Installing SharePoint Server 2013

The deployment stages for SharePoint 2013 include preparation, installation, and configuration of your

SharePoint 2013 farm.

1.   Accounts Required for SharePoint 2013 Installation

·         SharePoint, SQL Server, and Active Directory

SharePoint has close relationships with and dependencies on Microsoft SQL Server and Active

Directory.

Active Directory provides identity and authentication services. In other words, it stores user accounts (user names and passwords) and validates account logons. These services support users logging on to SharePoint sites. They also support the accounts used by SharePoint and SQL services themselves.

SQL Server stores almost all of the configuration and content of a SharePoint farm. SQL Server services, like all Windows services, run using an identity. SharePoint services also run with Active Directory credentials. The credentials are used by SharePoint to access data in SQL Server. These accounts must have SQL logins so that SQL can authorize the access.

These SQL logins are created automatically by SharePoint during setup and the creation of web applications.

·         Service and administrative accounts

Before installing SharePoint, you must ensure that there are appropriate accounts, logins, and permissions to support the interdependencies between SharePoint, SQL Server, Active Directory, and the SharePoint server itself.

·         SQL Server service account

SQL Server services use identities, or accounts. Like most Windows services, you can use a special identity such as System, Network Service, or Local Service, but it is a highly recommended best practice to use a domain user account. If SQL Server is installed on a different computer to where SharePoint is installed, it is required to use a domain account.

·         Setup user account

The setup user account is used by a human being to install and configure SharePoint. During setup and configuration, SharePoint creates SQL databases and logins, and modifies the server itself (for example, creating local groups). SharePoint setup and configuration uses the credentials of the setup user account to perform such tasks, so it must be a securityadmin and dbcreator on the SQL Server, and it must be amember of the local Administrators group. It must also be a member of the db_owner fixed database role on any databases affected by any Windows PowerShell cmdlets that you run.

The only SQL login that you must manually create is the login for the setup user account, which actually performs the initial setup of the farm.

·         Server farm account

During installation and configuration, the setup user account assigns an account to the SharePoint farm, which is the service account representing the SharePoint farm.

The server farm account is also referred to as the database access account and is used by SharePoint to configure and manage the server farm. It is also the identity used by the Central Administration site’s application pool, and the identity used by the Timer service.

The SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard automatically assigns the account the permissions it needs.

The server farm account is automatically added as a SQL Server login on the computer that runs SQL

Server. The account is added to the following SQL Server security roles:

ü  dbcreator fixed server role

ü  securityadmin fixed server role

ü  db_owner fixed database role for all SharePoint databases in the server farm

·         Application pool accounts

Each web application runs in an application pool. The application pool identity is a domain user account

That is functionally equivalent to a service account, with permissions to access the content database for

the web application on the SQL Server.

Service applications, such as Search, are also web applications. Therefore, they also run in an application

pool with a domain user identity.

Web and service application pool accounts are automatically granted the permissions they need during

the provisioning of the application.

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