So you’ve installed MOSS 2007 and you’re wondering what Shared Services Administration is all about? I certainly was when I started out with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS).

To get started launch Central Administration from Start->All Program->Microsoft Office Server->Sharepoint 3.0 Central Administration.

The first two questions you may be faced with are:

• What are Shared Services Providers (SSP)?
• Why do I have a Shared Services Administration section in Central Administration with a SharedServices1 entry?

What are Shared Services Providers (SSP)?

MOSS can be used to create and host a number of web applications, for example an Intranet, Extranet, Team Site, etc. These applications may typically require similar information such as user profile information from say Active Directory or LDAP but there are two caveats that lead to the need for SSP:

1. You may not want some information to cross between web applications (for example you may not want member of an Extranet to be able to access information from the Intranet).
2. Your MOSS may be public Internet facing (or close to it) and you don’t want to expose any sensitive back-end functionality.

Shared Services Providers act as more than an intermediary between web applications and sensitive services such as Active Directory and LDAP. By creating a Shared Services Provider (SSP) you can create an interface, or a mediator, that retrieves the information you need from the sensitive service and places it in a database for query by the appropriately authorised web applications.

The immediate question might be why can’t these applications talk to Active Directory – they could but you may be duplicating effort, taking a performance hit on the back-end and require over complicated security mechanisms to ensure minimal exposure to sensitive services.

Clicking on Shared Services Administration will bring you up with a Manage this Shared Services section where you can do several things.
 

You could create a new SSP, change the default if you have several (for example you may decide you have more Extranet users than internal users so make that the default). You can also restore a previously saved SSP from a backup. Additionally, you can Change the Association between Applications and SSP. For example you may have a number of SharePoint applications each serving different purposes – use this option to tell each application which SSP to use.

This area of administration simply allows you to create the framework for the SSP, you will manage it separately (such as where to get the information from) from its own administrative interface.

Why does an SSP exist already?

Once an SSP is configured you need to manage it from its own administration centre by clicking on its name in the sidebar. This URL will also be shown in the Edit Properties section of the SSP.

Typically you will have just one entry listed under Shared Services Administration unless your want to maintain clear boundaries, for example an Extranet or if you operate separate companies on the same server.

It is from this section that you can specify where to populate the SSP database, when, how often, and set the default policies of how this information is treated.

Resources

MOSS Homepage
http://office.microsoft.com/sharepoint/

Installing MOSS 2007 Step-by-Step Instructions at Sharepoint Cafe
http://mindsharpblogs.com/bill/archive/2006/06/27/1153.aspx

The SharePoint Farmer’s Almanac – Give a user access to the SSP
http://msmvps.com/blogs/shane/archive/2007/08/06/give-a-user-access-to-the-ssp.aspx

Technet Forums – Unable to create a New SSP in SharePoint 2007
http://forums.technet.microsoft.com/en-US/sharepointadmin/thread/a0255fc9-c875-4f83-af9f-5976bb3c8813/

A Marvellous Point : MOSS Architecture and Shared Services
http://blogs.msdn.com/martinkearn/archive/2006/06/06/619251.aspx