Plan the application tier (Project Server 2010)

SharePoint Server 2010

The Enterprise edition of Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 is required for Microsoft Project Server 2010. SharePoint Server 2010 has many features in its own right, and deployment of SharePoint Server 2010 should be carefully planned. For information about how to plan your SharePoint Server 2010 deployment, see Planning and architecture for SharePoint Server 2010.

Project Server 2010

Microsoft Project Server 2010 is the central component of a Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Solution. Project Server 2010 is a robust and highly scalable Web-based server application that is integrated with several client applications, the Microsoft Windows Server platform, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or 2008.

You can run the Project Server 2010 service on one or more application servers in a SharePoint Server 2010 farm. Project Server 2010 is supported on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Enterprise edition of SharePoint Server 2010 installed.

Project Server Interface

The Project Server Interface is the application programming interface (API) of Project Server 2010. The Project Server Interface object model exposes Project Server 2010 functionality to all external applications. Microsoft Project Professional 2010, Microsoft Project Web App, and line-of-business and other third-party applications use the Project Server Interface (PSI) to access Project Server 2010 data that is stored in the Draft, Published, and Archive databases. The PSI is available through Web service calls by back-end line-of-business applications, or through a Project Server Interface proxy for client applications having a user interface.

Project Server 2010 Events service

The system-level Project Server 2010 Events service manages the Project Server 2010 events. Other applications can subscribe to Project Server 2010 pre-events and post-events, and register event handler methods through Project Web App. Event handlers can check business rules and cancel an operation through a pre-event, or extend Project Server 2010 with additional processing such as workflow by using a post-event (for example, ProjectPublished).

Project Server 2010 Queue service

There are two Project Server 2010 queues that operate in the system-level Microsoft Project Server 2010 Queue service:

• To manage heavy peak loads, the Timesheet queue handles submission and updates of timesheet and status reports.

• The Save and Publish queue manages new and incremental saves of working projects to the Draft database and also manages publishing a project — that is, moving the project from the Draft to the Published database.

Exchange Server

Exchange Server integration allows for Project Server 2010 users to view Project Server tasks in Microsoft Office Outlook. This functionality replaces the Outlook Add-in task statusing functionality for non-time–phased tasks that was available in previous versions of Project Server.

To configure Exchange integration, the Project Server administrator must grant access to the instance of Exchange Server and the Exchange administrator must grant Exchange access to the Project Server farm administrator account.

Other applications

Third-party and line-of-business applications can be used with Project Server 2010. By using the Project Server Interface, you can address many project management needs with these applications. The following are some sample scenarios:

• Project proposals   Create placeholder projects during project initiation and use project custom fields to tag the project with information needed for the initiation and approval process. Add tasks to identify project phases for key milestones or deliverables. When approved, project proposals can evolve into full-scale projects that are managed by using Project Professional 2010.

• Maintenance projects   Create placeholder projects to use with resource plans. Reserve or book time against resources for maintenance work or base business. Maintenance projects generally do not have tasks.

• Financial projects   Create projects for time capture through the timesheet for integration with a financial system. Create tasks for a hierarchy of financial codes that reflect the cost breakdown structure of the financial system. These projects do not require scheduling or status updates.

• Integration with project accounting systems   Capture the resource costs and expenses associated with projects to feed financial and billing systems and for budget comparison purposes. Synchronize tasks, resources, and assignments between the systems. Capture timesheet data in one system to feed the other (which timesheet is used depends on the needs of the organization or of individual projects).

• Integration with work or task management systems   Synchronize tasks and assignments between Project Server 2010 and systems such as Microsoft Visual Studio Team System. Microsoft Visual Studio Team System is integrated with Microsoft Project Standard 2010 and Project Professional 2010, but integration with Project Server 2010 requires developing components by using the PSI.

• Process updates from team members   For projects that are not actively managed, automatically update them on the server by using information from team members about progress and other changes. Projects can be updated and republished without a project manager reviewing the results or making adjustments to the plan.