This post was last updated: 1st November 2009
Service Packs and Cumulative Updates
The easiest place to go for the latest service pack is the TechNet Resource Center. It also includes any cumulative updates released in between service packs. Note that Service Pack 2 will be mandatory for any servers being upgraded to SharePoint Server 2010 when it is released (expected during the first half of 2010):
- Update Resource Center for SharePoint Technologies (TechNet)
- Service Pack 2 (TechNet)
Infrastructure Update
In July 2008, Microsoft released an infrastructure update for SharePoint Server 2007, introducing new search features included with Search Server 2008 (such as federated search and an improved search administration dashboard). It is included with both Standard and Enterprise versions of SharePoint Server 2007 and is well worth installing. If you are just running Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) you have two options – 1. Install Search Server 2008 Express (no additional licensing cost, it runs as a service on Windows Server just like WSS and is limited to a single server instance) or 2. Install Search Server 2008 – identical to Search Server Express but with scale-out options. Realistically, in this case, you are more likely to jump to full SharePoint Server 2007. Scaling just using Search Server 2008 is best suited for indexing non-SharePoint environments.
PerformancePoint Server 2007
In January 2009, Microsoft announced that PerformancePoint Server 2007 would no longer be sold as a separate server product and instead is now included with SharePoint. PerformancePoint provides much richer business intelligence and performance management capabilities (scorecards, strategy maps) than are provided with just SharePoint. Note it is only available with the Enterprise Edition of SharePoint Server 2007. It is not included with Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Server 2007 Standard Edition. To check if you have the Enterprise Edition installed, check your Admin console and see if you have Excel Services or the Business Data Catalog listed. Both features are exclusive to the Enterprise Edition of SharePoint Server 2007.
- Microsoft Business Intelligence Strategy Update and SharePoint (MS blog post)
- PerformancePoint Server resources on TechNet (including latest service pack)
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