Q: How do I determine whether a SharePoint user is internal or external?

An internal user (who requires a Client Access Licenses) is an employee or similar personnel of the organization or its affiliates. This includes personnel who are working on behalf of the organization.

Q: Is the “For Internet Sites” license the only way to license external users? How do I license an extranet in which external users are authenticating into SharePoint?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites is used for both anonymous Internet users and authenticated extranet users. It is the only way to license SharePoint for anonymous Internet use, but it is one of two options for extranets. If the external users are countable and individual CALs can be assigned to specific individuals, CALs are an alternative licensing method. In such cases, the decision between the two licensing models is typically made based on comparing the prices. Note that CALs are not licenses for a general pool of concurrent external users.

Q: How do I license the Enterprise Edition features for external users?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites includes the rights to all SharePoint features, Standard and Enterprise. In the cases in which Client Access Licenses (CALs) are used for external users, both Standard and Enterprise CALs are required (note that CALs can only be used if the external users are countable and individual CALs can be assigned to specific individuals).

Q: If I am using SharePoint for an Internet-facing Web site, do I still need to purchase Client Access Licenses (CALs)?

If you are creating an Internet-facing or extranet-facing Web site, it is recommended that you use Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites. This license does not require the purchase of Client Access Licenses (CALs). However, no content, information, or applications on the “For Internet Sites” edition can be accessible to employees. Websites hosted using a “For Internet Sites” edition cannot be accessed by employees creating, sharing, or collaborating on content which is solely for internal use, such as an intranet portal scenario. Here are some usage scenarios to help you determine when to use each edition:

Usage Scenario	Licensing Notes
Internet-facing Web site: where content, information, and applications are meant to be used by external, non-employees. For example, as a company’s Web presence, informational Web site, community usage (wikis, blogs, discussion lists), or an e-commerce Web site.	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites Note: No CALs are required for the authoring of external-facing content by internal users.
Extranet Web site: where internal and external, employees and non-employees, can collaborate on content, information, and applications that are not being used exclusively for internal organizational use.	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites OR Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 along with CALs
Internal Intranet Portal or team site: where internal users, or employees, can collaborate on content, information, and applications that are meant for internal organizational use.	Office SharePoint Server 2007 along with CALs

Q: Can I mix SharePoint server editions/license types in the same farm?  Do I have to set up separate servers for internal-facing and external-facing deployments?

For Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites, the use of a server determines its licensing requirements, not its location in one farm or another. Consequently, you can mix Office SharePoint Server and Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites within the same farm—so long as the use cases are licensed appropriately. However, because Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites licenses the functionality of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Enterprise CAL, you will need to ensure that your users only access functionality they are licensed for based on their CALs. (Exceptions: Microsoft Office Forms Server and Microsoft Office Forms Server for Internet sites cannot be mixed with Office SharePoint Server and Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites.)

Also note that all servers that support a specific use case—whether staging, application, index, or front-end—must be licensed similarly. For example, all servers which participate in the exposure of content to anonymous external users must have a license for Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites. Separate servers (physical or virtual) are not necessarily required for internal and external-facing deployments. As an accommodation for various possible deployment scenarios, customers wishing to consolidate their SharePoint needs under a single deployment may acquire licenses for both Office SharePoint Server and Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites, assign those licenses to the same servers, and use the same running instances of the software simultaneously under both licenses. However, customers must acquire CALs as required under the Office SharePoint Server use rights for users and devices accessing content in any manner not permitted under the Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites use rights.

Q: What if some users need enterprise features and others do not?

Once the Enterprise features of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 are enabled, every client accessing Enterprise functionality on that server, or servers in a farm, is required to have an Enterprise CAL in addition to their Standard Client Access Licenses.

Q: Can I purchase only part of the Enterprise Client Access License (CAL) features, such as Excel Services?

Portions of Office SharePoint Server 2007, such as Excel Services, cannot be licensed independently. Search services are available as part of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Search and InfoPath Forms Services are available as part of Office Forms Server 2007. For all other capabilities you must license the complete version of Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Q: How is Office SharePoint Server 2007 licensed on servers that have multiple CPUs?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is licensed per server. There is no additional cost for servers with multiple CPUs.

Q: How is Office SharePoint Server 2007 licensed in virtualized environments?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is licensed by "running instance." Each license you assign to a server gives you the right to run one "instance" (also called "copy" or "installation") at a time of Office SharePoint Server 2007 on that server. A single license for Office SharePoint Server 2007 also enables you to create and store any number of instances on your servers and storage media.

For example, if you are running an instance of Office SharePoint Server 2007 in each of the four virtual machines on a server, you need to assign four SharePoint Server licenses to that server—one for each of those running instances. However, you do not need separate licenses for the instances of Office SharePoint Server 2007 stored on any inactive virtual machines.

See Windows Server System Licensing to Virtualization Scenarios for more details on how this compares across Microsoft’s products.

Q: What is the difference between a User Client Access License (CAL) and a Device CAL?

Microsoft offers both device-based CALs ("Device CALs") and user-based CALs ("User CALs"). With a Device CAL, a CAL is required for every device that accesses the server, regardless of the number of users who use that device. With a User CAL, a CAL is required for each user who accesses the server, regardless of the number of devices used for that access.

Because there are two types of CALs available, you can select the model that makes sense for your organization. For example, purchasing a User CAL might make more sense if your company has a need for employees to have roaming access using multiple devices. Device CALs may make more sense if your company has multiple-shift workers who share devices.

Q: What is Windows SharePoint Services? How is it related to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Windows SharePoint Services is an enabling technology that is included in Microsoft Windows Server, providing the infrastructure for collaboration and a foundation for building Web-based applications. It enables the creation of Web sites for information sharing and document collaboration, integrating with the Microsoft Office System and serving as a platform for application development. Organizations using Windows SharePoint Services must be properly licensed for Windows Server.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 builds on top of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to deliver enterprise-scale capabilities. It provides a consistent, familiar framework for lists and libraries, site administration, and site customization. Any features that are available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 are also available in Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Q: How do I get Windows SharePoint Services?

Windows SharePoint Services is a component of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. For information on downloading Windows SharePoint Server, visit the Windows SharePoint Services download page. Note that Windows Server licensing applies to the use of Windows SharePoint Services. For complete and current information on the licensing of Windows Server, see the Windows Server 2008 licensing page.

Q: How is Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 licensed?

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is included as part of the Microsoft Windows Server server license and is available for download at no additional charge. Windows Server is typically licensed via the CAL/Server model. For complete and current information on the licensing of Windows Server see the Windows Server 2008 licensing page.

Q: What are the most appropriate licenses for customers in a multi-tier development, staging, and production environment?

The following table shows the best licensing option for the various servers in each configuration:

Tier	Intranet	Internet	Extranet
Development Server(s)	Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN)	Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN)	Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN)
Staging Sever(s)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 + CALs	Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites	Two options: Office SharePoint Server 2007 + CALs OR Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites (Note: Option chosen must be consistent throughout tiers)
Production Server(s)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 + CALs	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites	Two options: Office SharePoint Server 2007 + CALs OR Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites (Note: Option chosen must be consistent throughout tiers)

 

Office SharePoint Servers must be the same edition across the staging and production tiers. For example, you cannot run production servers on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites while running staging servers on Office SharePoint Server 2007.

In general, Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites is required on all servers that intend to participate in the exposure of content to anonymous Internet users, regardless of the farm configuration or whether or not users are directly accessing that server (staging, production, or index). A typical exception is for servers in a development/test environment, as they are typically covered by MSDN licensing. The underlying logic in this is that all servers supporting a specific solution must be licensed similarly (that is, in the Client Access License (CAL)/Server model or the per-server MOSSFIS model), and this is independent of the order in which information moves through servers.

For extranets, customers can choose either per server licensing (Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites) or Server/CAL licensing (Office SharePoint Server 2007 + CALs; requires licensing each unique user or device accessing the extranet solution).

For more information on MSDN licensing, please read the MSDN frequently asked questions Web site.

Q: Do I still need to purchase an Office client license (for example, Office Professional Plus 2007) if I’ve purchased a SharePoint CAL?

Your SharePoint Client Access License (CAL) only covers the use of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, not the entire 2007 release of the Microsoft Office System. It is recommended you use the 2007 release for the richest user experience. For example, with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 you will have bidirectional offline sync with SharePoint document libraries. Also with the 2007 release, certain features such as the document panel and the ability to publish to Excel Services will only be enabled when using Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 or Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007. Additionally, Excel Services will only work with documents saved in the Office Excel 2007 file format (.xlsx). If you purchased a Core CAL Suite you will have an equivalent number of Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard CALs. If you purchased Enterprise CAL Suite, you will receive an equivalent number of Office SharePoint Server Enterprise CALs.

For more information on Microsoft Office suites, please see the 2007 Microsoft Office system packaging page.

Q: There are a lot of terms when it comes to licensing. Where can I go to get help with these terms?

Please refer to the Microsoft licensing glossary.

Q: What is the pricing for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

The price of a SharePoint deployment depends on the Office SharePoint Server 2007 edition, the number of servers and Client Access Licenses (CALs), and any applicable volume discount. For additional information about pricing, read the Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Related Technologies pricing page.

Q: Is Independent Software Vendor (ISV) pricing available for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Yes. Microsoft provides an ISV Royalty Licensing program designed for ISVs that incorporate Microsoft technology into their value-added software business solutions for commercial distribution to their customers. For information on ISV pricing, please visit the Microsoft ISV Royalty Licensing Program page.

Q: How do the Microsoft Client Access License (CAL) Suites—the Core CAL Suite and the Enterprise CAL Suite—relate to the pricing and licensing of Office SharePoint Server 2007?

The Microsoft CAL Suites offer customers flexibility, simplified licensing, and increased value for many of their server-based products.

The Core CAL Suite is one license that covers four separate Client Access Licenses. It gives customers a simple, cost-effective way to establish an investment in key Microsoft technologies through a single license agreement. The Microsoft Core CAL Suite encompasses four fundamental Microsoft server products that provide your people with identity management, directory services, enterprise communication (e-mail, calendar functions, and scheduling), collaborative workspaces, and asset management. The Microsoft Core CAL Suite presents outstanding value and cost savings for customers looking to extend the capabilities of the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office system platforms. It contains the following products:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Standard CAL
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard CAL
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Configuration Management License

The Enterprise CAL Suite includes everything in the Core CAL Suite plus additional capabilities. The Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite brings together 11 of the latest Microsoft products to provide your people with the newest innovations in compliance, real-time collaboration, security, communication, desktop management, and more. The Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite provides an outstanding opportunity for customers to use their existing investments in the Microsoft core platform. It provides significant cost savings compared to the purchasing of individual CALs. Customers considering investments in just two of the products included in the suite will find that the economic value of the Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite becomes compelling.

Specific to Office SharePoint Server 2007, the Enterprise CAL Suite contains both the Office SharePoint Server Standard CAL and the Office SharePoint Server Enterprise CAL.

In total, it contains the following products:

• Windows Server 2008 CAL
• Exchange Server 2007 Standard CAL
• Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise CAL
• Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard CAL
• Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise CAL
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Standard CAL
• Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise CAL
• Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services
• Systems Center Configuration Manager 2007 Configuration Management License
• System Center Operations Manager 2007 Client Monitoring
• Forefront Security Suite

Q: What is SharePoint Online?

SharePoint Online is an offering from Microsoft Online Services. Microsoft Online Services offer enterprise-class software delivered via subscription services hosted by Microsoft and sold with partners. 

Microsoft SharePoint Online provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, find organizational resources, search your site, manage content and workflow, and leverage business insight to make better-informed decisions. Based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, this Microsoft-hosted solution enables employees to easily create and manage custom team and project-focused sites for collaboration including document sharing. Users get the flexibility and customization they need to truly work efficiently across teams. Microsoft handles setup, provisioning, ongoing maintenance, and upgrades of your SharePoint Server infrastructure to reduce workload on your IT resources, which helps enable them to work on core strategic initiatives that can help you move your business forward.

Q: How is SharePoint Online licensed?

