Supported Topologies for Team Foundation Server

Team Foundation Server is supported in a variety of installation topologies. This topic describes the common requirements for all supported topologies and describes some of the possible topological configurations.

Supported Topologies

The chief requirement for a supported Team Foundation Server topology is that the logical Team Foundation application tier and the logical Team Foundation data tier are installed on computers with a correct trust relationship. This means that the Team Foundation Server service accounts are trusted by all computers in the Team Foundation Server deployment. Team Foundation Server must be installed on computers that meet the hardware and software requirements of Team Foundation Server. For example, Team Foundation Server will not operate correctly if you install the logical Team Foundation data tier on a server running an unsupported version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

For more information about the hardware and software requirements for Team Foundation Server, see the Team Foundation Installation Guide. You can download this guide from the Microsoft Web site. For more information about Team Foundation Server architecture, see Team Foundation Server Security Architecture, Requirements for Team Foundation Components, Team Foundation Server Topologies, and Requirements for Team Foundation.

Determining Whether a Topology Will Work for Team Foundation Server

Team Foundation Server architecture depends on communication between the logical tiers of the architecture. A Team Foundation Server topology will not work if any of the following statements are true:

• The Team Foundation client tier cannot communicate with the Team Foundation application tier.

• The build computer cannot communicate with the Team Foundation application tier.

• The Team Foundation application tier cannot communicate with the Team Foundation data tier.

There are many factors to consider when you determine whether a specific Team Foundation Server deployment topology will be functional. For example, the service accounts used by Team Foundation Server must belong to a domain or workgroup that is trusted by all computers in the Team Foundation Server deployment. For more information, see Team Foundation Server Security Architecture and Managing Team Foundation Server Services and Service Accounts.

Supported topologies for Team Foundation Server can be relatively simple. For example, you might have the installation of the logical application tier and data tier to a single physical server servicing clients in a single domain. On the other hand, they can be quite complex. For example, you might be incorporating elements such as Team Foundation build computers, Team Edition for Testers Load Agent servers, Team Foundation Server Proxy servers and failover components, and servicing clients in multiple domains. You can see examples of Team Foundation Server topologies in A Simple Team Foundation Server Topology, A Moderate Team Foundation Server Topology, and A Complex Team Foundation Server Topology.

See Also

Concepts

Unsupported Topologies for Team Foundation Server

Trusts and Forests Considerations for Team Foundation Server

A Simple Team Foundation Server Topology

A Moderate Team Foundation Server Topology

A Complex Team Foundation Server Topology

Managing Team Foundation Server in a Workgroup

Other Resources

Team Foundation Server Topologies

Managing Team Foundation Server in an Active Directory Domain

Managing Application-Tier Servers for Team Foundation

Managing Data-Tier Servers for Team Foundation Server

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