Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

Chapter 18: Managing SharePoint Portal Server 2003 485
Caution Despite the security similarities between Windows SharePoint
Services and SharePoint Portal Server, it is important keep in mind that
while the former has the concept of Sites and Site Collections, the latter
does not. A portal is a site collection and an area is a sub-web.
The Show User Information link, which does not exist with Windows Share-
Point Services, takes the administrator to a page summarizing all users that have a
Microsoft SharePoint Portal 2003 profile. A profile is created either when an authenticated
user successfully accesses the portal site for the first time or automatically by
the profile import process (which creates a profile for users based on Active Directory)
if it has been enabled by the portal administrator. By following the link for a listed
user, the administrator can edit the user information by adding notes about the user
and can even designate the user as a Site Collection Administrator.
More Info You might notice that user accounts that have been granted
access to portal areas and team sites continue to show in site groups and
permission lists in the portal site even after they have been deleted from
the domain. The only two ways to get rid of them are to delete each entry in
every site and site group or to delete them from the Manage Site Collection
Users page, which will effectively remove them from all sites and site
groups in that collection.
One of the few differences in portal security from Windows SharePoint Services
security is the existence of the additional Content Manager site group. By
default, members of the Content Manager site group can approve or reject content
posting requests and manage area settings. In addition, Content Managers can target
areas for viewing by one or more audiences, which will be discussed later.
Another security-related difference relates to the permission set that can be
granted to a portal’s site group. For example, users can be granted or denied the Use
Personal Features permission, which allows administrators to control which users or
groups can use the portal site’s alert feature and the portal site’s personal site feature.
Other permissions that do not exist for team sites relate to portal site feature
management. Table 18-1 lists the differences in the two sets of permissions.