Licenses for SharePoint Online are sold as subscriptions. There are two types:

• SharePoint Online Standard: Hosts multiple customers on a single architecture, provides a streamlined feature set, and offers individual user pricing sold per user, per month.
• SharePoint Online Dedicated: Provides a single customer per architecture, offers more features than SharePoint Online Standard, offers user pricing per-user, per-month, and uses licensing that requires the purchase of a Service Subscription License (SSL).

SharePoint Online Standard can be licensed on a standalone basis, or via the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, which contains Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online.

Q: Does SharePoint Online offer the exact same features as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

SharePoint Online is based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, but it is not identical. For a complete set of features, see the SharePoint Online site.

Q: Where can I find more information about Microsoft’s Online Services and SharePoint Online?

More detailed information on SharePoint Online can be found at the Microsoft Online Services site.

Q: What changes did Microsoft make to its roadmap for Business Intelligence and how does that relate to SharePoint?

On January 22, 2009, Microsoft announced an update to its Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) roadmap. Microsoft’s strategy is to deliver BI to everyone in the organization through the broadly adopted tools of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office Excel, and built on the scalable Microsoft SQL Server BI platform. Based on customer feedback, we are:

• Consolidating the scorecard, dashboard, and analytic functionality from Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server into Office SharePoint Server Enterprise as “PerformancePoint Services,” making these capabilities available throughout the organization at a lower TCO. PerformancePoint Services will be a license entitlement for SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise Client Access License (CAL) customers with Software Assurance.
• In mid-2009, we will release PerformancePoint Server 2007 “service pack 3” which will include updates to the current product’s planning module. PerformancePoint Server 2007 is no longer a standalone item on the Microsoft price list as of April 1, 2009.

Q: What happens to SharePoint licenses as a result of this change?

Customers with Office SharePoint Server Enterprise Client Access Licenses (CALs) with active Software Assurance (SA) will be granted, as of April 1, 2009, unrestricted PerformancePoint Server licenses and CALs at a 1:1 ratio.

Q: What happens to PerformancePoint Server licenses?

Current PerformancePoint Server and Client Access Licenses (CALs) on active Software Assurance (SA) as of April 1, 2009 will transition to SharePoint according to the following:

• 1 PerformancePoint Server CAL on SA = 1 Office SharePoint Server Standard CAL + 1 Office SharePoint Server Standard CAL
• 1 PerformancePoint Server on SA = 1 Office SharePoint Server
• 1 PerformancePoint External Connector on SA = 1 Office SharePoint Server for Internet sites

As of April 1, 2009, PerformancePoint Server and CAL licenses are no longer available. Current PerformancePoint customers requiring additional licenses must purchase the necessary SharePoint licenses.

Q: What are SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS)?

SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS) is designed to help organizations plan an effective deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and includes a broad range of planning tools and services to optimize the effectiveness of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server core capabilities, lower the cost of deployment, and improve organizational productivity. Services are provided by a qualified Microsoft SDPS provider (Microsoft partner or Microsoft Consulting Services) who will share best practices, analyze the customer’s organizational environment, and provide tools and services that assist in managing SharePoint implementation and the migration of data. This program is available beginning May, 2008 and is part of the Packaged Services offering that also includes Desktop Deployment Planning Services (DDPS).

Q: What licenses do I need to qualify for SDPS?

SDPS benefits are based upon customers’ investment in Software Assurance across a broad product set. Entitlement levels are based on qualifying licenses in the Application and Server pools. These include Office Suites, Client Access License (CAL) Suites (for example, Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite), and select applications such as Microsoft Office Project, Office Visio, and Office SharePoint Designer. Note that server licenses and individual CALs (for example, those sold not as part of a CAL Suite) do not contribute to the entitlement.

Q: How much deployment help can I get?

