Something that was possible in SharePoint Server 2007 has become tricky in SharePoint Server 2010. The complete installation on a single server using non-domain accounts. Something most developers, demonstrators and testers do a lot of suddenly requires the use of domain accounts instead of local machine accounts. Or does it....

The recommendation for a single server build of SharePoint 2010 is to use the Stand Alone installation giving you SQL express and a default configuration. But what if you want to use SQL Server 2008 and to have more control over the build, and to use local service accounts. In this case you need to use complete install and either PowerShell alone or a combination of Windows PowerShell and PSCONFIG(UI).EXE

To begin with carry out your SharePoint 2010 installation using the advanced option and complete as the server type. This is recommended in a farm configuration.

Next you would think to use either PSCONFIG or PSCONFIGUI to create the farm. Well you would be wrong

PSCONFIG.EXE -cmd configdb -create -server neilhw2k8r2 -database sharepoint_2010_config -user neilhw2k8r2\administrator -password ******** -passphrase ********
-admincontentdatabase sharepoint2010_admincontent

Results in

The specified user neilhw2k8r2\administrator is a local account.

Local accounts should only be used in stand alone mode.

So how do we get around this limitation without using the corporate domain or else promoting the server to a domain controller.

Windows PowerShell is your friend, New-SPConfigurationDatabase allows you to specify none domain credentials for the farm.

To execute this command launch the SharePoint 2010 management shell (in the same location as the central admin link) and simply type the command at the cursor and press enter.

The beauty of the Windows PowerShell approach is you get prompted for the missing command line attributes instead of the rather horrible error dialog that PSConfig throws at you

After this completes you will find in SQL a new configuration database and an admin content database (unfortunately the GUID is back but that can be fixed if necessary)

Next the simplest way to complete the installation is revery back to PSConfigUI as you now are starting with the server already joined to the farm.

Follow the wizard through the same options as you had with SharePoint 2007 and complete the installation/configuration with the following screen

Clicking Fiinish launches the central admin website and after agreeing to report back customer experiences to Microsoft (or not) you get your first look at SharePoint 2010 central admin and the configuration wizards.

So wizard - or - manual configuration. That's a subject for another post so come back for more...

Posted at 4:36 PM by Neil 'The Doc' Hodgkinson | Category: SharePoint 2010; PowerShell; Administration; Central Administration | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (15)

Comments

Consultant

Useful post. Many people will run into this issue.

at 10/20/2009 1:49 AM

You can also do this

Thanks for a nice post.

You can also enable local accounts by manually update the registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\14.0\WSS\ServerRole == SINGLESERVER

Set it to SINGLESERVER and you can use local accounts.

/Jonas

at 10/22/2009 1:21 AM

You can also do this

Jonas

Couple of points on this approach

1. Modification of the registry in this POST installation is potentially unsupported

2. Converting the installation type to SINGLESERVER could activate with Windows Update process and you could find yourself updating the SharePoint installation when you least expect it.

I suggest caution with this approach

/Neiil

at 10/23/2009 3:54 AM

The user does not exist or is not unique

When I try the steps as outlined above on a fresh install of SharePoint 2010 Public Beta (Nov. 09), after the New-SPConfigurationDatabase collects the info, and cooks for a while ... and the 2 SP Databases are created in SQL Server 2008, the cmdlet errors out in RED with:

New-SPConfigurationDatabase : The user does not exist or is not unique.
At line:1 char:28
+ New-SPConfigurationDatabase <<<<
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidData: (Microsoft.Share...urationDatabase:
   SPCmdletNewSPConfigurationDatabase) [New-SPConfigurationDatabase], SPCmdle
tException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletNewSPCon
   figurationDatabase

New-SPConfigurationDatabase : The user does not exist or is not unique.
At line:1 char:28
+ New-SPConfigurationDatabase <<<<
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidData: (Microsoft.Share...urationDatabase:
   SPCmdletNewSPConfigurationDatabase) [New-SPConfigurationDatabase], COMExce
ption
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletNewSPCon
   figurationDatabase

When I go and start the configuration wizard after this, even though the 2 databases have been created, SP 2010 cannot find them when trying to join the newly created farm. After keying in the local server name to find the default instance of SQL Server 2008, and selecting "Retrieve Database Names", the error "Cannot find an existing configuration database located at the specified database server. Please choose a different database server."

