SharePoint Portal Server Ships

SharePoint Portal Server, formerly known by its code name Tahoe, is now shipping. Not to be confused with the similarly named SharePoint Team Services that ships with FrontPage 2002 and versions of Office XP, SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) is a new product designed to make it easier for organizations to create customizable intranet portals that help users find and manage both internal and external information. SPS includes three core parts: a prebuilt Digital Dashboard framework for creating Web portals, a document management and storage system based on the Web Store technology (first developed for Exchange 2000), and an advanced indexing and search engine. (For detailed information on SPS, see “Tahoe Brings Document Management to the Masses” on page 3 of the Dec. 2000 Update.)

Unlike SharePoint Team Services, SPS requires both server and Client Access licenses (CALs), making it unacceptable as an Internet platform serving public clients. A server license and five CALs are US$3,999, and additional CALs are US$72 each. SPS is available from resellers and through Microsoft’s volume licensing programs.