Deployment planning engagements are offered at several service levels—1, 3, 5, 10 and 15-days—depending on the customer’s SA benefit entitlement (points accrued as described above). The types of services delivered will depend on the length of the engagement but include the following:

• Strategy Briefing: Defines the vision for achieving technical and business goals (part of all engagements)
• Architectural Design Session: Introduces SharePoint technologies, solutions, and concepts (added in a 3-day engagement)
• Deployment Planning Session: Covers a specific SharePoint capability in depth (added in a 5-day engagement)
• Proof of Concept: Demonstrates the solution in the customer’s environment (added in 10 to 15-day engagements)

To determine the Software Assurance a particular customer has purchased, identify the person within the organization responsible for administering the licensing contract with Microsoft. This could be a legal resource, a procurement or contracting specialist, or an IT executive and is known as the Notices Contact and the Agreement Administrator. This person can receive their entitlement details and manage the activation and consumption of benefits at www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/default.mspx.

Q: How do I find out more about SDPS?

For more information, see www.microsoftsdps.com.

Q: What are Role-based Templates for SharePoint My Sites?

Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites are custom templates designed for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and tailored to address the unique needs and requirements of specific roles. They are extensions to the standard My Site functionality of Office SharePoint Server, providing a personal portal and dashboard data relevant to your role.

The role-based templates are pre-configured to display, in a common environment, role-relevant data from sources such as line-of-business systems, desktop tools, and portals. The templates make use of Office SharePoint Server capabilities such as audience targeting, key performance indicators, workflows, Excel Services, and Business Data Catalog.

Q: What roles will be covered by the Role-based Templates for SharePoint My Sites?

Microsoft collected feedback from customers and partners, making available a rich set of business processes and workgroup tasks relevant for multiple departments, industries, and sizes of companies. Seven role-based My Site templates are available for download. The roles covered are: Administrative Assistant, Controller/Financial Analyst, Customer Service Manager, HR Manager, IT Manager, Marketing Manager, and Sales Account Manager. More information on each template can be found on the Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites Web page.

Q: What materials will be available describing the role-based My Site templates and helping audiences choose the correct templates for their needs?

Each template has a companion set of datasheets for business decision makers and IT professionals. The business datasheet highlights the functionality and details of the scenario which a business decision maker can use to consider deployment. The technical datasheet describes the scenario, Web Parts, relevant workflows, lists, and document libraries that are part of the template. Each template is also accompanied by a setup guide to assist with installation and configuration.

Q: Is there any charge to download the Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites?

No. The role-based templates are available at no additional charge, but a quick registration is required for download.

Q: Where are the role-based My Site templates available?

Download the role-based templates from the Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites Web page.

Q: What languages are the role-based My Site templates available in?

The role-based My Site templates are currently available in English only.

Q: What other templates are available?

In addition to the Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites, Microsoft has also released 40 application templates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Application templates are out-of-the-box, custom scenarios tailored to address the needs and requirements of specific business processes or sets of tasks within organizations of any size. More information can be found on the application template Web page.

An English version of the GroupBoard Workspace 2007 template is also available for download. The GroupBoard Workspace 2007 template for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 creates a space for a group or team to connect and share information in a collaborative environment, improving team efficiency and productivity.

There are a number of Microsoft Partners that have been offering their own solutions based on or involving the Application Templates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007. A directory of partners with such solutions can be found in the Office System Solutions Directory.

Q: Will the new role-based My Site templates for Office SharePoint Server 2007 function on a pre-existing Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 environment?

The new role-based My Site templates were designed to highlight improvements in the Office SharePoint Server 2007 platform and should be installed on this version for deployment. The new templates will not install correctly on an Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 environment.

Q: Do the role-based templates take advantage of the SharePoint Business Data Catalog?

The Business Data Catalog (BDC), a feature introduced in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, provides an easy way to integrate business data from back-end server applications, such as SAP or Siebel, within Office SharePoint Server 2007 without writing any code.

Each role-based template comes with a sample Microsoft SQL Server database and a BDC application file for the same which has entities and associations between the entities defined with respect to the roles. The end user can customize the BDC application file as per the database and the back-end server in the enterprise.

Q: Can customers, developers, ISVs, solution providers, and others modify the role-based My Site templates?

Yes. This is one of the main goals of the Role-Based Templates for SharePoint My Sites, as a demonstration of the application building power in Office SharePoint Server 2007 and as a potential starting point for larger applications.

Q: How do I customize these role-based My Site templates and deploy them in more specific scenarios and organizations?

Microsoft offers a set of customization and development tools that help tailor the role-based My Site templates to meet your specific business needs.

• Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 can be used to customize and extend instances of the templates. Using Office SharePoint Designer 2007, you can add or modify views on data in the site, as well as integrate external data from databases, Web services, and RSS. Or, when partnered with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Business Data Catalog enabled, integrate line-of-business data into your site.
• Productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office Access 2007 and Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007, also help increase the value of the templates. With Office Access 2007, you can create and integrate form and report views, coordinate structured data collections via e-mail, and access SharePoint site lists offline. With Office InfoPath 2007, you can design form solutions to gather data which can integrate with business processes leveraging the workflow capabilities of Office SharePoint Server 2007. Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007-designed forms can be filled out in the most common browsers, further broadening the reach of such form solutions.
• Microsoft Visual Studio can be used to modify templates or add new code to the server. Common tasks might include adding custom Web part assemblies, new server controls, or new workflow activities. After deploying these assemblies to the server, custom Web parts and workflow activities can be exposed and used in Office SharePoint Designer 2007.

Beyond these Microsoft tools, there are a number of Microsoft Partners delivering services and solutions to implement, tailor, and customize the templates to fit specific customer scenarios. Many Partner solutions go beyond template-related solutions, reaching to sophisticated applications built on the Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies platform.

Q: Are the role-based My Site templates supported by Microsoft?

Unfortunately, the templates are not supported by Microsoft. They are intended to provide an example of what can be done with My Sites in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Please refer to the set-up guides for installation and configuration instructions.

Q: How do customers license an upgrade from Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003?

Customers who purchased Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 with Software Assurance (SA) will be granted a server license to upgrade to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. An Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard Client Access License (CAL) will be granted per each existing standalone SharePoint Portal Server 2003 CAL or Core CAL covered with SA.

Q: How do customers license an upgrade from Content Management Server 2002?

Depending on their usage scenario, customers who purchased Content Management Server 2002 with Software Assurance (SA) will be able to upgrade to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The CAL granted depends on the site usage. For complete details, please visit the Microsoft Product List for Volume Licensing page.

Q: How does upgrading and downgrading work between the different editions of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Standard Edition features (licensed via the Standard CAL) can be upgraded to Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Enterprise Edition features (licensed via the Enterprise CAL). However, downgrades between the Enterprise and Standard CAL editions in Office SharePoint Server 2007 are technically not possible. Downgrading between Office SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint Portal Server 2003 is possible only from a licensing standpoint.

The following table summarizes the upgrade paths from previous editions:

Existing Version	Upgrade Path
Windows SharePoint Services 2.0	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
SharePoint Portal Server 2003	Office SharePoint Server 2007
SharePoint Portal Server 2003 + External Connector License	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites
*Content Management Server 2002 Enterprise (for Internet/extranet sites)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites
*Content Management Server 2002 Standard (for intranet Web sites)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Standard CALs
*Content Management Server 2002 Enterprise (for intranet Web sites)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 with Standard and Enterprise CALs
*Content Management Server 2002 Standard (for Internet/extranet Web sites)	Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites

*For more information on licensing upgrades from Content Management Server, please visit the Microsoft Product List for Volume Licensing page.

Q: What is Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is an integrated suite of server capabilities that can help improve organizational effectiveness by providing comprehensive content management and enterprise search, accelerating shared business processes, and facilitating information-sharing across boundaries for better business insight.  Office SharePoint Server 2007 supports all intranet, extranet, and Web applications across an enterprise within one integrated platform, instead of relying on separate fragmented systems. Additionally, this collaboration and content management server provides IT professionals and developers with the platform and tools they need for server administration, application extensibility, and interoperability.

Q: Who is Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 designed for?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 can be used by information workers, IT administrators, and application developers.

Q: What are the main benefits of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides a single integrated platform to manage intranet, extranet, and Internet applications across the enterprise.

Business users gain greater control over the storage, security, distribution, and management of their electronic content, with tools that are easy to use and tightly integrated into familiar, everyday applications.