I can then manually type in the created Config database name, and it accepts it. But then it asks for the Passphrase next ... After typing in the passphrase I used for the cmdlet to create the base Farm, I get the error "The passphrase you entered is incorrect. Please try again."

And this is as far as I get. So now I've got a partial install.

BTW I chose the SharePoint 2010 Internet Enterprise key.

I'm running on Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bit with SQL Server 2008 Standard installed plus the SQL Server 2008 SP1 Hotfix installed.

Suggestions?

at 11/18/2009 8:37 AM

Problem solved - got New-SPConfigurationDatabase to work ...

It appears that the SharePoint 2010 Public Beta does not install the correct version of the MS Geneva Framework ... which is why the approach you described above failed.

Scroll down to Step 7. of this post (search on "SharePoint 2010 Lab Environment Part 1 – Installing SharePoint on Windows 7"). I uninstalled the Geneva Framework on my Windows Server 2008 R2 VM, then installed the version that was hyperlinked in the SharePoint Solutions/help posting.

Once that was installed, and after cleaning up messes that were left on my server from previous failed attempts (detaching the configuation DB, and dropping it and the content db from SQL Server) the above technique worked.

Hope this helps others with the same issue!

Roy

at 11/18/2009 10:35 AM

Response to the above posts from Roy

Roy

Thanks for the posting and the fix. Its great to see someone come back with a follow up once they resolve the problem. If only more people were like that :)

Glad to got to the bottom of it.

at 11/19/2009 2:11 PM

Need Brief Explanation

This post has been a lifesaver! I've got the DBs successfully created, but before proceding I wonder could you explain what you mean by the following?

"unfortunately the GUID is back but that can be fixed if necessary"

Thanks!

Anthony :-)

Response from neilh

What I mean by that is the GUID that attaches itself to the admin content database name. You can remove this by droppping the database, renaming it and reattaching it back to the web application.

at 11/19/2009 8:07 PM

Who came first?

Just found a duplicate post by Mike Henthorn of this post on his site here:

http://mhenthorn.blogspot.com/2009/11/install-sharepoint-2010-beta-using.html

So who came first?

Response from NeilH

Honestly Bill I have no idea and don'tmind one way or the other. My post was based on a Microsoft internal discussion thread that I felt needed to be shared. If the chap you reference got there first then I acknowledge that but honestly as long as the community benefits I don't mind one way or the other.

at 11/19/2009 9:42 PM

Question

Thanks for posting this, as it is exactly what we are trying to set up here for a sandbox/demo environment. However I have a question. In your example it looks like you want the local Administrator account to be the service account & DB owner. Does that mean New-SPConfigurationDatabase should be run while logged in as that account? Though I just noticed from your screenshot that you appear to be logged in as "neilh". I ask because I ran it using my own (domain) account, and when New-SPConfigurationDatabase asked me for the SQL server hostname (but before asking for the farm credential), a Windows dialog popped up asking for login info, so I used my own. But now I'm the owner of the config & admin DBs and some of the services got set up using my account as the identity. Is that dialog where I should use local Admin or some other local account instead? Thanks. Dan

Response from NeilH

Dan, you would carry out the installation with waht is traditionally known as the "setup account". This account should not be a normal user account but instead is an account that has the privilege required to install the farm

at 11/23/2009 11:00 AM

Local Accounts with full SQL

Hi, I guess this isn't a practicle approach but by installing SP2007 followed by a inplace upgrade to SP2010 allowed me to use full SQL with local accounts :)

