Content
What is SharePointLMS for SharePoint?
Is there a web services API?
What is the difference between sites collection and site in SP and how does it apply for SPLMS?
How does the SharePointLMS / SharePoint integration work?
How do I implement SharePoint as the front end to a SharePointLMS site?
Does SharePointLMS use the database or the file system to store course content?
Is the course content required to be stored on the web server?
Can SharePointLMS be integrated into HR and ERP applications?
Can the standard SharePointLMS application files or database objects be altered in any way?
Can I add my own custom application files or database objects?
Will I have direct access to the database?
I need functionality that SharePointLMS does not presently have, what are my options?
In terms of scalability, what options does SharePointLMS support?
How many concurrent users can SharePointLMS support?
In terms of scalability, what options does SharePointLMS support?
The activity of my SharePointLMS site has grown to the point where a single server cannot support the performance load. Will I be able to migrate to a multi-server architecture?
What type of security protection does SharePointLMS offer to protect my data?


What is SharePointLMS for SharePoint?
SharePointLMS for SharePoint is a .NET-based eLearning system. Using Microsoft products and technologies such as: SQL Server and SharePoint, SharePointLMS enables organizations of any size to organize, deliver and track eLearning content and usage data. SharePointLMS for SharePoint is a Microsoft-certified .NET software solution.

Is there a web services API?
Yes. SharePointLMS provides a web service that is meant to be consumed by external applications or processes. It contains methods to add, edit, and delete user accounts, create course and event registrations and view reports specific to users and their course registrations.

What is the difference between sites collection and site in SP and how does it apply for SPLMS?
Sites Collection - can have many sites inside, have own groups, can have own roles, have root site and can have many subsites, can have sites collection administrator (user who can do anything within all sites related sites collection ignore permissions). Each sites collection can be stored into OWN DATABASE positively increasing throughput (the best way is scaling your farm to maximize throughput). Sites Collections are NOT organized into hierarchy. Can be created only within managed path’s (managed path’s can be defined from CA)
Site – always a part of sites collection inherits groups and roles from sites collection. Data from all sites placed in the same DB related to sites collection. Sites within sites collection organized into hierarchy. Can be created within another site or root of the sites collection.
According SPLMS – each course is a separate sites collection. Teachers are sites collection administrators, learners are anybody who have contribute permission to the root site.

How does the SharePointLMS / SharePoint integration work?
SharePointLMS integrates with SharePoint on several levels. First, a set of web parts provides user access to SharePointLMS. Second, SharePoint document event handler serves to synchronize content files, uploaded to the document library, between SharePoint and SharePointLMS. The final integration point is that of user authentication. All users are authenticated using Active Directory, which serves to provide a seamless, transparent link with SharePoint. Users will not be prompted to provide their credentials a second time when accessing SharePointLMS from within SharePoint.

How do I implement SharePoint as the front end to a SharePointLMS site?
SharePointLMS comes with various web parts that can be imported into shared or personal pages within SharePoint. These web parts provide directed access to specific functional modules such as reports as well as to the entire site based on a user’s SharePointLMS permissions.

Does SharePointLMS use the database or the file system to store course content?
All course content files are stored in the SharePoint content database.

Is the course content required to be stored on the web server?
No. Course content may be stored on an external content server or within SharePoint’s document library.

Can SharePointLMS be integrated into HR and ERP applications?
Yes. SharePointLMS can be integrated through the use of the web services API or distributed SQL queries. Either method will provide real-time updates to the SharePointLMS database whenever a user’s account is added, edited or deleted from the source application.

Can the standard SharePointLMS application files or database objects be altered in any way?
No. SharePointLMS license agreement prohibits such changes.

Can I add my own custom application files or database objects?
Yes. Customers may create custom extensions to the SharePointLMS in order to meet a specific set of business objectives. These custom extensions must be comprised within newly developed scripts or database objects. Customers may choose to develop custom functionality using .NET technology or any various scripting language. SharePointLMS provides a Navigation module that enables site administrators to add custom links to the navigation menu of each user class (e.g. learners, instructors). Note, that no guarantee custom extensions will be supported in newer versions.

Will I have direct access to the database?
Yes. You may access the database directly using the standard SQL Server tools such as: Query Analyzer and Enterprise Manager.

I need functionality that SharePointLMS does not presently have, what are my options?
Elearningforce Inc. works with all customers to ensure SharePointLMS meets their business needs. When a new feature or functional component is needed, customers can work with their Elearningforce Inc. account manager or authorized reseller to request that the desired feature be considered for inclusion into a future release. In those instances where a future release does not coincide with a customer’s desired timeframe, the customer can elect to request a cost/time estimate from Elearningforce Inc.’s Professional Services group as a way to expedite the delivery of the desired feature. In most cases, Elearningforce Inc. will look to include all newly requested features or functional components into the core code base in an effort to ensure it is supported in all future revisions.

In terms of scalability, what options does SharePointLMS support?
Scalability is defined as the capability to increase hardware or software resources of an application in order to bring about an increase in its performance capacity. SharePointLMS can support various server configurations. What server configuration you choose typically depends on available administrative or budgetary resources. A commonly implemented configuration would comprise dedicated servers for both the web server and database server. For greater scalability support, load balancing across a server cluster should be implemented. In general, SharePointLMS can be adapted to work within most Microsoft technology-based solutions.

How many concurrent users can SharePointLMS support?
It is difficult to quantify how many concurrent users can be supported due to a variety of factors that ultimately effect performance. SharePointLMS ability to support a desired amount of concurrent users is as much dependant upon its architecture design as it is on the environment it is hosted within and content being delivered to the end user. From an architecture standpoint, Elearningforce Inc. developed SharePointLMS based on a four tier model with an underlying database schema heavily reliant upon an extensive set of keys, indexes, stored procedures and views. The hosting environment should provide ample bandwidth and properly configured servers utilizing load balancing and server clustering where appropriate. Content developers should design courseware where average page sizes are small enough to service a large enough audience given the amount of available bandwidth.

In terms of scalability, what options does SharePointLMS support?
Scalability is defined as the capability to increase hardware or software resources of an application in order to bring about an increase in its performance capacity. SharePointLMS can support various server configurations. What server configuration you choose typically depends on available administrative or budgetary resources. A commonly implemented configuration would include a dedicated web server and a dedicated database server. For greater scalability support, load balancing across a server cluster should be implemented. In general, SharePointLMS can be adapted to work within most Microsoft technology-based solutions.

The activity of my SharePointLMS site has grown to the point where a single server cannot support the performance load. Will I be able to migrate to a multi-server architecture?
Yes. Once an appropriate server solution has been identified, all application files and data can be migrated.

What type of security protection does SharePointLMS offer to protect my data?
SharePointLMS utilizes several layers of security. Security credentials are needed for database access and access to the user interface. System administrators may also choose to implement SSL on the site through the use of a digital certificate purchased through an authorized Certification Authority (CA). In addition to SharePointLMS-specific security measures, the corporate network offers an additional level of security.