Organizations can accelerate shared business processes with customers and partners across organizational boundaries using InfoPath Forms Services–driven solutions.

Information workers can find information and people efficiently and easily through the facilitated information-sharing functionality and simplified content publishing. In addition, access to back-end data is achieved easily through a browser, and views into this data can be personalized.

Administrators have powerful tools at their fingertips that ease deployment, management, and system administration, so they can spend more time on strategic tasks.

Developers have a rich platform to build a new class of applications (called Office Business Applications) that combine powerful developer functionality with the flexibility and ease of deployment of Office SharePoint Server 2007. Through the use of out-of-the-box application services, developers can build richer applications with less code.

Q: Can I download a trial of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is now available. Download a free trial.

Q: Am I entitled to deployment assistance with the purchase of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

Based upon your investment in Software Assurance (SA), you may be entitled to deployment assistance under SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS). SDPS is a packaged service offering that is a benefit for customers with qualifying SA. The services are provided by a Microsoft qualified partner or Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS), and the amount of the benefit is based upon the quantity of licenses purchased under SA. For more information, see “SharePoint Deployment Planning Services” section below and also www.micrsoftsdps.com.

Q: What are the differences across the various SharePoint Products and Technologies packaging options?

For detailed information on the feature areas for each packaging option, see the Feature and Edition Comparison.

Q: What is the difference between Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 have identical feature functionality. However, the usage rights are different.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites is for use with external facing sites (anonymous or authenticated) and requires no Client Access Licenses (CALs). Office SharePoint Server 2007 is primarily meant for internal users and requires corresponding CALs.

See the previous section on licensing for more information on mapping usage scenarios to the required licenses.

Q: What suites of the 2007 Microsoft Office system work with Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 has no restrictions in terms of support for previous releases of Microsoft Office. When choosing a 2007 Microsoft Office system suite, we recommend that you use the 2007 Office release for the richest user experience. Consider the following when choosing a Microsoft Office suite:

• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 provides bidirectional offline synchronization with SharePoint document libraries, discussion groups, contacts, calendars, and tasks.
• Microsoft Office Groove 2007, included as part of Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007, will enable bidirectional offline synchronization with SharePoint document libraries.
• Features such as the document panel and the ability to publish to Excel Services will only be enabled when using Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 or Office Enterprise 2007.
• Excel Services will only work with documents saved in the Office Excel 2007 file format (.xlsx).

For more information, please visit the 2007 Microsoft Office system packaging page.

Q: What are the system requirements for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007?

Read the Office SharePoint Server 2007 system requirements.

Q: Does Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 run on a 64-bit version of Windows Server?

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Office SharePoint Server 2007, and Office Forms Server 2007 support 64-bit versions of Windows Server.

Q: What is Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint?

Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint integrates multiple scan engines from industry-leading vendors and provides content controls to help businesses protect their Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 collaboration environment from documents containing malicious code, confidential information, and inappropriate content. Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint ships with industry-leading antivirus engines to provide comprehensive protection against the latest threats to help ensure documents are safe before they are saved to, or retrieved from, the SharePoint document library. In addition, documents can be scanned for company-sensitive information, profanity, or other administrator-defined policies. Through deep integration with Office SharePoint and Windows SharePoint Services, Forefront Security for SharePoint helps protect your collaboration environment while maintaining uptime and optimizing performance. Forefront Security for SharePoint enables administrators to easily manage product configuration and operation, automated antivirus signature updates, and reporting, at the server and enterprise level.

Read the Forefront Security for SharePoint frequently asked questions.

Q: How is Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint licensed?

Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint is offered as a monthly subscription for each SharePoint user that is being protected. The subscription is per user, per month and covers all SharePoint servers within an environment. Subscriptions are paid upfront for a 12 month license and cover any Office SharePoint Server 2007 or Windows SharePoint Services site within an organization to which users upload and download documents.

Customers who purchase Forefront Security for SharePoint to protect Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services version 3.0 will also be licensed to use Antigen for SharePoint to protect Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 environments.

Forefront Security for SharePoint is also available via the Enterprise CAL Suite.

Please visit the How to Buy page for more information on purchasing ForeFront Security for SharePoint.