Cannot connect to the configuration database

You receive a "Cannot connect to the configuration database" error message when you connect to your Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 Web site .

When you try to view your Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 Web site, you receive the following error message:

 OR

So, to solve this issue, please follow the below steps:

Method 1: Verify that the SQL database is running

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
2. In the list of services, locate the MSSQLSERVER service. This service may also be listed as MSSQL$SHAREPOINT.
3. Note the value of the Status column. If the Status column lists Started, the database server is running. If the Status column is empty, the database server is not running.
   
   To start the database server, right-click the MSSQLSERVER service, and then click Start.

Method 2: Verify that IIS is not running in IIS 5.0 isolation mode

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In the left pane, right-click your server name, and then expand the local computer.
3. Right click Web Sites, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Service tab.
5. Click to clear the Run WWW service in IIS 5.0 isolation mode check box.
6. Click OK
7. To start the WWW service, click Yes.

Method 3: Make sure that the account that is used by the application pool is the account that has the required permissions to the SQL Server database

First, you must first determine the application pool identity. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Double-click the Web Sites folder.
3. Right-click the virtual server that is running Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, and then click Properties.
4. Click Home Directory.
5. Note the information that is in the Application name box (this is the application pool name), and then click Cancel.
6. In the left pane, right-click Application Pools, and then click Properties.
7. Click the Identity tab.
8. Note the information that is in the Application pool identitypane, and then click Cancel.

Next, you must verify that this account has the required permission the SQL Server database. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft SQL Server, and then click Enterprise Manager.
2. In the left pane, double-click Microsoft SQL Servers, and then double-click your SQL server group.
3. Double-click your server.
4. Double-click Security.
5. In the left pane, click Logins.
6. In the right pane, double-click the user who you noted step 8 of the previous procedure.
7. In the SQL Server Login Properties dialog box, click Server Roles.
8. Click to select both the Security Administrators and the Database Creators check boxes, and then click Database Access.
9. Under the Permit column, click to select the Windows SharePoint Services database.
10. Click OK.

Method 4: Make sure that you have network connectivity and correct name resolution between the servers

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Verify that the Windows SharePoint Services server is using the correct IP address for the SQL server. To do this, run the ping command on the Windows SharePoint Services server.
2. Verify that the Windows SharePoint Services server is obtaining the correct IP address for the SQL server from DNS. To do this, run the nslookup command from the Windows SharePoint Services server.
3. Make sure that there are no incorrect entries for the SQL server. To do this, examine the Hosts file on the Windows SharePoint Services server. This file is in the following location:

%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\Hosts

4. On the Windows SharePoint Services server, look for SQL client aliases. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, and then type cliconfg in the Open box.
2. Click the Alias tab.

By default, there are no SQL client aliases. If you have any aliases for the SQL server, verify that they are correct, or remove them.

View Permission Assignments in SharePoint 2010

A SharePoint 2010 team site can have all the elements of an authorization model — people, groups, and permissions, in other words — but still not be secure. The deciding factor in securing SharePoint’s content lies with the permission assignments made on securable objects such as sites, lists, and libraries. A permission assignment consists of permissions, principals (users and groups), and securable objects.

Permissions are the smallest unit for managing security in SharePoint. Permissions confer rights, such as View Pages rights or Add Items rights, that a user may have. In SharePoint, you deal with following three permission types:

• List: Permissions related to accessing lists and list items.
• Site: Permissions related to accessing sites, pages, and permissions.
• Personal: Permissions related to creating personal views of web pages.

When managed properly, you never have to work with permissions on a case-by-case basis because permissions are never assigned directly to principals. Rather, they’re assigned to permission levels, which are assigned to default SharePoint groups. You can also assign permission levels directly to user accounts or custom SharePoint groups you create.

Follow these steps to view a list of permission levels for a site:

1. Choose Site Actions→Site Permissions to access the site’s People and Groups page.
   A list of groups and their corresponding permission levels appear.
   If you’ve assigned permission levels to user accounts or domain group accounts outside SharePoint groups, you see them listed here
   
   
   Each site inherits its site permission assignments from its parent site or has its own unique permission assignments. 
   
   

   

   
   

   
   
2. Click the Permission Levels button on the Ribbon.
   The Permission Levels page appears. You can use this page to create new permission levels or modify existing ones.
3. Click a permission level, such as Contribute, to view or modify the permissions in the permission level.
   Note: The permissions you see might not be the entire set of permissions available in SharePoint. The server administrator can limit the list of permissions available to a web application using Web Policies.
   
   

   

Keep in mind that the Permissions Levels page doesn’t really show individual permissions. Instead, the page shows permission levels.

The following table lists the permission levels, the rights they grant, and the SharePoint group they’re assigned to by default.

Permission Levels

Permission Level	Rights Granted	SharePoint Group Assigned to by Default
Full Control	Wield administrative access	Site Owners
Design	Change the site’s look and feel	Designers
Manage Hierarchy	Manage the site’s structure and permissions	Hierarchy Managers
Approve	Approve content	Approvers
Contribute	Add and modify content	Site Members
Read	View all content, including history	Site Visitors
Restricted Read	View and open	Restricted Readers
Limited Access	Open (same as guest access)	Quick Deploy Users
View Only	View items and pages	Viewers

SharePoint 2010 Site Templates

SharePoint 2010 provides a number of templates for creating new sites. Most organizations will decide for you which SharePoint templates you're going to use; it’s usually either a Team Site template or a Publishing Site template. The other templates are specialized.

Product	Available Site Templates	Typical Usage Scenarios
SharePoint Foundation 2010	Team Site, Meeting Workspace, Blog	More people contribute content than read it; also when you want basic layouts
SharePoint Server 2010, Standard license; and SharePoint 2010 for Internet Sites, Standard	Publishing Portal	Web content management sites, such as portals
	Enterprise Wiki	Collaborative sites with Web content management requirements
	Document Center	Sample template to demonstrate SharePoint’s document management features
	Basic and Enterprise Search Centers	Site dedicated to displaying search results
	My Site Host	Site dedicated to hosting My Site
SharePoint Server 2010, Enterprise License*; and SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites, Enterprise	Records Center	Used for managing document lifecycles
	Performance Point Site	Used for creating business intelligence dashboards

*Includes additional Web Parts and services to support advanced enterprise requirements

Common Web Parts in SharePoint 2010

Web Parts are reusable components that display content on Web pages in SharePoint 2010. Web Parts are a fundamental part of the team site experience, so make it a point to get comfortable with them and know what your options are.

General-Purpose Web Parts

Web Part Category	Example Web Parts	Description
Lists and Libraries	XSLT List View Web Part	Use to create custom list views with SharePoint Designer 2010. Lists and libraries use XSL stylesheets to control output.
None	Data Form Web Part	Use this Web Part in SharePoint Designer 2010 to create custom queries and displays.
Content Rollup	Content Query Web Part*, Summary Links Web Part*	Query content from anywhere in the current site and customize its presentation.
Content Rollup	RSS Viewer Web Part*, XML Viewer Web Part	Use an RSS feed or XML file as the data source and customize its presentation.
Media and Content	Silverlight Web Part	Display a Silverlight application with this Web Part.

*Requires SharePoint Server 2010 Standard license

Specialized Web Parts

Web Part Category	Example Web Parts	Description
Business Data*	Business Lists	Display items from external data sources, such as databases.
People**	Note Board	Allow users to add comments to any page.
Navigation**	Tag Cloud	Displays a tag cloud for tags found in the current site.
Search**	Refinement Panel, Search Core Results	Use to create custom search experiences.

*Requires SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise license;
**Requires SharePoint Server 2010 Standard license