Create a PWA site (Project Server 2010)

This article explains how to allow PWA and associated Project Workspaces to be stored in a single content database

Published: May 12, 2010

Creating a Microsoft Project Web App (PWA) site creates the four Microsoft Project Server 2010 databases on the specified instance of Microsoft SQL Server.

To view a video demonstration of creating a PWA site, click one of the following links:

• Create Project Web App Site (Streaming)
• Create Project Web App Site (Download)

Create a PWA site

The Project Web App site requires a Web application to host it. You can use an existing Web application or create a new one for PWA. For more information about how to create a Web application, see Create a Web application (SharePoint Server 2010).

Important:

We highly recommend that you use a separate Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 content database for each PWA site and its associated project workspaces. To correctly isolate the PWA site in its own content database, you must deploy PWA at a time when other administrators are not creating new sites on the Web application where you are deploying PWA.

By putting PWA and its associated project workspaces in a separate content database, you greatly simplify site migration and backup and restore procedures.

Creating a PWA site takes five basic steps:

1. Create a content database to host the PWA site and its associated project workspaces.
2. Temporarily lock down existing content databases.
3. Create the PWA site itself.
4. Lock down the PWA content database to prevent additional site collections being added.
5. Unlock existing content databases.

SharePoint Server 2010 uses a round-robin algorithm to determine the distribution of site collections across content databases. In order to deploy the PWA site to a specific content database, you have to lock down any existing content databases in the farm. The process does not affect user access; it only affects the distribution of new site collections.

To lock down your content databases, follow these steps for each content database associated with the Web application where you plan to deploy your PWA site.

Important:

Ensure that no other administrators are adding site collections to the Web application where you plan to deploy PWA while you are performing the procedures in this section.

To lock down a content database

1. In SharePoint Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage content databases.

2. In the Current Number of Site Collections column, note the number of site collections for the database that you plan to lock down.

3. In the Database Name column, click the link for the content database that you want to lock down.

4. In the Database Capacity Settings section:

   1. In the Maximum number of sites that can be created in this database box, type the existing number of site collection for this database (as noted in the Current Number of Site Collections column, earlier in this procedure).

      Note:

      Take note of the current value for this parameter; you will have to change it back to this value after the PWA site has been created.

   2. In the Number of sites before a Warning event is generated box, type a lower number than the value that is used for Maximum number of sites that can be created in this database.

      Note:

      Take note of the current value for this parameter; you will have to change it back to this value after the PWA site has been created.

5. Click OK.

To create a content database

1. In SharePoint Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage content databases.

2. Click Add a content database.

3. In the Web Application section, choose the Web application where you plan to deploy the PWA site.

4. In the Database Name and Authentication section, type the database server name where you plan to deploy your PWA databases, and type a name for the database.

5. Click OK.

Once the content database has been created and configured, the next step is to create the PWA site itself.

To create a PWA site

1. In SharePoint Central Administration, in the Application Management section, click Manage service applications.

2. On the Manage Service Applications page, click the Project Server Service Application.

3. On the Manage Project Web App Sites page, click Create Project Web App Site.

4. Complete the Create Project Web App S

Related Links

• Extract Project Web Access site data to a new content database
• SharePoint 2007 set site collection read-only.
• How to Create a Custom Action Item list with Project for the Web
• Create a SQL Reporting Services document library and enable content types
• The Microsoft Project Portfolio Management Solution (PPM).