Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

150 Part II: SharePoint Products and Technologies Architecture
Server Requirements
Although all configurations of Windows SharePoint Services must be installed on a
Windows Server 2003 server, not all configurations require a domain. Single-server
Windows SharePoint Services installations can be installed on servers that are not
members of a domain. In all other configurations, all servers—such as those in a
server farm—must be members of the same domain.
SharePoint Portal Server requires domain membership for all servers in all configurations.
Installing and operating a computer running SharePoint Portal Server is
not supported if the server is a member of a workgroup. However, any domain type
can work. This means that SharePoint Portal Server is supported on Windows Server
2003 servers that are members of a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or
Windows Server 2003 domain.
Client Requirements
Regardless of the type of client that connects to SharePoint Products and Technologies,
the features that are available are the same. However, these features can be
implemented differently based on the capabilities of the different browsers. Any
Windows, Macintosh, or UNIX client can use the available features, provided the
client runs the following software:
■ Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 2
■ Internet Explorer 5.5 with Service Pack 2
■ Internet Explorer 6
■ Internet Explorer 5.2 or later for Macintosh
■ Netscape Navigator version 6.2 or later
A client program such as Microsoft Office 2003 is not necessary for browsing
but is required if the user contributes to documents on a website. For example, if a
Word document exists on a site and a user would like to edit that document,
Microsoft Word 2003 is required to edit the document directly from the site.
Authentication
Authentication is the process used to validate the user account that is attempting to gain
access to a website or network resource. Authentication for Windows SharePoint Services
websites is handled by Internet Information Services (IIS). Windows SharePoint
Services uses the authentication method you specify for a virtual server in IIS to control
authentication for all top-level websites and subsites of that virtual server. Windows
SharePoint Services works with the following authentication methods in IIS: