KB001210

Introduction

Moving to SharePoint Foundation Server or SharePoint 2010 in an existing K2 - SharePoint 2007 (WSS or MOSS) environment can be accomplished in two different ways. Use this article if you are currently running WSS 3.0 or MOSS 2007 and K2 blackpearl/blackpoint and wish to learn the supported techniques for moving a K2 environment to SharePoint 2010.

Note: This article may be updated periodically.

Options to move to SharePoint 2010 from WSS 3.0 or MOSS 2007

The purpose and scope of this document is to focus upon K2 aspects of a SharePoint 2010 migration.  This document assumes the reader has an understanding of the foundational concepts on SharePoint 2010 migration based on Microsoft’s best practice guidelines. The SharePoint migration options are detailed in the Microsoft TechNet resource page Upgrade and Migration for SharePoint Server 2010. This page and other guidance from Microsoft should be used for all SharePoint-specific guidance. 

The Determine upgrade approach (SharePoint Server 2010) TechNet article gives you two methods for moving your SharePoint platform to SharePoint 2010:

1. In-place Upgrade
2. Content Migration ( “DB Attach”)

K2 has tested and supports the above two methods as a means of migrating a K2-SharePoint environment to SharePoint 2010.

Notes and Important Assumptions:  This article assumes that SharePoint URLs remain the same after the migration to SharePoint 2010. Any URLs that worked in the WSS/MOSS environment would still resolve correctly in SharePoint 2010. This is very important as running K2 workflows and K2 SmartObject Service Instances reference SharePoint by the URL.  If you are moving from WSS 2.0 or SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to SharePoint 2010, as per Microsoft, your only option is to migrate. With this option you must also purchase a third-party tool to handle the migration or perform the migration manually.  K2.net 2003 is not supported and will not work with SharePoint 2010. K2.net 2003 processes need to be rebuilt on K2 blackpearl or K2 blackpoint.  This article only covers the KB001290 and later releases of K2 blackpearl and K2 blackpoint, available on the K2 Customer Portal.  This article assumes SharePoint is the only element within the infrastructure that is changing. This article does not cover changes in the name or location of additional components such as the K2 Server, SQL Server and Active Directory.  It is assumed that there are active K2 workflow instances interacting with the legacy SharePoint environment. If there are no active instances running and no K2 workflows deployed then this effort should be treated just like a standard solution deployment to a new environment.  K2 began supporting SharePoint 2010 with version 4.5.1170. If an earlier version of K2 is in place, please upgrade K2 to the most current version before attempting the SharePoint migration.

In addition to the SharePoint URL's matching as mentioned in the notes section above, it is also important that the content type management settings are the same in both instances. The service object name is formatted differently depending on what the option to allow management of content types is set to. This option is set in List / Library Settings > Advanced Settings > Allow management of content types.

If the option is set to NO, only 1 content type is associated with the list or library, and the service object name is just the name of the list or library. If this option is set to YES, multiple content types can be associated and the service object name is formatted as "list - contenttype".

What this means in practical terms is that if the content type management option is set to NO on one end, and YES on the other end, the service object names will not match, and the import of SmartObjects will fail. This is more likely to be a problem with migrations from SharePoint 2007 to 2010 than in-place upgrades, or moving from Development -> Staging -> Production.

Option 1: In-place Upgrade

The main benefit to upgrading SharePoint in-place is that everything remains the same – the same URLs, the same site structure, and the same content. K2 processes can remain in progress for the upgrade.

The main consideration to this approach is that SharePoint 2010 cannot be installed on 32-bit hardware, and even if you have 64-bit hardware for MOSS 2007, it may not be the ideal hardware to run SharePoint 2010.  As such one must be careful to make sure their existing SharePoint infrastructure can support SharePoint 2010 before proceeding.

If an in-place upgrade is to be performed, the below steps should be taken:

1. Confirm that the current K2 version supports SharePoint 2010
   1. If it does not, please upgrade to the current version of K2 and confirm a successful upgrade before continuing with the move to SharePoint 2010
2. Stop the K2 server
3. Perform the SharePoint in-place upgrade per Microsoft’s instructions
4. Run the K2 Setup Manager on each SharePoint server (WFE and CA servers) in the farm and select the Repair option
5. After Step 4 is finished, step through the K2 for SharePoint Configuration Wizard
6. Activate All K2 Features and Configuration Settings to each site collection requiring K2 integration
7. If necessary, restart the K2 server

Option 2: Content Migration

The second option is to do a migration of content from SharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2010. This is frequently referred to as ‘DB Attach’. This typically involves attaching the legacy SharePoint content database(s) to a new SharePoint 2010 farm running on new hardware. This allows existing content and K2 workflows to continue working.  The main infrastructural benefit of this approach is the increased capacity gains of the new hardware, including the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit servers.  It is important to note, that in order for active K2 workflow instances and SharePoint SmartObject Service References to continue working correctly post SharePoint content migration, the URLs most remain the same.

If content migration is to be performed, the below steps should be taken:

1. Confirm that the current K2 version supports SharePoint 2010
   1. If it does not, please upgrade to the current version of K2 and confirm a successful upgrade before continuing with the move to SharePoint 2010
2. Install the K2 for SharePoint components within the SharePoint 2010 environment before attempting the content migration
   1. It is important to confirm a successful SharePoint 2010-K2 installation before proceeding with the SharePoint 2010 migration effort.
3. Stop the K2 server
4. Perform the DB Attach Migration
5. Run the K2 Setup Manager on each SharePoint server (WFE and CA servers) in the farm and select the Configure option
6. After Step 5 is finished, step through the K2 for SharePoint Configuration Wizard
7. Activate All K2 Features and Configuration Settings to each site collection requiring K2 integration
8. If necessary, restart the K2 server

Miscellaneous Considerations

Migrating to a new version of SharePoint can be tricky and it is best to perform one or more test migrations before executing in your Production environment. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. If the formatting deviates from the standard SharePoint look and feel on a particular site or site collection, test the migration thoroughly for small formatting issues and broken links. There is a new SharePoint 2010 user interface (UI) that includes a Ribbon for working with lists and libraries, but you can revert to the SharePoint 2007 to minimize the amount of initial migration testing. The new UI can be turned on later.
2. Test the migration of your Production environment in a staging environment first to identify key issues. If your server names are the same, setup the staging environment in an isolated network.
3. Do regression testing for all points of integration (including K2), and test both migrated and post-migration instances of these features and integration points.
4. Claims based authentication is supported in SharePoint 2010. The K2 platform supports Claims based authentication on K2 4.5 with Update KB001390 or greater.