Response from NeilH -

Nothing wrong with that approach for a single server install. We know it works and is a supported upgrade method so good to know

at 11/25/2009 3:34 PM

Stuck

I followed the directions above. I get through DatabaseName, DatabaseServer, and FarmCredentials and then it says "cmdlet New-SPConfigurationDatabase at command pipeline position 1". I hit Enter and then it says the following in red: New-SPConfigurationDatabase : The passphrase supplied does not meet the minimum complexity requirements. Please select another passphrase that meets all of th e following criteria: is at least 8 characters; contains at least three of the following four character groups: English uppercase characters (A through Z); E nglish lowercase characters (a through z); Numerals (0 through 9); Non-alphabet ic characters (such as !, $, #, %). Type a passphrase which meets these require ments. At line:1 char:28 + New-SPConfigurationDatabase <<<< + CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: (System.Security.SecureString:S ecureString) [New-SPConfigurationDatabase], SPException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletNewSPCon figurationDatabase My FarmCredentials passphrase is at least 8 characters long and contains the right combination of characters. However, I am not sure I am actually asked for the Farm Passphrase like shown above in the screen shot. What could be going on?

Response. - from NeilH

Not sure what you have done there buddy. This was written against tech preview not public beta so I'll double check that but it pains me to say it but perhaps a double tap on Enter would do this

at 11/25/2009 5:49 PM

Error in Powershell

At the powershell bit and specifying the username as PCName\AccountName, I get this error: New-SPConfigurationDatabase : A transport-level error has occurred when sending the request to the server. (provider: Shared Memory Provider, error: 0 - No pr ocess is on the other end of the pipe.) At line:1 char:28 + New-SPConfigurationDatabase <<<< + CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (Microsoft.Share...urationDatabase: SPCmdletNewSPConfigurationDatabase) [New-SPConfigurationDatabase], SqlExce ption + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletNewSPCon figurationDatabase Shared Memory is enabled in SQL Server Configuration Manager. Anyone got any ideas why?

Response - Check your SQL configuration surface. Also check whether youare using a SQL alias and have the loopback check configured or disabled

at 11/27/2009 5:35 PM

Missing Something....

So when going through the creditials i don't get to the passphrase after enting my username and pw

cmdlst line again with a blining cursor?

the Regedit makes no difference either........

Response - from neilh

I would expect that you have done something wrong in an earlier part of the install. Recheck the rereqs before running psconfig

at 12/1/2009 12:39 PM

The user does not exist or is not unique

I get the same error as Roy mentioned and I tried fixing by installing recommended version from Geneva framework. It did not work and error still persists. Any pointers?

Response.

There are a lot of these similar comments on the blog and one way to avoid this error is to ensure you can resolve a domain controller for the the currently logged on user. This means that although you will be using local accounts for sharepoint, the currently logged on user needs to be able to resolve a DC in the current domain.

at 12/3/2009 7:32 PM

SQL Version?

Excellent post! exactly what I needed.

However, I have installed all the prerequisites for SQL 2008, SP1 and KB article: 970315, but when i try to execute above command I get error below:

Any recommendations?

New-SPConfigurationDatabase : SQL server at project2010 has an unsup
ported version 10.0.2531.0. The minimum required SQL server versions are SQL Se
rver 2005 SP3 CU3, version number: 9.00.4220.00, downloadable from "http://supp
ort.microsoft.com/kb/967909", or SQL Server 2008 SP1 CU2, version number 10.00.
2714.00, downloadable from "http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970315".
At line:1 char:28
+ New-SPConfigurationDatabase <<<<
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidData: (Microsoft.Share...urationDatabase:
   SPCmdletNewSPConfigurationDatabase) [New-SPConfigurationDatabase], SPCmdle
tException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletNewSPCon
   figurationDatabase

at 1/1/2010 4:59 AM

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