An update to the
SharePoint Configuration Analyzer is long overdue.
My initial plan was to release the next version of the Analyzer tool by the
end of last year; unfortunately, the lack of time and resources worked against
me. That said, a ton of ideas have been floating around in my mind for
quite some time... it's time to gather them, see how they fit to your needs and
desires, and then start writing some code.
First off, here's a super short list of things that I would like to see in
v2:
- There are a variety of bugs that need to be addressed
- Rewrite the core engine so that the tool can be easily extended by
anyone
- UI revamp
- Move the tool over the supported category
- Ability to read log files
- Add more rules and checkpoints
- Add the ability to differentiate problems based on
version (RTM, SPx,
v2, v3, etc.)
- Add the ability to either correct problems or launch actions which can
correct detected problems
- Add command line options/silent mode
- Improved logging
- Improved performance
The goal from day one was for Analyzer to serve as an
analysis tool which could diagnose common configuration problems, describe how to fix them, and can be
easily extended. Version 1 went a long way to address common rendering
problems, but it only satisfied a small portion of that goal. Version 2
will hopefully become a truer representative of the original goal.
Now it's your turn... tell me what you think.
- Have you used the tool? Do you use it regularly or simply tried it
out once?
- Do you even care about seeing a v2?
- What do you like about it?
- What bugs you?
- What types of features would make the tool more useful?
- Would you be inclined to build your own rules?
- Any thoughts on the ideas I've thrown out?
If you have some real world examples of how the tool
helped you or perhaps didn't quite do enough for you, post a comment.
I'll be upfront right now and tell you that I can't guarantee anything.
In fact, I'm still not sure when and how version 2 will come about, but the
conversation has to begin somewhere.
Your feedback is strongly encouraged. Post your
comments -- let's get the
comments feed buzzing with traffic...