Local server mode. In addition to running PreUpgradeCheck in the default mode to determine farm customizations, you can also run the check in local server mode, which runs a smaller set of rules from the given server. In large server farms, you can run the command in local mode for each server, as well as for the whole farm. You can then compare the reports and identify any differences in configuration and customizations.
I recommend running PreUpgradeCheck early and often because the insight it provides is useful not only for upgrades but also as a best practice and for configuration analysis. PreUpgradeCheck doesn’t stop running when it finds an issue, so you can run the command even if you know you have custom site definitions that will generate a failure notice. Because the command is read-only, it provides information without making changes.
Information Architecture and Data Cleanup
The more optimized your environment, the smoother and faster your upgrade will be. To improve the upgrade process, trim the following content that is simply taking up space and would slow down the upgrade:
- Remove unused sites and site collections
- Remove orphaned sites, lists, and objects identified by PreUpgradeCheck
- Remove locks and increase the quotas for sites that are at or near maximum capacity
- Remove or add missing features and web part assemblies (check dependencies) identified by PreUpgradeCheck
Cleanup also can involve working through and resetting pages and sites back to the site definition, or finalizing previous upgrades. Also be sure to consider the supportability of your customizations and address any improper development, testing environments, or resources. Now is the time to package up the various assemblies and features and build them into solutions that can be deployed easily and consistently. This cleanup can take the form of simply packaging up the code and some of the configuration, or writing scripts for some of it and documenting the rest. When it comes time to actually upgrade, you’ll be glad you took the time to perform this cleanup.
Get Started
You can take several steps now to optimize your environment for upgrading to SharePoint 2010. First, ensure that you have 64-bit hardware capable of hosting your production sites on Server 2008 Hyper-V. As soon as possible, upgrade to SharePoint 2007 SP2 or later. Discuss Office 2010 with your desktop team, including the possibility of using Office Web Applications. Run the PreUpgradeCheck tool, and assess any issues that might hinder an upgrade. Finally, reevaluate and clean up your information architecture. If you communicate about and plan ahead for an upgrade to SharePoint 2010, the process will go much more quickly and smoothly.