 2010).

Customize the SharePoint Workspace deployment

You can customize SharePoint Workspace installations by deploying Active Directory Group Policy objects (GPOs) or by including an Office Customization Tool (OCT) .msp file in the SharePoint Workspace installation. If SharePoint Workspace clients are members of an in-house Active Directory group and are connected to the Windows domain you will most likely deploy GPOs. Review the following points for guidance:

  • The most important policy to consider is the Prohibit Groove workspaces policy, which blocks the use of peer collaboration workspaces. SharePoint Workspace lets individual users create a SharePoint workspace to synchronize content with a SharePoint site. In addition, SharePoint Workspace also lets users create two types of peer workspaces: Groove workspaces and Shared Folders. A SharePoint workspace provides a single connection between an authorized client and a SharePoint site, while a peer workspace allows multiple users to join it. You may want to discourage use of peer workspace types, especially if you have set up central content storage on servers that are running SharePoint Server 2010.

  • Other SharePoint Workspace policies let you determine whether IPv4 or IPv6 should be recognized on client computers.

  • The SharePoint Server Require Secure Socket Layer protection for external client connections policy is recommended for added security because no default encryption is in place.

For more information about how to customize SharePoint Workspace 2010, see Configure and customize SharePoint Workspace 2010.

See Also

Other Resources

Plan for SharePoint Workspace 2010
SharePoint Workspace 2010 overview
Deployment checklist for SharePoint Workspace 2010