Non-Root Site Collections

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 supports the concept of a non-root site collection, which is a site collection that is not hosted at the root of a Web application. This allows for the deployment of multiple sites within a Web application, sharing of service providers (SSPs) and management of the sites with a single set of security rights. From an overhead perspective, this also minimizes the total number of the required Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Web applications.

For information about creating a non-root site collection in SharePoint 2010 without using the SharePoint Commerce Services Configuration Wizard, such as in a three-tier commerce deployment, see Creating a Non-Root Site Collection Using PowerShell Commands.

About the Home Token

To implement non-root site collections, SharePoint Commerce Services introduces a home token denoted by ~home to be set to the URL to which the Solution Storefront is deployed.

Home Token Usage

The following are usage examples of the ~home token.

Root Site Collection

URL: http://pcname/

Home Token: /

Non-Root Site Collection

URL: http://pcname/sites/Commerce

Home Token: /sites/Commerce

Sub Site

URL: http://pcname/Commerce

Home Token: /Commerce

Root Site Collection Site Variation

URL: http://pcname/English

Home Token: /English

Non-Root Site Collection Site Variation

URL: http://pcname/sites/Commerce/English

Home Token: /sites/Commerce/English

By using the ~home token, you can define URLs in master pages or site pages such as the following HTML image reference:

<img src="<% $CSUrl:~home/PublishingImages/Skin/Skin_Logo.jpg %>" alt="logo" runat="server" />

The ~home token is parsed by the CSUrl expression builder that is responsible for replacing the ~home token with the URL that has been set for that particular site.

If you are using the SharePoint Commerce Services Configuration Wizard, this functionality is implemented in the provisioning feature that is activated when the Solution Storefront provisions. At that time, the URL will be known and stored in the property bag of the current site.

Setting the Home Token for the Solution Storefront

The ~home token is set automatically when you install the Solution Storefront.

Setting the Home Token on an Existing Solution Storefront Site or on a Custom Web Application That Uses the Commerce Web Parts

The value of the ~home token may need to be configured after the Solution Storefront site has been provisioned or when only deploying the Web Parts and not the Solution Storefront.

To configure the ~home token and Login page

1. Navigate to the Solution Storefront site or your site.

2. Click Site Actions, click Site Settings, and then click Modify All Site Settings.

3. On the Site Settings page, under the Site Administration section, select Commerce Server Site Settings.

4. On the Commerce Server Site Settings page, set the Home Web URL to your site's home page URL and set the Login Page to your site's login page.

5. Click OK.

Creating a Non-Root Site Collection Using PowerShell Commands

If you did not use SharePoint Commerce Services Configuration Wizard to deploy the Solution Storefront, such as in a three-tier commerce deployment for example, you can use Windows PowerShell commands to create a non-root site collection in SharePoint 2010. Following is an example of a PowerShell script that creates a non-root site collection in SharePoint 2010. Update the script variables based on your environment.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell -ErrorAction "SilentlyContinue"
$WebSiteUrl = "http://<SiteURL>:8088/Sites/<site2>"
$SiteOwner = "<Domain>\<UserName>"


$webTemplates = Get-SPWebTemplate  

if($webTemplates)
{
    foreach ($webTemplate in $webTemplates) 
    {    
        # Write-Host "--> " $webTemplate.Name    
        if($webTemplate.Name -like "*CSStorefrontSite#0")
        {
            Write-Host "Creating Root Site Collection " $webTemplate.Name
            New-SPSite -Url $WebSiteUrl -OwnerAlias $SiteOwner -Name "Store" -Template $webTemplate            
            Write-Host "Root Site Collection created ..."
        }
    }       
}

$site = Get-SPSite $WebSiteUrl
if($site)
{
    [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("Microsoft.SharePoint") 
    $site.AllWebs[0].AnonymousState = [Microsoft.SharePoint.SPWeb+WebAnonymousState]::"On";
    $site.AllWebs[0].Update();
}

See Also

Other Resources

How to Create a Host Named Site Collection Exposed Only on the Default Zone