Client Requirements for Team System

Like Team Foundation Server, Team Foundation clients also have specific hardware and software requirements. When you plan Visual Studio Team System deployment, it is important to understand requirements specific to your business needs. Hardware requirements might vary depending on how you plan to deploy and use Visual Studio Team System. For example, what role-based editions do you plan to use, how many different projects will your users require, and how many different roles must users perform during your projects?

Hardware and Software Requirements

When you determine your hardware and software requirements, consider the following:

• What role-based editions you want to install on the client computers.

• What software is already installed on the client computers.

For an overview of the different Team Foundation role-based editions and Team Explorer, see Client Planning.

Hardware Requirements

The following hardware requirements apply to Visual Studio Team System role-based clients and Team Explorer.

Administrators who want to install Visual Studio Team Edition for Testers and include a test rig will have additional hardware requirements. For more information about Visual Studio Team Edition for Testers, see Test Rig Requirements for Team System.

Software Requirements

All the Visual Studio Team System clients have specific software requirements.

Client Operating System Requirements

The following client operating systems are supported for Visual Studio Team System clients:

• Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 installed

• Windows Server 2003

• Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 installed

Client Software Prerequisites

Besides the operating system, you should install the following software on the client computers before you install Visual Studio Team System clients.

Installing Team Explorer with Other Development Software

Team Explorer runs side by side with other development software. This gives you access to Team Foundation Server functionality as follows:

• Developers who use Visual Studio 2005 Professional or Standard Editions.

  Team Explorer installs as part of the integrated development environment (IDE) in Visual Studio 2005 Professional or Standard Editions. This gives you access to Team Foundation Server functionality from Visual Studio 2005 Professional and Standard Editions.

• Developers who use Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side by side with Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions. This gives you access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers who use older Visual Studio versions, such as Visual Studio 6.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side by side with earlier versions of Visual Studio (including earlier versions of Visual Studio .NET). This gives these clients access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

• Developers who use integrated development environments other than Visual Studio.

  You can install Team Explorer and run it side by side with other IDEs. This gives these clients access to Team Foundation Server functionality.

For information about how to install Team Explorer, see the Team Foundation Installation Guide. The MSDN Online site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=40042) provides the latest version of the Team Foundation Installation Guide.

Using Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel with Visual Studio Team System

Users can access Team Foundation Server capabilities through Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel by installing Team Explorer on the client computer. When you install Team Explorer on the client computer, a work item add-in is installed that enables Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel to communicate with Team Foundation Server. The add-in appears visually as both a Team toolbar and Team menu.

Windows SharePoint Services

You can access many Visual Studio Team System features using Internet Explorer. These include access to the Windows SharePoint Services-based team project Web portal, SQL Analysis service-based reports, and work item tracking capabilities.

Language Considerations

You can install the English version of Visual Studio Team System on any localized version of a supported operating system. You can install any localized version of Visual Studio Team System on a matching language operating system, or on an English operating system. For example, a Japanese version of Visual Studio can be installed on a Japanese version of Windows XP or an English version of Windows XP, but not on a German version of Windows XP.

For a localized Team Foundation Server installed on an English operating system, you will need a multiuser interface (MUI) pack, or at least an installation of the appropriate fonts for that language.

Visual Studio Team System and Microsoft Office

When you use Visual Studio Team System and Microsoft Office together, there are some additional language constraints. The operating system language can be any supported language except when Microsoft Office has been installed. Also, the Visual Studio language can be any supported language except when Microsoft Office has been installed. If Microsoft Office is installed, the following constraints apply.

Other Considerations

Visual Studio Team System role-based clients and Team Explorer can be managed remotely and virtually.

Virtual PCs

Visual Studio Team System role-based clients and Team Explorer will operate correctly on a Virtual PC. It is best not to use this configuration for production environments.

Terminal Servers

Visual Studio Team System role-based clients and Team Explorer will operate correctly with Terminal Server.

Network Card Settings

During various operations, Team Foundation Server connects to the appropriate services and components on the data tier, the application tier, and the client tier. The speed with which Team Explorer completes the transfer of large amounts of data depends mostly on the speed of the computer network. For example, creating new team projects, uploading large documents, or checking large files into source control will create large amounts of data. If you are experiencing poor performance for such operations, network configuration problems might be artificially limiting the throughput of the system.

The configuration of network switches and your computer's network card can affect the network speed. For example, network speed varies depending on whether you have turned on the "autosense mode" or "auto-negotiation" or whether you are transmitting information in full-duplex mode or half-duplex mode. Often you can reduce the time required to complete the data transfer by setting the network card to full-duplex mode and explicitly configuring adapters to run at a fixed speed (for example, 100Mbs) instead of relying on autodetect. When you do that, you need to confirm the settings are correct on the network card on each computer. For more information, see "How to troubleshoot network connectivity problems" on the Microsoft Web site (https://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;EN-US;Q325487).

See Also

Concepts

Client Planning
Server Planning

Other Resources

Visual Studio 2005 Team System Requirements