The document discusses how to plan an appropriate site topology in SharePoint. It explains that site collections and sub-sites provide containers for content and each have pros and cons. The key is finding a balance between too many deep sub-sites versus too few top-level site collections. When planning a topology, considerations include governance, quotas, content types and amounts, administrators, and importance of information. Examples are provided of both deep and flat topologies as well as when to use site collections versus sub-sites.

1. How Many Sites Do I Need?!?!
SharePoint Saturday Virginia Beach
Mike Oryszak
http://www.mikeoryszak.com
January 7, 2012

2. About Me
• Practice Manager with Intellinet
• Microsoft SharePoint Server MVP
• Dev and Architect with MS stack since 1996
• Working with SharePoint since 2002
• Raleigh-Durham, NC Area since 1998
• Contact Info
– Blog - http://www.mikeoryszak.com
– Twitter - @Next_Connect
– Email – nextconnect@live.com
– LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeloryszak

3. Session Overview
• Understanding SharePoint’s Structure
• Site Topology Options
• Planning Scenarios
• Wrap-up and Questions

4. Support our Sponsors

5. How Many Sites Do I Need?!?!
UNDERSTANDING SHAREPOINT’S
STRUCTURE

6. Understanding SharePoint’s Structure
Series of Containers

7. Understanding SharePoint’s Structure
Site Collections
• A Site Collection Contains
– One or more Webs
– Web Part Gallery
– Global (Top) Navigation
– Site Collection Features
– Quota Management
– Web Analytics Reports
– SharePoint Security Groups
• Backups
– Full fidelity backup
– Can be fully backed up including security, versions,
workflows, etc
– Can be restored to other farms in most cases

8. Understanding SharePoint’s Structure
Web or Sub-Site
• A Web / Sub-Site Contains
– Lists & Libraries
– Web Features
• Backups
– Can export content (documents, list items)
– Cannot backup security, versions, workflows

9. How Many Sites Do I Need?!?!
SITE TOPOLOGY OPTIONS

10. Site Topology Options
Two Extremes – Deep versus Flat
• Deep Site Topology

11. Site Topology Options
Two Extremes – Deep versus Flat
• Flat Site Topology

12. Site Topology Options
Creating Site Collections
• When to create Site Collections
– Governance dictates quotas and security to be
maintained by an administrator
– Large amounts of content (30+ GB); divide it into
multiple site collections
– Unique or new type of content

13. Site Topology Options
Hurdles With Lots/Multiple Site Collections
• Navigation Maintained At Site Collection
– Global nav across site collections requires customization
• Themes/MasterPages Maintained At Site Collection
– May need to be applied to each site collection separately
– Formal packaged customizations may be required
• Content Query Web Part (CQWP)
– Can only aggregate content within a site collection
• Workflows
– Workflows limited to content and data within site collection

14. Site Topology Options
Creating Sub-sites
• When to create a sub-site
– Content maintained by existing site collection admin
– Related to existing content
– Quotas are not used (Bad - )

15. Site Topology Options
Hurdles With Too Few Site Collections
• Navigation Can Get Cluttered
– More tabs than horizontal space and too much info
• Quotas Ineffective
– Storage reports no longer effective or meaningful
• SharePoint Security Groups Get Cluttered
– If default 3 groups are created for each site, can have
100s of SharePoint Security Groups
• Backups Fail
– Backups fail because of too much content, no recovery

16. Site Topology Options
Recommendations
• Find the Appropriate Balance
• Organize Content Based on…
– Site Administrator -> Who is the administrator?
– Governance Plan -> Quotas, Policies
– Amount of Content -> Smaller sites easier to backup
and restore
– Importance of Content -> Isolate critical content
– Type of Content -> Intranet, Team Sites, Applications,
Enterprise Content/Document Management

17. How Many Sites Do I Need?!?!
PLANNING SCENARIOS

18. Planning Scenarios
Feedback and
• How are you using it?
• What problems are you having?
• How can you improve things?

19. Questions?

20. Resources
• SharePoint Site Topology Planning
– http://www.mikeoryszak.com/sharepoint/sharepoint-site-topology-planning
• Site Topology Planning & Taxonomies
– http://www.mikeoryszak.com/sharepoint/site-topology-planning-and-taxonomies
• Planning & Architecture for Sites – Technet
– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc261834.aspx