Are you interested in experimenting with Office SharePoint Server but only have access to your personal computer? Using Windows Virtual Server, you have the ability to run a virtual instance of Windows Server & SharePoint Server on your local machine.
Below I've described the steps needed to create a Virtual SharePoint Server on your machine.
What you’ll need:
- A hefty computer with plenty of memory & disk space. Your virtual server will run from a Virtual Hard Disk (just a big *.VHD file on your computer). You need to devote enough memory & disk space to allow the virtual server to perform reasonably.
- An approved version of the Windows OS. This means XP Professional or Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate. Detailed system requirements can be viewed on the MS download pages (see below).
Downloading the Files
- Download the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1.
- Download the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 VHD.
Install the Microsoft Virtual Server
- Find the downloaded "setup.exe" file for Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 and run it.
- Click through the setup wizard and accept the default options.
This installation should add a new Web Application to the IIS server running on your machine. To look at this, go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> IIS Manager. You will see something similar to this:
You can now access the Virtual Server by visiting the following URL in your web browser:
http://localhost/virtualserver/vswebapp.exe
You may need to add "http://localhost/" to your list of Trusted Sites in Internet Explorer.
Once loaded, you will see a web page screen similar to this:
Attach the Virtual Server to the SharePoint Server Virtual Hard Disk
To use Virtual Server to load a virtual environment you need a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD). VHD is simply a gigantic file that sits on your hard disk and contains your virtual environment. Using Virtual Server, you can instantiate a new environment from this VHD file.
Microsoft makes a number of VHD's available for their various products.
For this test, we've downloaded the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server VHD. This download will have 6 parts (5 RAR files and 1 EXE file). Find the "WIN03_MOSS_V1.part01.exe" file and run it. The RAR files will be combined into a single 10+ GB "WIN03_MOSS.VHD" file.
1. Load the Windows Virtual Server interface in your web browser by visiting:
http://localhost/virtualserver/vswebapp.exe
2. Click "Create" to create a new Virtual Machine:
3. Enter the settings for your Virtual Machine.
Server Name: SharePoint Server
Memory: 1024
Virtual hard disk: Use an existing virtual hard disk
File Name (.vhd): Type the full path to your SharePoint VHD file.
Virtual network adapter: Select your network adapter from the list.
Click the "Create" button. A new Virtual Machine should now be created.
Starting your New Virtual Office SharePoint Server
To start your new SharePoint Virtual Machine, just click the thumbnail image. You will get a message that your Virtual Machine is starting. Wait a few minutes for your machine to boot, then click the thumbnail again to open a Remote Access window.
You will be promoted to install an ActiveX control. Install this control and make whatever configuration changes you are prompted to make.
You should now be looking at a login prompt for your new server.
Use the "Remote Control" drop-down list in the upper-right corner of your screen to send a Ctrl+Alt+Del to the virtual server.
Username: Administrator
Password: pass@word1
You're done. Welcome to your own virtual Windows Office SharePoint Server.
