Managing Installed Roles and Role Services

When you are working with Web and application servers and servers running SharePoint Services, Server Manager is the primary tool you'll use to manage roles and role services. Not only can you use Server Manager to add or remove roles and role services, you can also use Server Manager to view the configuration details and status for roles and roles services.

Viewing Configured Roles and Role Services

On Windows Server, Server Manager lists roles you've installed when you select the Roles node in the left pane. As Figure 2-3 shows, the main view of the Roles node displays a Roles Summary section that lists the number of roles and the names of the roles installed. When there are error-related events for a particular server role, Server Manager displays a warning icon to the left of the role name.

Figure 2-3. View the status details for installed roles.

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In the Roles window, the name of the role is a clickable link that accesses the related role details. The role details provide the following:

• Summary information about the status of related system services. If applicable, Server Manager lists the number of related services that are running or stopped, such as "System Services: 3 Running, 2 Stopped."

• Summary information about events the related services and components have generated in the last 24 hours, including details on whether any errors have occurred, such as "Events: 1 error(s), 6 warning(s), 2 informational in the last 24 hours."

• Summary information about the role services installed including the number of role services installed and the installed or not installed status of each individual role service that you can use with the role.

In Server Manager's main window, if you click a role under Roles Summary or click the Go To Manage Roles link under Roles Summary section or click a role under Roles Summary, Server Manager displays expanded summary details on the events and services for the related role. As shown in Figure 2-4, Server Manager lists all events in the last 24 hours. If you click an event and then click View Event Properties, you can get detailed information about the event. Additionally, Server Manager provides details regarding the system services used by the role and their status. You can manage a service by clicking it and then clicking the related Stop, Start, or Restart links provided. In many cases, if a service isn't running as you think it should, you can click Restart to resolve the issue by stopping and then starting the service.

Figure 2-4. View recent events and manage system services.

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Adding or Removing Roles on Servers

When you select the Roles node in Server Manager, the Roles Summary pane section details on the current roles that you've installed. In the Roles Summary section, you'll find options for adding and removing roles. The roles you can remove depend on the type of server. The roles are as follows:

• On application servers, you can remove the application server role, the Web server role, or both.

• On a Web server, you can remove the Web server role.

• On a server computer running SharePoint Services, you can remove the Windows SharePoint Services role or both the Windows SharePoint Services role and the Web server role.

You can remove a server role by completing the following steps:

1.	Start Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager icon on the Quick Launch toolbar or by clicking Start, Administrative Tools, Server Manager.
2.	In Server Manager, select the Roles node in the left pane, and then click Remove Roles. This starts the Remove Roles Wizard. If Setup displays the Before You Begin page, read the Welcome page and then click Next. You can avoid seeing the Welcome page the next time you start this wizard by selecting the Do Not Show Me This Page Again check box before clicking Next.
3.	On the Remove Server Roles page, clear the check box for the role you want to remove, and then click Next. If you try to remove a role that another role depends on, you'll see a warning prompt stating that you cannot remove the role unless you also remove the other role as well. If you click Remove Dependent Role Services, Setup will remove both roles.
4.	On the Confirm Removal Selections page, review the related role services that Setup will remove based on your previous selections, and then click Remove.
5.	When Setup finishes modifying the server configuration, you'll see the Removal Results page. Review the modification details to ensure that all phases of the removal process completed successfully. If any portion of the removal process failed, note the reason for the failure and then use the previously discussed troubleshooting techniques to help resolve the problem.

Viewing and Modifying Role Services on Servers

In Server Manager, you can view the role services configured for a role by selecting Roles in the left pane and then scrolling down to the Role Services section for the role you want to work with. In the details section, you'll find a list of role services that you can install in addition to their current Installed or Not Installed status. You can manage role services for application servers and Web servers by using the Add Role Services and Remove Role Services functions provided for the related role details entry. The Windows SharePoint Services role, however, does not have individual role services that you can manage in this way. With a server computer running SharePoint Services, you can modify the Web server role or remove only the Windows SharePoint Services role.

You can add role services by completing the following steps:

1.	Start Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager icon on the Quick Launch toolbar or by clicking Start, Administrative Tools, Server Manager.
2.	In Server Manager, select the Roles node in the left pane, and then scroll down until you see the Roles Services section for the role you want to manage. In the Roles Services section for the role, click Add Role Services. This starts the Add Role Services Wizard.
3.	On the Select Role Services page, Setup makes the currently selected roles unavailable so that you cannot select them. To add a role, select it in the Role Services list. When you are finished selecting roles to add, click Next, and then click Install.

You can remove role services by completing the following steps:

1.	Start Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager icon on the Quick Launch toolbar or by clicking Start, Administrative Tools, Server Manager.
2.	In Server Manager, select the Roles node in the left pane and then scroll down until you see the Roles Services section for the role you want to manage. In the Roles Services section for the role, click Remove Role Services. This starts the Remove Role Services Wizard.
3.	On the Select Role Services page, Setup selects the currently installed roles. To remove a role, clear the related check box. When you are finished selecting roles to remove, click Next, and then click Remove.