Rules To Better TFS Administration

​Since 1990, SSW has supported the developer community by publishing all our best practices and rules for everyone to see. 

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  1. Do you know how to delete a Team Project Collection?

    When you initially set up a TFS server, you may add a Team Project Collection for testing purposes. After you have confirmed TFS, SharePoint, and Reporting services are all working, you want to remove the test collection you made, but alas, there is no Delete option for project collections.
    Figure: There is no way to delete the Team Project Collection from the TFS Administration console​

    To delete the unwanted Team Project Collection:

    1. On your TFS server, open an Administrative Command Prompt
    2. Change into the TFS Tools Directory. Type:

      cd "%programfiles%\microsoft team foundation server 2010\tools"

    3. Type in the following (replacing [COLLECTION NAME] with the collection you want to delete):

      TFSConfig Collection /delete /collectionName:[COLLECTION NAME]

    Figure: Use the TFSConfig tool to delete a Team Project Collection (If you created a SharePoint Portal for your Team Project Collection, you should clean it up as well)​
    1. Open the URL of your Team Project Collections SharePoint portal (eg. northwind.com.au/tfs/TestProjectCollection)
    2. Select Site Actions | Site Settings on the right
    3. Under the Site Administration subheading, click on Delete this site
    4. Confirm the deletion

    If you created a Reports site for your Team Project Collection, you should clean it up as well.

    1. Open the URL of your Reporting Services page (eg. tfs.ssw.com.au/reports)
    2. Click on the TfsReports folder
    3. Click on the name of the Team Project Collections folder
    4. Click Properties in the top navigation
    5. Click on Delete

    Now your TFS server is nice and clean and fit for production.

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  2. Do you know how to correctly use the terms: Configuration and Customization in the TFS context?

    ​It is important to use consistent language when talking about changes made to a TFS environment. The term configuration and customization are sometimes used interchangeably. It is clearer to use the following to differentiate them:

    Configuration applies to any changes made to application settings that help to make your TFS installation work correctly for a particular environment

    Configuration would apply to objects like: TFS Administration Console (SharePoint, Microsoft Test Manager (MTM), Visual Studio, Web Access, Lab Management integration), User Security, Check-in options.

    Customization is when TFS is changed to fit into a customized process. 

    Customization would apply to: Changing Work Item Templates, Custom Reports, Workflow and using the API to connect to other systems.

    Extending is a term used with CRM that includes developing Plug-in's. With TFS this is covered under Customization.

    ​See the CRM  rule for ​correct definitions.

    Read more about Do you know how to correctly use the terms: Configuration and Customization in the TFS context?